Vacation Packages : Czech Republic
Prague and the Bohemian Countryside   (8 days)

Airfare:

 Single, triple occupancy or families and groups, please inquire

*Basic Category does not include guided tours, excursions, cooking school, dinners, or meet and transfer.

 **Air prices vary depending upon time of year and market conditions. Prices from and to other gateways in U.S.A. may be somewhat higher than for NYC.
NYC / Franfurt / Prague
Plus
Prague / Frankfurt / NYC

Please inquire***

TOUR FEATURES*
  • Meet, greet and airport transfers
  • Seven nights at hotel of your choice from our list of partners
  • Local guides
  • Daily buffet breakfast
  • Tour of Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, and “Altneushul”
  • Visits to Prague Castle and the Gothic Cathedral of St. Vitus
  • Visits to Strahov Monastery, the National Gallery, and St. George’s Monastery
  • Excursion to the Museum of Decorative Arts, with an introduction to the Bohemian glass collection
  • Walking tour of the Charles Bridge
  • Visits to the Church of St. Nicholas and Loretto Shrine
  • Excursion to the Bohemian countryside with visit to Nelahozeves Castle
  • Evening performance at the Municipal House
  • Tour of the Czech Museum of Fine Arts
  • Entrance fees for sites listed
  • Extensive pre-tour assistance, including a practical and cultural guide
  • Travel bag, passport wallet, name badge, and luggage tags

OPTIONAL FEATURES
  • Round-trip air transportation from the United States
  • Comprehensive insurance coverage for trip cancellation or interruption, baggage, illness, and accident at special group rates

ITINERARY


U.S.A. /Frankfurt
Day 1
Depart U.S.A. for Europe. Meals Aloft
Frankfurt/Prague
Day 2
After changing planes in Frankfurt, you are met at the ce airport Prague by our rep and escorted to your hotel chosen from our list. The balance of the day is at leisure. Meals Aloft.

Prague
Day 3
Visit the Old Town, with its celebrated astronomical clock that marks the minutes and hours, as well as the days of the week, the date of the month, the signs of the zodiac, and the phases of the moon.  Continue to the Jewish Quarter, called Josefov, where the historic Prague ghetto evolved.  Following a walk through the Old Jewish Cemetery, visit the Altneushul, a 13th-century Gothic building that is Europe’s oldest functioning synagogue. 

Following lunch on your own, afternoon sightseeing will include Prague Castle, the magnificent landmark of the historic core of the city.  From its hilltop vantage point, the castle has awed and inspired the city’s population for more than 1,000 years.  With its three inner courtyards, the castle has served as the seat of the Czech state and the residence of Bohemian kings dating from the 9th century.  It also is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of St. Vitus with the Imperial Mausoleum.  B
Prague
Day 4
This morning visit the stately Strahov Monastery, which houses one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval libraries in a setting of frescoed, vaulted halls and rooms containing pieces of the original Baroque furniture, as well as a group of 17th- and 18th-century world globes.  Sightseeing will continue with a tour of the National Gallery in Sternberg Palace (1679), with its outstanding collection of works by such masters as Dürer, Brueghel, Rubens, and Goya.  After lunch on own, see St. George’s Monastery, with its vast collection of works by old Czech masters, including Mannerist, Rudolphian, and Baroque art.  B


Prague
Day 5
At the Museum of Decorative Art, learn about the history and production of renowned Bohemian glass, an art that began as early as the 15th century in Moravia, then part of the Bohemian kingdom.  The museum houses one of the best chronological collections of Bohemian glass, from early times to post-World War II, when Prague produced an excellent generation of artists.  After lunch on own, take a guided walk on Prague’s landmark Charles Bridge, with its precious collection of Baroque sculptures along its more than 1,500-foot length.  B

Prague
Day 6

This morning, visit the Church of St. Nicholas, a masterpiece of Czech Baroque architecture, built by the Jesuits from 1673 to 1755.  Continue to Loretto Shrine, which grew over the centuries from a simple chapel to a revered complex of chapels, ornate cloisters, and the Church of the Nativity.  Its early Baroque tower, built in 1694, has a carillon, which rings every hour.  The charming two-story cloisters were the work of famous Bavarian Baroque architect Dientzenhofer.  Bohemian nobles gave lavish gifts to the shrine, the most remarkable of which is the “diamond monstrance” made in 1699 by jewelers in Vienna and studded with more than 6,000 diamonds.  The remainder of the day is at leisure.  B

Prague (Bohemian countryside)
Day 7
Enjoy an excursion into the scenic Bohemian countryside to see a pastoral world of gentle hills crowned with thick forests.  At Nelahozeves Castle, view the private art collection of the Lobkowicz family, with paintings by Brueghel, Rubens, Canaletto, Cranach the Elder and Younger, Spranger, and Velázquez.  The portrait gallery shows a historic array of the most prominent personalities, diplomats, leaders and advisors in Czech history.  Also view musical scores, manuscripts and instruments by Beethoven, Mozart and Händel.  This afternoon, visit the birthplace of beloved Czech composer Anton Dvořák. Return to Prague, and visit the Mucha Museum to see the works by the noted Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), the master of Art Nouveau.  This evening, attend a performance at the Municipal House, Prague’s greatest gem of Art Nouveau, decorated by Alphonse Mucha and completed in 1911.  B

Prague
Day 8
Visit the Czech Museum of Fine Arts, housing a permanent exhibition of contemporary Bohemian paintings, sculpture, and furniture.  The museum is located in the House of the Black Madonna, Prague’s first Cubist building, designed by Josef Gočár, one of the 20th -century’s most important Czech architects.  The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.  B
Prague/Frankfurt/U.S.A.
Day 9
Our rep will transfer you to the Prague airport and you return home.B/Meals Aloft