TAUCK RIVER CRUISES
12 Days | Musical Magic Along the Danube
Westbound Only

BUDAPEST TO PRAGUE

Day 1 | Budapest, Hungary. Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Budapest Marriott Hotel. A transfer is included from Budapest’s Ferihegy Airport to the Budapest Marriott Hotel. Your musical odyssey begins when you meet your fellow travelers at Tauck’s exclusive welcome reception and dinner at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, accompanied by a local trio performing traditional Hungarian music. (D)

Day 2 | Budapest. Statues of Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Liszt greet you at the 1884 State Opera House in Pest; expect some surprises on a guided tour of this neo-Renaissance masterpiece, including the private box of Habsburg Empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”). Join us for a private tour of Franz Liszt’s reconstructed Budapest flat, where he lived between 1881 and 1886; you’ll see many of the beloved Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso’s instruments, scores and personal effects. After time sightseeing or rehearsing with our guest choir, join us for a performance at one of Budapest’s premier concert venues, boasting superb acoustics. (B)

Day 3 | Budapest. Embark. Head to Buda for a walking tour and time to check out the Museum of Music History, whose exhibits portray centuries of Hungarian musical life in a former palace on Castle Hill. Next, the legacy of Béla Bartók lives on in his 1924 home, now a museum and memorial dedicated to the composer and musicologist; hear his melodies in a piano recital during your visit. Embark your Tauck riverboat at the dock in Budapest; meet the Captain and crew at tonight’s reception and dinner, where Tauck’s “maestros” welcome you aboard with a musical performance! (B,D)

Day 4 | Bratislava, Slovakia. After a morning’s cruise with lectures, workshops and a guest choir rehearsal, arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia, the Baroque stomping grounds of great musical prodigies. A walking tour features an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to the 1886 Opera House, where you’ll meet a former director. Stroll down a lane where 6-year-old Mozart performed and 9-year-old Liszt played across the street 58 years later – around the corner, 30 years after that, one of Liszt’s young students inspired him to write a sonata for the boy! There’s a treat in store on your visit to the Primate’s Palace; tonight, attend an interactive traditional Slovak wedding dinner filled with music and dance at a 16th-century winery. (B,L,D)

Day 5 | Vienna, Austria. If you had to choose only one European city to musically explore, Vienna – home to Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss – would be it! Get your bearings on a city tour, then choose a visit to Schönbrunn Palace of the Habsburgs, or join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at world-famous Bösendorfer pianos at their salon in the celebrated Musikverein concert hall. View custom-made instruments, and discuss the Viennese “klang” piano sound that Bösendorfer has preserved through the centuries. Enjoy a tour of the Musikverein, explore on your own and have an early dinner before a performance tonight at the Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), where Mahler and Strauss made musical history, or at an alternate venue in magical Vienna (subject to opening and performance availability). (B,L,D)

Day 6 | Vienna. Vienna springs to musical life on a day featuring a pair of Tauck Exclusives. First, sit in on a rehearsal at beautiful Auersperg Palace as an orchestra prepares for a performance. Later, nothing quite compares to the royal treatment you'll receive at Tauck’s private Imperial Evening in the historic Palais Pallavicini, an incomparable setting for welcome cocktails and apéritifs, an amazing dinner, an orchestra, ballet, Mozart – Tauck's Vienna at its best! (B,L,D)

Day 7 | Melk. Melk Abbey, a beautiful Benedictine monastery complex overlooking the Danube, has been a significant center of learning and culture since its founding over 900 years ago. Get a sense of the importance of music to the abbey’s cultural life through the ages as you tour its lovely Baroque buildings dating to the early 18th century, which often host concerts and musicals today. Back on the riverboat, enjoy lectures by our Maestros, a guest choir rehearsal, and an onboard concert by trio Donau Klang. (B,L,D)

Day 8 | Salzburg. Picture a boy of 5 wowing a royal audience with his piano virtuosity... then crawling up on the lap of the Empress of half of Europe, and giving her a kiss! That was little Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in Salzburg in 1756. Walk in his footsteps today on an excursion from Linz to his Baroque hometown, visiting his birthplace, among other locations – and enjoying lunch and informal scenes from his operas at the centuries-old Stiftskeller St. Peter, where the composer himself may have dined. Following time to explore Salzburg – where much of The Sound of Music was filmed – at leisure, return to the ship for dinner, guest choir rehearsal and karaoke with a twist! (B,L,D)

Day 9 | Passau, Germany. Dock in Passau, Germany, to visit St. Stephan’s Cathedral, home to Europe’s largest pipe organ, for an interactive tour and demonstration of this amazing instrument. En route to Regensburg, enjoy seminars, workshops, a guest choir rehearsal, and an evening of musical trivia fun! (B,L,D)

Day 10 | Regensburg. Disembark. Prague, Czech Republic. Disembark ms Swiss Jewel in Regensburg, Germany’s largest surviving medieval city, where walking is a delight; a local guide leads the way to Germany’s oldest stone bridge, the Altes Rathaus, and Gothic Dom St. Peter, home to the world-renowned Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir. Explore and enjoy lunch on your own, perhaps sampling some of Regensburg’s famous Bavarian sausage, before traveling to historic Prague for a two-night stay. (B)

Day 11| Prague. Many musical giants have left their mark on beautiful Prague, as you’ll discover on a walking tour of the Czech capital's medieval Old Town. See the Estates Theatre, where Mozart himself conducted the premiere of his opera Don Giovanni, and enjoy free time in Prague this afternoon. Tonight, it's a final Tauck Exclusive: view original Beethoven manuscripts as a string quartet plays the composer’s works during a private evening in Lobkowicz Palace at Prague Castle. Your memorable evening includes a reception, dinner, concert, tour of the Lobkowicz family collection and our guest choir performance! (B,D)

Day 12 | Prague, Czech Republic. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from the Prague Marriott Hotel to Prague’s Ruzyne Airport; allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in. (B)

NOTE: Itinerary is subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the itinerary schedule you receive with your final documents.

ITINERARY 12 DAYS | BUDAPEST TO PRAGUE