River Cruise Itinerary

Walk in the footsteps of musical giants... like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Strauss, Haydn and others... as you discover their "haunts" in great cities throughout Austria, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia and Czech Republic... Join Tauck's "maestro" and listen to the immersive music of both active music scholars and experienced performers alike on this most musical of Danube River cruises. Explore Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Bratislava, Budapest and more, visiting homes these musical greats lived and composed in, and concert halls and palaces where they performed... enveloped by their glorious music throughout a magical journey filled with Tauck Exclusives! Along with your Tauck Cruise Director and Tauck Directors, your cruise is accompanied throughout by Tauck's "maestro." Active music scholars and performers, our maestros include current doctoral recipients in music history who are passionate and knowledgeable about European music and the destinations you'll visit. They'll guide your explorations ashore and enrich your onboard experience with interactive music workshops, seminars and much more!

1. Day 1
   Budapest, Hungary

   Tue, Oct 15, 2024

   Tour begins: 5:00 PM, Budapest. A transfer is included from Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport or Keleti Train Station to your riverboat. Join us for an orientation and safety briefing followed by a welcome toast and dinner onboard this evening.

   
   Meals: Dinner
2. Day 2
   Budapest, Hungary

   Wed, Oct 16, 2024

   Statues of Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Liszt greet you at the 1884 State Opera House in Pest, with its gilded vaulted ceiling, murals, royal boxes and three-ton chandelier; expect some surprises on a guided tour of this neo-Renaissance masterpiece, including the private box of Habsburg Empress Elisabeth ("Sisi"). Discover some of Budapest's key sites today, such as Heroes' Square – bounded by some of the finest architectural works in Hungary – and Central Market Hall. After a free afternoon in Budapest, join us for a performance at one of the city's premier concert venues.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
3. Day 3
   Budapest, Hungary

   Thu, Oct 17, 2024

   After a free morning, head to Buda for a walking tour and, if you wish, time to check out the Museum of Music History, whose exhibits portray centuries of Hungarian musical life in a former palace on Castle Hill. Attend a private performance during a visit to Vigado Concert Hall along the Danube's east riverbank. Return to the riverboat mid-afternoon – your cruise begins as you head to your next destination, Bratislava.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
4. Day 4
   Bratislava, Slovakia

   Fri, Oct 18, 2024

   After a morning's cruise with lectures, workshops and a guest choir rehearsal, arrive in Bratislava, Slovakia – the Baroque stomping grounds of great musical prodigies, as you'll discover firsthand today. A walking tour includes the city's Old Town, now a pedestrian-only, vehicle-free zone. Stroll down a lane where 6-year-old Mozart performed and 9-year-old Liszt played across the street 58 years later – around the corner, 30 years after that, one of Liszt's young students inspired him to write a sonata for the boy! You'll also see where a young Béla Bartók attended grammar school in the 1890s. Following time to relax aboard the riverboat or explore more of this ancient city on your own, join us back onboard for dinner and some local entertainment.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
5. Day 5
   Vienna, Austria

   Sat, Oct 19, 2024

   If you had to choose only one European city to musically explore, Vienna – home to Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss – would be it! This morning, you may choose a visit to Schönbrunn Palace of the Habsburgs, followed by some free time to explore this grand Habsburg summer residence and its magnificent gardens on your own. Or, join our maestro for a city tour and a visit to the Museum of Musical Instruments at Hofburg. This museum offers a stunning collection of renaissance and baroque instruments for your viewing pleasure. This afternoon, you'll have time to explore more of Austria's remarkable capital on your own and have an early dinner before enjoying tonight's featured performance of Viennese opera at a premier venue in Vienna (subject to availability; if an opera performance is not available, a comparable classical music performance will be provided).

   Please Note: On some departures, days 5 and 6 may have their evening activities swapped based on performance schedules.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
6. Day 6
   Vienna, Austria

   Sun, Oct 20, 2024

   Vienna springs to musical life on a day featuring a pair of Tauck Exclusives. For the first one, sit in on a rehearsal this morning at beautiful Auersperg Palace as an orchestra prepares for a performance. Then spend the afternoon as you please in amazing Vienna. Tonight, nothing quite compares to the royal treatment you'll receive at today's second Tauck Exclusive: our private grand evening at Palais Ferstel, a private palace in the heart of Vienna – an incomparable setting for welcome cocktails and apéritifs, an amazing dinner, an orchestra, ballet, Strauss... it's Tauck's musical Vienna at its best!

