The Best of Austria & Switzerland and Oberammergau 2010

Day 1
(Sat.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 Arrive in Vienna, Austria
(Sun.) Time to rest or start exploring the Viennese capital. At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a special welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)

Day 3 Vienna
(Mon.) Meet your Local Guide and start your sightseeing with vistas of Prater Park with its giant Ferris wheel, and the United Nations City on the banks of the Danube River. Then, drive along Ring Boulevard, pass the State Opera House, the Jewish quarter, and stop at the Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Austrian Imperial family. Marvel at the impressive courtyards and famous Heldenplatz and visit awesome ST. STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL. Afternoon at leisure. Optional excursions to Schönbrunn Palace and the wine village of Grinzing are available. (B)

Day 4 At Leisure in Vienna
(Tue.) A full day to explore Vienna independently. Why not visit the imposing Hofburg Palace to see the precious Habsburg Dynasty treasures or visit the Museum of Fine Arts with works by Jan Van Eyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Raphael, and more. You may want to join an optional excursion to Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. (B)

Day 5 Vienna–Melk–Salzburg
(Wed.) This morning, enjoy a leisurely DANUBE CRUISE. Afterwards, follow the Danube Valley to historic Melk for pictures of the abbey. No landscape is more typically Austrian than the Salzkammergut lakeland. Stop for a picture of the Parish Church in Mondsee, which was used for the wedding scenes in the Sound of Music, then, continue to Salzburg. (B,D)

Day 6 Salzburg
(Thu.) Stroll with a Local Guide through the historic center. Admire exquisite MIRABELL GARDENS, the Great Festival Hall, ST. PETER’S CHURCHYARD, the monumental Domplatz, and take pictures of Mozart’s birthplace in the charming Getreidegasse. Afternoon at leisure or join an optional excursion to Berchtesgaden and Hitler’s Eagles Nest. (B)

Day 7 Salzburg–St. Moritz, Switzerland
(Fri.) Via the Tyrolean Mountains enter the Swiss Engadine, considered by many as the most beautiful mountain area in the world, with its deep-blue lakes, airy larch forests that turn golden in the fall, mountain peaks exceeding 12,000 feet, and quaint villages with massive white stone houses in the characteristic Grisons style. The rest of the day is at leisure in ritzy St. Moritz. (B,D)

Day 8 St. Moritz–Chur–Zermatt
(Sat.) Drive through exhilarating Alpine scenery. At Chur, board the first-class panoramic coach of the world-renowned GLACIER EXPRESS TRAIN. Admire thundering waterfalls, impressive peaks, glacial ice fields, and tiny villages as you pass through the Valais, a region known for its great mountain resorts and excellent wines. This afternoon you are in Zermatt, a picturesque cluster of rustic chalets beneath the majestic Matterhorn. (B,L,D)

Day 9 At Leisure in Zermatt
(Sun.) An entire day at leisure. Perhaps ride Europe’s highest rack-railway to 10,272-foot Gornergrat for a breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps. (B)

Day 10 Zermatt–Berne
(Mon.) Board the MOUNTAIN TRAIN to Täsch and motor through the lower Rhône Valley to the shores of Lake Geneva. Here, enjoy a highlight visit to CHILLON CASTLE, the 12th-century water fortress immortalized by poet Lord Byron. Evening arrival in Berne. (B,D)

Day 11 Berne–Interlaken–Lucerne
(Tue.) Your guided walking tour focuses on the monumental Federal Palace and the beautifully preserved medieval Old Town. Witness the hourly parade of painted figures at the Clock Tower and take your pictures of ornate, flower-adorned fountains. Stop in Interlaken, beautifully situated beneath the towering Jungfrau. Across Brünig Pass to picture-book Lucerne. You may wish to sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing for a first-hand impression of Alpine merrymaking. (B)

Day 12 Lucerne
(Wed.) On your walking tour this morning, admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT and ornate patrician houses of the walled Old Town, then, cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit church. Afterwards, shop for watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car or take a cruise on the fjord-like lake. Tonight, a farewell dinner to celebrate the success of your Swiss vacation. (B,D)

Day 13 Lucerne–Liechtenstein–Innsbruck, Austria
(Thu.) Stop in Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein, then continue to Innsbruck and walk through the Old Town to the GOLDEN ROOF. (B,D)

Day 14 Innsbruck–Oberammergau, Germany
(Fri.) Enter Bavaria, Germany, and arrive in Oberammergau. Afternoon and evening devoted to the PASSION PLAY. (B,L,D)

Day 15 Oberammergau–Munich
(Sat.) Drive to Munich, where your orientation features the Olympic Park, the 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, and MARIENPLATZ.

Day 16
(Sun.) Your homebound flight from Munich arrives the same day. (B)

• Munich: Orientation drive including Marienplatz

The quaint European village of Oberammergau is world famous for the spectacular Passion Play performed by its residents just once every decade. Keeping a pledge made nearly 400 years ago, this reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ preserves the health and well-being of its residents to this day.

• Professional Tour Director while touring and Local Host to assist you at airports and hotels

Vienna: De France (SF) or Am Konzerthaus (F)
Salzburg: Best Western Stieglbräu (F)
St. Moritz: Laudinella (F)
Zermatt: Pollux (F) or Walliserhof (F)
Berne: Allegro (SF)
Lucerne: Monopol (F) or Grand Hotel Europe (F)
Innsbruck: Sporthotel Penz (F)
Munich: Ambiance Rivoli (F)
Oberammergau: Böld (F)

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land prices are guaranteed. Whenever air-inclusive tour prices are displayed, these prices do not include government taxes and fees, which are additional. Air prices are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Air-inclusive prices include air from a major U.S. gateway; air from other U.S. airports is available at an additional cost. Sorry, we are unable to offer air from countries other than the U.S. However, for those international customers who are able to arrange their own transportation to the tour origination city, we are able to offer the land portion of the package or tour, at the price quoted.