Day 1 Munich
Group arrival at Munich airport to be welcomed by our English speaking tour manager. Start the sightseeing tour of Munich. Within sight of the Alps, the glamorous capital of Bavaria, Munich (Mu nchen), has much to offer: an extensive and well-restored old town, world-class museums and galleries, fine civic buildings such as the neo-Gothic town hall, and the wonderful church known as the Frauenkirche, whose twin onion-topped towers are the symbol of the city. Afterwards check-in at your hotel and free time for lunch. Afternoon visit the Nymphenburg palace (Schloü Nymphenburg), a summer residence of the Bavarian dukes, was build in 1664 as a small
Italianate palace and extended on several occasions. Within, there are numerous apartments. The Banqueting Hall has rich and colourful stuccowork and a musician's gallery.
Return to you hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 2 Munich
Breakfast at your hotel. Departure for Fu ssen (120 km). Visit the Neuschwanstein palace.
The most famous and extravagant castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Palace occupies a breath-taking Alpine setting on a spur surrounded by lakes and mountains. Its air of unreality, both inside and out, is in large part due to having been built by a team of theatre designers. Afterwards visit the castle Hohenschwangau. Hohenschwangau Palace (Schlo“ Hohenschwangau) was built on the site of a ruined medieval castle overlooking the Alpsee between 1832 and 1837 for Crown Prince Maximilian of Bavaria, and was the boyhood home of the future King Ludwig II. It is neo-Gothic in style, and strongly influenced by English examples, though its evocations of the courtly world of the troubadours endow it with the characteristic stamp of German Romanticism.
Return to Munich. En-route visit the pilgrimage church in Steingarden. Proceed to Munich. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 3. Munich -Nuremberg
Breakfast at your hotel. Departure for Nur nberg (165 km). Arrival and start the city tour of Nur nberg. Straddling the River Pegnitz, Nuremberg (Nu rnberg) was Germany's largest medieval city until it was destroyed in World War II. With its stunningly romantic townscape of gabled buildings and steep red roofs set within the ring of its massive walls, its typical Germanic appearance commended it to the Nazis, who held their great pre-war rallies here. Later it was also the site of the war-crime trials. Today the city has been largely rebuilt according to its old street pattern, and something of its ancient atmosphere remains, especially by the riverside and beneath the castle, the Kaiserburg, where Du rer's House is located. Nuremberg's treasures are stored in its great churches and superb museums. Among the latter are the Toy Museum, Transport Museum, and the extensive German National Museum featuring German art from all periods. Afterwards check-in at your hotel. Free time for lunch. Afternoon visit the imperial castle, which dominates the old centre of Nuremberg from an outcrop in the north of the town. Building began in the 11th century, but what appears today dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. Notable parts of the complex include the Romanesque imperial chapel, the late-Gothic palace, and the 53-metre-/174-foot-deep well. An outstanding view over the rooftops of the city can be enjoyed from the top of the round tower (Sinwellturm).
Afterwards dinner at a local restaurant. Return to your hotel for overnight.
Day 4 Nuremberg Bayreuth
Breakfast at your hotel. Departure for Bayreuth (87 km). Arrival and start the city tour of Bayreuth. With its magnificent Festival
Theatre, Bayreuth is well known as the venue for the annual Wagner Music Festival. It is also an old city, much of it rebuilt in rococo style when the Margravine Wilhelmina created the New Palace with its romantic garden. Just outside the town is the Margravine's charming summer retreat, the Eremitage Palace. The Villa Wahnfried where Richard Wagner lived with his family now houses the Richard Wagner Museum. Bayreuth is also the centre for exploring the Fichtelgebirge (spruce mountains) and the limestone country known as Franconian Switzerland, riddled with caves and crag-top castles and hamlets. Afterwards visit the Richard Wagner Museum. The Richard
Wagner Museum occupies the late neoclassical Villa Wahnfried, whose name literally means .”peace from delusion—It was built for the composer in 1874 as his Bayreuth residence, and remained in the possession of his descendants until 1966. Among the memorabilia are original furniture, manuscripts, musical instruments, and a death mask. Wagner and his wife Cosima are buried in the garden. Free time for lunch or shopping. Afternoon visit the Hermitage. In a wooded setting just to the east of the town, the Hermitage (Schlo“ Eremitage) was built in the late 18th century as a retreat– where a temporary simple life could be led in bare cells– for the Margraves of Bayreuth. In 1735 it was utterly transformed by Margravine Wilhelmine, who remodelled the interiors, particularly the Japanese Salon and the Music Room. She also added some fanciful structures including the gaudy Temple of the Sun and an artificial ruin intended as an amphitheatre.The Hermitage reopens in 1998 after a period of restoration. Return to your hotel and free time for leisure. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in Bayreuth.
