Welcome to the ‘The Art, History & Palaces of Vienna & The Danube Valley’ tour. You can view full details of this tour, share this tour with others, pay your final balance before departure and, once you have departed on your holiday, share your group photos and write reviews.
Itinerary
Day 1
We meet at Heathrow Airport for our direct scheduled flight to Vienna. On arrival in Vienna we are met by our guide and transfer in our private executive coach to the 4* Parkhotel Schönbrunn for a five night stay. We enjoy an included welcome dinner in our hotel this evening.
Day 2
Our morning guided city tour of Vienna takes in the imperial and architectural beauty of the city, a reminder of the great wealth of the Hapsburgs and the splendour of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During our guided tour we visit Karlskirche, dedicated to St Karl Borromeo. Designed by Johann Fischer von Erlach, a famous Austrian Baroque architect, the building of Karlskirche commenced in 1715 and is the largest Baroque cathedral north of the Alps. We continue to Ruprechtskirche, Vienna’s oldest church. According to legend, the church was founded in 740 by disciples of the Salzburg bishop, St Ruprecht, patron saint of salt merchants. Our guided tour also includes a visit to St Stephen’s Cathedral, dating back to 1147 and for a long time uncontested as the tallest building in Europe. This afternoon we visit Schönbrunn Palace, commissioned in 1696 by Leopold I, completed in 1730, and adapted in the mid 18th century for Maria Theresa. Our guided tour will include her bedroom, hung with Brussels tapestries, her breakfast room decorated with needlework worked by her and her daughters, and the Hall of Mirrors, where Mozart, aged 6, gave his first recital. The gardens were laid out with fountains and statues, and later, on the Gloriette Hill, a colonnaded arcade was added, from which one has an extensive view over the city.
Day 3
Today we explore the UNESCO listed Danube Valley with its rich history and magical scenery. Our first stop is for a guided tour of Baroque Melk Abbey, which towers above the Danube on a promontory. Begun as a palace stronghold in the 10th century and given to Benedictine monks in the 12th century, the interior is lavishly gilded, has ceiling frescoes and superb sculpted pulpit, choir and confessionals. This afternoon we embark on an included cruise along the scenic Danube to Krems, the area centre of the wine industry, with its mixture of historical buildings and a Renaissance town hall.
Day 4
We firstly see the morning exercise session at the Spanish Riding School in Category 2 seats, where the white Lipizzan stallions are put through their paces. We then visit the Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg Palace, the residence of the Hapsburgs for over 600 years. The Palace was considered the centre of the Hapsburg Empire and during our audio guided tour we visit the authentically furnished Imperial Apartments, the Sisi Museum and the Silver Collection. This afternoon we enjoy a guided tour at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. In the mid-19th century Franz Joseph commissioned magnificent buildings to be erected along the new circular boulevard, the Ringstrasse, amongst which was the Kunsthistorisches Museum, built to house the Imperial Collections. In this huge and sumptuously decorated building are to be found paintings, mainly the Old Masters from the 15th to the 18th centuries, antiquities, including those of early civilisations, sculptures and decorative arts, coins and medals, and numerous other artefacts. This evening there is an optional classical concert (subject to the concert programme which has not yet been finalised for the 2027 season).
Day 5
This morning we enjoy a guided tour at the Secession Building. Built by Joseph Maria Olbrich in 1897, the Secession Building is an architectural manifesto of the rebel artistic movement spearheaded by Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, and Max Kurzweil. Crowned with a golden leaf globe, it is home to a fine collection of works by pioneering artists that continue to redefine contemporary art. We visit the Albertina this afternoon for a guided tour, a grand Viennese palace that has recently been made the home of a permanent exhibition tracing the progression from Impressionism to Modernism. The artists range from the French masters Monet, Degas and Cézanne, to Picasso and the abstract expressionists, Mark Rothko and Sam Francis. A farewell dinner is included at a carefully selected restaurant close to our hotel this evening.
Day 6
We visit Upper Belvedere Palace this morning, and our guided tour on arrival introduces us to a fine collection of Austrian art dating from the Middle Ages to the present day, including the world’s largest Gustav Klimt collection. We then transfer to Vienna Airport for our direct scheduled flight back to Heathrow.
NB: Please note we reserve the right to alter the above itinerary if required for operational reasons. Given the historic nature of the places visited, a certain degree of walking will be involved, and this holiday may not be suitable for those with mobility problems. Flight details may be subject to change. Price based on twin share. Minimum numbers required. Normal booking conditions apply. This holiday and the flights are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Tailored Travel’s ATOL number is 5605.
Featuring
4* Vienna hotel
Two dinners included
A full programme of included excursions & guided tours
All entrance fees included
Included River Danube cruise on Day 3
Guided tour at every gallery
Scheduled flights from Heathrow to Vienna
Local professional guide
Executive coach in Austria
Audio headsets included on Days 2 to 5
Vienna – guided city tour
Karlskirche
Ruprechtskirche
St Stephen’s Cathedral
Schönbrunn Palace – guided tour
Melk Abbey – guided tour
River Danube cruise
Spanish Riding School – morning exercise session
Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg Palace – audio guided tour
Kunsthistorisches Museum – guided tour
Secession Building – guided tour
Albertina – guided tour
Upper Belvedere Palace – guided tour
Hotel
We stay five nights at the 4* Parkhotel Schönbrunn in Vienna (www.austria-trend.at/en/hotels/parkhotelschonbrunn). Located in close proximity to Hietzing underground station which is seven stops away from Karlsplatz in central Vienna, facilities at the hotel include a restaurant and a bar. All of our allocated Classic Rooms are ensuite and feature television, telephone, and a minibar. A set three course dinner without drinks is included at our hotel on Day 1, and at a carefully selected local restaurant on Day 5. The remaining 3 nights are on a bed and breakfast basis.
Extras
Insurance (including Covid cover) £92
Single room supplement £199
Gratuities
Dinners on Days 2, 3 & 4
Lunches
Optional concert on Day 4
Donations at any churches or cathedrals visited
