Grand Alpine
Express

Arrival in Budapest

Arrive in Budapest by air, rail or river and be met by your tour management team for a transfer to the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace. This Art Nouveau landmark was built in 1906 for the Gresham Life Assurance Company of London and opened as a Four Seasons in 2004 following an extraordinary restoration. Two million mosaic tiles were recast, Zsolnay ceramics were refired from century-old moulds and stained glass skylights were reconstructed from archival photographs. The result is the most celebrated hotel in Budapest and the only Forbes Five Star property in Hungary, holding that distinction for ten consecutive years.

The hotel stands directly on Szechenyi Istvan Square, facing the Chain Bridge with Buda Castle rising behind it across the Danube. The welcome reception dinner takes place in the hotel's elegant surroundings, with those panoramic views across the river as a backdrop.

Welcome reception dinner included. Two hotel nights at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace, Budapest.

Budapest

Budapest is two cities that became one in 1873. Buda, on the western bank of the Danube, is the older and more elevated: the Castle District, with its cobbled streets and medieval lanes, climbs the hill to the Royal Palace, and Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion look out across the river to Pest. The panoramic city tour takes in these, together with the Parliament building on the Pest bank, which is among the grandest legislative chambers in Europe, the State Opera House, St Stephen's Basilica, Heroes' Square and the sweep of Andrassy Avenue.

The remainder of the day is at leisure. Budapest's thermal baths are among the finest in central Europe and the hotel's own spa, with its infinity-edge pool, offers a quieter alternative. The city has one of the most vibrant restaurant and ruin bar scenes in the region if the evening calls for it.

Breakfast at hotel. Panoramic Budapest city tour included. Lunch and dinner at leisure.

Vienna and the Semmering Pass

A champagne drinks reception at Budapest Nyugati Station precedes boarding the Golden Eagle Danube Express for the morning departure. The train travels west with lunch served on board as the Hungarian and Austrian landscapes open up beyond the windows. Vienna arrives in the early afternoon, and the programme here is a fitting introduction to a city of imperial ambition. A horse-drawn carriage ride through the cobbled streets of the Old Town gives a sense of the scale and beauty of the Ringstrasse and the buildings around it. The evening brings a classical concert at Palace Daun-Kinsky, a Baroque palace in the heart of the city, with a performance by the Vienna Residence Orchestra.

The Semmering Pass is the journey's first great railway moment. Departing Vienna in the late afternoon, the train climbs through central Austria as the light fades, crossing the Semmering, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world's first mountain railway built to a standard gauge, and the crossing takes place as evening falls. The pass features 16 soaring viaducts and 15 tunnels, and the views across the Alpine valleys below are extraordinary. Cameras are worth having ready, even in the fading light.

Breakfast at hotel. Champagne reception and boarding included. Lunch on board. Vienna carriage ride and concert at Palace Daun-Kinsky included. Dinner on board. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

Lake Achen and Innsbruck

The train continues west through the Austrian Alps, passing the famous skiing village of Kitzbuhel before arriving at Jenbach. A short drive brings the group to the shore of Lake Achen, known in German as the Achensee and nicknamed the Fjord of the Alps and the Tyrolean Sea. This is Tyrol's largest lake, nine kilometres long and 133 metres at its deepest point, sitting at an altitude of 930 metres between the Karwendel and Brandenberg Alps. The water is of exceptional clarity, with visibility to ten metres below the surface, and the colour ranges from turquoise to deep azure depending on the light and the sky. A cruise across the lake gives the full measure of the alpine landscape surrounding it.

From the lake, a short journey by road brings the group to Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian Tyrol, where the mountains begin at the edge of the city. The Nordkette funicular, with its striking stations designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid, ascends to 2,256 metres above sea level, offering a bird's eye view of the city, the Inn valley and the surrounding peaks. Innsbruck is a city of genuine character: its medieval Old Town, its imperial heritage and its position as a centre of winter sports have given it a distinctly Tyrolean energy unlike any other Austrian city.

Breakfast on board. Lake Achen cruise and Innsbruck excursion included. Lunch included. Dinner on board. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

Zurich

A morning of effortless travel on board as the train passes through Vorarlberg and the ski resort of St Anton, crosses briefly through Liechtenstein and enters Switzerland. The country announces itself through the train window in the most spectacular way: the full length of Lake Zurich, its shimmering surface framed by the mountains, runs alongside the line before the train arrives in the city itself. Zurich sits at the northern end of the lake and is one of the most liveable cities in the world, though it is often misunderstood as merely a banking centre. The Altstadt, on both sides of the Limmat River, has the character of a pre-medieval city translated into a working modern one. Guild halls, churches, covered lanes and open squares give way to waterfront promenades along the Limmatquai towards the 17th-century Rathaus.

A fondue tasting in the heart of the city gives a properly Swiss conclusion to the afternoon before returning to the train. Dinner is served on board as the Golden Eagle continues its journey south towards Italy, crossing through some of the most dramatic Alpine scenery of the entire route.

Breakfast and lunch on board. Zurich city excursion and fondue tasting included. Dinner on board. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

The St Gotthard Pass and Lake Como

One of the great days of the journey. Leaving Zurich, the train passes along the shorelines of Lakes Zug and Lucerne before beginning the ascent to the St Gotthard Pass. The climb through the old St Gotthard tunnel is among the most dramatic rail experiences in Switzerland. The tunnel, at its deepest, passes through the heart of the Alps at nearly 1,100 metres, and the descent on the Italian side brings an almost immediate change in landscape, light and vegetation. The grey granite and fir trees of the northern Alps give way to chestnut forests, palm trees and the warm colours of the Italian lakes.

