Germany’s Imperial Cities and Palaces

Day 1 London, Berlin
Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service® transports you from your front door to London Heathrow Airport in time for a direct scheduled British Airways flight to Berlin. Upon arrival we transfer to the 4★ Maritim Hotel or Movenpick Hotel in the centre of this bewitching capital, where we will be staying for the first three nights. Dinner is included at our hotel this evening.

Day 2 Berlin
Berlin is perhaps the most interesting and significant city of the 20th century – celebrated, vilified, ravaged, isolated, divided and reborn in less than 100 years.
Visitors will find echoes of Berlin’s Cabaret-era decadence, its pre-war pomp and war-time devastation, its Cold War symbolism and post-reunification exuberance, along with a fascinating older history reflected in elegant squares such as the Gendarmenmarket and iconic structures from the Reichstag to the Brandenburg Gate.
Our guided orientation tour is the perfect introduction, leaving time at leisure to make your own discoveries or take advantage of peerless shopping opportunities.

Day 3 Berlin (Potsdam)
A short drive from the vibrant German capital is the more sedate town of Potsdam, seat of Frederick the Great’s government. Marvel at the splendour of the Sansouci Gardens on our included excursion – you may also wish to tour the palace itself (payable locally). Our tour also takes in the exclusive suburb of Neubabelsberg and the quarters occupied by Churchill, Stalin and Truman during the Potsdam Conference of Summer 1945, which convened to consider the fate of Germany in the aftermath of the Nazi surrender.

Day 4 Berlin – Leipzig – Colditz – Dresden
A German journey begins today as we travel to Dresden by way of Leipzig and Colditz Castle. Leipzig, attractively located at the confl uence of the Weisse Elster and Pleisse rivers, has an extraordinary musical heritage, as home to both Felix Mendelssohn and Johann Sebastian Bach, and we make a stop to visit St Thomas Church, where Bach served as choirmaster for more than 25 years and where he is laid to rest.
The history of Colditz is more immediate – this Renaissance castle, immortalised in the 1955 film The Colditz Story, gained notoriety as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp, housing Allied soldiers considered dangerous or elite.
Despite its remote aspect and maximum security measures, Colditz still boasted one of the highest records of successful escape attempts. Our hotel in Dresden is the 4★ Westin Bellevue, where dinner is included on this, the first of two nights.

Day 5 Dresden
Affectionately known as ‘the Florence on the Elbe’ for its Italianate architecture and artistic treasure trove, Dresden is a delight to explore. Our short orientation walking tour introduces its many highlights, and the remainder of the day is at leisure to focus on the attractions that particularly interest you, from the magnificent Baroque Zwinger palace, with its world famous art collections, to the iconic Frauenkirche, an international symbol of reconciliation.

Day 6 Dresden – Bamberg – Coburg – Nüremberg
With an early start, we are able to make two memorable visits en route to our next overnight stop, Nüremberg. Bamberg is the dream city of Emperor Heinrich II, for a short time the centre of the Holy Roman Empire and today UNESCO World Heritage listed for its sublime medieval heart.
Whilst in Coburg we visit Schloss Ehrenburg, official residence of the Dukes of Coburg from 1547 to 1918, where richly decorated apartments once used by Queen Victoria may be viewed. Dinner is included at our hotel in Nüremberg, the 4★ Maritim.

Day 7 Nüremberg – Rothenburg – Würzburg
We continue today to the 1,000-year-old town of Rothenburg, where history is ever apparent in its majestic churches and grand patrician houses, and onwards to yet-more-ancient Würzburg to visit the vast and superbly frescoed Baroque Residenz, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, and enjoy an included dinner at the 4★ Maritim Würzburg hotel.

Day 8 Würzburg – Wiesbaden – Mainz
After breakfast, we travel towards the city of Wiesbaden, lying at the foot of the Taunus Mountains. Wiesbaden was the inspiration to many artists and composers such as Brahms, Wagner and the Expressionist painter Alexey von Jeawlensky. On arrival your tour manager will introduce you to the city with an orientation tour, after which you are at leisure. Our hotel is the 4★ Favorite Parkhotel (new for 2013) by the river Mainz, a short drive south of Wiesbaden.

Day 9 Mainz – Rhine river cruise – Heidelberg
We make the short journey to the banks of the Rhine for a short cruise to enjoy the beautiful and ever-changing scenery of this legendary river. Later, we transfer to Heidelberg, particularly noted for its awe-inspiring medieval castle and breathtaking views of the River Neckar. Our hotel for two nights is the 4★ Crowne Plaza, and dinner is included this evening.

Day 10 Heidelberg
Today is a free day for you to explore the picturesque city of Heidelberg.

Extend your stay in Berlin or Heidelberg – call 0800 988 5823 for more details.
Day 11 Heidelberg – London
After breakfast, we transfer to Stuttgart Airport in time for a direct scheduled British Airways flight to London Heathrow, where members of our airport team greet you and show you to your VIP Home Departure Service vehicle, waiting to take you home.

IMPORTANT TOUR INFORMATION

With so many highlights to see, this is a fast-paced and busy itinerary. This is not suitable for clients with walking difficulties.

Titan Travel have a reputation for innovative and enthralling escorted holiday itineraries, and through the guidance of their founding principles, “quality, service and value” which have remained unchanged since the 1970′s, their expertise and experience are second to none.

Titan Travel strive to ensure that aspect of their holidays whispers quality, before you fly, you get to appreciate a comfortable, chauffeur-driven transfer from your front door to the airport with our peerless VIP Home Departure Service, check-in assistance and complimentary porterage. All international flights are with world-renowned scheduled airlines and cruises with acclaimed operators. Touring holidays are expertly designed by the product team to present a comprehensive, imaginative introduction to the destination of choice yet still offer plenty of time for relaxation. The services of a tour manager or cruise manager are included throughout. When you return to the UK, you are met in the arrivals hall of the airport and shown to your VIP Home Departure Service vehicle, waiting to return you to your front door.

Our Opinion
“Titan Travel’s guiding principles of customer service, quality of product and value for money are undoubtedly a contributing factor to them being voted, on many occasions, the UK’s best tour operator.”