culTOURinaria
German Christmas Markets - Go East
Exclusive small group tours - Crafts, Art, Music, Nostalgia
Our escorted Advent Tours take you on a fascinating journey to
Travel Impressions from our Christmas Market Tour
Quote from on of our guests about the Christmas Market Tour:
"Delightful Christmas Market Tour - lovely decorations and lights, great food and sights. Ute is ever attentive, efficient, and knowledgeable. I couldn't have enjoyed myself more." (J.H., New York)
Travel date "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2012 / 2013:
December 07 - 16, 2012 (10 days, Friday - Sunday)
December 06 - 15, 2013 (10 days, Friday - Sunday) SOLD OUT !!!
Or on request for existing groups starting with a group size of 4 travelers.
Route: Berlin – Potsdam – Leipzig – Dresden – Erzgebirge / Ore Mountains – Erfurt – Thuringian Forest - Berlin
Exemplary Itinerary - Subject to change due to availability and group interest:
Day 1 Friday: Individual departure from the USA or elsewhere.
Day 2 Saturday: Individual arrival in Berlin, the capital of Germany. At the hotel you will be greeted by your tour guide. You will have time to rest, get to know your fellow passengers, or go on individual excursions to Christmas Markets and museums (tips and maps will be provided). Later, we will have our welcome dinner together at the typical Berlin restaurant. Overnight Berlin.
Day 3 Sunday: Today we will explore the centre of Berlin – one of the most vibrant cities in the world. On our sightseeing tour we will visit historic Berlin’s highlights and UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Museum Island with old master’s paintings collection, Berlin Cathedral, Hackescher Market and Courtyards with small art and fashion galleries, Promenade “Unter den Linden”, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag building and much more. We will have our group lunch at the the restaurant "Lemke's Brauhaus". Later that day you have time to visit art and crafts museums, galleries or manufacturers of your choice – such as the New National Gallery or the Royal Prussian Porcelain Manufacturer KPM. We spend the evening at Berlin's most magic Christmas Market at the Gendarmenmarket with a special stage program. Overnight Berlin.
Day 4 Monday: In our private van/bus we will travel to the former capital of the kingdom Prussia, Potsdam. We will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sanssouci Palace. We will have group lunch at the residential palace restaurant “Krongut Bornstedt” at a historic setting with its own Christmas Market. Afterward we will proceed to Leipzig. Leipzig, the city of music, books and art presents itself with history and flair. First documented in 1015, Leipzig has always been known as a place of commerce. The Leipzig Trade Fair, which began in the Middle Ages, is the oldest remaining trade fair in the world. There is hardly another city with such a great musical tradition like Leipzig: Johann Sebastian Bach and Robert Schumann worked here and Richard Wagner was born here. After check-in, you have time to relax, to explore Leipzig on individual excursions or to go shopping in the Arcades. Overnight Leipzig.
Day 5 Tuesday: On a guided walking tour we will experience history, culture and modern European lifestyle in Leipzig. The sightseeing tour include the old and the new town hall, market plaza, St. Thomas Church, St. Nicholas Church, Opera House, Gewandhaus, Auerbach’s Keller at the Arcades “Maedler Passage” and much more. We will enjoy Leipzig coffee and cake specialties at the nostalgic coffee house “Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum” in a historic setting. In the afternoon we will explore Leipzig’s rich, young and dynamic art scene. Depending on your personal interest, you can visit the Museum of Fine Arts (opened in 2008), the Museums Grassi and/or the “Cotton Mill” Leipzig modern art centre or you can stroll the city in the footsteps of J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann. Later that day we will attend Leipzig’s Christmas markets spread all over the historic town with its wind instruments concert – we will go there when the locals go. Overnight Leipzig.
Day 6 Wednesday: In our private van/bus we will travel to the former capital of the kingdom Saxony, Dresden. We will stop at the fairy-tale castle Moritzburg. We will go on a guided city tour in Dresden visiting the many historic sites of the former capital of the Saxon kingdom: Church of Our Lady, Semper Opera House, the palace “Zwinger”, the Bruehl Terrace, Altmarkt Square and much more. You can visit the world-known Treasure Chamber “New Green Vault” with its unbelievably fantastic treasures of Saxon Kings or one of the many other museums with historic traesures. In Dresden, the oldest German Christmas market “Striezelmarkt” is centrally located. It has been taken place since 1434, and presents the world’s tallest Christmas pyramid. We will have a group dinner at the one of the authentic restaurants with typical Saxon culinary delights. If available, we will attend an Organ concert. Overnight Dresden.
