Day 01: Arrive in Frankfurt Area, Germany
Arrive Frankfurt, meet-assist at airport & Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight at hotel

Day 02: Frankfurt Area–Rhine Cruise–Cologne–Rhineland
Today’s highlight is an included Rhine cruise to enjoy scenic views of the Rhineland, including the famous Lorelei rock. The next highlight is Cologne with free time to visit the city center.

Day 03: Rhineland–Hamelin–Hamburg
Journey into Niedersachsen to visit Hamelin. Admire its town center with the colorful historical buildings and magically fancy gables echoing the story of the Pied Piper. Continue to Hamburg.

Day 04: Hamburg–Lübeck–Berlin
Start the day with an orientation drive in Hamburg, one of Germany’s greatest maritime cities. Later, depart for Lübeck, formerly a free Hanseatic city and independent state. Lübeck, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered the cultural capital of northern Germany. Thomas Mann, Günther Grass, and Willy Brandt—all Nobel laureates—were among the famous residents of this city. Later, arrive in Berlin and enjoy your first evening in the capital of Germany.

Day 05: Berlin
No longer divided but every bit as fascinating, Berlin was once the city of contrasts with the wall separating two different worlds. Now, the city has developed into a harmonious blend of new and old, preserving its historical buildings and impressive boulevards as well as creating brand new buildings in the most daring architectural styles. See all of this on the included city sightseeing with a Local Guide. Consider an optional excursion this afternoon.

Day 06: Berlin–Dresden–Leipzig
Travel southwest to Dresden, the old capital of Saxony and at one time rightly called the “Florence on the Elbe.” See the Zwinger Carillon Pavilion and much more on your included sightseeing. Then it’s on to Leipzig, where composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn lived the last years of their lives. It was Mendelssohn who founded the Leipziger Conservatory in 1843.

Day 07: Leipzig–Weimar–Coburg–Nuremberg
Leave Leipzig to visit Weimar, home to many intellectuals of the past but mainly known for the name given to the historical period of the “Weimar Republic.” This city is also famed as the home of the Bauhaus architectural movement in the 1920s. Next stop is Coburg. Visit the dominating and mighty Veste Coburg Castle, built in 1225. Continue to Nuremberg for a visit to its town center, dominated by the imperial castle.

Day 08: Nuremberg–Rothenburg–Munich
As you leave Nuremberg, stop for a photo at the famous Zeppelinfield. On the way to Munich, visit the quaint Medieval village of Rothenburg on the Romantic Road. Marvel at its towered gates and battlements, squares of half-timbered houses and decorated fountains.

Day 09: Munich
With a Local Guide, take advantage of the included sightseeing tour of the city known as Germany’s “Secret Capital.” Time to admire the beautiful main square, Marienplatz, do some shopping, and sample Munich’s famous beer!

Day 10: Munich–Neuschwanstein–Stuttgart Area
Leave Munich and drive into the heart of the Bavarian Alps to visit the most famous 19th-century, neo-romantic castle of the world, King Ludwig II’s fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle. Overnight in a lovely village outside Stuttgart.

Day 11: Stuttgart Area–Heidelberg–Frankfurt Area
The day starts with a scenic drive for a taste of the Black Forest landscapes and villages, followed by a visit to Heidelberg—location of Germany’s oldest university and inspiration for the German Romantic movement. From here, continue to Frankfurt.

Day 12: Frankfurt Area
Your vacation ends.

Day 01: Welcome to Berlin
On arrival at Berlin’s Branderburg Airport, transfers to hotel.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 02: The Spirit of Berlin
Join a Local Expert to see some of Berlin’s many highlights. Travel along the Ku’Damm past the Memorial Church. Drive through the Tiergarten to see Norman Foster’s glass dome that crowns the reconstructed Reichstag building. Continue with a visit to the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of the reunification, and down long the Unter den Linden, past the Humboldt University and State Opera. Stop on Museum Island before enjoying a day at leisure in this once divided city. Perhaps take the opportunity to visit the glorious palace of the Prussian Kings at Potsdam?

