This is our daily schedule at a glance. Our tour staff will make daily announcements with specifics and times during the trip. Note that our itinerary may shift due to the weather or to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.

A typical day’s activities begin with a full buffet breakfast. We often have a lecture, then set out around 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. for our day's excursion, armed with rain gear, an extra layer (sweater or wrap), sunscreen, sunglasses, water hat, camera and our comfortable walking shoes. There will be some coach travel, with up to two miles of walking, sometimes over slippery, cobblestoned streets, standing for extended periods of time and perhaps climbing stairs without handrails. We stop along the way to enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, we are off again in the afternoon for an excursion before returning to our hotel. On arrival at our hotel, we have time for a shower before heading out for dinner (on evenings when we have dinner together as a group).

Meals included in the program are indicated next to the hotel name with the following designations:

B = Breakfast            L = Lunch                 D = Dinner                R = Reception

Vienna Itinerary

Friday, April 4 - Depart U.S. ✈ Vienna, Austria 

Fly from your home city to Vienna.

(Meals aloft)

Saturday, April 5 - Vienna

3:00 p.m.          

Check in time at the Grand Hotel Wien.

Luggage can be left with the bell captain if you arrive before your room is ready.

6:30 p.m.          

Gather for a welcome reception in the area next to the Grand Brasserie located on the first (not ground) floor of our hotel. The reception will be followed by a private welcome dinner in the Grand Brasserie.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (R, D)

Sunday, April 6 - Imperial Vienna

Morning:

From 7:00 a.m.

Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor (one floor above the lobby level) of our hotel.

8:30 a.m.
Gather in room #9 on the fourth floor of our hotel for an orientation briefing, followed by our first lecture from Faculty Leader, Bert Patenaude: “Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Art, Architecture, Music, and Design.”

(You will have time to return to your room between the lecture and our departure for the walking tour. Bring your warm clothes, layers, hand sanitizer, and wear comfortable shoes.) 

10:30 a.m.
Depart the hotel for a walking tour of the Innere Stadt, or Inner City. Visit the fascinating Imperial Crypt, primary burial place for Habsburg royalty with its ornate metal sarcophagi.

Afternoon:
Following lunch at a local restaurant, Plachutta, we continue on foot through the Innere Stadt, past the Hofburg, former imperial residence and today the official seat of the Austrian president. Visit Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), seat of the Archbishop of Vienna that is renowned for its elaborate glazed tile roof with its mosaic of the Habsburg dynasty’s double-headed eagle.

4:00 p.m.
Approximate time of return to the hotel.

Evening:

7:15 p.m.

We depart the hotel to enjoy dinner at local restaurant, Martinelli, this evening. (NOTE: This is slightly later than we originally planned. Enjoy the extra downtime!)

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L, D)

Monday, April 7 - Burgenland

Morning:
From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor (one floor above the lobby level) of our hotel.

9:00 a.m.
Depart for a tour by coach that focuses on Vienna during the Habsburg Empire. Drive along the Ringstrasse, the 19th-century avenue that encircles Vienna’s Old City, passing some of the city’s most iconic buildings, lovely parks and private mansions.

Next, we drive to the eastern border of Austria to explore the Burgenland region. Hear how the area was given its name and how various nationalities including Austrians, Hungarians, Croats and Serbs call this region home. Stop first in the region’s capital, Eisenstadt, to visit Esterhazy Palace, where Joseph Haydn conducted and composed for almost 40 years.

Afternoon:
12:15 p.m.
Enjoy a typical Burgenland lunch at the Hotel Galantha Eisenstadt, then walk five minutes to the Haydn-Haus Eisenstadt, the composer’s home for 12 years, where we have a private visit and gain further insights into the composer's life.

Next, we drive to the delightful village of Rust on Lake Neusiedl to catch sight of the newly arrived storks settling into the same nests they come back to every year. Wrap up the day at a tasting of superb Burgenland wines before returning to Vienna.

6:30 p.m.
Approximate time we return to the hotel. Dinner is on our own tonight.

NOTE: On Tuesday, April 8, we will visit Steinhof Church. The walk to the church is “long-ish” (400 meters) and uphill. Please let me know if you would like to get a ride to the church instead of walking, and we can provide a car.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L)

Tuesday, April 8 - The Vienna Secession

Morning:
From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor (one floor above the lobby level) of our hotel.

8:50 a.m.
Depart the hotel for our day’s insights into the Vienna Secession. No other art movement represents fin-de-siècle Vienna better than the Jugendstil or Secessionist movement, more commonly known by its French name, art nouveau. Begin at architect Joseph Maria Olbrich’s Secession Building for a private viewing of Klimt’s remarkable Beethoven Frieze, painted as an homage to the composer and his 9th Symphony. Also see Otto Wagner’s Postal Savings Bank and rail station pavilions and conclude the morning with a private visit to his church at Steinhof, considered one of the greatest art nouveau churches in the world and located improbably on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital in the outskirts of Vienna.

Afternoon:

12:15 p.m.
We enjoy lunch at local Italian restaurant, Mario’s Restaurant.

Continue our exploration of the Secession movement with a visit to the Belvedere Palace, which was built for Prince Eugene of Savoy and now houses many of the best-known works by painters Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.

4:45 p.m.
Approximate time of return to the hotel.

Evening:

6:15 p.m.
Head to Room #9 (the same room we used for our orientation and first lecture) for a glass of wine or juice or soda to enjoy while we listen to the lecture.

6:30 p.m.
Leave the Belle Époque behind and focus on modern Austria at a specially arranged guest lecture by journalist Hans Rauscher of “Der Standard.” The lecture will take place in Room #9 on the fourth floor of the hotel.

7:30 p.m.
We depart on foot for a two-minute walk to dinner at local restaurant, Café Schwarzenberg. Feel free to return to the hotel at any time after dinner.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L, D) 

Wednesday, April 9 - The Vienna Woods

NOTE: Remember to bring your passports for the visit to Austria’s Parliament. You can leave your day bag on the bus, and into the Parliament, you should bring as little as possible, as we must pass our belongings through a security checkpoint. In particular, do not bring pocketknives or anything sharp.

Morning:

From 7:00 a.m.

Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor (one floor above the lobby level) of our hotel.

8:15 a.m.

Depart the hotel promptly for a private guided tour of the newly renovated Austria Parliament and hear from two Austrian politicians, Veit Dengler and Jörg Konrad. Barrie will provide their bios in the morning.

11:30 a.m.

Next, set out for the idyllic scenery of the Vienna Woods. After driving through the lovely Helen Valley, the inspiration for Beethoven’s 6th symphony, arrive in the charming village of Mödling for lunch and to enjoy a demonstration of strudel making at the Hotel Babenbergerhof.

Afternoon:

We depart for a visit to Heilgenkreuz Abbey, home to nearly 100 monks. Continue to Mayerling Castle, scene of the suicide pact between Crown Prince Rudolf and his commoner sweetheart.

6:00 p.m.

Approximate time of our return to the hotel. Dinner is on our own tonight.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L)

Thursday, April 10 - Musical Vienna

Morning:
From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor of our hotel.

8:45 a.m.
Gather in Room #9 on the fourth floor of our hotel to hear from Matthias Hink, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic on the history of the orchestra and its role in classical music in Vienna. See his attached bio.

10:15 a.m.
Then depart the hotel and embark on a guided walk through the old town, following in the footsteps of the four great masters--Haydn, Mozart, Schbert and Beethoven--to see where and how they lived. Conclude at Liechtenstein Palace for a tour of its magnificent collection of paintings. 

NOTE: If you do not want to walk all the way to Lichtenstein Palace, we can arrange for you to take a taxi to St. Stephen’s Cathedral and walk from there (approx. a half mile).

Afternoon:
1:10 p.m.
Enjoy lunch at Lebenbauer Restaurant. You are free to walk back to the hotel, take a taxi, or enjoy being in town after lunch.

Evening:
5:15 p.m.
We depart the hotel to attend a private concert of music by members of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, the Kudlak Quartet, in the house where Schubert once lived.

Enjoy a casual buffet dinner at a heuriger, a traditional Viennese wine tavern.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L, D) 

Friday, April 11 - The Wachau Valley

Morning:
From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor of our hotel.

8:30 a.m.
Join Faculty Leader Bert Patenaude in Room #9 on the fourth floor of our hotel for his second lecture, “Mozart and Haydn in Vienna.”

10:00 a.m.
Drive to the Wachau Valley, where we visit the picturesque town of Dürnstein, where Richard the Lionhearted was held captive in the 12th century.

Afternoon:
12:30 p.m.
Enjoy lunch at the Schloss Hotel Dürnstein, then depart for Melk Abbey, a masterpiece of baroque architecture situated high atop a rocky precipice overlooking the Danube and containing an impressive library of medieval manuscripts.

Return to Vienna along the river, stopping in the lovely village of Weissenkirchen to taste some of the Wachau Valley’s famous Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings.

Evening: 

7:15 p.m.
Approximate time of our return to the hotel. Dinner is on our own tonight.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, L)

Saturday, April 12 - Fine Arts of Vienna

Morning:

From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor of our hotel.

8:30 a.m.
Gather in Room #9 on the fourth floor of the hotel for Faculty Leader Bert Patenaude’s third lecture, “Deliverance: America and the Rescue of Central Europe after WWI.”
We have a tighter timeline today, so be ready to depart the hotel on foot directly from the lecture and/or be prepared to depart the hotel promptly at 9:45 a.m.

9:45 a.m.
If you would like to go to the museum by taxi, please let me know.

We walk approximately 15 minutes (600 meters) to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Fine Arts Museum), a splendid repository of art collections assembled by generations of Habsburg monarchs. Sculpture and applied arts vie for our attention as we walk among the many magnificent paintings and Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities. Meet with an art historian, Sofie Fuhrer, to learn about some of the projects in which the museum is engaged.

Enjoy some free time in the museum before having lunch on your own.

Afternoon:
1:50 p.m.
We will meet promptly in front of the Opera House to take a guided backstage tour of the legendary Wiener Staatsoper, or Vienna State Opera. Built in 1869 during the reign of Emperor Franz Josef I, the Opera House is considered one of the world’s most important.

After the tour, enjoy the rest of the afternoon at leisure.

Evening:
6:30 p.m.
We depart the hotel for our festive farewell reception and dinner at the Palais Daun-Kinsky.

GRAND HOTEL WIEN (B, R, D) – Please remember to settle any bills with the hotel this evening.

Sunday, April 13 - Depart Vienna ✈ Home

Morning:

From 7:00 a.m.
Breakfast is available in the Grand Brasserie located on the first floor of our hotel.

Fly from Vienna to your home country.

(B)