Bohemian Castles & the Prague Spring Festival Trip Dates : Saturday 24 May - Sunday 1 June 2008 Trip Price : £ 1,850 per person sharing a double/twin room £ 290 double for single supplement, deposit £ 250 per person Activity Level: Considerable walking daily, both in towns and on country paths – really comfortable footwear with a good sole is required. Uneven cobbles, steps and stairs in churches and museums, some hilly streets, possibly muddy forest paths. Download a PDF (391 kB) with trip details Home page How to book Phone/Fax : +44-(0)1722-716 167

The Bohemian landscape, with its rolling hills, forests and lakes, is remarkable for its wealth of romantic castles, mediaeval churches and small towns and villages that look just as they did in their Baroque or Renaissance heydays. We stay in one of these castles, now converted to a luxury hotel, visit half a dozen more, and explore the unspoilt countryside and the historical and architectural treasures preserved in World Heritage towns such as Český Krumlov and Telč. Proceeding to Prague – the most enchanting of Europe's capital cities – we attend four performances (see details below) of the celebrated international music festival in honour of the composer Smetana, while based for four nights in an ideally situated small 4 star historic hotel and dining in a selection of restaurants contributing to Prague's much heralded return to culinary excellence. On foot each day we explore the superb heritage of art and architecture in this ‘city of one hundred golden spires’, concentrating on less well-known aspects such as the beautifully restored Baroque & Italianate Renaissance gardens, as well as the justly famed monuments from Bohemia's Golden Age, the fourteenth century. Wednesday 28^th May, in the Obecní Dům, Prague’s celebrated Art Nouveau concert hall PRAGUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Jiří Kout, conductor Václav Hudeček, violin Jan Páleníček, violoncello Johannes Brahms: Double Concerto for violin, violoncello and orchestra in A minor, op. 102 Symphony no. 4 in E minor, op. 98 Thursday 29^th May, in the 19^th century National Theatre Bedřich Smetana: The Secret Friday 30^th May, in the the Rudolfinum, Prague’s principal concert hall, on the banks of the river Vltava CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Zdeněk Mácal, conductor Dagmar Pecková, mezzo-soprano Rudolf Buchbidner, piano Arnold Schönberg: Erwartung (Expectation), op. 17 Johannes Brahms: Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 1 in D minor, op. 15 Saturday 31^st May, in the Obecní Dům BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Jiří Bĕlohlávek, conductor Piotr Anderszewski, piano Miroslav Kabeláč: Symphony No. 7, op. 52 Ludwig van Beethoven: Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 1 in C major, op. 15 Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony no. 6 in B minor, op. 54