-Day 1 Overnight Flight to Germany (Munich)
Day 2 Guten Tag Berlin
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Berlin City WalkAlexanderplatz, Bebelplatz, Hackesche Höfe, Nikolai Quarter, Museum Island
Day 3 Berlin landmarks
The Story of Berlin visit
Details: Berlin guided sightseeing tour
Join a professional, licensed tour guide as you discover one of the most historical cities in Germany. Although nothing remains of the mortar and cement-block barrier between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall (built in 1961; destroyed in 1989) is still a main “site” in Berlin. View the well-known Brandenburg Gate, once a main gate hidden behind a 10-foot barrier and now known for celebratory dancing on its flat top during the reunification. Travel to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the most famous border crossing point. Checkpoint Charlie, once a wooden guard hut, was the most (in)famous border-crossing point between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. All that remains of the checkpoint itself is a skeletal watchtower and a memorial of attempted escapees. Follow your guide as they lead you through the museum’s accounts of the most ingenious of these escape attempts— even a few by hot air balloon.
Details: DDR Museum visit
The interactive DDR Museum gives you a chance to experience what life was like in Communist-controlled East Berlin. Focusing on the material history of how objects inflected an East Berliner’s daily life, the museum houses many of the most commonly-used objects. Explore a typical residential apartment, a standard-issue East Berlin automobile, and a hidden ‘bugging’ station that gives visitors a sense of what it must have been like for so many common citizens ‘under surveillance’.
Day 4 Berlin--Dresden
Travel to Dresden via Leipzig
Museum of Military History visit
Details: Leipzig guided sightseeing tour
Take a guided sightseeing tour of Leipzig, and admire the Renaissance and Baroque-era architecture along the way. Visit Augustus Square, one of the largest squares in Europe; the 16th-century Old Town Hall; and St. Thomas Church, where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a music director for 27 years and where his tomb currently resides.
Day 5 Dresden--Nuremberg
Travel to Nuremberg
Details: Dresden guided sightseeing tour
Take a guided sightseeing tour of Dresden, a town that was mostly levelled during Allied air raids in 1945. See Frauenkirche, the Lutheran church that was destroyed during the air raids but now stands as a symbol of unity. Then, walk along Brühlsche Terrasse, or “The Balcony of Europe,” to admire the architecture and do some people-watching, and see the incredible Fürstenzug, a 19th-century mural made up entirely of porcelain tiles.
Details: Furstenzug mural
The Fürstenzug in Dresden, Germany, is a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony. It was originally painted between 1871 and 1876 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Wettin Dynasty, Saxony's ruling family.
Details: Nuremberg city walk
Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is a vibrant Bavarian city with a visible history of almost 1,000 years. In the Middle Ages it was the preferred residence of German emperors. It later became burdened with the legacy of the Nazis, but although it was bombed to rubble during World War II, the medieval city center has undergone significant reconstruction, using the original stone.
Day 6 Nuremberg
Nazi Party Rally Grounds visit
Documentation Centre visit
Details: War Crimes Trial Museum visit
Post-World War II, Nazi leaders were forced to answer for their crimes before the International Military Tribunal in Courthouse 600. Sit in the courtroom where history was rewritten at the Palace of Justice, then learn more about the Nuremburg Trials and how they influenced international criminal law. *Courtroom 600 is still an active courtroom and can only be viewed on days when court is not in session.
Day 7 Nuremberg--Munich
Travel to Munich
Details: Dachau Concentration Camp & Memorial visit
A grim glimpse into the past, Dachau was the first of Nazi Germany’s camps and a model for the 3,000 work and concentration camps to come. A chilling memorial to the 206,000 prisoners who were interned in the camp from 1933 to 1945, the museum examines pre-1930 anti-Semitism, the rise of the Nazi party, and the documented lives of prisoners.
Details: Bavarian bratwurst dinner
Enjoy Bavarian- or Berlin-style sausage with traditional sides, made from veal and pork back bacon (Bavarian-style), or fried pork (Berlin style).
Day 8 Munich landmarks
Details: Munich guided sightseeing tour
Join a professional licensed tour guide for a whirlwind look at Munich. Founded in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Munich now roars with the hustle and bustle of modern German life. As you pass by Marienplatz (named after the square’s gilded Virgin Mary and Child statue), mechanical knights joust and coopers dance to the folk-music chimes of the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel. The twin onion-bulb towers of the Frauenkirche Cathedral frame this whimsical display, while the scents, sounds and colors of the nearby food market attempt to draw your attention elsewhere. Resist temptation and continue on to Olympiapark, a new suburb built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Pass by several museums, such as the BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek (home to Munich’s most precious art collections), and the Deutsches Museum of science and technology.
Details: Olympic site of 1972
Visit Olympia Park, site of the 1972 Olympics. Buildings include the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, and the Aquatic Center. Many cultural events are still held at Olympia Park.
Details: Marienplatz
Discover the area of Munich around Marienplatz, which is dedicated to the patron of the city. See the Neues Rathaus and observe the Glockenspiel on its facade. This is the fourth largest chiming clock in Europe, and stages an elaborate performance twice a day.
Day 9 Start extension to Vienna
Travel to Vienna via Berchtesgaden
Details: Eagle's Nest Excursion (May-September only)
Hike uphill to the Kehlsteinhaus, or Eagle's Nest, near the border of Austria and Germany. This alpine Chalet was constructed as a 50th birthday present to Adolf Hitler and today functions as a restaurant and opulent reminder of the region's dark past. Please note that due to weather conditions the site is not accessible during the winter and spring months. Available May through September only.
Day 10 Vienna landmarks
Jewish Museum visit
Wiener Schnitzel dinner
Details: Vienna guided sightseeing tour
Join a professional licensed tour guide on a sightseeing adventure around Vienna, the city of brilliant musicians, Baroque art and architecture, and velvet-clad coffeehouses. Along your journey, you’ll sense the power and decadence of the city’s early ruling family, the almighty Habsburgs. Wander down the infamous Ringstraße, the series of boulevards circling the city, commissioned by Emperor Franz Josef in 1857. Pass the world-famous Opera House and the 450-foot Gothic St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Vienna’s most adored symbol. Encounter the Neoclassical Parliament, where the Austrian National and Federal Councils congregate. See the Habsburgs' winter retreat at the Hofburg (Imperial Palace). Inside lies the Imperial Treasury, which includes religious relics like the nails from the Crucifixion and the thorns from Christ’s crown. End the adventure with a visit to Schönbrunn Palace, where the Habsburg’s ruled until 1918 and six-year-old Mozart serenaded Marie Antoinette.
Details: Schönbrunn Palace visit
Stop just outside the city center for a visit to the 1,441-room Schönbrunn Palace, which was designed for the Habsburgs
before becoming the imperial summer palace during the 40-year reign of Maria Theresa. It was the scene of great
aristocratic events during the Congress of Vienna, including a performance by a 6-year-old Mozart.
Details: St. Stephen’s Cathedral visit
Visit St. Stephen's Cathedral, one of the greatest Gothic structures in Europe. St. Stephen’s is rich in woodcarvings, altars, sculptures, and paintings. One of the paintings shows the scene of the double marriage between the Habsburg, Bohemian, and Hungarian dynasties in 1515 that laid the foundation of the Austrian Empire.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 7 overnight stays (9 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional tour director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Tour Diary™
- Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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