Insiders Guide to Austria

Welcome to Austria! Your Encore Tour Manager will meet you at the airport this morning and transfer you to the musical city of Salzburg, Austria. Located in the Salzach River Valley, Salzburg is one of the most picturesque of all European cities – indeed, it is all of Europe in concentrated form with a castle, cathedral, squares, gardens, spires and rivers. The city’s reputation is based on a living musical tradition being the city of Mozart. Its beauty and vibrant musical life have made it one of Europe’s foremost cultural cities. Enjoy a special dinner together tonight at St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, which has been operating since before AD 803! (D)

Discover the enchanting sights of the musical city of Salzburg on a guided sightseeing tour. Journey through the historical town to see the Mozartplatz, the cathedral, Pegasus Fountain, and Mirabell Gardens. Next, visit Mozart’s Birthplace Museum followed by an exclusive guided tour through the collection of Mozart’s manuscripts, in the Salzburg Tanzmeisterhaus. This afternoon, visit the Helbrunn Trick Fountains. Return to Salzburg tonight where you’ll have dinner together, followed by seeing your first concert performance! (B,D)

Today’s sightseeing takes you to visit to Salzburg Cathedral. Here you will enjoy a private music lecture from the Cathedral’s Youth Choir Director! This afternoon, take the funicular up to the fortress that dominates the city. Later today, visit one of the region’s salt mines at Hallein. Here you will learn all about the history and importance of salt or “white gold” on a guided tour. Descend into the mine on slides and then board a boat for a trip on an underground lake. (B,D)

Check out of the Salzburg hotel today and depart for Vienna. En route, you will stop at the St. Florian monastery, where Anton Bruckner played the organ and where he is buried in the crypt directly beneath the instrument. You’ll have the chance to hear the organ being played during a short recital performance. On arrival in Vienna, check into your next hotel and relax. Enjoy dinner together tonight. (B,D)

After a hearty breakfast, a guide will take you on a walking tour of the city center. You will walk with your expert guide in the footsteps of Mozart, seeing the locales where he composed his most famous pieces, where he died and St. Michael’s Church, where his Requiem was premiered at his own death mass. Included is a visit to the famous Mozart House hidden in the little streets of Vienna. End at the magnificent St. Stephen´s Cathedral, where many composers married, were laid out to rest or had their funeral masses. This afternoon enjoy a traditional Viennese coffee & cake at Café Frauenhuber, where Mozart and Beethoven performed chamber music several times. Then visit Zentralfriedhof where you can view the resting places of Europe’s Musical Greats; Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Brahms, Schoenberg and many more are buried here. On returning to the city center, you will see the Ringstrasse with its impressive architecture, vast squares and parks. Enjoy dinner together tonight. (B,D)

Today you will have the unique opportunity to visit the home of the Vienna Boys Choir, the Augarten Palace, which is not normally open to the public. Here, attend a rehearsal and enjoy an exclusive lunch in the refectory of their boarding school. Later this afternoon, a director from the VBC will lead you in a traditional Austiran Yodelling Workshop (all levels welcome). (B,D)

This morning, try your hand at making Vienna’s most famous treat, Apple Strudel in a fun demonstration and then sample your results! Next, tour the grounds and interior of Schönbrunn Palace, the massive Habsburg summer retreat, including the Imperial state rooms and private quarters of the Austrian Emperors. Tonight, celebrate your music appreciation tour of Austria with a traditional Heurigen dinner together! (B,D)

Transfer to the airport for return flight to the United States. (B)