Tailormade tour Vienna and Budapest by train holiday Central and Eastern Europe

Begin your holiday by travelling to Zurich by rail. Catch the Eurostar mid-morning to Paris. After changing stations in Paris, catch a direct train from Paris to Zurich arriving in the evening. Stay in Zurich for one night.

The journey from Zurich to Vienna is on the Austrian Railways fast and efficient Railjet service. Generally, it leaves at 12.40 and arrives in Vienna at 20.30. On board there is a substantial menu, offering anything from drinks and snacks, to sandwiches and hot dishes, sweet and savoury. Food is served at your seat and can be ordered from the staff who pass through the carriages on a regular basis. The dining service stays open all the way to Vienna. The scenery is a delight from beginning to end. First the train hugs the southern shore of Lake Zurich, and its bathing places and little harbours with the Gold Coast gleaming on the other side of the lake. Then comes the Walensee with its turquoise waters and deep cliffs dropping into the lake. The landscape opens up as you approach the eastern edge of Switzerland, where Liechtenstein perches and the borders of Austria and Switzerland meet south of Lake Constance. The high mountains, the roof of Europe, loom in the distance. You sense them more than you see them. Suddenly with Feldkirch you are in Austria and after Bludenz the train climbs up along the Arlberg. As the cars disappear into the road tunnel below, the train continues to climb, ducking in and out of tunnels for the last part of the climb, until you emerge at St Anton. After the descent into the Inn valley, it is definitely the Austrian Tirol: traditional haystacks, onion-domed churches, wayside chapels From the Oetztal station, you know the road heads south to Obergurgl and the Timmelsjoch high Alpine road into Italy. The train continues along the Inn valley, passing lush pastureland and Tirolean villages, including that of Stams, famous for its monastery. The Olympic ski jump at Igls to the right of the train indicates the imminent arrival in Innsbruck. At each stop, there is no unnecessary waiting and the train continues promptly. Ski slopes are visible in the distance, and you know that Kitzbuehel is off to the south-east but at Kufstein the train crosses into Germany and the landscape flattens slightly with fields and forests yet the Chiemgau Alps are in the near distance. The train travels to the south of the Chiemsee and then Austria approaches once more. There is a spectacular although fleeing moment as the train crosses the river Salzach and on the right you are dazzled by the spires and turrets of the old city of Salzburg and Festung Salzburg on the hill-top on the horizon. The countryside becomes a patchwork of arable fields and large farmhouses before the more built-up stretch between Wels and Linz. It is at Linz you meet the Danube and then you cross from Upper Austria into Lower Austria, leaving the trail of the Danube to meander further north, cutting its own gorge above the Wienerwald before it reaches Vienna. You may not see it at all during your stay in Vienna. After St Poelten you are just under 30 minutes’ away. The time has flown. Vienna Hauptbahnhof is there. It is likely to be 20.30 on the dot.

You have two full days to explore Vienna at leisure. Vienna, on the banks of the River Danube, has been at the heart of central European history since the Roman times. Vienna never fails to impress and satisfy the visitor eager for historical and cultural references. ‘Dream and reality’ still resonate and your days in Vienna can be filled with a mixture of galleries, museums, opera, concerts or eating and drinking in a ‘Heuriger’ in the Vienna Woods. The history of Vienna can be witnessed in the Roman Museum, the Neidhart frescoes dating from the 1400s, the mediaeval Basiliskenhaus, the Imperial Palace and the numerous Jugendstil buildings, and of course in the City of Vienna museum. The Hofburg contains numerous national collections from the Crown Jewels to the Imperial armoury. Your second day in Vienna may be the best opportunity to explore the city’s inextricaple relationship with music. Take time to listen to the Mozart Orchestra playing in the Musikverein, and to enjoy coffee and cake at Demel’s. A fun way to see the sights of the city is to take a tram around the Ringstrasse, hopping off and on as you want.

Leave Vienna mid-morning to continue your rail holiday to Budapest. The journey takes under 3 hours, following the course of the River Danube. You arrive in the afternoon and check into your hotel for three nights.

Enjoy two full days in Budapest exploring the tree-lined boulevards of Pest and the cobbled hilly streets of Buda. The city straddles a curve in the River Danube and is packed with interesting sights to visit on foot but also easily reached by underground. Visit the Castle District in Buda where you can find mediaeval buildings such as the Royal Palace which has been rebuilt several times over the past seven centuries and houses the National Gallery, Budapest Historical Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. You can also visit the 13th Century St Matthias Church and the neo-Gothic Fishermen’s Bastion nearby. The world-famous Gellért Thermal Baths are highly favoured by locals and tourists alike. Margaret Island is a pretty park situated in the middle of the Danube reachable by tram or bus. It boasts more than 10,000 trees, beautiful gardens and a swimming pool. Linking Buda to Pest is the magnificent Chain Bridge built in the mid-19th Century. On your second day in Budapest you may wish to explore the area 0east of the river, where you will find Pest. This district is home to historical buildings such as the neo-Gothic, vast, Parliament which houses the Hungarian crown jewels. Another building not to miss is the Hungarian State Opera House where you can experience a guided tour or an opera performance. On two-mile long, tree-lined Andrassy út you will find elegant shops and houses, Heroes Square and the Museum of Fine Arts. The thermal springs of Budapest have been enjoyed since Roman times and baths are to be found in both Buda and in Pest, where the Szechenyi Baths are one of the largest bathing complexes in Europe, with outdoor and indoor pools, built in modern Renaissance style.

You return by train today to Vienna to take the evening sleeper service from Vienna to Cologne. A deluxe double sleeper cabin is included.

You arrive in Cologne about 09.00 hrs and transfer to a day-time train to Brussels, where you change to the Eurostar service back to London, arriving in the afternoon.