kristin
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 2:44 pm Posts: 23
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Baltics is awesome!
Day 1: Vilnius, Lithuania Upon arrival at the Vilnius Airport you will be met by a local iExplore Representative, welcomed to Lithuania and privately driven to your hotel where you will be assisted with check in procedures. The remainder of the day will be at your leisure.
Please note that official check-in time is 2:00pm. If your arrival is before this time we will request early check-in on your behalf however this cannot be guaranteed.
You will be confirmed for two nights at the Narutis Hotel in a Standard Room, including breakfast buffet. The Narutis Hotel has 50 rooms including 2 Suites with Turkish bath (hamam) and Jacuzzi, 7 Junior Suites (choose room with balcony or 16th century frescoes or one of the Duplex Rooms). Each room has its own face with unique frescoes, wall paintings, original 16th century beam ceilings, timber-framed floors or Gothic vaults. Enjoy the unforgettable views of Vilnius Old Town (St. Jonas church, Gediminas Three cross and Bekesas hills) through the windows.
At the end of 2000 all rooms in the Hotel were redecorated under the supervision of the French architect and designer Anne Toulous. For the rooms she selected stylish and comfortable Lithuanian and French furniture, elegant curtains and bedspreads, soft and noise absorbing carpeting for the rooms and corridors. Narutis Hotel- Standard Room
Day 2: Vilnius After breakfast at the hotel, meet your local English-speaking guide and private vehicle for a full day (7-hours) sightseeing tour of Vilnius and the surrounding area.
Enjoy a morning walking tour of this town whose architectural beauty is one of the lesser-known delights of the region.
Once the capital of an empire that spread from the Baltic to the Black Sea, Vilnius’s Old Town is filled with fine Baroque Buildings and cobbled streets, with an important Jewish Quarter known in its time as the “Jerusalem of Europe”. During your tour you will visit the Church of St. Peter and Paul, St. Anna’s Church, the Gate of Dawn and the Vilnius University. Founded in 1570 by the Jesuits, for two centuries this was one of the greatest seats of Polish education. See the outstanding façade of St. John’s Church and the observatory.
After lunch (own account) travel outside Vilnius to the Medieval Castle of Trakai, set prettily on an island in a lake and contains fine objects d’art. Trakai was the former capital of Lithuania and today you will visit the Gothic castle dating from around 1400 with its enormous central court and range of galleries.
Return to Vilnius in the late afternoon. Narutis Hotel- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 3: Vilnius- Nida- Klaipeda Depart Vilnius by private vehicle, accompanied by your English-speaking guide and drive to the Baltic Sea Coast.
After reaching Klaipeda we will have a short ferry trip to the Neringa National Park on the Curonian Spit- a peculiar unique patch of land, washed by the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon.
A combined coach and walking tour of Neringa National Park is an unforgettable experience to the beautiful, wild nature, with sand dunes, pine forests and golden beaches, visiting the Hall of Witches, which houses a hundred fanciful and folksy wooden sculptures scattered along a forest path in Juodkrante village and Nida Resort, the Fisherman’s House, famous German writer Thomas Mann’s House, Amber Gallery and a walk along the impressive sand dunes.
You will be confirmed for 1 night at the Europa Royale Klaipeda Hotel. Four star hotel Europa Royale Klaipeda is established in a thoroughly reconstructed nineteenth century building, already for more than 100 years was accommodating hotel guests. Europa Royale Klaipeda Hotel is located in the old part of the seaport with windows overlooking embankment of the river Dane and Klaipeda old town area with its romantic sights. All hotel’s 50 guest rooms, including 7 exclusive suites and 8 elegant deluxe rooms reflect the quiet charm of seacoast. Elegant hotel restaurant provides a wide range of European dishes. For light snacks and refreshments, hotel warmly welcomes to the hotel bar. Europa Royale Klaipeda- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 4: Klaipeda- Riga, Latvia Depart Klaipeda this morning by private vehicle accompanied by your English-speaking guide and drive north across the country to visit the extraordinary ‘Hill of Crosses’. Bulldozed time and again by the Soviets, this mound covered by literally millions of small Christian Crosses, which became a symbol of local resistance and was visited by the Pope.
Continue on to the glorious Palace of Rundale, created for one of Catherine the Great’s lovers by Rastrelli, architect of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and in the process of being restored to its former glory.