Lake Como awaits. Unlike the broader lakes of the Italian north, Como is surrounded by high mountains and dramatic cliffs on both sides, and its three arms meet at the town of Bellagio, which occupies the central promontory. A private boat cruise across the lake brings the group to Bellagio for a scenic lunch and the opportunity to explore the town's narrow lanes, its beautifully kept public gardens and the historic villas that line the water. The reason so many people, celebrities included, have been drawn to Lake Como for centuries becomes entirely obvious on a sunny afternoon in Bellagio.

Breakfast and lunch included. Private Lake Como boat cruise and Bellagio visit included. Dinner on board. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

Verona

The train travels east along the southern shore of Lake Garda before arriving in Verona, one of the most beautifully preserved cities in northern Italy. Verona's fame rests partly on Shakespeare, who set Romeo and Juliet here, but the city itself makes the association entirely credible with its pink marble streets, medieval towers and the Romanesque churches that give it a character that feels genuinely dramatic and romantic in equal measure.

The walking tour begins at the Arena di Verona, the first-century Roman amphitheatre that still fills each summer for opera performances. Its scale and preservation are remarkable even by the standards of Roman engineering. After a traditional Italian lunch, the afternoon is at leisure to explore Verona independently: the Piazza delle Erbe and the Piazza dei Signori, the arcaded streets and the river bend of the Adige, or simply Via Mazzini for Italian fashion and coffee.

Breakfast and lunch on board. Verona walking tour and amphitheatre visit included. Dinner on board. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

Lake Bled and Ljubljana

An early morning crossing into Slovenia as the train climbs through the Julian Alps, the landscape shifting with each kilometre, past alpine peaks, deep green valleys and rivers running fast over stone. Lake Bled arrives as a genuine surprise even for those who have seen photographs. The lake is entirely natural, fed by underground springs rather than any river or stream, and sits at 475 metres above sea level. At its centre is the only island in Slovenia, barely a hectare in size, occupied by the 17th-century Church of the Assumption with its distinctive bell tower. Bled Castle, which dates back to 1004, stands on a cliff 130 metres above the lake's eastern shore. The traditional way to reach the island church is by pletna, a flat-bottomed wooden boat rowed by local oarsmen in a tradition that dates to the 18th century. The church contains the original wishing bell and a staircase of 99 stone steps.

Ljubljana follows in the afternoon. Slovenia's capital is small enough to feel intimate and confident enough to feel like a proper European city, with the triple bridges of Preseren Square, the Baroque façades along the river, the Dragon Bridge and the castle on the hill above. An afternoon tour gives an introduction before the group returns to the train.

Breakfast on board. Lake Bled and Ljubljana tour included. Lunch and dinner included. Overnight on the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

Postojna Caves and Arrival in Venice

An overnight journey brings the train to Postojna for the morning's final excursion, a private visit to the Postojna Caves, one of the largest and most spectacular cave systems in Europe. The caves extend for over 24 kilometres beneath the limestone karst of Slovenia, and the tour moves through the main galleries aboard a small underground train before continuing on foot through the largest chambers, past extraordinary stalactite and stalagmite formations. The caves are also home to the olm, a blind cave salamander unique to these karst waters that can live for a century or more.

After the cave visit, the train continues south and west, curving onto the three-mile causeway that crosses the Venice Lagoon. This is one of the great railway arrivals in the world: the city appearing on the water ahead, growing closer as the train crosses the lagoon, and arriving at Venice Santa Lucia Station on the Grand Canal just after lunch. Here, the Golden Eagle crew bid farewell and the group transfers to a centrally located five-star hotel for two nights, with all of Venice immediately on the doorstep.

Breakfast on board. Postojna Caves visit included. Transfer to Venice hotel included. Two hotel nights in Venice.

Venice

A full day in Venice, with two excursion options available. The first follows the city itself, with a guided walking tour beginning at the Rialto Bridge and moving through Venice's winding streets, across its many bridges and into the hidden corners that first-time visitors rarely find unaided, followed by a gondola ride and lunch at an authentic Venetian restaurant. The afternoon continues to St Mark's Square, the historic and cultural heart of the city, with an optional private visit to St Mark's Basilica in the evening, a rare opportunity to experience one of the world's great Byzantine interiors in a more intimate setting, without the crowds of the daytime.

The second option explores the Venetian islands. Murano, the glassmaking island, has been producing its extraordinary blown glass since the 13th century, and a visit to a traditional workshop gives a proper sense of the craft involved. Burano, with its brightly coloured houses reflected in the canals and its centuries-old lacemaking tradition, is one of the most genuinely charming places in the Venetian lagoon.

Breakfast at hotel. Guided Venice walking tour and gondola ride included. Alternative Murano and Burano excursion included. Lunch included. Optional evening St Mark's Basilica visit.

Farewell to Venice

Breakfast at the hotel before transfer to the airport. Those who wish to extend their stay in Venice will find the city entirely capable of absorbing extra days: the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Doge's Palace, a vaporetto ride to the Lido or simply more time in the back streets of Cannaregio or Dorsoduro. Please contact us before travel if you would like to arrange additional hotel nights or a programme of sightseeing in Venice.

Breakfast included. Transfer to Venice airport included.