When the ecclesiastical authorities licensed Henry the Lion to establish a market town at the point where the road from Salzburg crosses the Isar, the Tegernsee monastery it served was already 350 years old. A cornerstone of the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria only enjoyed independence as a kingdom for some 60 years in the 19th century; but during that

period its three famously eccentric kings indulged in an orgy of building and collecting, to provide themselves with a capital city worthy of their brief and precarious dignity.
We explore the principal monuments and the prodigious collections assembled by the Wittelsbachs, including Ludwig’s fairy castle of Neuschwanstein.

We fly from London to Munich and transfer to our 4 star hotel in the city centre. Dinner on opera and ballet nights will be divided in two by the evening’s entertainment, with the first two courses before we go to the theatre, and coffee and dessert on our return. Dinner is also included this evening

We begin making our acquaintance with Munich this morning with a walking tour of the Altstadt, taking in the Marienplatz with its old and new Gothic town halls, the Frauenkirche Cathedral, the Church of St John Nepomuk a theatrical conception of the Asam brothers, and the Hofbrauhaus, the world-famous beer-hall where we will pause for an independent lunch. Dinner this evening is included and will be taken in the hotel restaurant

We take the tram to the museum quarter of the town where we will spend the morning in the Altepinakothek, housing a prodigious collections of German, Flemish, Dutch and Italian paintings of the 14th-18th centuries, including famous and much-reproduced works by Titian, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Velasquez and others. This evening will be an opportunity for independent exploration of the cafes and restaurants of the city centre.

We head into the mountains this morning to the south west of Munich to admire the scenery and step back into Ludwig the Second’s medieval fantasy epitomised in his fairy castle of Neuschwanstein. We also take in another of his retreats, Linderhof, before returning to Munich. We end our day with dinner in the hotel and this evening’s performance at the Nationaltheater of the opera Medea in Corinto by Simon Mayr, a work – and indeed a composer – revered in the nineteenth century by such luminaries as Rossini, Donizetti (who was Mayr’s most distinguished pupil), Goethe and Stendhal.

Today we visit the Residenz. Royal Palace of the dukes, electors and kings of Bavaria from the 16th century until the First World War, and witness to the taste and ambition of the Wittelsbach dynasty, the fabric was extensively reconstructed after the bomb damage of the Second World War, and the pictures and furnishings taken out of safe-keeping and restored to their places. What we see today is much as it would have appeared in the various periods – Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo – of its original construction. Dinner this evening is once again included and will be taken in the hotel restaurant

We continue our exploration of the Wittelsbach collections today in the Neuepinakothek, whose 18th and 19th century paintings include works by our own Gainsborough, Stubbs, Hogarth and Reynolds as well as German Romantics, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Dinner is once again independent, and the evening will afford an opportunity to stroll about the leafy squares of the city centre, or watch the passing spectacle from a café terrace.

Part of our day will be spent in the Glyptothek, a first rate collection of Greek and Roman sculpture, including the famous Barberini Faun form the 3rd century BC. The remains of the day will be free to enjoy the modern amenities of the city before dinner and tonight’s performance in the Prinzregententheater of Sir Frederick Ashton’s ballet La Fille Malgardee.

We transfer to Munich airport and return flight to London

• Accommodation -
  • 5 nights half board, and 2 nights bed and breakfast in a modern 4 star hotel in the centre of the city.
• Transport
  • Transfers to and from Munich airport by private coach or minibus
  • Public transport costs within the city. Munich has a very good modern tram service
  • Transport by private coach to Neuschwanstein
• First or Second Series seats for Medea in Corinto by Simon Mayr, and for Sir Frederick Ashton’s ballet La Fille Malgardee.
• Excursions as outlined in the itinerary.
• Entrance fees to all places mentioned in the itinerary
• Services of an experienced lecturer/tour leader -
• Local guide where required by local legislation
• All tips and gratuities

• Insurance
  • It is a condition of booking that you have adequate travel insurance to cover your needs when you travel with us. This will need to cover a missed departure, any emergency that may arise while you are travelling with us, and should also enable you to claim back from the insurance company any monies already paid to us or due to us in the event of your having to cancel the tour after booking and before the departure date.
    
    If you have difficulty finding cover due to your age, it may be of help to know that there are at least two companies who provide Travel Insurance to those over retirement age:-
    • Age Concern - Tel 0845 601 2234 Click here for Website
    • Saga - Tel 0800 559 3231 Click here for Website
  
  
• Walking - Most of our tours involve a good deal of walking.
• Sites and Museums - Archaeological sites in some countries can be rough and uneven underfoot and do not always conform to western standards of health and safety.

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FLIGHTS:             Economy Class    Club Class (if available and at supplementary cost)    None