Austria: Celebrating Mozart







This 7 night tour to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth will take your breath away!  With an abbundance of activities including museum tours and performances, this vacation is a once in a lifetime experience.  



Join us as we journey to Salzburg and Vienna, the cities most prominently associated with Mozart, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth.  With the composer as our spiritual guide, we begin with three days in the pristine mountain setting of Salzburg, where we visit sites associated with Mozart and attend an exciting musical performance of his music.  En route to Vienna we visit the extravagant Abbey of St. Florian.  We spend four days in Vienna where the well preserved baroque architecture sets the city apart from other European cities and we tour the Ringstrasse, Parliament Building, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg, Karlkirche, Kartnerstrasse and Rathuaus.  Plus we cruise the Danube and take a side trip to the Imperial palace of Schloss Schönbrunn.  Along the way we attend four performances, including the Vienna State Opera House where we also we tour backstage and attend a performance.  We have tickets for a second performance by the Vienna Imperial Orchestra.      
 






1.  Thursday, October 19     Departure
We depart JFK at 5:00pm on Lufthansa Airlines, and fly non-stop to Frankfurt.  Dinner and breakfast served on board.



2.  Friday, October 20     Salzburg
We arrive in Frankfurt and connect to our flight which arrives at 9:25am.  The  baroque city of Salzburg has a dramatic, pristine mountain backdrop.  This impressive setting was the background for movie The Sound of Music.  Salzburg, a city of 17th- and 18th-century houses, is also internationally known for its architectural grandeur. Ever since the end of World War II, Salzburg has had a strong American connection. While the Soviets occupied a section of Vienna and Lower Austria, Salzburg was a part of the American zone, cementing its friendship with the United States. After lunch we have an orientation walking tour before we check into the intimate four star Hotel Neutor, a classic city hotel with a pleasant stylistic mix of a Salzburg country house with a modern interior. A few minutes' walk will take you to all the cultural sights, and the old part of the city, with its splendid squares, cafés, restaurants, galleries and innumerable shops. A welcome dinner is included tonight. www.s-hotels.com  (L/D)



3.  Saturday, October 21     Salzburg
This morning we visit the Mozart-Wohnhaus, occupied by young Mozart and his family in the late 18th century. The house, located in an old burgher’s house on Salzburg’s most famous street the "Getreidegasse", contains genuine musical instruments, sheet music and other memorabilia used by the great composer.  We see the Salzburg Cathedral, the first deliberately Italian-style church to be built north of the Alps.  We take a guided tour of the opulent Salzburg Residenz, the seat of the Salzburg prince-archbishops after they no longer needed the protection of the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The child prodigy Mozart often performed here in the Conference Room. In 1867, Emperor Franz Josef received Napoleon III here. We tour the richly decorated state rooms and the art gallery where European paintings from the Dutch, French, Italian, Austrian baroque, and Austrian 19th-century schools are exhibited. We complete the morning with a private organ concert at the Residenz.  Lunch is included.  Tonight we have tickets for a festive evening concert featuring Mozart's most beautiful and well-known divertimenti and excerpts of symphonies as well as overtures and aria from his most popular operas. The concerts will be performed by the famous Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists as well as selected other soloists.   (B/L)



4.  Sunday, October 22     Salzburg
This morning we take a “Sound of Music tour”  to  see the breathtaking background and several of the picturesque sights from the classic movie.  We visit the  beautiful seventeenth century Hellbrunn Palace, its spacious park and its unique Wasserspiele (trick fountains). Water was the central theme in the palace's design and the numerous sources in Hellbrunn Mountain give the estate vibrancy. Hidden in the shade of bushes and trees or jetting out from unexpected hiding places, the world-famous Wasserspiele have been the main attraction  for almost 400 years. The afternoon is free in Salzburg. Why not travel through the Old Town by 'Fiaker' horse cab?  (B)