Day 7 Thursday: We continue our journey through the Saxon ore mountains Erzgebirge to the city Erfurt in Thuringia. On our way you will discover a hidden pearl of living German Christmas tradition, the toy-maker village Seiffen. Here the handcraft of manufacturing toys, wooden angels, pyramids, nutcrackers and smoking manikins was elevated to a unique local art, which you can still experience in its original active form. Today these charming and nostalgic Christmas decoration are famous all over the world. We will visit typical workshops and watch the making. The last stop before Erfurt will be in one of the unique and typical small towns of the Erzgebirge region, Annaberg-Buchholz with its authentic Christmas Market and Saxony's biggest Gothic hall church. You will enjoy scenic rides through a romantic countryside with villages whose countless windows are lit up with traditional Christmas decoration. Overnight Erfurt.
Day 8 Friday: This day we will spend in the Luther town and Thuringia’s capital Erfurt. Its medieval heart that is one of the best preserved historic city centers in Germany and here we will find Europe’s longest inhabited bridge housing small shops and handcraft workshops, aptly named The Merchants’ Bridge (Krämerbrücke). The magnificent St. Mary’s Cathedral, the Church of St. Severus and the Citadel Petersberg preside over Erfurt’s nostalgic Christmas market. We will explore the historic town on a guided sightseeing walking tour. We will enjoy Thuringian culinary specialties at our group lunch in one of the many traditional restaurants. We will visit the unique exhibition “Floral Art” located in the cellars underneath the Cathedral Plaza – showing floral Christmas decoration made by local artists. Overnight Erfurt.
Day 9 Saturday: Today we will explore the Thuringian village Lauscha, the historic centre of artistic glass-blowing manufacture. In 1847, the Christmas glitter ball was invented by a poor Thuringian glassblower who could not afford the original Christmas tree decoration: expensive walnuts and apples. But Lauscha is also well known for modern style glass art, such as vases, jewelry and glass decoration. You can not only buy the glassy art but also watch the process of making. On our way back to Berlin you will enjoy the scenic ride along the Transromanica route through the Thuringian forest – the home of the brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. In Berlin you will have some time left for individual activities. We will have out Farewell Dinner together at an authentic German restaurant. Overnight Berlin.
Day 10 Sunday: Individual departure from Berlin.
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Package includes:
- 8 overnight stays at selected hotels/pensions/Inns with buffet breakfast
- Private minivan or bus transportation with experienced driver
- English speaking tour guide throughout
- Entrance fees and expenses for tour related visits & excursions
- Welcome dinner and Farewell dinner including beverages
- 4 additional meals (dinner / lunch) including beverages
- 1 traditional Coffee House visit
- 1 or 2 classical concerts (church concert, organ or choir performance)
Package does not include:
airfare (individual arrival / departure), optional tours, individual meals, personal expenses, travel insurance (for details ask for tour-specific terms and conditions).
Itinerary and accommodation are subject to change.
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The tour also includes local classical concerts and/or organ / choral performances at Christmas markets and in churches. We will provide more specific information as soon as the information is available. For your purchases we can organize a shipping service. This Advent Tour to Germany includes several local city / town sightseeing tours and Christmas market visits on foot. Walks of around 1 hour up to 2 hours (including stops) might be involved at several occasions.
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Tour price 2012 / 2013* (on ground, air fare not included, double occupancy)
$2,623 per person
+ $460 per person (single occupancy)
Minimum participants:
Minimum of 4 persons for group size 4 - 5 or
Minimum of 10 persons for group size 8 - 12
For single travelers we offer the service to connect you with other single travelers who are interested in sharing a twin bed room in order to save the single supplement - if it's possible we make it happen.
* The preliminary $ price is based on a currency exchange rate 1 Euro = 1.35 USD.
The $ price is subject of change due to currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Registration form for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2012 (DOC for download)
Registration form for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2012 (PDF for download)
Terms and Conditions for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2012 (PDF for download)
Registration form for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2013 (DOC for download)
Registration form for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2013 (PDF for download)
Terms and Conditions for "German Christmas Markets" Tour 2013 (PDF for download)
Please make your reservations before mid-August 2012 / 2013.
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Special offer for Travel Planners:
"With 12 you go free!"
If you get a group together of 12 or more people, you travel for free!**
And we will work out a tailor-made itinerary - together with you for your group and your travel date!
** double occupancy, ground package, air fare not included
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Please contact us for further information, detailed itineraries and reservations.
