The IRT Society's Best-Loved Railway Journeys 2018 - 85

Golden Eagle Danube Express:
New Year's in Vienna
The Tour

group Viennese waltz lesson. No
experience necessary! Tonight,
enjoy New Year's Eve gala dinner inside Vienna's classic City
Hall, serenaded by renowned
Wiener Hofball Orchestra. Enjoy
music and waltzing 'til midnight,
then admire stunning fireworks
display from city hall's balcony.

The ITInerary

Day 5: New Year's Day
In Vienna
Happy New Year! This morning clip-clop via horse-drawn
carriage, where you'll enjoy a
celebratory brunch at the Palais
Coburg, a stunning former
Hapsburg Palace. Afterwards,
you have three choices: Hear
live broadcast of Vienna Philharmonic's iconic New Year's concert. Visit Schönbrunn Palace to
see city's famous festive market.
Tour 12th century Heiligenkreuz
monastery grounds, and hear
monks' haunting chants. Tonight, enjoy your dinner on the
train as we travel into the Czech
Republic.

Travel Budapest-Vienna-Prague
across Central European winter
landscapes on this fairytale
luxury rail tour. Our New Year's
departure offers sumptuous
gala dinners, music, dancing,
fireworks and exclusive regional
celebrations.

Golden Eagle

Day 1: Budapest
Arriving Budapest, you're met
and transferred to gorgeous,
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham
Palace for two-night stay. Enjoy
welcome dinner in this elegant,
Art Nouveau landmark.
Day 2: Budapest
Today's city tour includes Royal
Palace, St. Mathias Church and
panoramic view of the city from
Gellert Hill. Also: Citadel, Opera
House, St. Stephen's Cathedral,
Heroes' Square and City Park.
Afterwards, free time to visit
Christmas markets, visit a café
or enjoy one of the city's famed
thermal baths.
Day 3: Keszthely, Hungary
Board the luxurious Golden
Eagle Danube Express. First stop:
Keszthely, perched at the very
western end of Lake Balaton
in stunning Balaton Uplands
National Park. Tour Festetics
Palace, a lavish baroque home,
then chug into Austria overnight by train.
Day 4: New Year's Eve
In Graz & Vienna
Arrive Graz. Short walking tour
of city's renaissance courtyards
and provincial baroque palaces.
Next, choose to relax, or opt for
a pumpkin seed oil tasting, with
traditional, locally made bread
and wine. After a gourmet
lunch on the train, continue to
Vienna. This afternoon, opt in,
if you like, for an atmospheric

Day 6: Cesky Krumlov &
Prague, Czech Republic
Today, tour stunning UNESCO
World Heritage town of Cesky
Krumlov. Then free time to explore or shop. After scenic lunch
on train, arrive Prague, one of
Europe's most well- preserved
cities. See Old Town Square,
Astronomical Clock, historic
14th century Charles Bridge and
Jewish Quarter. Later, return
to train to prepare for opera
performance at Prague's Karlin
Music Theatre.
Day 7: Prague, Czech Republic
Start the day with vintage tram
ride through city and up the hill
to Prague Castle and gothic St.
Vitus Cathedral, architectural
gems overlooking the city and
river. Enjoy lunch as you view
this 'City of a Hundred Spires.'

This afternoon, enjoy free
time to shop, relax or take in
more iconic city sites, all within
walking distance of the station.
Enjoy dinner in the diner as we
journey back into Hungary.
Day 8: Kosice, Slovakia
Today, tour Kosice, one of
Central Europe's lesser-known
cities. Highlights include vast
oval-shaped central square,
filled with relics from 15th and
16th century. Then enjoy final
lunch on board before arriving
Budapest. Check back into Four
Seasons Gresham Palace before
celebratory farewell dinner.
Day 9: Budapest, Hungary
After breakfast, transfer to
airport. Or extend your trip: Our
concierge service can secure
tickets for opera and ballet
evenings, unique "Children's
Railway" or great Hungarian
Railway Museum.

The hIghlIghTs

* Fully inclusive meals, drinks,
gratuities, touring and transfers
* Travel through Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia,
five nights on Danube Express
* Three nights at Four Seasons
Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest
* City tours: Budapest, Keszthely,
Graz, Vienna, Prague and Kosice
* Budapest: Christmas markets,
historic Great Market Hall with
delicious foods and wines,
famous thermal baths
* Graz: free time, or choose to
enjoy pumpkin seed oil-tasting,

Zvonimir Atletić / Alamy Stock Photo

with traditional bread and wine
* New Year's Eve in Vienna,
including group Viennese waltz
lesson and special gala dinner
served inside the beautiful City
Hall, Rathaus Vienna, accompanying a performance by
the renowned Wiener Hofball
Orchestra
* Watch Vienna's New Year's Eve
fireworks from City Hall balcony
* Watch Vienna's New Year's Eve
fireworks from train, or join the
festivities on your own in town
aboard Danube Express
* Celebratory New Year's Day
brunch at Vienna's former Hapsburg palace, the Palais Coburg,
reached by horse-drawn carriage
* Tour Vienna's 12th-century Heiligenkreuz monastery; special
concert by Heiligenkreuz monks
* Opera at Karlin Music Theatre

Visit our website for dates, prices,FOR
moreDATES,
tours * www
PRICES:
.irtsociety.com
WWW.IRTSOCIETY.COM
* (800) 478-4881, u.s. &*canada;
(800) (502)
478-4881
897-1725,*elsewhere
TOURDESK@IRTSOCIETY.COM
* tourdesk@irtsociety.com

|| 85

https://www.irtsociety.com/journey/danube-express-new-years-vienna/

The IRT Society's Best-Loved Railway Journeys 2018

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