7 days on the castle road from Vienna to Trieste

day 1 Departure from the airport Vienna by bus after arrival at 9:00 o’clock. Tour guide: An ambassador of the region Vulkanland Steiermark, if needed also translator. You visit the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and experience the impressive performance of the Lipizzaner horses. After lunch in Vienna’s city center, guided tour of Schönbrunn Palace – baroque summer residence of the Austrian emperors and the largest castle in Austria. Drive to Styria and check-in in the castle Obermayerhofen, best known as a romantic location for weddings and for its award-winning cuisine. Dinner at the hotel.

day 2 After breakfast, visit and guided tour of the garden palace Herberstein, which is still inhabited by the Herberstein family (in its 21st generation). Here is the home of Siegmund Herberstein, born in 1486, who at the time led 69 diplomatic missions to Eastern Europe to the court of Soliman the Magnificent.
Along the Castle road we drive to Vulcano Schinkenwelt in Feldbach. At Vulcano Ursprung you experience the world of ham as a realm of the senses. Following the guided tour with the ham expert, you may taste the delicious range of products and a glass of Styrian wine in the Genussreich.
At Castle Kornberg the landlord himself, Mr. Bardeau, welcomes you and takes you on a guided tour through the castle. Exciting and unforgettable insights into the last centuries await. At Gölles Erlebniswelt you experience how fine brandys and vinegars are made from scratch. Following, the Riegersburger Seehaus serves a 2-course dinner accompanied by fantastic views of Riegersburg fortress. Return to Castle Obermayerhofen.

day 3 Visit of the most famous culinary establishment in the region: the chocolate factory of Josef Zotter. You may taste a wide variety of chocolates while you wander through the manufactory and learn about the process from roasting beans to finishing chocolates. Lunch break in the enclosed ecological “Edible Zoo”. Finally ascent by modern furnicular up the 482m high volcanic rock housing the Riegersburg fortress. Castle museum, witch museum and weapons museum bring the 17th century to life. Attendance of one of the most impressive birds of prey flight demonstrations in Europe! We follow the road to Castle Kapfenstein. Check-in at the castle’s hotel and dinner in its restaurant.

day 4 Drive to the district capital Feldbach, where the probably most colorful church tower in the world is located. The colors are a symbol of a peaceful coexistence of different cultures and are a popular background for holiday photos. After lunch break in an excellent guest house in the center of Feldbach drive to the oldest spa town in Styria. Bad Gleichenberg was redefined in the time of Biedermeier by the Counts Wickenburg. As a health resort for the international nobility it welcomed, among others, the Grand Duchesses Helene and Katharina Mikhailovna of Russia. Coffee and cake as well as time to unwind on the main square of Bad Gleichenberg with the excellent master confectioner. At the end of the relaxed day program visit a typical Styrian Buschenschank with culinary specialties of the volcanic land and traditional music.

day 5 Breakfast and departure from Kapfenstein for a short visit to the second largest city in Austria. Graz impresses with a southern flair and contemporary architecture in harmonious symbiosis. Guided tour of the largest baroque palace in Styria – Schloss Eggenberg and lunch break at the castle park in the excellent restaurant. Drive to the Lipizzaner Stud farm Piber, where the horses for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna grow up. Check-in at the castle hotel Deutschlandsberg, 4 **** hotel in the middle of the west Styrian Schilcher wine garden. Enjoy the master chef’s delicious 3-course evening meal and be rewarded with a great all-round view.

day 6 After breakfast guided tour of the castle Deutschlandsberg and visit of the museum. Drive across the state border to Slovenia for lunch rest in Slovenska Bistrica and continue to the oldest city in Slovenia – Ptuj. Towering over the city is the mighty Ptuj Castle, which offers a wonderful view across the country and which also houses the Regional Museum Ptuj Ormož, dedicated to the history of the city from its inception. Visit the castle and the museum. In the evening you will check-in at the fine hotel in the Old Town of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and often rewarded as the most liveable metropolis in Europe. City walk to dinner directly on the river Drava and a relaxed end to the day.

day 7 Breakfast and departure at 9:00. On the way to Trieste, you will visit the imposing caves castle Predjama, which was built in the 12th century in an inaccessible rock face. The cave system of the Karst Mountains was used by the builders as a supply route during sieges and can be visited as well as the museum of the castle.
At lunchtime you reach Trieste, Austria’s only sea gateway at the Habsburg era in the 18th and 19th centuries, and explore the city from the Piazza dell’Unità on your own. The easternmost port city of Italy is considered the gateway to eastern Europe and is the end point of the maritime Silk Road. After dinner at the port of Trieste transfer to Venice airport where you arrive at 22:00.