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Cruise & Rail: Venice & The Swiss Alps 2022

Cruise & Rail: Venice & The Swiss Alps 2022

Overview

Map

Experience the varied wonders of Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Slovenia from every angle with a one-of-a-kind adventure by land, cruise and train.

Begin your journey in Milan and move on to romantic Venice. These two legendary cities (Milan—home to Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and Venice—the “Queen of the Adriatic”) will bookend unforgettable experiences set along Northern Italy’s exquisite coastline.

Travel from dynamic Milan to romantic Venice and treat yourself to a private evening opening and lighting ceremony at St. Mark’s Basilica. Depart the enchanting “City of Water” to explore the waterfront shops, colorful facades and peaceful canals unique to Burano, Mazzorbo and Torcello. Farther south, discover Chioggia—a charming southern port loved by fishermen, artists and anyone looking for unique gifts or souvenirs. Head inland to enjoy a multicourse lunch, complete with decadent wine pairings, at a historic wine estate in the vineyards of Valpolicella. Enjoy additional shopping time in “bountiful” Bologna and medieval Padua, once home to Galileo and Copernicus. Your trip to Italy wouldn't be complete without a visit to UNESCO-designated Ferrara and Verona, the famed city of Romeo and Juliet.

Cap off your voyage with a 4-day train trip to Zurich. You’ll sleep on the luxury Golden Eagle Danube Express with ever-changing views at your window – the perfect follow-up to a river cruise. Along the way, visit the glittering lakes of Zurich and Bled, explore medieval towns and capital cities, enjoy a private concert in the caves of Postojna and more.

Who will enjoy this cruise/tour:

This itinerary is ideal for experienced travelers who are looking for a unique way to travel. Many of these experiences are best discovered on foot. Romantics, connoisseurs of food & wine, and lovers of art & architecture will love this adventure.

Inclusions

Dining

Dining

  • All meals onboard, prepared using the finest and freshest ingredients
  • 13 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 11 dinners
  • Captain’s Welcome and Farewell Receptions
  • Welcome and Farewell Gala Dinners
  • Unlimited beverages onboard, including fine wine, beer, spirits, specialty coffee and tea, soft drinks and mineral water
Excursions

Excursions

  • 12 days of excursions, including “Choice Is Yours” options, all fully hosted by English-speaking local experts
  • Guided "Do as the Locals Do" and "Let's Go" programs
  • State-of-the-art Quietvox portable audio-headset system on all excursions
  • Use of Nordic walking sticks
Accommodations

Accommodations

  • 7-night cruise in a riverview stateroom on the impressive S.S. La Venezia
  • 2 nights in Milan at the Rosa Grand (or similar) with breakfast
  • 3 nights onboard the luxurious Golden Eagle Danube Express
  • 1 night in Zurich at the Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel (or similar) with breakfast
  • Lavishly appointed riverview staterooms and suites have handcrafted Savoir® Beds of England, high thread count 100% Egyptian cotton sheets and European duvets, and a menu of pillow options
  • Free Internet and Wi-Fi access
Experiences

Experiences

  • 5 countries: Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
  • 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites
  • Services of an experienced Uniworld Cruise Manager
  • All transfers on arrival and departure days
  • Gratuities for onboard personnel (ship staff, crew, Cruise/Tour Manager) are included during the cruise/tour
  • Captivating onboard local entertainment
  • Cultural enrichment, including a Signature Lecture

Day To Day

Day 1: Milan

Arrive at Milan Malpensa Airport. If your cruise/tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the Rosa Grand hotel.

Day 2: Milan

Milan is a mecca for Italian fashionistas, famous for its innovative design and stylish flair. Venture inside the city’s hulking Gothic cathedral, as well as its cathedral to capitalism, Europe’s oldest shopping arcade. The highlight today is Da Vinci’s revolutionary “The Last Supper” mural.

