Alpine Europe – Austria & Switzerland

Arrive in Vienna and make your way to the hotel.

Ross Tours can assist with your travel arrangements, including travel insurance, hotel transfers and pre and post tour accommodation.

Join your tour leader Paula Benneian and fellow travellers this evening for a welcome briefing at the hotel, followed by dinner.

A morning walking tour through the old city will reveal the secrets of the Habsburg Empire. Wander through Volksgarten, the garden of the Hofburg Imperial Palace and St Stephen’s Cathedral and view the Spanish Riding School. Take a drive around the Ring Boulevard to see the Statsoper (State Opera House), Musikverein, The Concert House and The Albertina. Time for lunch (own expense) at Demel Coffee House, one of Vienna’s finest.

We are heading to the Belvedere Palace this afternoon, to see this Baroque ensemble of Upper and Lower Belvedere Palaces, Orangery and Stables. 800 years of art history is on display with masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele, Funke, Messerschmidt and van Gogh. Palaces are linked with a Baroque-style garden with rococo parterres that have been carefully restored. The upper palace exhibits famous works of Gustav Klimt including “the Kiss”.

Option this evening to join us in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein for a program of Mozart, including opera and symphonies, along with well-loved Strauss compositions.

Schonbrunn Palace is the Baroque Palace of the Imperial family. During the reign of Maria Theresa, as an Imperial summer residence, Schönbrunn Palace became the glittering focus of court life. From this time on, it has played host to the leading statesmen of Europe.

Discover it all as we wander through its vast Baroque parterres, Orangery, Great Palm House, Privy Gardens, Gloriette, Neptune Fountain, ‘Roman Ruins’ and obelisk. Lunch is included in the Orangery.

A guided tour through the sumptuous rooms of the Palace is included. The park at Schönbrunn Palace was opened to the public in 1779. Extending for 1.2 km from east to west and approximately one kilometre from north to south, it was placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996.

A day travelling to Salzburg, in part, along the River Danube. First stop is the well-preserved medieval town of Durnstein, a UNESCO World Heritage site located on the River Danube in the heart of the Wachau wine and fruit region.

Next stop is Melk Abbey, in the same Wachau region. This Baroque ensemble is perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Danube. Since 1089, the Benedictine monks have been living and working in Melk Abbey in uninterrupted tradition.

A walking tour this morning to discover historic and cultural landmarks of this picturesque old town dominated by churches, castles and palaces: a UNESCO World Heritage site and the birthplace of Mozart.

Start in Mirabelle Palace and gardens next to your hotel, and finish at Fortress Hohensalzburg, a medieval castle with panoramic views of the city.

Free afternoon to explore on your own.

The Salzkammergut, known as the Austrian Lake District, is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape recognised for its natural beauty and historical significance.

Picturesque lakes, mountains and charming villages were chosen as the setting for the film Sound of Music. Take the ferry across Wolfgangsee to St Gilgen and St Wolfgang.

Free time for lunch in the town of Bad Ischl in the Upper Salzkammergut.

It’s a scenic train ride today through the Arlberg Mountains as we travel from Salzburg to Zurich via Innsbruck and on to Lucerne. Our train travels through the Arlberg Pass, a high mountain pass in the Alps, connecting the states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Austria.

Renowned for its dramatic alpine peaks, pristine forests, and charming mountain villages, the Arlberg region is a world-famous destination for skiing and hiking enthusiasts.

Late afternoon arrive in Lucerne. Check in to your hotel in the heart of the city for the next three nights.

Lucerne is a quintessential Swiss city. A walking tour this morning to see the well-preserved medieval Alstadt (Old Town) with its covered bridges, candy-coloured houses and waterfront promenades.

Loved by Wagner and Goethe for its historic houses decorated with frescoes that line the picturesque town squares, in particular ‘Weinmarkt’ square in the old town. See the Kapellbrucke (Chapel bridge) and the Lion Monument.

A drive up to Dreilinden Park this afternoon, that offers a panoramic view of Lake Lucerne and the mountains of Central Switzerland. Then Museggmauer, for a bird’s-eye view over Lucerne’s rooftops to the lake and mountains beyond, wander along the top of the old city walls that date back to 1386.

A ferry trip this morning on beautiful Lake Lucerne. Our destination is Mount Rigi, with a panoramic view from the summit over Lake Lucerne, the Alps and the midland; it’s breathtaking.

We will take a ferry to Vitznau then the cogwheel train to the summit. Lunch is included on Mt Rigi.

Afternoon walk the Rigi Flower Trail to see alpine wildflowers and enjoy the views. We will take the cable car to Weggis and catch the ferry back to Lucerne.

Travel by coach through the heart of Switzerland today, through the mountain passes, past Lake Thun and Lake Brienz to Brienz, Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland, to Bern.

Lunch stop in Ballenberg (own arrangements) an open air museum with one hundred original century-old buildings which have been relocated from all over Switzerland.

Arrive late afternoon into Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, and check into your hotel.

Take the cograil from Wilderswill up to Schynige Platte, with the impressive panorama of the Bernese Alps, including the Eiger (3970m), Monch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m).

Our specialist botanical guide will take you through the alpine garden, in full bloom. Cow bells ringing, sheep grazing and meadows flowering with edelweiss, gentian, poppies, asters, primroses and lilies, approx 600 alpine wildflowers.

This Alpine Garden was the first in the Alps and remains one of the few gardens of this type. Below in the valley is Lake Thun. Lunch is included.

Afternoon visit to Interlaken on your way back to Bern.

The day is free for you to explore Bern or join us for an optional railway journey to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe (3454m above sea leve). This is the ‘top of Europe’. Take the rack railway rom Lauterbrunnen near Interlaken, to Wengen and up to Kleine Scheidegg. The north face of the Eiger is within touching distance!

Time here for lunch (own arrangements), and to experience the world of ice and snow. Admire the view overlooking the Aletsch Glacier, Europe’s longest glacier, eiger, Monch and Jungfrau peaks, as well as the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Staubbach Falls. On clear days you can see beyond Switzerland’s frontiers to Vosges Mountain range in France, and the Black Forest in Germany.

Farewell Dinner this evening.

Your tour finishes after breakfast this morning.

Coach will be waiting for your transfer to Zurich airport.