Best of the Germanic Lands: Wonderful Austria, Germany, and Switzerland Tour

The corners of Vienna brim with impressive contemporary museums, chic restaurants, and imperial splendor from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Your flight lands at the Vienna airport, and your private transfer awaits your arrival. You will be escorted into the heart of the city to find historical streets that wind around the elaborate architecture of the State Opera House. The city has a deep connection with music, and operatic and ballet performances are staged hundreds of times each year. The current opera house was erected in the 19th-century in the style of Early French Renaissance.

In the morning, the Bohemian spirit fills the café known as Mozart’s favorite refuge and one of the last places the maestro performed in public. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee lingers along the cushioned booths as patrons engage in conversation. After breakfast, your guide will meet you in the hotel lobby to whisk you through Vienna’s captivating monuments and rich history. Pass the stunning black façade of St. Stephen’s Cathedral and marvel at the Late Romanesque style of the Heathen Towers gate remains from the 13th-century edifice. The majority of the structure was renovated in the 18th-century, but the nearly 450-foot tall tower was erected in the 1400s.

In the morning, the shops on the Mariahilf, one of Vienna’s busiest walking streets, opens to the public. Locals venture to the produce market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as the aroma of fresh bread emanates from the bakery stands. Cheesemongers offer free samples to passersby as your private guide leads you on another tour of the city to reveal more of the opulent sites and monuments. On sunny days, locals gather on the Danube canal to sunbathe on the sandbank beaches with deck chairs and blankets to turn the canal shores into a resort atmosphere.

Locals around the old city venture to a cafe to enjoy a double mocha with a splash of herbaceous liqueur, known as the Mozart. The tarts and croissants add a buttery, sweet aroma to the rich scent of roasted coffee beans. Your private transfer meets you in your hotel lobby and escorts you to the stunning city of Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, with a stop at the Hallein salt mine along the way. The Baroque architecture in the town of Hallein adds a layer of luster beneath the towering figures of the mountaintops. Travel to the entrance of the mine and find a large doorway that leads into the mountain. The alpine air blends with the scent of stone.

The sunlight washes over the quiet district of New Town, located north of the Salzach River. The Mirabell Gardens and Mozart’s former home shine against what was once on the fringe of the historical city. Horses clop along the cobblestone streets of Old Town and pass the Baroque buildings of the 16th and 17th-centuries. Mozart left an impression on Salzburg that remains today as it emanates from the music that pours out of charming shops and fills the plaza of Market Square.  Follow your guide on an in-depth tour of Salzburg’s history and splendor that begins at Residenzplatz, the oldest square on the Salzach River’s left bank.

The old merchant homes from the 15th-century that line the pedestrian avenue of the Getreidegasse continue to draw visitors from around the world. Wrought-iron shop signs dangle over doorways and cafes are filled with people in search of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. After breakfast, leave the charming city of Salzburg behind and make your way over the border into the Bavarian region of Germany. Before you reach Munich, stop in the town of Fussen, home to the Neuschwanstein Castle. King Ludwig II built the structure between 1869 and 1886 but spent only 170 days living on the grounds before his untimely death. The stories of Ludwig’s youth, along with the enticing tales of celebrated operas, inspired the castle’s fairytale design.

Men walk through both the contemporary, and the historical, streets of Munich in lederhosen throughout the year and women enjoy the flowing fabric of dirndls. Cafes open to the cobbled streets of Old Town and the 950-foot tall television tower near Olympic Park watches over the entirety of Germany’s third-largest city. Your guide will lead you on an elaborate full day tour of Munich’s captivating old streets and its contemporary neighborhoods.

The bustling outdoor market of Viktualienmarkt opens daily with 140 colorful booths filled with the unique flavors of Bavaria. The scent of fennel and radishes joins the aroma of honey and cured sausages as they dangle from the small rafters. Stroll through the avenues to find a rainbow of hues and sweet, freshly baked strudels. After breakfast, venture to the town of Baden-Baden, located in the famous German Black Forest. A neoclassical pump room was erected in the 19th-century to overlook the manicured grounds of Kurpark.

