From time immemorial the Danube valley funnelled invaders from the plains of central Asia into the European peninsular through the gap between the Carpathians and the Alps. A thoroughfare from east to west, Europe’s longest river constituted a barrier between north and south. Although the Ottomans briefly invested Vienna, basically the Magyars and the Mongols, the Huns and the Turks all ran out of steam where the Danube turns south again between the highlands of Buda and the lowlands of Pest.

Only united in the 1870s, a tempestuous history has left the twin city of Budapest with a unique character - a language that is neither Latin nor Slav, a rich and eclectic architecture, and a distinctive musical tradition. Our tour, explores the diversity of this extraordinary place, including a concert in the Academy of Music and a night at the Opera as well as an experience of Budapest’s most characteristic element - water - which not only flows through the heart of the city between the banks of Danube, but boils up out of the ground all over Budapest into swimming-pools and bath houses.

We fly from London Heathrow to Budapest and transfer to our four star hotel in the city centre. Dinner is independent this evening and every evening (except day 4), but once we have settled into our rooms, we will take a turn about the neighbouring streets and squares to enable you to get your bearings and your tour leader to point out restaurants where you might like to dine.

Using the excellent public transport system, we will visit the splendid neo-gothic Houses of Parliament, completed in 1902, and St Stephen’s Cathedral, dedicated in 1905 to St Stephen of Hungary (one of three early Hungarian kings to be canonised). Pausing for an independent lunch in one the city’s famous patisseries (Gerbeaud being the best known) we spend the afternoon visiting the Opera House, and the Academy of Music. Named after Hungary’s most famous composer and virtuoso, Ferenc Liszt, the Academy has one of the most elaborate Art Nouveau interiors in the city including murals of the so-called Gödöllö School – the Hungarian equivalent of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This evening we will attend a performance of Wagner’s Parsifal in the magnificent Hungarian National Opera.

This morning we will explore the extraordinary architecture of the city centre where the neo-classical rubs shoulders with art nouveau or elements of these and earlier styles are stirred up with Asiatic ingredients to produce a uniquely Hungarian synthesis in the works of Lechner and others. In the afternoon we take the funicular up to the Castle Hill to visit the Mathias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion with its splendid view over the Danube and the lower city, and the former Royal Palace which now houses the National Gallery of Hungary. This evening we attend a performance of Arabella by Richard Strauss in the National Opera House

This morning we visit the National Museum which illustrates the political history of Hungary and houses the Hungarian crown jewels; The Central Synagogue, the vast proportions of which (it is the largest in Europe and the second largest in the world) bear witness to the cultural and commercial significance of the Jews in Hungary between the unification of Buda and Pest in 1873 and the attempted genocide of the 1940s; and the Central Market, which was to Budapest what Covent Garden once was to London. The early afternoon will be spent in one of the grandest and most distinctive bathing establishments of the city centre. A buffet dinner this evening is included and will be taken on a river boat on the Danube.

Today is free for you to explore the shops and modern amenities of Budapest before we transfer to the airport and our flight back to London Heathrow.

• Accommodation -

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.