CHARMING GRAND TOUR

Our Charming Grand Tour from Vienna to Venice is rooting in the grand tours of the 17th and 18th centuries that were conducted by aristocrats of Old Europe. Hence we have prepared an experience that combines the finest art and culture in the two leading centers of the whole region of south-central Europe, Vienna, and Venice, and the country nestled in between, Slovenia.

The tour is made of many successive experiences that connect the three cities (Vienna, Ljubljana, and Venice) into one story.

We do not only visit three different countries but actually three different worlds – the Germanic, the Slavic, and the Italic.

This tour is a charming immersive encounter with art, art history, museums, galleries, classical music concerts, creative hands-on workshops, and experiencing soulful insights of the past and present lives of the old European cities.

THE CHARMING GRAND TOUR

We start out in Vienna, a rich cultural capital of the once vast empire of the Habsburgs. Days in Vienna give us the best it has to offer (a classical music concert, a workshop of calligraphy, an expert insight into the most significant historical time of the city, a lesson of a step or two of a Viennese waltz, an immersive guided visit to an art collection, and more).

We continue to the homey capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. The city is a charming mixture of cultures and architectures, and it comprises an old medieval town, guarded by a fortress on the hill and a slow river in front of it. We spend a few nights enjoying the hospitality and friendliness of Slovenians, visit the world-famous Lake Bled with a church on an island, and a medieval castle on the cliffs. After an inspiring hands-on creative workshop and a beautiful evening of old Slovenian tales, we leave Slovenia.

Why do we add Slovenia and Ljubljana to our Grand Tour? Read our thoughts in Why Slovenia

In the next one hour drive from Ljubljana toward the West, we stop for a short surprise visit en route before reaching Italy.

Our last few days are spent in the city in the lagoon. Venice has always been a luxurious beauty at the intersection of the East and the West. Here, lavish materials have always been in abundance and the wealth was unimaginable. Old noble families still live in their palaces on the Canals, and people still travel around in boats and gondolas. Venice is unlike any other city in this world, still deeply rooted in its past and with a fragile dependence on its sea. Here we experience how the past is still closely intertwined with the present. We visit some of the artworks of the magnificent High Renaissance in situ, we take a ride with the gondola after learning how it is made, we enjoy a private visit to St. Markʼs Basilica to humbly enjoy the reflections of the golden mosaics in their full splendor, and discover the lives of the noble people on the Grand Canal

Sometimes we also add two nights relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of big cities, in a SPA center where the healing water brings relaxation and peace to our bodies and puts us back on track in no time.

Our tours are prepared with love for the beautiful details, small surprises, and elegance.

You can read about how our days look like, what to expect on our tours, what we stand for and more in How we travel.

VARIATIONS and EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES

We love the Charming Grand Tour deeply, but since there are so many interesting places along the way, we also like to offer some Variations to the Tour that concentrate on only a part of the Charming Grand Tour.

Also, Vienna and Venice are each famous for their special cultural events that we include to our Exceptional Experiences. Those are the experiences that a real culture and elegance enthusiast would probably want to encounter at least once in their life.

VARIATIONS

• A Tour to VIENNA and SLOVENIA/ Ljubljana
• A Tour to VENICE and SLOVENIA/Ljubljana

EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES

In VIENNA

• Viennese Fairytale: Once in a Lifetime Ballroom dance (December – February)
• Christmas Markets and Art of Vienna (December)

In VENICE

• The Mystery and Magic of Carnival in Venice (usually in February)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHARMING GRAND TOUR

DISCOVERING AND NEW INSIGHTS

• An elegant private Viennese waltz lesson
• How about controversial Vienna at the turn of the century?
• A private visit of one of  the Viennese palaces
• A private guided (evening) visit of San Marco Basilica in Venice

ELEGANCE AND BEAUTY

• Design and luxury hotels with the feel of the Old World’s past
• An optional Grand Evening Gala in The Vienna Philharmonic (or State Opera, depending on the program), or La Fenice Opera in Venice (depending on the program of the venues)
• Dining: excellent Viennese, Slovenian, and Venetian restaurants
• Charming secrets of the noble families living in palaces on the Grand Canal in Venice
• An iconic gondola ride in Venice

CREATIVITY

Why do we add creative hands-on workshops? Please, read more in Hands-on creative workshops on tours

• A calligraphy (or painting on ceramics) workshop, inspired by Viennese Art Nouveau
• A Venetian Mask workshop

A NOTICE ON OUR TRAVEL We travel elegantly and luxuriously, but we do not intend to travel isolated from the country and the culture we visit. We do not avoid the hosting cultures, their traditions, and customs, but rather explain and encounter them, and accept them for what they are. If the countryʼs standards are lower than those at home, we understand it and try to appreciate the efforts local people put into trying to meet our expectations. You can read further about Our Values.

ACCOMMODATIONS

All of the hotels on the Charming Grand Tour are 4 or 5-star on a Bed and Breakfast basis and located in the old town centers. All of them feature a special, artistic, or designer atmosphere. In Vienna, we stay in a beautiful, authentic, 5* hotel in the Innere Stadt (old town) or just next to it, in Ljubljana we stay in an elegantly designed or old fashioned hotel with a historical atmosphere, and in Venice in a charmingly elegant hotel very close to the main square (St. Markʼs Square) with 4 or 5-stars.

If you would like to learn more on how we travel and what else is in our offer, please take a read at other Blog Posts

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