germany at advent - christmas markets
crafts - art - culture - music
GO EAST
Travel Impressions from our Christmas Market Tour
Quote from one of our guests about the TGAC 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. from NY
Christmas Markets in East Germany - Go East
Craft - Art - Music - Nostalgia
Berlin - Potsdam - Leipzig - Moritzburg - Dresden - Ore Mountains "Erzgebirge" - Seiffen - Annaberg Buchholz - Erfurt - Thuringian Forest - Lauscha - Berlin
Travel Date 2013:
December 06 - 15, 2013 (10 days, Fri-Sun) SOLD OUT !!!
Or on request for existing groups starting at a party of 4.
"German Christmas Markets" Tour - program overview (PDF)
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10 day itinerary overview
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 to get to know your fellow passengers, or go on individual excursions to Christmas Markets or 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: UNESCO World Heritage site 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, Berlin Wall Museum, Gendarmenmarkt and much more. We will meet for individual lunch. 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. In the evening we will visit Berlin's most magical Christmas Market with a special and acrobatic high-class stage program. Overnight Berlin.
Day 4 Monday: In our private van/coach we will travel to the former capital of the kingdom Prussia, Potsdam. We will go on a guided tour to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palace Cecilienhof, the Dutch Quarter Potsdam and more. We will have group lunch at the residential palace restaurant “Krongut Bornstedt” at a historic setting including its distillery, brewery and fine nostalgic 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 rest, 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 instrument concert – we will go there when the locals go. Overnight Leipzig.
Day 6 Wednesday: In our private van/coach 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. In Dresden, the oldest German Christmas market “Striezelmarkt” is centrally located. It has 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 at a local church. 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 miner's 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. The town's medieval heart that is one of the best preserved 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. Especially during Advent season you can enjoy numerous organ recitals, choral concerts and other musical performances. We will visit the unique exhibition “Floral Art” located in the cellars underneath the Cathedral Plaza – showing inspiring 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 and watch the process of making, but you can also try to blow a glass ball or paint one yourself. 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 our Farewell dinner together at an authentic German restaurant. Overnight Berlin.
Day 10 Sunday: Individual departure for the USA or elsewhere and Arrival.
This Advent tour also includes local classical concerts and/or organ/choir performances at Christmas markets and/or in churches. We will provide more specific information with our detailed itinerary as soon as these information are available.
Tour price 2013* (air fare not included, ground package):
$2,623 USD per person (double occupancy)
+ $460 USD (single supplement)
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.
* Price is subject to currency fluctuations. This preliminary tour price is based on a currency exchange rate 1 EUR = 1.35 USD.
In ground tour package included: 8 nights at selected hotels / inns with breakfast, private van / bus transportation with experienced driver, English speaking native German guide, admission fees for tour related museum visits and excursions, welcome dinner, farewell dinner, 4 additional meals, 1 coffee house visit, tickets for 1-2 concerts (organ / choir / orchestra performances).
2013 Registration form "German Christmas Markets" (DOC)
2013 Registration form "German Christmas Markets" (PDF)
2013 Terms and Conditions "German Christmas Markets" (PDF)
Minimum participants: 4 persons for group size 4-5
Minimum participants: 8 persons for group size 8-12
Tour itinerary and accommodation are subject of change due to availability and/or seasonal changes.
Please make your reservations before mid-August 2013.
The Advent and Christmas Market Tours to
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