After, check into your hotel. You will be confirmed for 3-nights at the Hotel Gutenbergs. The Hotel Gutenbergs is located in the heart of Old Town, next to Dome Square. The main building was built at the end of the 19th century and reminds one of a prosperous Riga’s or a country baron’s house. Its 9 feet high ceilings, vast corridors with comfortable recreation areas and ormolu candelabra. Everything here- the paintings, engravings, antique fancy articles, old books in the guest rooms and corridors- are like a story about the history of Riga. Pretty rooftop terrace. Hotel Gutenbergs- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 5: Riga Meet your local English-speaking guide and private vehicle for a morning sightseeing tour (3-hours) of Riga.
Riga is a bustling, lively city with an important river port and commercial center and this morning you will enjoy a tour of the old town, the city’s parks and fine, turn of the century residential sections, decorated in Art Nouveau style (Jugendstil). The tour begins from the hotel towards Old Town and a walking tour of Riga- first referred to in chronicles in 1201. Pass Kalku Street and Livu Square with its medieval buildings, great and small Guild Houses, the Dome Cathedral, the Stock Exchange and Riga Castle- the residence of the Latvian President (photo stop only). Then, see the Latvian National Opera House and the Freedom Monument.
Rejoin the car and continue to the Art Nouveau District- a UNESCO World Heritage Site and visit the central market before returning to the hotel.
The remainder of the day will be at your leisure to relax or explore the beautiful city of Riga further. Hotel Gutenbergs- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 6: Riga- Gauja National Park- Riga Today you will enjoy a full day (8-hours) sightseeing tour outside Riga with your English-speaking guide and private vehicle.
Drive to Gauja National Park to visit Turaida Castle, built in the 13th century as the residence of the Bishop of Riga, and Sigulda Castle, as residence of the Master of the Livonian Order.
Weather permitting, you may wish to hike through the forest from Turaida Castle to Sigulda Castle rather than using the car.
Return to Riga late afternoon. Hotel Gutenbergs- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 7: Riga- Tallinn, Estonia After breakfast this morning you have a private transfer with an English-speaking guide to the capital of Estonia, Tallinn.
Here you will be confirmed for two nights at the Merchants House Hotel. The Merchants House Hotel is a beautiful and historical 37-room boutique hotel located in medieval Tallinn. The Merchant House possesses two 14th and 16th century properties with a number of unique features: an intriguing array of passageways, balconies and hidden staircases, elaborate medieval façade, wooden beamed ceiling, hand painted frescoes and fully restored fireplaces.
In the afternoon, meet your English-speaking guide for a 3-hour walking tour of one of Europe’s finest preserved medieval city centers. Your tour will include Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Dome Church, Town Hall and the Guild Houses. Merchants House Hotel- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 8: Tallinn- Lahemaa- Tallinn This morning, meet your local English-speaking guide and private vehicle for a final morning sightseeing tour (2-hours).
Visit Kadriorg Park, designed for Russia’s Peter the Great during the 18th century and is now the residence of the Estonian President. The palace is built in a baroque style and was commissioned soon after Russia’s conquest of Estonia during the Great Northern War. Continue along to the Song Festival Grounds where 150,000 people can sing in this natural arena. In 1988, 300,000 Estonians gathered in the grounds to begin a ‘Singing Revolution’ during Soviet times.
Later, embark on a 6-hour excursion by private vehicle with your English-speaking guide outside the city to visit Estonia’s only national park.
Here you will visit Kolga and Palmse and Sagadi Manor Houses; Kolga Manor was in the possession of the de la Gardie Family (17th/18th centuries) and after being at the disposal of Soviet army troops and a collective farm, the mansion was given to the Stenbock family foundation in 1993 under the new act of property restitution in Estonia.
Palmse Manor was built in the 18th century and was owned by the Barons von Pahlens. The furniture within is not original to the house, but has been collected from sources throughout Estonia.
Sagadi Manor, a long, low manor with a lovely lake, was also built in the 18th century and was one of the few mansions in Estonia to be decorated in rococo style. Merchants House Hotel- Standard Room Breakfast
Day 9: Depart Tallinn Privately transfer to Tallinn Airport for your onward flight. Breakfast
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