Tauck has announced a new itinerary for 2020 called "A Grand Rail Adventure: Vienna, The Alps & Milan.” The eight-day, four-country itinerary will be highlighted by a three-night rail journey aboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express Train, bookended by a pair of two-night hotel stays in Vienna and Milan.
Beginning in Vienna, guests will visit Belvedere Palace, the Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral; have dinner inside Schönbrunn Palace at the Café Residenz; and enjoy a private, after-hours tour of the palace. The following day, guests will attend a private concert in a historic Viennese venue before boarding the Golden Eagle Danube.
Traveling west toward Austria's Semmering Pass, guests will pass through mountain landscapes before arriving at the Tyrolean village of Jenbach, where they will board a local steam-powered train for an excursion to scenic Lake Achen.
The next day, the Danube Express will traverse Austria's Vorarlberg province, crossing into Zurich, where guests will explore the city on a walking tour and visit the Kunsthaus Museum of Art. After a final overnight on the train, guests will arrive in the lakeside town of Como. There, the group will enjoy a walking tour and an organ concert in the city's 14th-century marble cathedral before traveling to Milan and disembarking a final time.
In Milan, guests will visit the Duomo; a 19th-century shopping arcade; the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle II; and explore the city's bohemian Brera District. Guests will also visit a cascina, or working farm, outside of the city, where they will learn about sustainable farming and participate in a hands-on cooking lesson. After a farewell reception, guests will then travel to a nearby restaurant for their farewell dinner with local entertainment.
Life Aboard the Danube Express
Accommodations on the train are a choice of either Superior Deluxe or Deluxe cabins. Superior Deluxe accommodations have 93-square-feet of living space, with two full-size windows and a full-length sofa that converts to a king-size bed. The 83-square-foot Deluxe cabins have two armchairs for daytime seating that convert into two comfortable beds.
Both cabin classes feature private, en-suite bathrooms with shower, sink and toilet, air conditioning, Wi-Fi access, storage space and dimmer-equipped lighting. The train also has a Bar Lounge Car with nightly performances by a pianist, two restaurant cars that can accommodate all 58 guests in a single seating, and an attendant assigned to every car who reconfigures each cabin while guests are enjoying dinner.
All six departures of Tauck's "Grand Rail Adventure" will operate in September 2020 and be exclusive to the company.
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