PAST TOURS
Prague, Vienna and Budapest Art/Design Tour
12 days and 10 nights • March 2005
|
| Day 1 |
- Departure from New York City
Tale Of Three Cities
|
| Day 2 |
- Arrival in Prague
- Private group transfers from Prague airport to our hotel:
Four Seasons Hotel Prague
Located in the medieval center of Prague, this renovated landmark building is on the banks of the Vltava River, and reminiscent of the romanticism of the Golden Age of Prague. Close to the Charles Bridge.
- Our trip begins with a private reception and tour of Nelahozeves Palace, about 40 minutes from Prague. The Lobkowicz family, former princes of the Holy Roman Empire and recently from Boston, MA, reclaimed the estate in 1989. The family castle contains a superb art collection.
- Welcome Dinner at a traditional, local restaurant in Prague
- Staying at the Four Seasons Hotel Prague for four nights
Prague
|
| Day 3 |
- Prague
- Breakfast included
- Our full day of sightseeing will include the Old Town (Stare Mesto) with its famous medieval architecture, with emphasis on the Hradcany area. A visit to the Prague Castle is included. Afterwards we will visit the Jewish quarter.
- Lunch included
- Dinner on own
- Evening free - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
Prague Castle
|
| Day 4 |
- Prague
- Breakfast included
- In the morning we will visit the world’s first Mucha Museum dedicated to the Art Nouveau artist, Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) who is most widely known for his Sara Bernhardt posters of fin-de-siecle Paris. The museum is housed in the Baroque Kaunicky Palace in the heart of Prague.
- Lunch on own
- Afternoon free
-or-
For those who are interested, the optional afternoon tour will take us about one hour away from Prague to Terezin (Teresienstadt) Concentration camp. Formerly an 18thc fortress that was converted by the Nazis into a transit / concentration camp which housed mostly artists, writers and intellectuals. The Nazis modeled this camp as an idyllic city to protect the Jews and promote cultural events such as two symphony orchestras, philosophical lectures, art classes and so forth. (Price pending)
- Dinner on own
- Evening free - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
Prague Old Town Square
|
| Day 5 |
- Prague
- Breakfast included
- In the morning we will visit the Museum of Decorative Arts with a specially guided tour. The turn of the century building in neo-Renaissance style is a work of art in itself. Exhibitions only display a small fraction of the museum’s collection of furniture, tapestries, ceramics, clocks, books, and Bohemian glass. We continue our tour with Lesser Town (Mala Strana) located on the slops of Prague Castle. An added visit to Villa Muller, Adolf Loos’ architectural gem (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site) is pending.
- Lunch included
- Dinner on own
- Evening free - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
Prague Evening
|
| Day 6 |
- Prague to Vienna
- Breakfast included
- Travel to Vienna by private motorcoach. Our trip will take about 4 to 5 hours through Czech countryside to Austria. We hope to include Brno and another UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, Villa Turendaht, designed by the archited Mies van der Rohe.
- Lunch included.
- Afternoon arrival at hotel:
Hotel Imperial
A luxury hotel, formerly the Wuertemberg Palace built in 1873 by Emperor Kaiser Franz Joseph I. Typical Viennese style in a centralized location near the State Opera House and St. Stephan’s Cathedral. Remainder of afternoon free to explore the MAK (new museum quarter) close to our hotel
- Dinner on own
- Evening free - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
- Staying at the Hotel Imperial for three nights
Vienna Opera House
|
| Day 7 |
- Vienna
- Breakfast included
- Our grand city tour emphasizing Vienna Secession (Art Nouveau) architecture and design will include the major sights in the historic city center, Schonbrunn Summer Palace and St. Stephan’s Cathedral. A prate visit has been planned for Wittmann Mobelwerkstatten, designers and producers of hand crafted, high quality furniture, located in central Vienna. A showroom for Josef Hoffman’s Wiener Werkstatten cubist creations. If time permits, we will include the Silberkammer Museum in the Hofburg Palace.
- Lunch included
- Afternoon free
-or-
Spend time exploring this historic city or close to the hotel, visit the world renowned Kunsthistorisches Museum with its extensive collection which includes the famous Cellini salt cellar. As part of the Museum Quarter (MAK) you can also see the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts with its extensive collection of Art Nouveau and Wiener Werkstatte creations. The Leopold Museum houses a collection of modern Austrian paintings by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka as well as Viennese furniture and tableware from the 20th Century.
- Dinner on own
- Evening free - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
Vienna Schonbrunn Palace
|
| Day 8 |
- Vienna
- Breakfast included
- A specialist / artist guide will take us through the Kunsthaus Wien (Hundertwasserhaus) this morning. Similar to Gaudi, artist / architect Friedenreich Hundertwasser created artworks and architectural buildings based on organic themes and bright colors. Our next stop will be Gasometer
- formerly 4 gas tanks built in 1896, and now an example of architectural urban planning.
- Lunch included
- Dinner included in local restaurant.
Budapest Gresham Palace
|
| Day 9 |
- Vienna to Budapest
- Breakfast included
- Travel by private motorcoach. Our trip will take about 2 to 3 hours through the Austrian countryside to Hungary. Late morning arrival at hotel:
-
- Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
Spanning the Danube River at the foot of the famous Chain Bridge, and acclaimed as one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Central Europe. Considered one of Hungary’s historic landmark buildings.
- Lunch not included
- Our afternoon begins with a half day city tour of Buda (on the western bank of the Danube) and Pest (on the eastern bank of the Danube). Major sights and architectural highlights will include Liszt Ference, Wekerle Hausing and Museum of Applied Arts.
- Welcome reception and tour of hotel
- Dinner at an anchored boat on the Danube River included
- Staying at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel for three nights
Budapest Chain Bridge
|
| Day 10 |
- Budapest
- Breakfast included
- We start our day at the historic Mai Mano Café where we will hear a lecture on the Hungarian Secession (Art Nouveau) and history of Budapest. We will then visit the National Gallery in the Buda Castle. After the guided tour, we can visit a restorer workshop.
- Lunch not included
- Afternoon free
-or-
Discover the enchanted world of the Esceri Flea Market - a treasure trove for collectors and browsers
-or-
Visit a famous spa / thermal baths close to the hotel
-or-
Visit the Museum of Applied Arts
- Dinner on own
- Evening - opera, ballet or symphony according to schedule (optional)
Budapest Parliament
|
| Day 11 |
- Budapest
- Breakfast included
- A half day trip to Szentendre, a quaint and artistic Rococo town well known for its avant-garde artists and then a visit to Kovacs Margit Ceramics Museum.
- Lunch not included
- Afternoon free
- Farewell Dinner with folkloric show
Budapest Matthias Church
|
| Day 12 |
- Budapest
- Breakfast included
- Our final morning in Hungary is free for last minute exploration
- Lunch not included
- Private transfers to airport for return to USA
|
