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Prague: Advent and Music

Both monumental and intimate, and somehow more than the sum of its extraordinary parts, Prague wears its thousand years of history like a finely cut cloak. Alone among the great capitals of central Europe, it has been practically undamaged by war or natural disaster, a city that seems to exist outside of time even as cataclysmic events played out just beyond its walls. This fairy tale impression, however, is inaccurate. A tour of Prague is a tour through European intellectual history. For centuries it was the heart of Mitteleuropean culture, a turbulent and fertile synthesis of Bohemian, German and Jewish influences that produced writers like Rainer Maria Rilke and Franz Kafta, revolutionary thinkers like Jan Hus and Johannes Kepler, and composers like Bedrich Smetana and Leoš Janácek. Its architectural achievements are no less splendid. Prague represents the high point of three distinct eras, boasting some of the finest Gothic, Baroque and Modernist buildings anywhere in the world. This Art Pursuits Study Tour will explore this city's riches, from the best-known monuments of Prague Castle and the Old Town to less familiar quarters, and a number of hidden treasures not accessible to the public, concealed among the hundred spires of the Golden City.

5 days from £2,355pp Departure Dates

Your Tour Includes

  • 4 nights’ accommodation at the 5-star Hotel Paris Prague
  • Travel package includes return economy flights from London Heathrow to Prague
  • 3 dinners and 1 lunch
  • Services of your expert lecturer and Tour Manager
  • Transfers and excursions by private coach
  • Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
  • An opera performance of Mozart's Magic Flute
  • Detailed programme and study notes
  • All entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities for coach drivers and waiters
Experts
Dr Ulrike Ziegler

Dr Ulrike Ziegler

Specialising in mediaeval art and the cultural politics of post-war Germany at the universities of Regensburg and Aberdeen, Dr Ulrike Ziegler is a well-respected member of Art Pursuits Abroad and has lectured at universities and for multiple cultural institutions, along with organising and leading many study tours in both Germany and Austria. Ulrike is now working on Art Pursuits Abroad’s German programme.

Martina Hinks-Edwards

Martina Hinks-Edwards


Martina Hinks-Edwards was born and raised in Prague. Since her graduation at Charles University where she studied English, Martina has lead mainly cultural tours in Prague and the Czech Republic. She demonstrates a tremendous passion for her job and is highly valued for her expertise and depth of knowledge. She takes a particular interest in the 20th century turbulent history of her country. She lives just outside Prague with her English husband and two children.


Itinerary

Fly from London Heathrow to Prague and transfer by coach to the Old Town. Check in to our hotel before joining a walk to Obecní dům for a private visit of its beautiful Art Nouveau interiors including the Smetana concert hall. Afterwards, a short introductory walk will take us past the Old Town Hall on our way to our first group dinner at a restaurant overlooking the magnificent 14th-century Charles Bridge.

Includes Dinner

Included Highlights

Smetana Concert Hall

A morning spent discovering Prague’s Old Town on foot begins with the quintessentially mediaeval Old Town Square, including the Astronomical Clock and the great Týn Church. We cross the Charles Bridge to enter the Lesser Town followed by a visit of the spectacular church of St. Nicholas, one of the great masterpieces of the 18th-century Baroque ecclestial architecture. Lunch in the Lesser Town followed by a short coach transfer to the Old Town to visit the 13th-century Convent of St. Agnes, a splendid collection of medieval Bohemian and Central European paintings. In the evening, enjoy a performance of a Mozart's Magic Flute opera at the 18th-century Estates Theatre.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Lunch

Included Highlights

Astronomical Clock Prague

Prague Castle was founded in the late 9th-century around the castle district of Hradčany. It is the largest fortress complex in the world – and we will be taking all day to explore it. At its heart rises the imposing Cathedral of St Vitus. Like the great stone bridge, the elegant east choir was built at the behest of the cultured and diplomatically skilful Charles IV, King of Bohemia from 1346 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death in 1378. The Old Royal Palace, with the largest stone hall in Europe with late-Gothic vaulting, was the site of the 1618 Defenestration of Prague which precipitated the Thirty Years War.

In the afternoon, the tour continues to the Renaissance Schwarzenberg Palace (National Gallery) which houses 16-17th-centuries Old masters collection. Gentle walk through the Hradčany district takes us to the Pilgrimage Loreto Church. Coach to the hotel.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Dinner

Included Highlights

Renaissance Schwarzenberg Palace

We start the day with a walk through the haunting Jewish Quarter. In former Josefov, there remain six synagogues, the town hall and cemetery. After a refreshment break, the coach takes us to explore sites further afield such as the Summer Royal Palace “Belvedere” and Vyšehrad. We finish the afternoon with the New Town walk visiting Wenceslas Square to view the exterior of the Hotel Europe, Lucerna, Church of Our Lady of the Snow. Farewell dinner at a restaurant in the Old Town.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Dinner

Included Highlights

Summer Royal Palace “Belvedere”

Coach transfer to the Strahov Monastery where we will have special access to the magnificient library halls, one of the most beautiful in the world. Continue to Prague Airport for the return flight to London.

Includes Breakfast

Included Highlights

Strahov Monastery

Please note that it is necessary to have a good level of fitness as there will be at times extensive walking and inevitably some long periods of standing.

Single Room Supplement from £260.00 (5 days).

Accommodation

You will stay for five nights at the 5-star Hotel Paris in Prague.

Hotel Paris Prague

Located in the heart of Prague Old Town, the Hotel Paris is a 5-star luxury retreat housed within a magnificent Neo-Gothic building, recognised as a historical monument. Immerse yourself in timeless elegance with stylishly designed rooms and indulge in the spa, complete with a jacuzzi, sauna, steam bath and fitness centre. Explore the vibrant city from this ideally-located and enchanting establishment.

Hotel Facilities

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General
  • 5 Star
  • Bar
  • Restaurant
  • Sauna or Steam Room
Room
  • TV
  • Tea and Coffee Making Facilities
  • Hairdryer
  • Safe Box
  • Air Conditioning
  • Fridge
  • Telephone
  • Free Wifi
Service
  • Gym
Hotel
  • Bar
  • Restaurant
  • WiFi Available