Day 3: Milan (Verona/Valpolicella), Transfer to Venice (Embark)

En route to Venice, you’ll stop in the literary hometown of Shakespeare’s famously star-crossed teen lovers to see the sights. Later, enjoy lunch at a historic wine estate owned by descendants of Dante and learn about one of the most unique Italian wines, Amarone di Valpolicella.

Day 3: Venice

With your early morning arrival at Doge’s Palace, you’ll be able to marvel at the estate in total peace. Wander through a Venetian neighborhood and experience daily life in an authentic Venetian residential quarter. Later in the evening, cap the day off with a private once-in-a-lifetime experience at an after-hours lighting ceremony inside St. Mark’s Basilica without the crowds.

DAY 5: Venice, Chioggia

Choose between a full-day in medieval Padua, home to Italy's second oldest university, or a Venice walking tour and a choice of several exciting ways to see Chioggia: riding on a traditional bragozzo or biking through this authentic fishing town.

DAY 6: Polesella (Bologna or Ferrara)

Explore Italy’s culinary capital Bologna on a full-day tour packed with an exclusive pasta-making workshop and lunch or explore Ferrara on a half-day tour.

DAY 7: Porto Viro, Chioggia, Burano

Today, you’ll admire the greatest sites of charming and coastal Chioggia, including a stop at the local and lively market. Your ship will move to dock overnight in Burano, where you’ll enjoy a lovely evening stroll through this multicolored island.

DAY 8: Burano (Torcello, Mazzorbo, and Burano), Venice

Spend the day exploring the northern lagoon of Venice and three of its captivating islands. Explore a basilica with an art historian in Torcello before heading to the peaceful, agricultural island of Mazzorbo. End the tour with a stroll through Burano’s rainbow of colorful homes and visit a lace-making atelier.

DAY 9: Venice

As your water taxi glides past narrow side canals and the Canal Grande, you’ll arrive in style at the Rialto Bridge and Fondaco dei Tedeschi. The iconic stone arch bridge sits at the narrowest point of the Canal Grande and holds numerous shops and restaurants.

DAY 10: Venice (Disembark), Transfer to Train (Embark), Trieste

Disembark the ship. You will be transferred to the Venice Santa Lucia Station, where you will board the Golden Eagle Danube Express. You’ll have time to settle into your new cabins as the train slowly threads its way out of Venice towards Trieste, a medieval port city that was once amongst the oldest and largest cities in the Habsburg Empire. After a tour of the city, re-join the train for dinner as you head over the border into Slovenia and stop at Postojna, where you can enjoy a private evening tour of the caves.

DAY 11: Ljubljana, Lake Bled and Lienz

After breakfast, arrive in the Slovenian Capital Ljubljana, where your morning tour of this lovely city includes a boat cruise on the Ljubljanica River. During lunch we travel up to Lake Bled, picturesquely situated in the Julian Alps. Following a traditional pletna boat ride to Bled Island, your train will take you to the medieval Austrian town of Lienz, where you can visit the 13th-century, hilltop castle of Schloss Bruck. During dinner, the train will take you back to Italy to spend the night in San Candido.

DAY 12: Brenner Pass, Innsbruck and St. Anton

In the early morning, your train leaves San Candido on a scenic line through Fortezza and over the Brenner pass to Innsbruck, Austria. Tour this charming town before lunch on the train, during which you will travel through the Arlberg to St. Anton for an afternoon in a year-round Alpine resort.

DAY 13: Vaduz and Zurich (Disembark)

Your train leaves St. Anton at breakfast time to travel through the Vorarlberg to Buchs, where you will visit Liechtenstein and its capital, Vaduz. Join the train for a scenic lunchtime ride along Walensee and the Lake of Zurich on the way to your final stop. Disembark at Zurich Hbf (Main Station), where you will be taken to your hotel to enjoy a leisurely evening.

DAY 14: Zurich

Check out of your hotel and head to Zurich Airport for your flight home.

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