Black Forest & Lake Constance

DAY 1

Travelling by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels, then onwards to Freiburg and our base for three nights, the Novotel Freiburg am Konzerthaus, where we check in and enjoy our first evening meal together.

DAY 2

Today, we explore the history of the Black Forest enjoying our lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Vogtsbauernhof for a guided tour of the open-air museum learning of the life and work of Black Forest farmers. Our tour ends in the museum restaurant where we learn how to make the famous Black Forest Gateau with a master of his trade and, of course, the icing on the cake, we get to taste it!

DAY 3

After breakfast this morning, we meet our guide for a culinary tour of Freiburg, the capital of the Black Forest. Afterwards, we board the Kandertalbahn, one of the few railways in Germany in operation as a pure museum railway, and we enjoy a return steam journey from Haltingen to the pottery town of Kandern. On our return, we enjoy our evening meal together at a local restaurant.

DAY 4

After breakfast, we depart Freiburg as our coach transfers us to Lake Titisee for a scenic boat cruise around the lake and free time to explore this beautiful village. This afternoon, we visit the Tuttlingen Railway Museum, built in 1933 and featuring a seven-slot roundhouse plus numerous locomotives and exhibition pieces. Afterwards, we continue to the Hotel Graf Zeppelin in Constance, our hotel for the next four nights, and enjoy our evening meal together.

DAY 5

Today, we enjoy a full day of exploring Constance beginning with our guided walking tour of this idyllic lakeside city learning the history and visiting the highlights. This afternoon, we cruise across Lake Constance taking in the breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding Alps before spending the evening at leisure.

DAY 6

This morning, we travel by road to the monastic island of Reichenau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we begin our day at the Reichenau Museum where we are immersed architectural history of the monastery. After lunch, we take a guided tour of the former monastery district followed by a fantastic wine-tasting experience to taste some of the region's delicious wines.

DAY 7

After breakfast this morning, we visit the Pile Dwellings on the shores of Lake Constance, Germany's oldest prehistoric open-air museum, where we enjoy a guided tour to explore the wooden stilt houses learning how the dwellings were built into the lake. This afternoon, we continue to Friedrichshafen and journey back in time at the Zeppelin Museum where we discover the history and innovations of airship aviation before returning to the hotel for our final evening meal together.

DAY 8

We bid farewell to Constance and to Germany, returning by rail to Brussels, where we will join the Eurostar service to London St Pancras.

*Important Note: Whilst the arrangements for all described steam train travel are in place, we do reserve the right to make substitutions should it be deemed necessary for whatever reason.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner