Local guides will be with you during sightseeing tours and a Danube Express Tour Manager will accompany you throughout.
Budapest
Arrival in Budapest for a two-night stay in this cosmopolitan city straddling the Danube. You will stay in the recently refurbished Hotel Astoria (4 star), or similar, situated in the very center, only a few minutes walk from the Danube and with easy access to all parts of the city. Dinner will be in the hotel and you will have time for a stroll along the river to see the illuminated city.
Budapest
Your morning sightseeing tour includes the Cathedral, Heroes Square, and City Park on the Pest side. On the Buda side you will visit Gellert Hill for possibly the best views of Budapest, and finally Castle Hill with the St. Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. In the afternoon, you have the option of a visit to the Children’s Railway in the Buda Hills. In the evening you will have dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel.
Leaving Budapest
After breakfast in the hotel, coach transfer to Nyugati Station for a champagne reception in the former Royal Waiting Room. The Danube Express will be waiting in the adjoining platform. Your sleeping car attendant will show you to your accommodation. In every compartment will be details of the on-train program.
During lunch, the Danube Express heads south onto the Great Hungarian Plain to
Kecskemet, where you will be taken on a short walking tour of this picturesque town. After rejoining the train you can relax in the lounge car before dinner as the journey continues to the Romanian border.
Budapest to Brasov to Bulgaria
A full, cooked to order, breakfast is provided before you arrive in
Sighişoara. There will be a short walking tour of this wonderfully preserved medieval city, the supposed birthplace of legendary Dracula. Lunch is taken on the train as it continues to
Braşov. You then have the opportunity to visit Bran Castle (called Dracula’s Castle by some) and the magnificent Pele? Palace situated amongst spectacular mountain scenery. Dinner is on board the train as it heads south to cross the Danube on its way to
Bulgaria.
Bulgaria to Bosphorus
A full day sightseeing off the train. Your comprehensive program includes a tour of the fortress town and World Heritage site of
Veliko Turnovo, lunch with a folklore show, together with a visit to one of the seven ancient monasteries in the area. On return to the Danube Express you are invited to drinks in the lounge car followed by a farewell dinner in the restaurant car. The border
Turkey is crossed in the early hours.
Bosphorus
The last few miles into
Istanbul are alongside the Bosphorus and you will have glimpses of ancient Asia. On arrival you will be taken on a sightseeing tour to include the Golden Horn, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, and Basilica of St. Sophie. There are two nights in the modern Hotel Lares Park (4 star), or similar, situated close to Taksim Square. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.
Bosphorus
Morning visit to the Blue Mosque, followed by a cruise on the Bosphorus from which you will be able to see the beauty of Istanbul. In the afternoon, you are free to wander through the Grand Bazaar or perhaps take the ferry across to Asia. Dinner will be in a local restaurant.
Bosphorus
After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul airport for departing flights.
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