Budapest, Hungary, Vienna, Austria, Mariazell, Salzburg, Prague, Rome, Monte Cassino, San Giovanni Rotondo, Monte Sant'Angel, San Giovanni Rotondo, Lanciano, Loreto, Assisi, Florence
YOUR TRIP INCLUDES: Round-trip air from New York (special Add-on Airfares from all US gateways) ALL AIRPORT TAXES & FUEL SURCHARGES! One way flight from Chezx Republic to Italy 18 nights at centrally located first class hotels as follows: (or similar) 2 nights: Hotel Korona, Budapest
2 nights: Hotel Marriott, Vienna
2 nights: Hotel Dorint, Salzburg
2 nights: Hotel Diplomat, Prague
3 nights: Hotel Cicerone or Quirinle, Rome, Italy
2 nights: Gran Paradiso, San Giovanni, Italy
3 nights: Hotel Giotto, Assisi, Italy
2 nights: Hotel Mediteraneo, Florence, Italy Transfers as per itinerary Breakfast and Dinner daily Wine with dinners Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach Assistance of a professional local Catholic guide(s) Sightseeing and admissions fees as per itinerary Catholic Priest available for Spiritual Direction Mass daily & Spiritual activities Luggage handling (1 piece per person) Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents
Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary: Day 1 - USA - Budapest
Depart USA for our overnight flights to Budapest . Dinner and breakfast are served on board.
Day 2 - Arrive Budapest, Hungary
Upon arrival you will meet your driver/guide outside the baggage claim of the airport and transfer to your hotel where you will meet with the rest of your group. Enjoy free time to explore Budapest. Often compared with Paris, this glamorous city has something to offer every visitor. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3 - Budapest
After breakfast we will tour the older section of the city. After celebrating Mass at the 13th-century Cathedral of St. Matthew, we will see the Citadel on Mount Gellert, the Royal Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, the Parliament, Heroes' Square, and the Church of St. Stephen. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4 - Budapest - Vienna, Austria
After breakfast we motor through the lush Austrian countryside to Vienna, Austria's capital. We will celebrate Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral, an imposing structure dating to the 13th century. We'll have time for Viennese pastry and coffee before seeing the State Opera House, home to the Vienna Boys' Choir, and Schonbrunn Palace. This sprawling, royal 'summer house' has 1,441 rooms including a Hall of Mirrors where Mozart performed at the age of six before a young Marie Antoinette. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5 - Vienna
After breakfast we visit Prince Eugene's Belvedere Palace and the seemingly endless Hofburg Palace. Later we'll get a different look at Vienna, from the seat in the Prater's enormous Ferris wheel. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6 - Vienna - Salzburg
After breakfast we motor west through Austria to the lovely birthplace of Mozart, Salzburg. Upon arrival we will enjoy an afternoon tour includes Salzburg's great houses, mansions, Festival Hall, and the Mirabelle Gardens. We also get to hear the bells of the great Glockenspiel Tower, performed to a melody of Mozart's. Dinner and overnight.
Day 7 - Salzburg
After breakfast, our full day tour begins with Mass at St. Peter's Churchyard. Salzburg is compact and best explored on foot. Narrow, winding lanes and secluded passageways are evidence of its medieval roots. The heritage of the Catholic Church is evident in the Archbishop's Residence and the decoration of the State Rooms, available for viewing. Visit the mighty Romanesque Cathedral, the Nonnberg Convent of Benedictine nuns, and the Fortress Hohensalzburg. We stop at Hellbrunn Palace to enjoy its gardens and hidden trick fountains. Dinner and overnight.
Day 8 - Salzburg - Prague, Czech Republic
After breakfast we depart for our scenic motorcoach ride to the enchanting city of Prague, a city of domed rooftops, soaring steeples, and countless spires. Dinner and overnight.
Day 9 - Prague
After breakfast, we begin our tour of beautiful Prague. We will celebrate Mass at the Church of Our Lady Victorious and see there the renowned statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague. We visit Old Town by way of Golden Lane and then go to the Lesser Town to see the medieval Charles Bridge that is adorned with many baroque statues. We will also see St. Nicholas Church, the Astronomic Clock, and the Prague Castle district where we tour St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica, Loreto Church, Strahov Monastery, and Wenceslas Square. Dinner and overnight.
Day 10 - Prague - Rome
Travel by flight(s) to Rome. Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy.
Day 11 - Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)
Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St. Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St. Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican (time permitting). Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 12 - Rome
This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour entitled "Christian Rome" which includes: the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; the Holy Stairs, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, The Basilica of the St. John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St. Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St. Paul under its main altar; and the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St. Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will also enjoy a visit to the Trevi fountain. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome.
Day 13 - Rome - Monte Cassino - San Giovanni Rotondo
We leave Rome, the Eternal City, for San Giovanni Rotondo. Stop in Monte Cassino, a beautiful town founded by St. Benedict in 529. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.
Day 14 - Rome - San Giovanni Rotondo- Monte Sant’Angelo
After celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. We will have an opportunity to view his exhumed body (through September 2009). You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St. Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St. Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St. Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, and a restful overnight.
Day 15 - San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi
We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass. We then continue on to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived. Continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
Day 16 - Assisi
Visit the tomb of St. Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St. Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St. Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St. Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St. Mary of the Angels Basilica where St. Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St. Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St. Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening.
Day 17 - Assisi -- Sienna
We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
Day 18 - Assisi - Florence
After a brief drive through the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we arrive in Florence. A paradise for art lovers, Florence drew to itself the greatest artists of the Renaissance: Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello and many others. Dinner and overnight.
Day 19 - Florence (afternoon optional tour to Pisa)
After Mass, we will enjoy guided tour of Florence which includes magnificent Franciscan church of The Holy Cross or Santa Croce with the beautiful facade, church is a burial place of nobles, among which is Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli. Walking tour through Piazza Signoria, pass by Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio. Continue through Republic Sqare to the Santa Maria del Fiore 13th century cathedral.
Free time you may decide to take one of several optional tours including tour to Pisa (additional cost approximately $30.) o shop, find a coffee shop for some good observation of the passers by or continue to explore this art city on your own. Return to our hotel in Florence for dinner and overnight.
Day 20 - Florence - USA
We bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and heart for a long time to come. Early departure for Florence Airport for our return flight to the USA.
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Travel Dates
Land Only (no airfare)
*Air & Land
# of Pilgrims
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Single Supplement/Private Room
$1,499
Land with Inter-European Flights one-way from Czech Republic to Italy
(no international airfare or arrival/departure transfers are included)
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