Bohemian Christmas Markets Tour

Your tour commences this evening in wonderful Berlin – a city now united and re-built in even greater glory. Dinner tonight is included in your hotel, but first enjoy a welcome drink. This is an ideal opportunity to meet your fellow travellers.
 

This morning we are joined by an expert local guide who will breathe life into this remarkable, rejuvenated city. We will see all the major sights from the Brandenburg Gate and re-built Reichstag to Checkpoint Charlie, sections of ‘The Wall’, Potsdamer Platz, and the beautiful cathedrals of Gendarmenmarkt square. Your afternoon and evening is entirely free to explore. Perhaps visit one of the many museums nearby your hotel.

In Berlin you are spoilt for choice, highlight being the UNESCO Heritage listed Museuminsel (Museum Island) with its five world class museums; the riveting Checkpoint Charlie museum and moving Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. There are over 60 Christmas markets in Berlin! All different sizes and styles. The gorgeous WeihnachtsZauber market on Gendarmenmarkt is located in the square between the French and German cathedrals and the Berlin Concert Hall. The Winter World celebration at the Potsdamer Platz Christmas markets is complete with ice skating and Austrian-style ski huts.
 

This morning we enjoy an excursion to nearby Potsdam. On arrival we enjoy a guided visit to Cecilienhof Palace. This was the last palace built by the German Kaisers, and is most famous for being the site of the Potsdam Convention where Churchill, Truman and Stalin met in 1945. Inside is a fascinating museum and the furniture, private reception rooms and huge conference table, remain exactly as they were when these great leaders met to carve up a ravaged, post war world. Afterwards, accompanied by our local guide, we will enjoy a panoramic tour including a stop on the terraces of Fredrick the Great’s Sanssouci Summer Palace, before enjoying lunchtime in Potsdam’s pretty Dutch Quarter.

On our way back to Berlin this afternoon we stop to take a walk on the Bridge of Unity – more famously known as the ‘Bridge of Spies’. Back in Berlin, you are free to enjoy the wonderful sights and museums. Maybe visit the nostalgic Christmas Market at Schlossplatz on the Museuminsel? This evening we have included dinner in a local restaurant.
 

Heading south we soon reach the cultural city of Leipzig, with its 16th century renaissance style buildings, and once home to Bach, Wagner and Schumann. After an orientation tour we enjoy lunchtime in the market square in front of the old City Hall. Here you will find one of Europe’s oldest and largest Christmas Markets with over 250 stalls! Later we continue to wonderful Dresden where we stay the next three nights.
 

Rebuilt after the massive bombing raids of WWII, Dresden has once again bloomed into one of the most beautiful and elegant cities in Europe, reflecting the grandeur of this capital of the Electors of Saxony, who once ruled a powerful empire. On our morning walking tour you will see the glorious Zwinger Palace courtyard, the Semper Opera House, and symbolic Frauenkirche dominating the massive market square filled with Christmas Market stalls.

After following the Fürstenzug – a dramatic, 100 metre long painted porcelain mural depicting the procession of Princes, we visit the Dresden Royal Palace. We have included entrance to the museums including the Armoury, Turkish Chamber, Riesensaal (Giants’ Hall) and the fabulous New Green Vault with over 1,000 beautiful and often priceless gold and silver bejewelled objects. Simply stunning! The rest of your day is at leisure. Make sure you take time to wander along Brühl’s Terrace by the river, which is nicknamed ‘the balcony of Europe’. Dresden boasts the oldest and most traditional Christmas Markets in all of Europe. The Striezelmarkt on Altmarkt square is massive. Dating back to the 15th century it is named after the word ‘Striezel’ – otherwise known as traditional ‘Stollen’ cake.
 

There is nothing quite like a day in the country. We have included a wonderful excursion into Saxon Switzerland, a pristine National Park near the Czech border. First stop will be at the amazing Bastei Bridge, which links a series of rocky towers, spanning gorges and cliffs. From the various lookouts the views down onto the River Elbe are stupendous. Later we also visit the Königstein ‘Kings Stone’ hilltop fortress. Started nearly 800 years ago, it evolved over the ages into an impregnable stronghold perched above sheer cliffs. Make sure you walk along the towering ramparts and visit the arched, old wine cellars and the three metre wide, 152 metre deep well which is hand carved from solid rock. Later we return to Dresden for some time at leisure to explore the Christmas markets, before enjoying dinner in a local Saxon restaurant.
 

Crossing into the Czech Republic we arrive into Prague for lunchtime. In the afternoon we have included a locally guided for a tour through this fascinating city to the Hradcany – Prague Castle covers over 7 hectares and is the largest ancient castle in the world. We visit St Vitus cathedral and the Zlatá Ulièka (the Golden Lane) with its tiny colourful houses built right into the arches of the Castle walls and named after the goldsmiths who lived here in the 17th century. Our hotel for the next two nights is excellently located within easy walking distance of the old town.
 

The whole day and evening has been left completely free for you to relax and explore the laneways, colourful shop fronts, churches and bridges of this beautiful city, at your own pace. Prague is the city of ‘Good King Wenceslas’ so naturally the best Christmas markets are in Wenceslas Square, beside your hotel, and the Old Town. Time to sip medovina – warm honey liquor!
 

Crossing the border into Germany we reach Bamberg. UNESCO World Heritage listed, Bamberg boasts hundreds of buildings, mansions and palaces displaying the various stages of architecture dating back 1,000 years. Famous for its unique ‘smoked’ beer and antique shops, Bamberg is one of Germany’s best kept secrets. Later we continue to Nürnberg where we stay the next three nights.
 

This morning we are joined by a local guide to show us around the town and visit the Nazi Documentation Centre and Rally Grounds. With its massive stone towers and gates, medieval Nürnberg has a rich history stretching back hundreds of years, and is often more deeply associated with the setting for the enormous Nazi rallies and the War Crimes trials. Nürnberg now boasts extensive pedestrian walkways and one of the most splendid Christmas Markets in Europe.

This huge market has a unique law that only traditional Christmas artefacts are allowed for sale. As dusk approaches, the music and singing, Christmas lights and smell of mulled wine, roasting sausages, chestnuts and sweets fill the air. Fantastic!
 

Today we have included an excursion to visit picture-postcard Rothenburg on the ‘Romantic Road’ with its delightful cobblestoned streets, ramparts and turrets. Make a point of walking through the famous ‘Christmas Shop’ known for its stunning displays. The Christmas Markets, set in the narrow alleys are some of the quaintest you will ever see. This evening, back in Nürnberg, we enjoy a farewell dinner.


 

Driving south we reach central Munich before midday, where your tour ends. We recommend that you book flights that depart from Munich after 2pm today.