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Prices listed are per person:
Shared Room: $7798
Private Room: $9398
Physical Challenge
Highlights
Explore Vienna’s famous Christkindlmarkt – The largest Christmas market in Austria with over 150 stalls of food, drinks, and Christmas gifts.
Enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides and ice skating at both the Viennese Emperor’s Palace or Bavaria’s Baroque Palace under a canopy of Christmas decorations and festive music.
Snack at Munich’s giant Viktualienmarkt – Germany’s largest Christmastime farmer’s market with acres of edible treats, music, and Christmas gifts from all across Bavaria.
Lose yourself in Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt – the oldest Christmas market in all of Germany with 250+ stalls of regional food, drinks, holiday music, and plentiful Christmas gifts.
Discover Nuremberg’s castle atop the sparkling city, decorated for Christmas and offering a variety of Christmas activities, such as concerts and tours.
Immerse yourself in the largest Christmas market in France, located in Strasbourg’s city center with over 300 stalls of French and European Christmas fare, drinks, music, and varied Christmas gifts.
Overview
Christmas markets are street markets associated with the celebration of Christmas and are usually held during the four Weeks of Advent. Originating in Germany, they have spread all over Europe, with many towns in Germany, France, and Switzerland holding Christmas markets in the town square. These markets feature open-air stalls hawking regional food specialties, Christmas drinks, and seasonal products and gifts, accompanied by singing and dancing. Vienna’s December Market is a forerunner of the modern Christmas market and dates back to 1298.
Itinerary
Map:
Day 1: Arrival in Vienna
Welcome to Vienna! Famous for its classical music and opera, Vienna is home to spectacular architecture and rich cultural offerings with an undeniable charm. The area is brimming with ornate palaces, traditional coffee houses, art galleries, and museums. The city is the jewel in Austria’s crown, sensationally decorated during Christmas time. Tonight we will enjoy our Welcome Dinner.
Day 2: Markets and Mozart/Strauss Concert
Enjoy a leisurely day, visiting over 150 Christmas market stalls, eating, listening to music, and getting lost in the joy. This evening we will enjoy dinner and a Mozart/Strauss concert at Kursalon.
Day 3: Vienna
Today we will enjoy a visit to Schonbrunn Palace with an audio guide (Imperial audio ticket: 22 rooms, duration approx. 35 mins) + Schonbrunn Park. Afterwards we will enjoy the palace Gloriette, the tea house above the palace for lunch.
Afterward, the rest of the day will be at our leisure to explore the Weihnachtdorf Stephansplatz Christmas Market near the hotel.
Day 4: Munich via train
This morning we will enjoy our comfortable, 4 hours direct scenic train journey from the capital of Austria to the capital of Bavaria via first class. During our ride, you will enjoy the Austrian mountain scenery passing snowcapped mountains while sipping coffee and enjoying lunch on board.
Munich is home to some of Europe’s greatest cultural treasures, packed with lovely sights, museums, and endless steins of beer. In the weeks before Christmas, Munich pulls out all the stops. Generally, it’s cold enough to snow, so the roofs of all the fabulous buildings and churches are topped with a glittering cap. In the morning, icicles drip from gutters and tree branches and ice roses cover the windows. Munich opens her jewelry box and pulls out the best Christmas decorations to spread lavishly all over the city. Huge stars, angels, and Christmas trees decorate streets and shop windows, and you can enjoy over 20 Christmas markets.
We will have an afternoon city walking tour and then this evening, after dinner, enjoy the famous Hotel Deutsche Eiche. Including complimentary access to the biggest gay sauna in Munich!
Day 5: Munich – Neuschwanstein Castle
After breakfast, we will head out for a half day tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill of the foothills of the Alps in the very south of Germany. This afternoon will be at your leisure and then we will meet up this evening for dinner.
Day 6: Nuremberg
This morning we will visit one of the many museums in Munich and have a leisurely morning. Then this afternoon, we will take a 1-hour high-speed train to visit Nuremberg for the afternoon/evening. The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt is one of the oldest and most famous Christmas Markets in the world. In the wooden booths of “the little city of wood and cloth” one finds traditional, often handmade Christmas decorations and sweet treats such as gingerbread and Spekulatius almond cookies.
Day 7: Strasbourg
We will head to Strasbourg today via the TGV high-speed train. It is a direct first-class luxury train that will bring you from Munich to Strasbourg in approx. four hours.
Christened the Capital of Christmas by Strasbourg’s deputy mayor in 1992, the French city is home to about a dozen Christmas markets in different squares throughout the city. The most iconic one has been held at the foot of Strasbourg Cathedral since 1570, when the city was part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, making it one of the oldest Christmas markets in Europe. Taking pride of place in the center of a Christmas village festooned with miles of twinkly lights is a 100-feet-tall Nordic pine. Some 300 stalls sell everything from pastries and glühwein to handmade gifts and festive decorations.
Day 8: Strasbourg – Alsace Countryside
After breakfast today, we will jump on a train and head to Colmar and several other picturesque villages of Alsace. We will enjoy lunch along the way before heading back to Strasbourg in the late afternoon.
Day 9: Free Day
Today is a free day to relax and enjoy your last day in Strasbourg. Stroll the markets and/or museums. We will meet up this evening for dinner.
Day 10: Basel, Switzerland
Today, we will head to Switzerland.
Lying on the border of France and Germany, the Swiss city of Basel has three main Christmas markets: the one on Barfüsserplatz in the old town is the largest with a new market next to the cathedral on Münsterplatz and a smaller one on the right bank of the Rhine on Claraplatz. The three are within easy walking distance from each other, linked by beautifully decorated streets, shop windows, and homes. The streets are lined with little wooden chalets hawking crafts, regional products, and food specialties like oozy Swiss raclette and a thin pizza called flammkuchen.
Day 11: Departure from Basel
Today you are free to depart at your convenience. Fly out of the Basel Airport, or there are optional trains to Zurich airport (90 mins)
Price Includes
Price includes: All group ground transportation during the tour; All hotels and accommodations in double occupancy; HE Travel tour director; 10 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 7 dinners; HE Travel provides complimentary Medical & Evacuation Insurance for every US Resident on our group tours who does not have other coverage.
Not included: Airfare to the starting point of the tour and from the end of the tour; Airport transfers; Souvenirs, snacks, admissions, alcohol; Meals and beverages not listed here; Optional activities, as listed; Gratuities for tour director and local guides.
Tour Insurance
We strongly recommend the purchase of Trip Cancellation and Interruption insurance to protect your vacation investment in case of unforeseen circumstances such as flight delay, illness, or injury. Click Here to learn more about our Insurance partner.
Extensions
- What is the physical activity level of this tour?
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Physical Activity Level
For this tour, you should be able to leisurely walk for hours every day.
- Where does the tour start and end?
- The tour starts in Vienna, Austria and ends in Basel, Switzerland.