7-Nights European Christmas Markets from $2,999

Collette

OFFER ID 1629255

European Christmas Markets featuring Prague, Vienna & Budapest
Set out on a holiday adventure through the iconic capital cities of Central Europe – Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Tour the magnificent Prague Castle and explore its famous Christmas market at the Old Town Square. Experience the world’s oldest Christmas market in Dresden. In Vienna, learn the secrets of confectionary at a candy workshop, and indulge in dinner at the famous Marchfelderhof. Travel via train from Vienna to Bratislava. Explore Budapest’s outdoor markets aglow with lights, where stalls of crafts and delicacies abound. Along the way, immerse yourself in festive Christmas markets, experience cultural traditions, sample local cuisine, and glimpse this region’s rich history.

7 nights from $2,999 per person

Itinerary

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Itinerary Details

European Christmas Markets featuring Prague, Vienna & Budapest

Day 1 Overnight Flight
Set out on a holiday adventure through the iconic capital cities of Central Europe – Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Along the way, immerse yourself in festive Christmas markets, enjoy traditional entertainment, sample local cuisine, and glimpse this region’s rich history.

Day 2 Prague, Czech Republic
Hotel: Grandior Hotel
Ancient landmarks and medieval architecture. You’ve arrived in Prague, the "City of 100 Spires." With no scheduled activities throughout the day, spend the day as you wish, exploring the city independently. This evening, join your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.(D)

Day 3 Prague
Hotel: Grandior Hotel
Feel the magic and wonder of Prague during the holiday season. Your introduction to this fairy-tale city begins with a panoramic tour. Explore the “Castle District,” including the gothic St. Vitus Cathedral and the majestic Prague Castle. Marvel at the iconic, statue-lined Charles Bridge, a picturesque structure stretching over the Vltava River. Spend the rest of the day taking in the best Prague has to offer independently. Don’t miss the famous Christmas market in Prague’s Old Town Square, where brightly decorated wooden huts are filled with the work of local artisans, and traditional food and drink are prepared right in front of you.(B)

Day 4 Prague - Dresden, Germany - Prague, Czech Republic
Hotel: Grandior Hotel
Travel to Dresden, Germany, known as “Florence on the Elbe.” Meet a local guide for a tour highlighting its baroque splendor and architectural treasures such as Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and the Royal Palace. Visit the world’s oldest Christmas market — the Striezelmarkt — which has been delighting travelers and locals alike since 1434. Take time to explore the stalls overflowing with ornaments, sample local sweets and get lunch on your own before returning to Prague later in the afternoon.(B)

Day 5 Prague - Ceský Krumlov - Vienna, Austria
Hotel: Imperial Riding School Autograph Collection
Depart Prague and travel through the scenic countryside on your way to Vienna, Austria. En route, stop in the medieval town of Ceský Krumlov. Lined with towering Baroque architecture including a 13th century castle, explore the quaint, cobblestoned streets independently and take time for lunch on your own. Continue to the one-of-a-kind Marchfelderhof Restaurant — a favorite of locals, visitors, and the famous alike since the 1800s. Indulge in dinner and admire the restaurant’s plentiful, eclectic décor which tells Vienna’s story everywhere you look. Arrive in the grand city of Vienna, capital of Austria, aglow with holiday lights. Perhaps you’ll join your Tour Manager for an evening stroll.(B, D)

Day 6 Vienna
Hotel: Imperial Riding School Autograph Collection
This morning, meet your local guide on a scenic bus ride and walking tour to Vienna’s city center and behold the beautiful architecture, scenic parks, and gothic spires that fill the city. Get a taste of Vienna’s sweet confectionary history when you visit a family-owned candy workshop. See where candies are still being made according to traditional recipes dating back over 150 years. With an afternoon of free time, you can visit the Christkindlmarkt. Perhaps the biggest and most famous in the city, it is set at the neo-gothic Rathaus City Hall. Tonight, you may choose an option to explore the Christmas market and the interiors at the magnificent Schönbrunn Palace, together with a classical music performance at the famous Orangerie.(B)

