Berlin to Budapest

9 Days /8 Nights
1 night Transatlantic Flight,

2 nights Berlin, 2 nights Prague,

1 night Bratislava, 2 nights Budapest
8 Breakfasts, 8 Dinners

Day 1: DEPARTURE CITY - BERLIN

Overnight flight to Berlin.
 

Day 2: BERLIN

Welcome to Berlin, the capital Germany. After check-in there's time to relax and unwind before joining your Tour Director on an introductory walking tour of the city. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.
 

Day 3: BERLIN

Breakfast. Our morning sightseeing tour with a local guide features  a stroll along the famous Unter den Linden boulevard, passing the University and Opera House and the War Memorial (Neue Wache) and State Library, where Albert Einstein once worked. You'll see where the 1920s Cabaret Mile, Friedrichstrasse, once stood and how this area is being reinvented as Berlin's luxury shopping street. To find out how public transport worked in a divided city, you'll visit a Ghost Station. After walking through the Brandenburg Gate and seeing the Reichstag (Parliament) with its famous new dome, you'll take a walk past the new Holocaust Memorial and visit the site of Hitler's bunker. You'll see the Berlin Wall and follow the 'death strip' to Checkpoint Charlie. While you walk, your guide will explain how the Wall was built, as well as the momentous events of its fall in 1989. At the end of the Tour visit the site where Checkpoint Charlie once guarded the border between East and West Germany, you’ll visit a museum devoted to the era of the Berlin Wall. Inspect the “escape cars” once used to cross the border. See if you can find the secret compartment where escapees hid. Then view a photo exhibit that evocatively portrays the 30-year separation of East and West Germany, reunified in 1989. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 4: BERLIN - DRESDEN - PRAGUE

Following breakfast, we will travel to Dresden for a morning visit. Enjoy one of the loveliest cities of central Europe – the “Florence on the Elbe” as it is known. Visit some of its well-known landmarks, including the beautifully restored Frauenkirche, the Semper Opera House, Green Vault, the Baroque Zwinger Palace and many more. Free time. We then continue to Prague where will arrive in the late afternoon. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.
 

Day 5: PRAGUE

After breakfast we enjoy a guided tour that begins at the celebrated Prague Castle. In the castle’s courtyard, you’ll visit the magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral. You’ll also stroll through the quaint, cobbled streets of the Mala Strana, the backdrop for Milos Forman’s Amadeus. Cross the Charles Bridge, adorned with 30 beautiful baroque statues, to the 13th-century Old Town (Stare Mesto). Here, you’ll see Market Square, famous for its 15th-century astronomical clock. After some free time, our local guide will take us on an afternoon tour of Prague's Jewish history, as you experience the only Central European Jewish town-quarter to survive the holocaust. With over a thousand years of history, the Prague Jewish Community is filled with many sites that still testify to its rich past as one of the major European centers of Jewish life. You're walking tour will take you through the Old Jewish Cemetery. You'll also visit some of the six surviving synagogues and Kafka's house before walking through Maiselova Street to the Old Tour Square. Visit the Jewish Museum, one of the best of it's kind in Europe and the Old Jewish Cemetery, in which 12,000 tombstones remain. Afternoon Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 6: PRAGUE - BRATISLAVA

This morning after breakfast we make our way to Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia. Up on arrival in the late morning we have some free time after we check in at the Hotel.   In the afternoon we enjoy a walking tour where we will visit the Old Town, St. Martin's Cathedral, Michael's Gate Tower, Central Europe's oldest university Academia Istropolitana building, Main Square, Primatial Palace, churches, palaces of famous nobility and the Slovak National Theatre. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 7: BRATISLAVA - BUDAPEST

Breakfast. Today we continue our journey and reach Budapest. Up on arrival we check in at the Hotel and enjoy some free time. In the afternoon join your Tour Director on a walking tour past the Parliament and to the Fishermen’s Bastion for a wonderful panoramic view of Hungary’s capital. Hungary played a key role in the democratization of Eastern Europe. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.

Day 8: BUDAPEST

After breakfast begin your guided tour of Budapest at Heroes’ Square, where you will see the Millenary Monument and statues of famous Hungarian personalities. Drive down Andrassy Boulevard, past the State Opera House to the Hungarian Parliament, modeled on London’s Houses of Parliament. Step in-side St. Stephen’s Basilica, named in honour of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary. Continue to Castle Hill for a look at the Royal Palace, former home of the Hungarian monarchs. Visit the 13th-century Matthias Church, famous as the site of several coronations and for its colourful tiled roof. Your tour ends with a stop on Gellért Hill, from where you can take in some of the best views of the city.  Afternoon free time. This evening enjoy a cruise along the historic Danube River. Depart from the center of Budapest and absorb the enchanting history of this legendary area. Hear about its Hungarian past, including its kings, queens, poets and inventors. Top off your memorable evening listening to the Blue Danube Waltz as you return to port. Dinner and Overnight at the Hotel.
 

Day 9: DEPARTURE

Transfer to the airport for your flight home.