New Year in Vienna
Budapest → Budapest
The New Year in Vienna aboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express is one of Europe's most coveted festive rail journeys — a nine-day celebration that sweeps guests through the winter heartland of Central Europe, from the imperial grandeur of Budapest to the baroque splendour of Vienna, the fairy-tale lanes of Cesky Krumlov, and the golden spires of Prague. The train departs Budapest on 28 December, building anticipation through Hungary and Austria before delivering its crowning moment: New Year's Eve in Vienna, marked by a Viennese waltz lesson and an exclusive gala dinner at City Hall accompanied by the Wiener Hofball Orchestra.
This is luxury train travel at its most theatrical. The Golden Eagle Danube Express — a handsome rake of vintage-style carriages, each fitted with private en-suite bathrooms, picture windows, and plush berths — threads through snow-dusted valleys, alpine crossings, and medieval cityscapes while an executive chef and attentive cabin team ensure every moment on board equals the grandeur of the cities outside. Eight breakfasts, seven lunches, and eight dinners are all included, alongside guided excursions, gala tickets, classical concerts, and all gratuities.
The route returns full-circle to Budapest on 5 January, having visited eight destinations across four countries. It is perfectly timed for guests who wish to greet the New Year with history, music, and champagne, cradled in a rolling five-star hotel that does the driving while they savour every mile.
- ✦Exclusive New Year's Eve gala dinner at Vienna City Hall with the Wiener Hofball Orchestra
- ✦Viennese waltz lesson at the historic Elmayer Dance School
- ✦Three nights at the Five-Star Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest
- ✦UNESCO-protected stops: Cesky Krumlov, Prague, Graz, and Vienna
- ✦Horse-drawn carriage ride through Vienna's imperial streets on New Year's Day
- ✦Private Vienna Supreme Orchestra concert and Vltava River cruise in Prague
- ✦Winter visit to Festetics Palace in Keszthely and Kosice's Gothic St. Elisabeth Cathedral
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — Budapest: Arrival
Guests are met at Budapest Airport and transferred to the iconic Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, one of Europe's great art nouveau landmarks, set directly on the bank of the Danube opposite the Chain Bridge. A welcome reception dinner introduces fellow travellers to the journey ahead. Two nights are spent here in the heart of the Hungarian capital before the train even departs.
Day 2 — Budapest: City Exploration
A panoramic morning tour covers Budapest's greatest landmarks: the Castle District on the Buda hill, St. Matthias Church with its ornate medieval façade and Zsolnay-tiled roof, the Fishermen's Bastion with its sweeping Danube panorama, and the vast Neo-Gothic Hungarian Parliament Building on the Pest bank. Guests also visit the gilded interior of the Hungarian State Opera House, widely regarded as one of the finest opera venues in Europe. The afternoon is free for independent exploration — perhaps a soak at one of Budapest's legendary thermal baths, a stroll through a winter market, or a walk along the UNESCO-listed Banks of the Danube.
Day 3 — Keszthely: Boarding & Lake Balaton
After breakfast, guests transfer to Budapest Nyugati station for a champagne royal boarding reception — complete with a military brass band performance — before stepping aboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express. The train rolls west through the Balaton Uplands National Park, Hungary's largest national park, with its volcanic hills and vineyards descending toward Europe's largest freshwater lake. At Keszthely, perched at Lake Balaton's western tip, guests tour the splendid Festetics Palace — a magnificent baroque mansion with more than 100 rooms, surrounded by formal English gardens, and housing the Helikon Palace Museum with its extraordinary 100,000-volume library. The train then departs overnight toward Austria.