Day 7 Vienna - Bratislava, Slovakia - Budapest, Hungary
Hotel: Up Hotel
Hop aboard a train to Bratislava, the former Imperial capital of the Habsburg Empire. Spend your free time having lunch and retracing some of the city’s 4,000-year-old history independently. And don’t miss the charming Christmas markets! Continue through the Hungarian countryside to spend an afternoon at a rustic local restaurant that highlights 200 years of Hungarian cultural and architectural traditions. Learn how to make traditional strudel before indulging in typical Hungarian fare for dinner. Later this evening, arrive in Budapest, the "Queen of the Danube," and your home for the next 2 nights. Enjoy the evening on your own or join your Tour Manager for an evening walk.(B, D)

Day 8 Budapest
Hotel: Up Hotel
This morning, choose how you want to experience Budapest with an expert local guide because it’s your choice! Embark on a classic Budapest city tour, where you’ll visit highlights like the Fisherman’s Bastion and pass the historic Old Buda -OR- retrace Budapest’s musical history throughout the city before visiting The House of Music Hungary. This afternoon, explore Budapest on your own with free time. Perhaps you will visit the cozy Christmas market at St. Stephen’s Basilica with its ice rink and striking Christmas tree, or head to the city’s largest market at Vörösmarty Square brimming with food and crafts stalls where local musicians often perform. This evening, join your fellow travelers to toast the end of a festive trip at a farewell dinner.(B, D)

Day 9 Budapest - Tour Ends
Say goodbye to these regal cities as your spirited holiday tour wraps up today.(B)

Featured Destinations

Budapest

Caught between eastern and western Europe, Budapest has a character uniquely its own. It's also the last cheap, civilised city in Europe. Budapest can seem like one big sight, with each phase in its history, from the Ottoman period until the Communist days and from renaissance to revolution, leaving its mark on the city. For the tourist, a trip to Hungary's capital is dominated by the majestic sights of Buda. In the summer, there are open-air festivals at Szeged, Diosgyor Castle in Miskolc, Gyor and Pecs. Visit the former Royal Palace complex, the Matyas templom and the Belvaros. Margaret Island is a giant recreational park and feels pleasantly separated from the city bustle. Hungarian National Gallery houses Hungarian art since the birth of the nation. Although Esztergom is Hungary's most sacred city, home of the Archbishop and the nation's biggest church, it has a real-life edge. The first-time visitor to Szeged is invariably struck by its space and grandeur. One's immediate impressions of Hungary's third largest provincial city are of greenery and plazas, of broad.

Excursions

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day City Tour of Budapest, 4 hours

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Full Day City Tour of Budapest, 8 hours

Budapest Shore Excursion: Private Half Day Tour Budapest Castle District, 4 hours

Vienna

Vienna is dominated by imperial castles and places: Schonbrunn, the magnificent summer residence, the Imperial Coach Collection, the Palm House, the Butterfly House, Belvedere Palace, magnificent state rooms in Hofburg, and the imperial crown in the Treasury. Stop by Ringstraße - the showplace of the monarchy built where Emperor Franz Joseph ordered the demolition of city walls. Important buildings include the State Opera, the Museums of Fine Arts and Natural History, Parliament, City Hall and Vienna University. The world capital of music. A long line of great composers Johann Strauss, Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, Mahler and Schonberg all worked here. A city with splendid concert halls, such as the Golden Hall, from which the Philharmonic's New Year's Day concert is broadcast annually. International stars love to appear here in the State Opera, Volksoper, Konzerthaus, and at festivals like the Vienna Festival, the Klangbogen concerts during the Musical Summer, the Jazz Festval and the Haydn, Mozart and Schubert festivals.

