Alpine Europe Austria And Switzerland

Meet Sandra Ross our Ross Tour Leader at the departure gate ready to board our Emirates flight to Vienna via Dubai.

Head straight for our hotel in Vienna this afternoon. Time to relax before we meet up for our Welcome Dinner this evening

A morning walking tour through the old city will reveal the secrets of the Habsburg Empire in UNESCO Vienna; Hofburg Palace. Watch the Lipizzaner horses go through their paces and Spanish Riding School and visit St Stephen’s Cathedral. Then wander through Volksgarten, the garden of the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Finish with coffee at Demel Coffee House, Vienna’s finest. Free afternoon to explore or relax.

Schonbrunn Palace is the beautiful Baroque Palace of the Imperial family. Discover it all as we wander through its vast Baroque gardens: Orangery, the longest in the world, Great Palm House, Gloriette, Neptune Fountain, ‘Roman Ruins’ and obelisk.

Lunch in the orangery then a local expert will show us through the palace including the sumptuous Vieux-Laque Room with its priceless oriental lacquer panels, the Napoleon Room with enormous Brussels tapestries and the Porcelain Room.

Belvedere Palace in the heart of the city is our destination this morning. Two exquisite palaces, Upper and Lower Belvedere 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”. Finish in the famous Alpine garden with ornate conservatories of rare plants.

Free afternoon with the option to visit a string of magnificent parks that circle the city around its Ring Road. Burggarten was the original private garden of the Emperor. Stadtpark is a huge public park with its famous monument of Johann Strauss 11.

We will see Viennese Art Nouveau in its purest form here in Vienna; at the Stadtbahn railway pavilion, Karlsplatz, the central post office and the fine masterpieces of Otto Wagner who introduced the Art Nouveau/Sécession style to Austria

A good dose of aromatherapy this morning in the rose garden in the pretty Biedermeier town of Baden. It’s Austria’s largest rosarium. Lunch stop then travel into Salzburg. Check in to our hotel close to the old city centre. Sandra will take us for an orientation walk into the old town to get our bearings. Dinner tonight is included.

A walking tour this morning to discover this picturesque old town dominated by churches, castles and palaces: a UNESCO World Heritage site and the birthplace of Mozart. We will check out Fortress Hohensalzburg, the landmark of Salzburg with panoramic views of the city and Salzburg’s Residenz Palace.
Free afternoon.

A day to explore the lake district surrounding Salzburg and the gems of Salzkammergut, St Gilen and St Wolfgang. Flowery alpine meadows and locations made famous by the film Sound of Music will make this day one you will never forget.

Watch the scenery of the Arlberg Mountains from the train window as we travel from Salzburg to Zurich then Lucerne. Boutique hotel in the heart of the city will be home for the next four nights.

Dinner tonight is included in the hotel restaurant.

Lucerne is a quintessential Swiss city. Today we will explore 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.
Free afternoon.

A ferry trip this morning on beautiful Lake Lucerne. Our destination is Mount Rigi, Queen of the Swiss Mountains. You will enjoy the view from the summit over Lake Lucerne, the Alps and the midland; it’s breathtaking.
We will sail to Vitznau then take the cogwheel train to the summit.

After lunch in the restaurant we will walk the Rigi Flower Trail to see alpine wildflowers and enjoy panoramic views. Back down in the cable car to Weggis and catch the ferry back to Lucerne. This will be a day to remember.

The Flower Island of Mainau is our destination today. Mainau lies on the south shore of Lake Constance near the German city of Konstanz and the German/Swiss border. A botanical discovery awaits; rose gardens, tropical greenhouses, Baroque palace and church, butterfly house, arboretum, floral cascade and palm house. We’ll see it all with a guided tour. Lunch is included.

We travel through the heart of Switzerland today; through the mountain passes, past jewel lakes to Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland. The city lies between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz under the watch of three mighty mountains, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Lunch stop in Ballenberg, an open air museum with one hundred original century-old buildings which have been relocated from all over Switzerland. Arrive late afternoon into Interlaken and check in to our 5 star hotel located in the city centre with panoramic views to Jungfrau.

Click, clack cograil from Wilderswill up to Schynige Platte high above the tree line where the alpine garden is in full bloom. Meadows flowering, cow bells ringing and sheep grazing. Our local botanist guide will show us through the alpine garden at the summit. You will see edelweiss, gentian, poppies, asters, primroses and lilies: around 600 alpine wildflowers, all against the jaw dropping beauty of the alps: the Eiger (elevation 3970m), Monch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m) and below turquoise-blue Lake Brienz. A day to give the camera a workout. Lunch is included.

Free day to fill as you please.

You have the option to take the railway to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3454m above sea level. This is the ‘top of Europe’. From Lauterbrunnen near Interlaken, we take the rack railway to Wengen and then further on up to Kleine Scheidegg. The north face of the Eiger is within touching distance! We’ll have time here for lunch, and to enjoy the world of ice and snow. We’ll visit the Ice Palace and admire the view overlooking the Aletsch Glacier which is Europe’s longest glacier. Travel back to Interlaken for our farewell dinner this evening.

Walk by famous Trongsa Dzong, home to superb artworks and architecture. Drive to Bumthang over the Yutong-la pass (3,400m). After lunch visit Kurje Lhakhang, Jambey Lhakhang (7th century), Tamshing Monastery and Jakar Dzong.

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