DAY    3            SALZBURG
We begin this morning with a Walking Tour through the Old City, a maze of meandering lanes, curious steeples, cobbled streets and spacious squares.  Here we will view Mozart's Birthplace, the Old Square, the Cathedral, and the Residenz. A highlight of our walk will be the Glockenspiel, an early 18th century carillon with 35 bells, which we can hear from one of the cafes lining the edges of the Mozartplatz.  We will conclude our afternoon on Salzburg’s most famous street, the Getreidegasse, which is lined with small shops, interesting houses and wrought-iron signs.
 

· Your First Concert Performance will be today

DAY    4            SALZBURG AREA - (MELK OR ST. FLORIAN) - VIENNA (3

                          NIGHTS)
Today we head along the Danube Valley to the historic town of Melk where we will visit the Baroque Abbey and Abbey Church which are built on a promontory dominating the town. Alternately, we can visit the Abbey of St. Florian where Anton Bruckner, recognized as Austria’s greatest composer of church music, worked and is buried.  We will then travel east across Austria to Vienna, capital of Austria and for 600 years the glittering capital of the Hapsburg Empire.  Vienna has an incomparable musical heritage and is the city of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn, Brahms and Johann Strauss.

DAY    5            VIENNA
We begin with a visit to the State Opera House which was opened in 1869 with a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.  We will have a guided tour (subject to there being no rehearsals in progress).  This afternoon we will stop just outside the city center for a visit to the 1,441 room Schönbrunn Palace, which was designed for the Habsburgs before becoming the imperial summer palace during Maria Theresa's 40-year reign.  It was the scene of great ceremonial balls, lavish banquets, and fabulous receptions held during the Congress of Vienna, including a performance by a 6 year-old Mozart. Our tour will include the State Apartments, a stroll through the Imperial Gardens, and a brief visit to the Wagenburg or Carriage Museum, which contains a fine display of imperial coaches from the 17th through the 20th century.

DAY    6            VIENNA
Our Walking Tour will take us to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, scene of the double marriage between the Hapsburg, Bohemian and Hungarian dynasties in 1515 that laid the foundation of the Austrian Empire.  Next we will visit the City Park where we will see various monuments commemorating the Great Composers of the past.  We continue on to the interactive discovery museum Haus der Musik (House of Music). You can conduct the Vienna Philharmonic from a virtual conductor’s podium, and the musicians on the screen will tell you if you are up to par, journey back in time to see the great classical composers, or compose your own waltz and have it played.  A total of 5,000 square meters has been set aside exclusively for areas dedicated to a wide array of approaches to music, and to the experience of music.

DAY    7            VIENNA - PRAGUE (2 NIGHTS)
We travel to Prague today which is the capital of the Czech Republic, built on seven hills astride the Vltava River.  The beauty of Prague is legendary; Goethe described the city as “the most precious stone in the crown of this world.”  Upon our arrival in Prague we visit the Church of St. Nicholas, one of Prague’s most spectacular Baroque churches, completed in 1761.  The church is ornately decorated and features statues, frescoes and paintings by the leading artists of the day.  Later we continue with a  Walking Tour where we step back in time to explore the tangle of quaint narrow streets surrounding the castle and cross the ancient Charles Bridge to arrive at the Old Town Square and view the historic Town Hall, the famous astronomical clock and the 14th century Tyn Church.

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DAY    8           PRAGUE
Our City Tour will take us through Wenceslas Square, where the great demonstrations organized by the civic forum movement brought down the Communist Government in late 1989.  We continue to the Gothic Gunpowder Tower, Count Wallenstein’s Palace and National Theatre before visiting Hradcany Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. Subject to timing, we will visit the Smetana Museum, a museum which pays tribute to traditions of Czech classical music and its most patriotic composer, Bedrich Smetana.  The exhibits show scores, diaries, manuscripts, and personal items presented to the composer in the mid-19th century composer.

DAY    9            DEPARTURE FROM VIENNA
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your tour manager/guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight home.