Christmas Market Magic!

Join a professional licensed tour guide on a sightseeing adventure around Vienna, the city of brilliant musicians, Baroque art and architecture, and velvet-clad coffeehouses. Along your journey, you’ll sense the power and decadence of the city’s early ruling family, the almighty Habsburgs. Wander down the infamous Ringstraße, the series of boulevards circling the city, commissioned by Emperor Franz Josef in 1857. Pass the world-famous Opera House and the 450-foot Gothic St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Vienna’s most adored symbol. Encounter the Neoclassical Parliament, where the Austrian National and Federal Councils congregate. See the Habsburgs' winter retreat at the Hofburg (Imperial Palace). Inside lies the Imperial Treasury, which includes religious relics like the nails from the Crucifixion and the thorns from Christ’s crown. End the adventure with a visit to Schönbrunn Palace, where the Habsburg’s ruled until 1918 and six-year-old Mozart serenaded Marie Antoinette.

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 the 40-year reign of Maria Theresa. It was the scene of great aristocratic events during the Congress of Vienna, including a performance by a 6-year-old Mozart.

Visit St. Stephen's Cathedral, one of the greatest Gothic structures in Europe. St. Stephen’s is rich in woodcarvings, altars, sculptures, and paintings. One of the paintings shows the scene of the double marriage between the Habsburg, Bohemian, and Hungarian dynasties in 1515 that laid the foundation of the Austrian Empire.

Experience the best of classical music composed by Salzburg’s child prodigy, the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Get lost in the uplifting, complex melodies as you imagine the musical master crafting ingenious violin and piano concertos at the unripe age of 17. With spiritual undertones to the youthful carefree finales, this live concert is a cultural treat for your ears and spirit.

Visit the hills that are still very much alive with music. Surrounded by towering snow-capped Alpine mountains, Salzburg was fashioned in Baroque style architecture by three Bishop Princes back in the late 16th century. Discover all kinds of medieval spires, domes, belfries and turrets atop city buildings and houses of worship. Visit Mozart’s birthplace on the second floor of Getreideg. 9 in Old Town, and peruse a collection of the boy wonder’s toys including his first viola and violin. Relive scenes from The Sound of Music at the yellow castle the infamous von Trapp family called home.

Feel the rhythm of Salzburg’s Old Town Square as you enter the unassuming yellow domicile at Getreidegasse 9. This is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. View an impressive collection of the young composer’s first instruments and immerse yourself in the captivating saga of this prodigy’s early life.

Join a professional licensed tour guide for a whirlwind look at Munich. Founded in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Munich now roars with the hustle and bustle of modern German life. As you pass by Marienplatz (named after the square’s gilded Virgin Mary and Child statue), mechanical knights joust and coopers dance to the folk-music chimes of the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel. The twin onion-bulb towers of the Frauenkirche Cathedral frame this whimsical display, while the scents, sounds and colors of the nearby food market attempt to draw your attention elsewhere. Resist temptation and continue on to Olympiapark, a new suburb built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Pass by several museums, such as the BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek (home to Munich’s most precious art collections), and the Deutsches Museum of science and technology.

Visit Olympia Park, site of the 1972 Olympics. Buildings include the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, and the Aquatic Center. Many cultural events are still held at Olympia Park.

Discover the area of Munich around Marienplatz, which is dedicated to the patron of the city. See the Neues Rathaus and observe the Glockenspiel on its facade. This is the fourth largest chiming clock in Europe, and stages an elaborate performance twice a day.

Enjoy the spirit of Christmas away from modern commercialism. These holiday markets are not about anything mass-produced. Discover time-honored handicrafts and artisanal products from nutcrackers and nativity figurines to marionettes and classic Lebkuchen gingerbread biscuits. Wander through rows of chock-full stalls—and even a floating market on the Rhine. Please note this visit is only available seasonally during Christmas time.

Enjoy Bavarian- or Berlin-style sausage with traditional sides, made from veal and pork back bacon (Bavarian-style), or fried pork (Berlin style).

This elaborate castle was built atop a rock ledge over the Pöllat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps by order of Bavaria's King Ludwig II, referred to as "Mad Ludwig," whose favorite pastime was midnight sleigh rides through the countryside. This stronghold was the crowning jewel of the king’s building spree across Bavaria and was the inspiration for Cinderella’s castle in Disney World. Begun in 1869 and left unfinished at Ludwig's death in 1886, this lavish palace is an eccentric reconstruction of a medieval castle, and it boasts major technological and architectural achievements for the time, including running water, flushing toilets, a hot water system for the kitchen, and bathrooms with warm-air heating systems.

Visit a typical Bavarian dwellings in Oberammergau, a charming Alpine village. When the black plague spread through Europe, wiping out thousands of people, the residents of Oberammergau prayed for their village to be spared. Every 10 years during the summer days, the thankful town puts on the Passion Play, celebrating the blessing they were granted as they were passed over by the Black Death.

Alpine views are around every corner and ski slopes are just a funicular ride from the center of historic Innsbruck. A medieval old town is home to imperial palaces, world-class galleries, and Zaha Hadid's avant-garde designs. Sophisticated, good-looking, and affluent, the Tyrolean capital walks a fine tightrope between the urban and the outdoors, as well as the historic and cutting edge, and pulls it off beautifully.

Before a backdrop of snow-capped Alpine mountains and green, cow-filled pastures, join your Tour Director on a trip to Lucerne’s famous sights. Weave your way through a maze of narrow, winding streets until you reach the River Reuss and the Medieval Kapellbrücke Bridge. Stop to marvel at the bridge walls, decorated with murals that recreate the 14th-century originals destroyed in a fire. Journey down the cobblestone streets in the Old Town to see the Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument), the somber sandstone wild cat gazing down into a reflecting pool, and ponder this artfully chiseled statue created to honor the Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries in 1792.

View the Lion Monument, or Löwendenkmal, created in 1820 in honor of the Swiss Guards who lost their lives in 1792 during the French Revolution.

One of the city's famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrücke, a wooden bridge first built in the 14th century. It has also been voted as the 5th most popular tourism destination in the world.