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Dresden and Leipzig
22 June 2009, 5 days

Two of the most illustrious cities in European music tradition; two great opera houses, two great orchestras and two tragic masterpieces of the German and Italian traditions, with a contrasting virtuosic ballet combination. Our operas are Strauss' Salomé and Verdi's Otello. The balletic combination is Stravinsky's Petrushka and Les Noces. Strong international casts are supported by the Dresden Staatskapelle and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras. Holiday is based on four nights in Dresden, with an optional two night extension in Leipzig, including a visit to the Bauhaus in Dessau. Highlights of our included touring programme are the restored Frauenkirche in Dresden, a cruise on the Elbe with an exploration of the extraordinary rock formations of Swiss Saxony, and, in Leipzig, the Thomaskirche where Johan Sebastian Bach was cantor for 27 years. During free time we recommend visiting Dresden's Old Masters Gallery and the treasures of the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe).

Monday 22 June
Flights from Liverpool with Easyjet or London Stansted with Ryanair are currently scheduled to arrive in Berlin Schönfeld mid-afternoon, from where there is a two hour coach transfer to Dresden (indirect scheduled services to Dresden are available at a supplement). The modern four-star Dorint Hotel is situated only a short stroll from the old town. This spacious, quiet hotel with well-appointed rooms, features a restaurant, a lounge bar, a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and thermarium. All facilities of the wellness area are complimentary to hotel guests. There is an ample buffet breakfast.

This evening we enjoy an included evening meal at our hotel with specialities of the Saxon cuisine.

Tuesday 23 June
Our morning walking tour of Old Dresden (with coffee-break) introduces us to the restored 'Florence of the Elbe'. The city developed probably Europe's finest Baroque architectural ensemble under the Saxon rulers Augustus II and Augustus III. Seventy-five percent destroyed by the Allied bombing raids of the night 13-14 February 1944, the city only slowly regrew from its ashes. The restoration of the Frauenkirche, completed in 2006, marked the culmination of this process.

Our walk takes us to the Kreuzkirche (Holy Cross Church), around the Renaissance-style Schloss, decorated with a colossal mosaic 'The Procession of the Dukes' in Meissen porcelain, to the Brühl Terrace with magnificent views over the Elbe. The Court Cathedral (katholische Hofkirche) was built between 1738 and 1755 as evidence of the Saxon rulers' conversion to catholicism enabling them to obtain the throne of Poland. The Zwinger developed from the concept of a simple orangery to a series of pavilions, galleries, pathways and fountains of baroque grandiosity, of which the most famous element is the Nymphenbad, Bath of the Nymphs.

Our tour finishes around midday. After two hours for lunch we reassemble outside the Frauenkirche. For over 200 years the magnificent bell-shaped dome of the Frauenkirche stood monumentally and gracefully on the skyline of old Dresden, dominating the city. The reconstruction has been a miraculous story, including the reassembly of 2,000 pieces of the original altar. The finished church is a work of pristine beauty. Demand to visit the church is still immense and visitor numbers restricted, but we have been able to confirm an afternoon tour with audio-guides included.

The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure before this evening's performance of Richard Strauss' Salomé at the Semperoper. After the performance there will be a coach from the opera house to the hotel.

Wednesday 24 June
Day at leisure to explore the many sights and museums of Dresden. There are usually guided tours available of the Semperoper.
The Old Masters Gallery is one of Europe's finest with paintings from all the Italian masters and substantial Dutch and German collections. The Albertinum houses 19th and 20th century masterpieces, with emphasis on German painters such as Caspar David Friedrich, the Brücke group and the Expressionists. Other museums include the Sculpture gallery, the Porcelain collection and the Salon of Mathematics and Physics. There are a total of eleven museums in the Dresden State Art Collection.

We especially recommend one of the world's most splendid treasure vaults. Demand for tickets for the Historical Green Vault is almost greater than for the Frauenkirche. It only reopened in September 2006 and presents an unrivalled collection of works in gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, bronze and enamel in a unique setting originally created by Augustus the Strong and now restored. Timed tickets must be booked many months ahead, and request should be indicated on the booking form. Further fine pieces are on display in the New Green Vault for which timed tickets are not required.

You may alternatively choose to make a short excursion outside of Dresden; perhaps to one of the attractive small towns lining the river, or to a vineyard, or to the porcelain capital and beautiful old town of Meissen

This evening's performance is Verdi's penultimate opera, Otello. Coach transfer to the hotel after the performance.

Thursday 25 June
Today contrasts one of Europe's most impregnable fortresses with an elegant baroque palace, and the wonderful eroded sandstone rock formations of Swiss Saxony with the gentle vineyarded river banks near Dresden.

Driving south from Dresden we enter Sächsische Schweiz, stopping first at Germany's largest fortress, Königstein, safe haven for the Saxon royal family in times of danger, and supposedly unbreachable prison (the French general Henri Giraud did manage to escape during the Second World War). The fortress offers a fine collection of buildings from late Gothic to the 19th century, described in our included audio-guided tour, and also magnificent views over the Elbe and the sandstone rocks, some appearing as small mountains rising to 723metres, others as fabulous twisted formations and steep cliffs.