Day 4 — Graz & Vienna: New Year's Eve
The train crosses into Austria and calls at Graz, the country's second-largest city, nestled at the foot of the Styrian Alps. A guided walking tour explores its remarkably intact Renaissance courtyards, provincial baroque palaces, and the Schlossberg, the rocky hill crowned by the city's medieval clock tower. A traditional tasting of Styrian pumpkin seed oil — a regional delicacy with a deep green colour and nutty richness — is served with local bread and wine. The train then makes a dramatic crossing of a UNESCO-listed mountain railway section, affording sweeping Alpine panoramas, before pulling into Vienna as the Austrian capital readies for its world-famous New Year festivities. Guests are welcomed to a Viennese waltz lesson at the prestigious Elmayer Dance School, Vienna's oldest etiquette and dance institute, before the centrepiece of the entire journey: an exclusive New Year's Eve Gala Dinner at Vienna City Hall, accompanied by the Wiener Hofball Orchestra, with champagne, dancing, and midnight celebrations ringing in the New Year in the grandest possible style.
Day 5 — Vienna: New Year's Day
New Year's Day begins with a leisurely brunch before guests choose their afternoon adventure. One option visits Schönbrunn Palace — the Habsburg summer residence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 1,441 rooms and formal baroque gardens — and its festive Christmas market. The alternative explores Heiligenkreuz Abbey, an atmospheric Cistercian monastery founded in 1133, one of the oldest continuously inhabited monasteries in the world, set in the Vienna Woods. All guests then join a horse-drawn carriage ride through Vienna's historic cobbled streets, the clip-clop of hooves echoing past the Hofburg Palace and the Ringstrasse's grand institutions. The evening brings a private concert by the Vienna Supreme Orchestra — an exclusive performance of Viennese classical music — before the train departs overnight toward the Czech Republic.
Day 6 — Cesky Krumlov & Prague
The morning stop at Cesky Krumlov reveals one of Central Europe's most perfectly preserved medieval towns, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set within a dramatic horseshoe bend of the Vltava River and dominated by its vast Renaissance castle — the second largest in Bohemia. In winter, the cobbled lanes and colourfully painted burgher houses take on a magical, near-deserted quality, dusted with snow. Guests have time to explore the old town on foot, browse local craft shops, and take in views of the castle's baroque theatre and gardens. An optional Budweiser Budvar brewery tasting is offered at the nearby České Budějovice — the home of the original Czech Budweiser since 1895. The train then continues to Prague for dinner and a private classical concert in the Bohemian capital.
Day 7 — Prague: The Golden City
A vintage tram ride carries guests up to Prague Castle, the largest ancient castle complex in the world by area, and its magnificent St. Vitus Cathedral, whose Gothic spires have dominated the Bohemian skyline since the 14th century. Inside the cathedral lie the tombs of Bohemian kings and the stunning Art Nouveau windows designed by Alfons Mucha. Lunch is served in a memorable historic setting within the city. The afternoon is free for independent exploration: the Old Town Square with its Astronomical Clock, the Charles Bridge lined with baroque statuary, and Prague's festive winter markets are all within easy reach. As darkness falls, a cruise on the Vltava River offers illuminated views of the castle, bridges, and riverfront palaces before guests return to the train, which departs overnight toward Slovakia.
Day 8 — Kosice: Slovakia's Hidden Gem
The final touring day brings guests to Kosice, Slovakia's second city and the European Capital of Culture 2013 — often described as one of Central Europe's best-kept secrets. A highlights tour of the city focuses on the medieval central square (Hlavná ulica), dominated by the Gothic St. Elisabeth Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Slovakia, whose soaring spires and richly carved portals rival anything in Prague. The surrounding pedestrianised streets are lined with baroque palaces, Renaissance town houses, and vibrant café culture. After lunch on the train, the Danube Express makes its final run back to Budapest, arriving in time for a celebratory farewell dinner at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace, where the journey began nine days earlier.
Day 9 — Budapest: Departure
Following a final breakfast at the Four Seasons, guests transfer to Budapest Airport for onward flights. Optional extensions in Budapest are available for those wishing to linger in this magnificent Danube capital.