Day 03: Dresden, a Baroque Phoenix on the Elbe
In Dresden, join your Local Expert to see the splendours of the city. From the Frauenkirche, which has risen again from the destruction of World War II, walk past ‘The Procession of the Princes’, a mosaic of colossal proportions on the Royal Palace facade. See the enormous cathedral, Semper Opera House and Baroque Zwinger Palace. Although the town was heavily bombed in World War II, it still remains a treasure trove of early German history and medieval architecture.

Day 04: Nuremberg and the Bavarian Capital of Munich
In the morning, depart Dresden and travel south to Nuremberg for a stop to take in the former rally grounds. Continue on to the vibrant city of Munich. Enjoy a city orientation that will show you the university, Victory Arch and the Marienplatz, where crowds gather at the Town Hall to watch the antics of the Glockenspiel.

Day 05: The Jewels of the Bavarian Alps
In the morning, travel to Neuschwanstein: Ludwig II’s fairytale castle spectacularly perched on an Alpine mountainside. A local historian will guide you through the extravagantly decorated apartments, including the Throne Room and Lohengrin Grotto. Continue along part of the Alpine Road amid beautiful scenery to the Wieskirche, a masterpiece of Bavarian Rococo. Journey onto Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps, home of the Passion Play since 1634. See the immense theatre and colourfully-painted chalets. Return to Munich and savour a Farm-to-Table Highlight Dinner, sourced from fresh local ingredients.

Day 06: Into the Black Forest
Explore Munich with Insight Choice. Choose between joining a Local Expert for a foodie walking tour in the city centre visiting the famous Viktualienmarkt and Marienplatz or alternatively, go on a guided bike tour in the beautiful English Garden and see the famous Munich surfers. Take a delightful drive into the Black Forest as you make your way to Freiburg.

Day 07: Medieval Rothenburg ob der Tauber
The Black Forest is the land of cherry cake and cuckoo clocks, where traditional farmhouses dip their thatched roofs almost to the ground. Stop to meet the locals who still make cuckoo clocks by hand, a tradition passed down over 300 years. Venture to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the best-preserved town on the Romantic Road. Plunge back into the 16th century during your orientation with your Travel Director as you walk through narrow cobbled streets lined with high-gabled houses to the market square, dominated by its Renaissance town hall. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure for further exploration on your own. For your Dine-Around Evening, choose from a hand-picked selection of restaurants within the walls of the Old Town.

Day 08: The University City of Heidelberg and Mainz
Head through the valleys, where villages and isolated farms nestle beside fast-flowing streams, before travelling north to Heidelberg. Visit Heidelberg Palace, or Heidelberger Schloss in German, one of the world’s most impressive palace ruins, synonymous with the Romantic Movement. Venture inside to see the Heidelberg Tun, a gigantic wine vat built into the building’s cellar in 1591 and able to hold 130,000 litres. Hear its associated tales of the dwarf court jester, Perkeo. Spend time in the vast and insightful Apothecary Museum, before marvelling at the panoramic vistas of the city and Neckar Valley from the castle fortress. Your hotel is in the nearby town of Mainz, a bustling and important town since the time of the Romans. Enjoy an orientation with your Travel Director and see half-timbered houses and medieval market squares that the city is known for.

Day 09: Castles of the Rhine Experience
Begin the day with a relaxing cruise past steep-sided vineyards, half-timbered taverns, hilltop castles and the infamous Lorelei Rock. Arrive at Boppard and continue to Koblenz where a gigantic equestrian statue of Wilhelm I guards the junction of the Rhine and Moselle. Have your camera ready as you return along the eastern bank. Enjoy the scenic views from the mighty Niederwald Monument.

Day 10: Depart Frankfurt
Departure transfers to Frankfurt airport for flight back to home.