5.  Monday, October 23     Salzburg, Linz, St Florian, Vienna
In the morning we check out of the hotel and drive to Vienna, stopping near Linz to see the Abbey of St. Florian, the largest in Upper Austria, which is an outstanding example of Baroque architecture. The great 19th-century Austrian composer, Anton Bruckner became the organist at St. Florian and composed many of his masterpieces here. Although he went on to greater fame in Vienna, he was granted his wish and is buried at the abbey church underneath the organ he loved so dearly.  After lunch enroute, we arrive in Vienna, the city of music, cafes, waltzes, parks, pastries, and architectural grandeur. We spend four nights at the Hotel City Central.  www.schick-hotels.com  Featured in Vienna's first hotel guide in 1798, the hotel was rebuilt just after the turn of the century, finally re-opening as the "Central Hotel" in 1921. After a comprehensive renovation in 1990, the hotel is now a modern, 4-star hotel. The hotel's elegance and lavish architecture will impress you from the moment you enter the bright marble reception hall. Each morning, a varied breakfast buffet awaits you in the climate-controlled Winter Garden with its pyramid skylight. Many sights and famous shopping areas and the underground are just a short walk from the hotel. (B/L)



6.  Tuesday, October 24     Vienna
Music, art, literature, architecture, and food are part of Vienna's allure and we sample it all during our stay. We see historical Vienna, including the Ringstasse, a wide, tree-lined boulevard. Many important sights line this ring road - including the Stadt Park with its Strauss monument, and the imposing Rathaus (City Hall).  We visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral, inextricably entwined with Viennese and Austrian history. Mourners attended Mozart's "pauper's funeral" here in 1791, and Napoleon posted his farewell edict on the door in 1805. We see the excavations that have recreated a center of Jewish culture on the Judenplatz, a place of remembrance unique in Europe and visit the Jewish Museum, which is housed in an old aristocratic mansion.  The historical exhibition depicts important events in the history of the Vienna Jewish community on 21 holograms using state-of-the-art museum technology.  We continue to the 17th-century house, called the House of Figaro, where Mozart composed his opera The Marriage of Figaro. The composer resided here from 1784 to 1787, for a relatively happy period in what was otherwise a rather tragic life. It was here that he often played chamber-music concerts with Haydn. Tonight we have tickets to a delightful musical kaleidoscope of world-famous waltzes, polkas and marches of Austrian masters whose music enchanted the world.    The "Vienna Imperial Orchestra" is accompanied by Vienna opera singers and dancers together with a multi-media show. The musicians are members of the famous orchestras Wiener Philharmoniker; Wiener Symphoniker; Wiener Staatsopern Orchester; Orchester der Wiener Volksoper and Radio Symphonieorchester Wien. (B/L)



7.  Wednesday, October 25     Vienna
Today we take a cruise on the Danube River.  In the afternoon we visit the Schonbrunn Palace, the Imperial summer palace during Maria Theresa's 40-year reign. It was the scene of great ceremonial balls, lavish banquets, and fabulous receptions held during the Congress of Vienna. At the age of 6, Mozart performed in the Hall of Mirrors before Maria Theresa and her court. The 1,441-room Schönbrunn Palace was designed for the Habsburgs.  We see a selection of state rooms, in the apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, as well as the magnificent ceremonial rooms in the central part of the palace. After dinner on own we see a performance of  the famous marionette theatre on the palace grounds. This is a professional production with elaborate puppets and stage settings, ensuring an enjoyable  evening. (B)



8.  Thursday, October 26     Vienna
Today is free.  Why not visit one of Vienna’s great museums?  Superb displays, in classic settings, such as the Hofburg Palace and the Belvedere Palaces, and great museums such as the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Fine Arts) and the recently redeveloped Museumsquartier culture complex  await you. Tonight we have tickets for a performance at the famous Vienna State Opera, preceded by our farewell dinner.   (B/D)



9.  Friday, October 26     Return Flight
You have free time this morning for some last minute touring or shopping before we drive to the airport. We depart at 2:50pm on Lufthansa Airlines to Frankfurt where we connect to our non-stop flight which arrives JFK at 7:10pm.return to NYC or EWR.  (B)





This engaging experience includes:

  • Round trip airfare on Lufthansa (JFK/Salburg/Vienna/JFK)
  • 7 nights accommodations in hotels in Salzburg and Vienna based on double occupancy and with private facilities
  • Daily breakfast, 4 lunches, 2 dinners
  • English speaking guide throughout the program
  • Private bus for all transfers according to the itinerary
  • Local guides for half day tours in Salzburg and Vienna
  • Tours of Mozart Residence and birthplace, Hohensalzburg , Salzburg Residenz, St Florian Abbey, Vienna State Opera, Schonbrunn Palace
  • Danube cruise
PROGRAM PRICES  
Per person (double occupancy) from New York: $3,199.00  
Single Supplement: for 7 nights: $425.00  
Air Taxes: $300.00  (estimated)