   Please Note: On some departures, days 5 and 6 may have their evening activities swapped based on performance schedules.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
7. Day 7
   Melk, Austria

   Mon, Oct 21, 2024

   Melk Abbey, a beautiful Benedictine monastery complex overlooking the Danube, has been a significant center of learning and culture since its founding over 900 years ago. Get a sense of the importance of music to the abbey's cultural life through the ages as you tour its lovely Baroque buildings dating to the early 18th century, which often host concerts and musicals today. Back on the riverboat, enjoy lectures by our maestro and dinner en route to Grein, where you'll disembark this evening for a walk through this picturesque riverside town followed by a performance of traditional music. Back onboard, your riverboat continues cruising the Danube to the city of Linz overnight.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
8. Day 8
   Linz, Austria

   Tue, Oct 22, 2024

   Picture a small boy of 5 wowing a royal audience with his piano virtuosity, then crawling up on the lap of the Empress of half of Europe, and giving her a kiss! Little Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756, did just that. Walk in Mozart's footsteps this morning on an excursion from Linz to his Baroque hometown, visiting a museum in the house where he was born, among other locations. You'll have some free time for lunch and to explore as you please in town. Enjoy a guest choir rehearsal on your return trip from the riverboat. Dinner onboard the ship precedes an onboard classical chamber music concert by Donau 3klang as your riverboat charts a course for the pretty riverside town of Passau.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
9. Day 9
   Passau, Germany

   Wed, Oct 23, 2024

   Your riverboat docks this morning in Passau, Germany – the "city of three rivers" at the junction of the Inn, Ilz and Danube. Discover this Baroque Bavarian town known for its many churches and exquisite stained glass on a walking tour. At St. Stephen's Cathedral, you'll find Europe's largest pipe organ – actually the largest cathedral organ in the world – and, if you wish, listen to a public recital of this amazing instrument. Back aboard the riverboat in Passau, enjoy a traditional German lunch and take part in seminars, workshops, a guest choir rehearsal, musical trivia fun, and tonight's captain's farewell reception followed by a gala farewell dinner; the ship departs Passau this evening for its final port of call, Vilshofen.

   
   Meals: Breakfast
10. Day 10
    Prague, Czech Republic

    Thu, Oct 24, 2024

    This delightfully musical of Danube tours winds down as you disembark in the town of Vilshofen, bid your riverboat and its crew goodbye, and travel to historic (and extremely musical) Prague for a two-night stay. Arrive in time for a traditional Czech lunch at the delightful Art-Nouveau Municipal House, then embark on a walking tour of Prague's storied Old Town. The rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to explore Prague as you wish, and enjoy dinner as you please this evening.

    
    Meals: Breakfast
11. Day 11
    Prague, Czech Republic

    Fri, Oct 25, 2024

    Many musical giants have left their mark on Prague – capital of today's Czech Republic, and a city with a rich musical legacy of its own – and its environs as you'll discover during both guided sightseeing and time spent exploring on your own. Your day begins with an excursion to Vyšehrad, a historic fort and Czech national cultural site dating back to the 10th century, perched on a hill overlooking the Vltava River. Set within the castle is the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul and the Vyšehrad Cemetery, final resting place of many notable Czechs – including beloved Czech composers Antonín Dvo?ák and Bed?ich Smetana. The afternoon is yours to explore more of Prague on your own. Later, you'll gather to the Dvo?ák House and the Church of St. Ondrej, then travel to Nelahozeves Castle for a grand farewell dinner and our guest choir performance... what a way to end your musical odyssey!

    
    Meals: Breakfast
12. Day 12
    Prague, Czech Republic

    Sat, Oct 26, 2024

    Tours ends: Prague, Czech Republic. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from the Hilton Prague Old Town to Václav Havel Airport Prague or Praha Hlavni Nadrazi (Main Train Station); allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in at the airport.

    
    Meals: Breakfast

Inclusions

Walk in the footsteps of musical giants... like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Strauss, Haydn and others... as you discover their "haunts" in great cities throughout Austria, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia and Czech Republic... Join Tauck's "maestro" and listen to the immersive music of both active music scholars and experienced performers alike on this most musical of Danube River cruises.

Explore Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Bratislava, Budapest and more, visiting homes these musical greats lived and composed in, and concert halls and palaces where they performed... enveloped by their glorious music throughout a magical journey filled with Tauck Exclusives! Along with your Tauck Cruise Director and Tauck Directors, your cruise is accompanied throughout by Tauck's "maestro." Active music scholars and performers, our maestros include current doctoral recipients in music history who are passionate and knowledgeable about European music and the destinations you'll visit. They'll guide your explorations ashore and enrich your onboard experience with interactive music workshops, seminars and much more!

• TAUCK EXCLUSIVE - Interactive onboard workshops, seminars and performances by Tauck's "maestro"
• TAUCK EXCLUSIVE - A visit to the Opera House in Bratislava with special guests
• TAUCK EXCLUSIVE - Grand Private Imperial Evening at a Vienna palace with gala dinner and performance
• TAUCK EXCLUSIVE - Sitting in on an orchestra rehearsal in Vienna
• All private Tauck shore excursions - $3,738 Value
• All gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors, Tauck Cruise Director 

Ship Information

Cabins

Life on Board

Questions & Answers