2008 PAST TOUR | Sunday, May 11 to Saturday, May 24

Treasures of the Habsburg Empire

Vienna, Budapest & Prague:

Double Occupancy: $4,950; Single Occupancy: $6,700*

YOUR HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Our goal at Academy Art Tours is to fill your days with meaningful art experiences rounded out with stays in satisfying luxury hotels that offer excellent service in locations convenient to our museum destinations.

Our first hotel on our Central European tour is the traditional Best Western Premier Hotel Kaiserhof Wien built in 1896 in the heart of Vienna, winner of the top Best Western Hotel in Central Europe for five consecutive years. A friendly hotel that has been recently updated, the Kaiserhof Wien is situated on a narrow side street paved with cobblestones and only a stroll away from the State Opera house, the famous shopping streets Karntnerstrasse and Mariahilferstrasse, as well as many museums.

 

We stay at the Kaiserhof Wien for five nights and enjoy guest rooms decorated in sunny yellow with cheerfully colored textiles suggesting the nearby historic Schonbrunn Palace. Each room includes a satellite television with cable as well as internet access (at an additional cost) and a large desk for working at your computer. You will be greeted each day with a complimentary newspaper.

 

The hotel’s generous morning buffet is served in a charming dining room offering you the choice of a full American breakfast, or the locals’ pick of Kipferl and coffee and other Viennese delicacies.

If you have the time after a long tour day, the Kaiserhof wellness area includes an indoor pool, hot steam baths, a sauna, hotel gym, massaging showers and a comfortable health lounge at an additional charge.

 

After our intense touring in Vienna, we travel by boat up the Rhine to Budapest where we have the added pleasure of staying in the five-star Le Meridien Budapest, a 19th century edifice designed in the French empire style, for three nights. The marble-floored lobby has a fireplace and is decorated with Persian rugs, heavy satin drapes, antique-style sofas, and chandeliers. The dark-wood reception desk is flanked by gilt Egyptian statues. Its central location means that the city’s superb attractions are walking distance from the hotel, including St. Stephen’s Basilica, the National Gallery and the Royal Palace.

 

The hotel guestrooms are comfortable with a sense of historic luxury with fine wood, brocade and tapestry detailing. The marble bathrooms have tubs with handheld showers as well as separate shower stalls. Antique-style armoires house your TV and mini-bar. Dial-up Internet access is available for a surcharge.

 

Breakfast is served each morning in the Bourbon Restaurant with its glass-domed ceiling, oversized chandelier and tapestry wall hangings. The Bourbon affords a genial start to each day with a generous breakfast buffet. It is also open for lunch and dinner serving French food with an Hungarian flair. The adjoining atrium café serves afternoon tea.

Guests can take a dip in the heated indoor swimming pool, or work out in the gym, both located in the onsite fitness centre. The centre also boasts a sauna, steam room, tanning salon and a bar that serves healthy food throughout the day.

 

After three full days in Budapest, we continue onto Prague by private coach to the Riverside Hotel, a member of the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World.” With its beautifully restored Art Nouveau façade and Belle Époque interiors, the Riverside affords our group four nights of a uniquely Czechoslovakian blend of style and sophistication. Located on the left bank of the Vltava River near the Kinsky Garden, this gem of a hotel was designed to capture spectacular views of the river. It is also conveniently located just a short walk to the Charles Bridge, National Theatre, and the main features of the old city.

 

Each guestroom in this exclusive boutique hotel is unique; with windows thoughtfully located to showcase views of the city, courtyard or Vltava River. The guestrooms feature custom-made furniture with whimsical Belle Époque décor. The commodious mosaic bathrooms include a hair dryer, heated floor, and both a bath tub and a shower. High-speed Internet access is complimentary in each room.

 

The hotel’s hospitality venues are spectacular. Glass ceilings, crimson and black walls and hardwood floors grace the 24-seat lounge, where full buffet-style breakfasts are served each morning. You can also enjoy cocktails and snacks at Hemingway's Bar, a theatrical space filled with red ceilings, sparking chandeliers and black-and-white drapes covering floor-to-ceiling windows.

Please note that all information regarding our tour hotels has been provided by the hotels. Academy Art Tours is not responsible for inaccuracies in our descriptions of your tour accommodations.

*prices shown are Early Bird and expire on 8/03/07. Regular tour prices are: Double Occupancy: $5,200 and Single Occupancy: $6,950.

Although it has never happened in the 12 year history that we have offered European art tours, Academy Art Tours reserves the right to stay at a different, yet equivalent, hotel property and/or to alter the tour schedule should circumstances arise that dictate such a change.