Itinerary
Saturday: Depart US – (contact TT&A Travel for best arrangements).
Sunday: Upon independent arrival in Vienna , please find your own way by taxi or airport bus to the Hotel am Parkring . This hotel is situated directly in the city center on the Ring, Vienna 's most magnificent boulevard, and many sights are practically right around the corner. Every guest is guaranteed a fantastic, panoramic view from each of the 64 rooms. The restaurant "Himmelstube" on the 12th floor offers the best in Viennese cuisine and other Austrian culinary delights against the incomparable backdrop of Vienna . We will stow our baggage upon arrival (approximately 10:30 am ) meet in the Hotel lobby and walk to the nearby café-restaurant Schwarzenberg for an early “Gulasch” lunch. After lunch we'll have time to check-in and relax before we meet our guide for a small guided city bus tour along the Ringstrasse. Our guide will point out the most famous sights of Vienna before ending at one of Vienna 's most famous Heurigen, the Beethovenhaus / Heuriger Mayer am Pfarrplatz. There we will enjoy a welcome evening of traditional Austrian food, wine and music. Beethoven lived at the Mayer house during the summer of 1817 and completed his famous 9 th Symphony. He visited the spa regularly to find relief from his worsening deafness. The Mayer family has lived in Grinzing and Heiligenstadt since 1683 and all of the wine served originates completely from the family-owned and self-managed vineyards and is of select quality. L,D
Monday*: After breakfast we depart with our Vienna guide by ‘metro' to the famous Schönbrunn Palace . We will visit the coffee shop for a hands-on Applestrudel class where you will learn how to make the original, hand-drawn strudel batter and produce a traditional Viennese Apfelstrudel. Our guide will give us a one hour tour of the grounds and recount the history of Schönbrunn. After our tour we will pick up our strudels that have been baking! Lunch is on your own at the restaurant where we can have our strudel for dessert and enjoy some free time to stroll around the palace gardens or zoo. This afternoon we return to Vienna and our expert guide will lead us through a walking tour of the city. Tonight we will enjoy a dinner in Vienna 's 1 st district and a wine-tasting of “Weingut Strauss” followed by a concert by the Vienna Mozart Orchester in full period costume (more wine during the intermission.) B, D
*If this is not your first visit to Vienna you may want to deviate from today's itinerary. Your “Vienna-Card” is good for unlimited travel by underground, bus & tram for 72 hours and is also loaded with nearly 200 discounts throughout the city!
Tuesday: This morning is at leisure. Your Vienna-Card is valid for transportation and your guide will tell you about sights to visit for your specific interest. Our hotel is within walking distance to the cities famous coffee & pastry houses and you may want to find time to visit Meinl's Wine Cellar. Meinl houses a gourmet marketplace, coffee bar, wine shop and luxury restaurant. It is truly a food and wine lovers' paradise! This afternoon we travel just a few miles outside Vienna to the cradle of Austria 's long tradition in viticulture for a tour & tasting at the Klosterneuburg Abbey, nestled idyllically at the foot of gently rolling hills on the banks of the sun-reflecting Danube.
In this tranquil place, blessed by nature, grapes and growers have been thriving for centuries. Amongst the 900 years of tradition we will find a giant wine barrel in the former cooper workshop of the monastery, the most famous historic wine barrel in Austria is celebrating its 300th birthday in 2004! It is holding 56.590 liters. It is 4.80 m high and 3.84 m wide built to illustrate the prowess of the monasterial economy. The exhibition shows a lot about the period of 1704, and the tradition of wine and barrel making in the monastery. With the increasing importance of wines to Klosterneuburg Monastery came the responsibility not only to preserve but also develop their quality. As a result the Klosterneuburg Monastery founded the world's first School for Oenology in 1860. This evening we have a very special dinner at the restaurant Plachutta Nussdorf . The Plachutta serves traditional Tafelspitz in all imaginable variations, and all the beef comes from contented Styrian herds. B, D
Wednesday: After breakfast we will check out of our hotel and travel through the countryside to Mörbisch am See in Burgenland. We will enjoy a short cruise, crossing Lake Neusiedl to Illmitz. You will be introduced to Burgenland's wine areas as you cruise! Bird-watch as you skirt the lake by horse-drawn carriage to Illmitz for lunch. Mr. Steindorf will join us for lunch with his wines and we will visit his family winery nearby. Later this afternoon we travel around the lake to the winery of Leo Hillinger. Leo is an amazing ambassador of Austrian wine. He will take us through his vineyard, new winery complex and cellars for a tasting. Leo will host us for a traditional buffet style dinner at the Hillinger family tavern. After dinner we continue to Langenlois and check into the fabulous Loisium Hotel nestled in the vineyards. B, L, D
Thursday: This morning we drive to Krems for a cruise down the Danube to the picturesque town of Dürnstein . After your guided tour through the town, you will have lunch in the “Alter Klosterkeller” with wine tasting. You will have some free time for shopping or to visit the hilltop ruins of the castle where (lore says) Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned. In mid afternoon, we drive to the Abbey at the riverside city of Melk. After our private tour of the Benedictine Abby, we go back to Wachau-Florianihof for dinner which features the wines of Martin Mittelbach. B,L,D
Friday: For the majority of this day, you will enjoy a time of leisure, experience the outstanding spa at the hotel, shop in town, or play golf. In late afternoon we will visit Anton Bauer in his cellar and have a wine tasting in his vineyards. This evening we will have a fabulous dinner and enjoy more exceptional wines from Anton Bauer in his winery. B, D
Saturday: This morning you have an option. You can go by bus to Krems. Walk or shop in the beautiful 1000 year old town. Or you may stay at the Loisium Hotel and relax, be spoiled at the spa, or explore the town of Langenlois on your own. About midday, Karl Steininger will host a 3-course lunch accompanied by his fine wines in his winery. Following lunch, we will be treated to a unique one-hour guided tour of the Loisium, including the mystical cellar world (designed by Steiner Sarnen of Switzerland) and continue on to the visitor center (designed by Steven Holl of New York). The Loisium's ‘Vinotheque' at tours end, offers high-quality selections dedicated to the wines of Lower Austria . This evening we have our farewell Champagne (Sekt) dinner in Vineyard Restaurant in the hotel. B, L, D
Sunday: A single group departure will be provided this morning from the hotel to the Vienna airport. B
B - Breakfast L - Lunch D – Dinner