Excursions

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Vienna's Old Town, 2,5 hours

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Mozart in Vienna, 2,5 hours

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk Imperial Palace, 2,5 hours

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Tour of Vienna & Visit of Schoenbrunn Palace, 4 hours

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Tour Art Nouveau and Viennese Architecture, 4 hours

Vienna Shore Excursion: Private City Walk & the Lipizzaner Horses, 5 hours

Prague

Amid Prague's cobblestone streets and gold-tip spires, galleries, cafes, and clubs teem with young Czechs and "expatriates." New shops and restaurants have opened, expanding the city's culinary reach beyond the traditional roast pork and dumplings. The arts and theater also thrive in Prague. Young playwrights regularly stage their works, weekly poetry readings are standing room only, and classical music maintains famous standards, while the clubs are jammed. The arts - nonverbal theater, "installation" art, world music - are as trendy in Prague as in any European capital but possess distinctive Czech flavor. All of this is set against a stunning backdrop of towering churches and centuries-old bridges and alleyways. Prague achieved much of its glory in the 14th century, during the long reign of Charles IV, king of Bohemia and Moravia and Holy Roman Emperor. Charles established a university in the city and laid out the New Town, charting Prague's growth. Prague Castle is the most popular sight and is the largest ancient castle in the world with three courtyards.

Excursions

Tour of downtown Prague

Walking tour of downtown Prague

This walking tour will lead us through the former commercial heart of the city where the ancient roads of the Czech Kingdom and from abroad used to cross. We will visit two ancient Prague districts - Old Town and New Town, briefly touching Prague Jewish Quarter. This tour is a perfect introduction to discover the entire city.

Exploring the puzzle of medieval streets we will soon reach the Old Town Square where we can admire most of the Prague Old Town monuments, the stunning Old Town Hall with its mysterious Astronomical Clock, vertical gothic beauty of the Tyn Church and many other historical houses and former noble family palaces.

The time is passing by and not only the Astronomical Clock offers a live view of the movements of the universe, but it also gives us a short spectacle of the twelve apostles marching every hour on the hour, while a skeleton and human vices are nodding their heads. From the Astronomical Clock our steps will take us to the Tyn Church where gothic verticality and relative austerity of the exterior meets with its opulent baroque interior. On our way to the former city entrance we will pass through the medieval miniature Tyn fortress – Ungelt where foreign merchants used to do their business. Passing by the St. James´ Church we will take a shortcut to get to Celetna Street which will lead us to the mighty Powder Tower, which was once one of the major entrances into the city. Yes, it used to be right there where the city walls with a deep moat protected the City of Prague and where king Vaclav IV. built his city palace. Many things have changed but the Powder Tower still stands here. The city walls are gone, the moat changed into a shopping street and where there used to be the king´s palace you will now find the flamboyant Municipal House, a real jewel of art nouveau architecture.

Returning to Old Town Square via Na Prikope Street we will make a short stop at Wenceslas Square, nowadays a commercial and shopping heart of the city. From there we will proceed to the Estates Theater where a young genius music composer W.A. Mozart conducted his operas, including the world premiere performance of Don Giovanni.

On our way to the Charles Bridge we will briefly touch the Jewish Quarter, which definitely deserves a special tour. Therefore we will only walk through seeing the monuments from the outside. We will pass by the famous Old New Synagogue, Old Jewish Town Hall and the Old Jewish cemetery. Along the Vltava embankment our steps will lead us towards the Charles Bridge, the most famous statue gallery in Central Europe which connects the two sides of Prague like a diamond ring offering unforgettable views of Prague Castle, Lesser Town and Old Town.

The tour takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes

Prague castle complex tour

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges

11/29/2026 - 12/07/2026

from $2,999 per person

12/13/2026 - 12/21/2026

from $2,999 per person

* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.

Prices Start At

from $2,999 per person

Length

7 Nights

Air City

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Vacation Rating

Deluxe

Remarks

Prices are per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability and change without notice. Prices reflect land only accommodations, airfare is additional. Blackout dates/seasonal supplements may apply. Itinerary and map subject to change. Prices subject to availability and changes without notice. Some restrictions may apply.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID

1629255

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