The Baroque buildings and fountains of Old Town come to light in the morning, framed by antique shops and lavish galleries. After breakfast, your guide will lead you across the western border in the Alsace region of France for a day among the medieval towns, award-winning restaurants, and mouthwatering wines. Travel the well known Route des Vin d’Alsace which begins in the town of Thann. The French, German, and Swiss use the Alsace as an easy weekend getaway to follow along meandering trails that hug the Vosges Mountains foothills and the banks of the Rhine River. The village of Obernai stands at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile surrounded by the Ehn River.

Today you will leave the lovely town of Baden-Baden and cross the border into Switzerland to discover the incredible cultural attractions and luxurious ambiance of Basel, with more than 15 square miles of museums. Six bridges arch over the Rhine River to connect the cobbled streets of Old Town with the manicured streets of the more contemporary neighborhoods. Basel joined the Swiss Confederation in the 16th-century, and its university became a center for distinguished scholars and teachers.

The Town Hall in Marktplatz marks the city center as a daily market takes place in the mornings and brims with pyramids of fruit and budding flowers. The Town Hall’s bright red walls dominate the square with a 16th-century Gothic style with its adorning clock constructed between 1511 and 1512. The Basel Historical Museum contains a collection of art and weaponry that spans more than two millennia beneath its cavernous vaulted ceilings. Your guide will lead you to a stunning 15th-century mural depiction of the “Dance of Death,” a medieval allegory on the universality of death, which in philosophers’ and artists’ minds, united the world.

Zurich springs to life in the morning as locals venture to work along the cobbled streets and electric trollies. The city stands at the heart of Europe, in the center of Switzerland, and emits a cosmopolitan flair while maintaining a deep connection to its alpine heritage. Old Town rises over the left bank of the Limmat River where the Romans first build their settlement, and the old streets of the city follow the grid of the fortified town. The aroma of coffee drifts out of the small cafes and blends with the scent of leather from the bound books inside the antique bookstores.

Your guide will lead you to the Kunsthaus Museum as run by the Zurich Society of Arts, a society of artists founded in the late 18th-century. The museum houses the largest collection of Monet’s work outside of Paris and specializes in exhibitions of quality over quantity. At the center of the Monet exhibit hang two of the artist’s larger water lily canvases, along with the 20th-century haystack series, which inspired Kandinsky’s style of non-figurative forms. The more contemporary neighborhood across the river contains the Bahnhofstrasse, a mile-long street with bank headquarters, exclusive fashion boutiques, and street cafes where people linger and watch the chic styles of passersby.

The winding roads of the Alps take you from the charm of Zurich, with its mixture of cosmopolitan culture and Swiss heritage, to the shores of Lake Geneva in the city of Lausanne. Before you reach the city, stop in Switzerland’s capital of Bern, home to a picture-perfect Old Town, Albert Einstein’s home, and a unique blend of historical streets set atop a sandstone plateau that overlooks the calm waters of the Aare River. Swiss flags hang along the half-timbered buildings of the old city and brush against the doorframes of hidden, chic bars. Cafes set tables along the cobblestone streets and provide patrons with decadent hot chocolate, delicious coffee, and indulgently sweet pastries.

Wake up in the enchanting city of Lausanne, and it’s view of the glistening waters of Lake Geneva as framed by the rolling mountain peaks on the distant horizon. The blue copper spires of the Cathedral imitate the spiked peaks that surround the city. A timber-canopied staircase with a tiled roof rises alongside antique homes to the terrace and leads to the cathedral’s front door. Medieval streets, Gothic architecture, and diverse artistry mingle with the two renowned universities that bring a vibrant ambiance of the city.

Locals venture to a nearby cafe in the morning, a charming coffeehouse nestled among the bustling streets of the Grand Pont. You can spend some extra time in the luxury of your hotel. When the time comes, your private transfer will meet you in the hotel lobby and escort you to the airport in Geneva for your international flights home.