Destinations & Highlights
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest — formed by the union of Buda and Pest in 1873 — straddles the Danube with unparalleled drama. The UNESCO-inscribed Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, and Andrássy Avenue place it among Europe's most distinguished capitals. The city's remarkable art nouveau heritage, exemplified by the Four Seasons Gresham Palace (the journey's hotel), the gilded Hungarian State Opera House, and the vast Parliament Building, reflects a golden age of ambition and culture. Budapest's thermal bath tradition — fed by over 100 natural hot springs — and its vibrant ruin-bar scene add layers of contemporary life to this deeply historical city.
Keszthely & Lake Balaton, Hungary
Keszthely anchors the western shore of Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake, within sight of the extinct volcanic hills of the Balaton Uplands National Park. The town's crown is the Festetics Palace, a baroque masterpiece commissioned in 1745 by the Festetics noble family, whose Helikon Palace Museum preserves one of Hungary's greatest private libraries. In winter, the lake's shores and vineyards take on a quiet, pristine beauty far removed from the summer crowds.
Graz, Austria
Graz is Austria's second city and arguably its most underrated, a UNESCO World Heritage city whose Renaissance old town survived the Second World War intact. The Schlossberg — a dolomite outcrop rising 473 metres above the city — offers panoramic views over terracotta rooftops, baroque church towers, and the winding Mur River. Graz is the capital of Styria, and its culinary identity — centred on Styrian pumpkin seed oil, wine, and hearty Alpine cooking — is as distinctive as its architecture. The city's 16th-century courtyards and loggias reveal a southern, almost Italian sensibility within the heart of Austria.
Vienna, Austria
Vienna has been the cultural capital of Europe for centuries, and New Year's Eve here is the most celebrated in the world. The Hofburg Imperial Palace, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Vienna State Opera, and the sweeping Ringstrasse boulevard make up just the headline layer of a city saturated in imperial grandeur. The Elmayer Dance School, where guests learn the Viennese waltz, has been teaching the city's elite since 1919. Schönbrunn Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the preferred summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth ('Sisi') — its 40 state rooms open to visitors present an unmatched window into Habsburg court life. The Vienna Woods and Heiligenkreuz Abbey, just beyond the city, offer a contemplative counterpoint to the capital's glittering spectacle.
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov is one of the great medieval survivals of Central Europe — a town of barely 13,000 inhabitants whose UNESCO World Heritage old town and castle complex have changed little since the 16th century. The castle, second in size only to Prague Castle among Bohemian castles, contains a remarkable baroque theatre complete with original stage machinery, scenery, and costumes. In winter, with tourists few and snowfall possible, the town achieves a near-theatrical perfection of cobbled squares, painted facades, and castle towers rising above the frozen Vltava.
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague's historic centre — also a UNESCO World Heritage Site — contains one of the most concentrated collections of medieval, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque, and Art Nouveau architecture in the world. Prague Castle, covering nearly 70,000 square metres, has been the seat of Bohemian kings and Czech presidents for over a thousand years. The Old Town Astronomical Clock (Orloj), installed in 1410, is the oldest working astronomical clock in the world, performing an hourly procession of the Twelve Apostles to the delight of gathered crowds. The Charles Bridge — lined with 30 baroque statues and commanding views of the castle and river — remains one of Europe's most evocative pedestrian crossings.
Kosice, Slovakia
Often overlooked by Western itineraries, Kosice rewards those who make the journey. As Slovakia's second city and Europe's 2013 Capital of Culture, it boasts a remarkably well-preserved medieval centre anchored by the Cathedral of St. Elisabeth — the easternmost Gothic cathedral in Central Europe, built between 1378 and 1508, and housing the tomb of Hungarian national hero Ferenc Rákóczi II. The Hlavná ulica (Main Street) is one of the longest and most elegant historic squares in the region, lined with baroque and Renaissance facades, and animated by a cultural scene disproportionate to the city's size.