Central Europe’s cultural treasures make it fertile escorted touring territory. Joanna Booth explores the options
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Vienna, Prague, Budapest: the names alone conjure up a sense of grandeur, glamour and a significant weight of history.
This trinity of Central European cities has an impeccable pedigree of sights on offer, making the region a hotbed for escorted touring; somewhere clients will quickly feel the value of their guide as they tick off palace after castle after church.
Then there’s the Danube, handily flowing slap-bang through a range of picturesque cities and towns creating ideal river cruising itineraries.
EMPIRE STATES
At the heart of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Central Europe was the cradle for much of Western civilisation from the Middle Ages on. The historical riches on offer, particularly in its major cities, are truly stupendous.
Hapsburg royalty made their home in Austria’s capital Vienna, and the Schonbrunn and Hofburg Palaces (the latter with the famous Spanish Riding School of dancing Lipizzaner horses) are on every tourist’s list.
Emperor Franz Josef ordered the building of the Ringstrasse in 1857, and many of the ornate homes still exist along this grand 3.2-mile-long boulevard, along with the neo-renaissance style State Opera and Museum of Fine Arts.
Later, the city became famous for its association with the art nouveau school, and the Belvedere has major works by its figurehead Gustav Klimt. There’s no better way to get an overview of the city than by riding the giant Ferris wheel in Prater park, made famous in 1949 film noir classic The Third Man.
Hungary’s capital is divided by the Danube; Buda looking across at Pest. And there are (at least) two major influences on view, for the city switched between the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires – the latter’s Turkish baths are still in evidence today.
Highlights are handily concentrated on Castle Hill in Buda and downtown Pest, from the Royal Palace and the National Gallery in the former to the Parliament building, St Stephen’s Basilica and the Great Synagogue in the latter.
Further north, Prague sits not on the Danube, but on the Vltava. The city has dominated Bohemia for the last 1,000 years and countless sights survive from many different eras. The hilltop complex of Prague Castle, the curving Charles Bridge, the Old Town Square with the moving figurines of its Astronomical Clock and the Jewish Quarter form a central core of attractions.
Many touring itineraries are built around these three cities. Grand UK’s new eight-day Capitals of Central Europe by Air tour visits Vienna, Budapest, Prague, fellow Czech city Brno, and Bratislava in Slovakia, from £649. Cosmos Tours and Cruises’ 13-day Bohemian Rhapsody visits the big three, and adds a Danube Valley Cruise and a visit to Salzburg (pictured below) from £1,175.
Trafalgar’s clients can see it all on the 17-day Highlights of Eastern Europe, which includes Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and Germany in addition to Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, where in Budapest the brand’s ‘Be My Guest’ experience is dining with a local family of wine producers.
POLE POSITION
“People are really starting to discover the delights of Poland and the Czech Republic,” says Tony Byrne, Great Rail Journeys national sales manager.
New product proves his point. Great Rail Journeys isn’t the only operator with a standalone Poland tour (13 days from £1,995). Cosmos’ eight-day Portrait of Poland starts from £869, and Grand UK’s six-day Images of Poland by Air starts from £499. Specialist operator Baltic Holidays has a comprehensive 14-day The Many Faces of Poland itinerary from £1,567.
Riviera Travel offers four-day escorted short breaks to Krakow in Poland from £419 and to Prague in the Czech Republic from £389, and Newmarket Holidays combines both countries in its seven-day Prague, Krakow & the Tatra Mountains, new for this year and starting from £679. Leger Holidays offers a standalone Czech Republic tour, the eight-night Bohemian Rhapsody, from £699 travelling by coach.
In Poland, itineraries often visit the grand city of Warsaw, pretty Krakow with its well-preserved Old Town, the salt mines of Wieliczka, the oldest operational mines in Europe where clients will see intricately carved underground chambers, and the former Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Czech highlights include Prague, the spa town of Marianske Lazne (Marienbad), and medieval gem Cesky Krumlov.
DANUBE CRUISES
Flowing from its source in Bavaria to the Romanian Black Sea coast, the Danube winds its way through Central Europe providing a great alternative to touring by road. Flowing through or along the borders of 10 countries, it’s navigable by river cruisers from Kelheim in Germany, where it meets the Main-Danube Canal, which opened in 1992.
Itineraries frequently split the river from Budapest, either cruising west through Vienna and the scenic Wachau Valley, stopping at Melk, Passau and Regensburg, and sometimes continuing up the Main-Danube Canal, or east, winding from Budapest through the Balkans, Bulgaria and Romania. Highlights of this section of the river include the cities of Belgrade and Bucharest, the striking Belogradchik Fortress and the narrow Iron Gates gorge with its towering limestone cliffs.
Orbital has introduced European river cruises and has two itineraries on the Danube, one cruising from Vienna up to Melk and then back down to Budapest, the other a round-trip from Budapest visiting Novi Sad, Belgrade, Turnu Severin and the Iron Gates. These start from £1,395 and £1,245 respectively for seven nights’ all-inclusive with flights and transfers.
Riviera Travel’s The Blue Danube itinerary is a round trip from Budapest cruising west, visiting Salzburg by coach, with prices starting from £1,299 this year including flights. For 2015, the cruise will be on the operator’s new ship Jane Austen.
The River Cruise Line has four new Danube itineraries, with Christmas and new year options on Serenity cruising the western end of the river, and in summer a standalone Danube itinerary cruising between Budapest and Passau, and one that combines the Danube with the Rhine.
Cruising the eastern section of the river, Journeys of Distinction is now offering eight-day Historic Danube cruises on AmaCerto, from Budapest to Bucharest from £1,995 including flights.
For those who want to tick off the whole thing, Titan Travel offers a 17-day itinerary cruising the length of the Danube from Passau to the Black Sea and back, from £3,345.
RICHER SOUNDS
The Central European hills are alive with the sound of themed tours, too. Passengers on selected Uniworld Danube cruises – sold exclusively through Titan Travel – will be able to meet and hear performances from Elisabeth von Trapp.
Granddaughter of Maria and Baron von Trapp, whose story inspired movie classic The Sound of Music, Elisabeth will perform songs from the film on 36 summer departures this year.
Guests on the 14-day European Serenade and seven-day Danube Discovery and Prague cruises will be treated to on-board performances, and those on the eight-day Enchanting Danube itinerary will hear Elisabeth perform in the Mirabellgarten in Salzburg, singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ where it was originally filmed. Prices on this cruise start from £1,979 including flights and transfers.
Kirker Holidays has a range of options in Vienna for classical music aficionados including opera weekends and the Grafenegg Music Festival (five nights from £1,996 including three concerts, departing September 3).
For petrol-heads, suggest Solos’ Hungarian Grand Prix discovery tour, a four-day trip that includes Grandstand tickets in the price, from £845 excluding flights, departing July 25.