From Königstein we continue to the region's most famous viewpoint, the Bastei, providing fantastic close-ups of some the finest formations. Stone and iron bridges have been built linking the freestanding rock towers of the Bastei, offering sometimes vertiginous views towards the gullies below. Lunch is included in the Panorama restaurant on the Bastei.

After lunch we return to a more civilised environment, firstly at Schloss Pillnitz, built as a summer pleasure palace by August the Strong, initially for his mistress, then for himself when she fell from favour. We enjoy a guided tour of this elegant collection of Baroque buildings with chinoiserie elements and thereafter can explore the gardens at our leisure. Within the gardens stands the oldest and largest Japanese camellia tree in Europe, producing up to 35,000 carmine red flowers in Spring. From Pillnitz we return to Dresden by way of an Elbe cruise, lasting about one hour and passing the attractive towns of Loschwitz and Blasewitz, ancient Sorb villages, and three 19th century palaces, known collectively as the Elbe Castles.

Evening is at leisure.

Friday 26 June

You can return to the UK today, leaving Dresden mid-morning, or continue after lunch for a two-night extension in Leipzig. The city combines medieval with baroque and more modern elements. Whereas Dresden was the court capital of Saxony, Leipzig has always depended on commerce and industry, and was Europe's leading book publishing centre until the Second World War. Our tour by coach and on foot views sights from the Monument to the Battle of Nations, celebrating victory over Napoleon, to Schiller's house, to the former Supreme Court of the Empire, to the extravagant historicist New Town Hall and to an excellent collection of Art Nouveau apartment blocks which survived wartime bombing. We visit Bach's Thomaskirche, famous also for a sermon by Martin Luther.

Our hotel is the recently renovated four-star Radisson SAS Hotel, superbly situated in Augustus-Platz, directly opposite the opera house.

After time to rest we make a short walk for our special included evening meal in Auerbach's Tavern, where Goethe set scenes from Faust.

Saturday 27 June

Today is at leisure. We do recommend the free afternoon concert at the Thomaskirche, where German motets, very often by J S Bach, are sung by the boys choir of St Thomas'. These concerts are extremely popular and early arrival is essential. Opposite the church is the Bach Museum. With Leipzig's strong musical connections it is not surprising to find further such museums : the Grassi Museum of Musical Instruments, the Schumann House and the Mendelssohn House. There is also a first-class Fine Arts Museum, with the world's finest collection of Cranach paintings. When you need a rest, have a coffee in Europe's oldest coffee shop, Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum.

This evening we cross Augustus-Platz to the Leipzig opera house (see photo above) where the Gewandhaus Orchestra perform fully staged versions with the Leipzig Ballet and opera house choir of Stravinsky's dazzling Petrushka and the more folk-oriented Les Noces.

Sunday 28 June

Leaving our hotel this morning we drive towards Berlin, stopping at Dessau for a guided tour of the Bauhaus and the most spectacular of the teachers' houses, the colourful Kandinsky-Klee House.

The Bauhaus is generally considered one of the pioneers of modern architecture and attracted many of the most famous European architects and artists of the first half of the twentieth century. In Dessau, to where they moved in 1925, a unified realisation of their artistic aspirations survived the war and has now been fully restored. Our guided tour explains the original mission of the Bauhaus, their conflict with and eventual closure by the Nazis, and the restoration programme since German reunification.

We continue to Berlin Schönfeld for our flights to the United Kingdom.

The price of this holiday is £890pp sharing a twin bedded room. This includes return flights from Liverpool or London Stansted airports to Berlin Schönfeld, four nights in the Hotel Dorint on a bed and breakfast basis, excursions, transfers, one evening meal, one lunch, and entrance fees as described above, two top price seats at the Semperoper, and on-site services of a Grosvenor Travel representative. Single supplement is £80. Historical Green Vault tickets are £12pp. Upgraded rooms and suites, availability and pricing on request. Alternative departure airports may be available as indicated above with a supplement. Deposit £360pp. Leipzig extension, with two nights bed and breakfast in the Radisson SAS Hotel, one evening meal, Leipzig Opera House performance, transfers and excursions as above £270pp in a twin. Single supplement £65.

All Friends should ensure they have adequate travel insurance cover. We can provide travel insurance at £18pp per holiday for Friends aged up to 65 at time of booking. (Certain medical conditions may require a premium to be paid). Premium of 2 x adult rate applies for adults aged 66 to 75, premium of 2.5 aged 76 to 79, and 3.5 aged 80 to 86. There is an excess on most policy categories which can be waived for payment of an additional £10pp (no age-related supplement). Annual insurance is also available.

Friends may also extend this holiday to a number of European cities, of which the most accessible are Berlin and Prague, where we may be able to arrange additional opera performances if required.

This opera holiday, and the extension, will operate based on a minimum of 25 Friends booking and with a maximum of 40. Booking period will close 25 October or sooner subject to demand.