PRAGUE – VIENNA
Our trip to Prague and Vienna will start with an exciting railroad trip as we will travel in a
sleeping car during the night. The ride takes about 8 hours and two border crossings (to
Slovakia and then to the Czeck Republic), so it will be a bit hectic. Arriving to Prague
we will check in to our hote,l usually an old dwelling house restored and rebuilt as a hotel,
like the Hotel Amadeus below.
After breakfast we shall start to explore the magnificent city. There are 3 parts of Old Prague
we have to discover: Staro Mesto (Old Town), Mala Strana (“Small World” at the foot of the
Castle Hill) and Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle).
Staro Mesto
In this area we will see:
On the Old Town Square ((Staromesto Namesty) Medieval Town Hall with Astronomical
Clock and the Gothic Tyn Cathedral
The old Jewish Quarter with Medieval Synagogues and a cemetery
Charles University, established in the 14th century just like those in Vienna and Pécs, Hungary.
The Gothic Charles Bridge (14th century) connecting the Old Town with the Small World and
the Castle
Mala Strana
In this area is the Main Square (Malostransky Namesty)
Brewery at St. Thomas (U Svety Tomasu)
Hradzin - The Castle a historic site and the seat of the Czech President
Here we will see
Belvedere – The Renaissance Summer Palace (16th c.) and the Ball Hall
St. Vytus Cathedral
The Medieval Palace
The RomanesqueSt. George’s Basilica
The Golden Lane (an old street of goldsmiths)
The Art Nouveau style or as we call it in the heart of Europe the Secessionism will also be a
key issue of our trip. The first signs of this turn of the 19th-20th century style we will find
here, like the Municipal House and Smetana Hall.
During the 2 days visit we will stop in at several traditional Czech restaurants and breweries
to obtain food, the famous Czech beer and to taste the special herb liqueur, the Becherovka.
You can join us for an evening at a Jazz Club, as well.
On the third morning we will drive to the station and take a Eurocity Train to Vienna. This ride takes about 5
hours, so we’ll arrive in the early afternoon. We WIll stay either in another traditional hotel near downtown Vienna,
like the Carlton Opera,
or at a modern and elegant hotel near the main shoping street (Kartnerstrasse), like the IBIS
Vienna
After settling in we will visit one of the outstanding monuments of Vienna, the palace of
Prince Eugene SAVOY, the BELVEDERE
And during the next two days we will visit
Downtown Vienna:
St.Stephan’s Cathedral
The Jesuit Church with the famous illusionist ceiling paintings by Italian Baroque master
Andrea Pozzo
the Kapuziner Kript, the burial place of all the Hapsburgs.
HOFBURG, the main palace of the Hapsburgs, today the seat of the Austrian President.
Oposite the palace, accross the famous Ringstrasse (the Ring of Vienna built over the
Medieval Citywalls) there are two museums: the Natural History Museum and the
Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Art History Museum), one of the richest royal collections in
the world.
At the Picture Gallery we will see paintings by among others
Raphael
Titian
Giorgione
Tintoretto
In addition we will see the unbelievable collection of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder,
e.g.
Autumn (The Return of the Shepards)
Winter (The Return of the Hunters)
Peasant Wedding
Peasant Dance
Among several other outstanding artists (Dürer, Rubens,Velazquez, etc.) finally we will view
the works of one of the emperors of painting, Rembrandt, in several portraits and selfportraits.
As mentioned, the museum is on the Ring street of Vienna. Other famous 19th c. buildings of
the Ring we will visit are.
The Opera House
the Austrian Parliament
the City Hall of Vienna
and the Burgtheater (the Palace Theater)
Within the city we will also visit the Baroque Karlskirche (St. Charles Borromeo Church)
the Karlsplatz Subway Station
The Secession Pavillion
For the last stop of our tour we will take the Vienna subway and visit the summer palace of
the Hapsburgs, SCHÖNBRUNN
Finally, we will take our Eurocity train from Vienna to Budapest (the ride takes a bit more
than 2 hours) and we’ll be back home on the evening of the 5th day of the tour.