LITHUANIA PLUS KALININGRAD TOUR

Vilnius - Kaunas - Kaliningrad - Klaipeda - Vilnius

9 days / 8 nights

Day 1: Arrival in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and get settled in your hotel.
The afternoon city tour features its main beautiful churches, Cathedral Square, Gediminas Castle, the Gates of Dawn, Vilnius University’s major historic and architectural monuments, University campus, St. Anne’s Church and includes a short visit to a private Amber Gallery that tells the story of Baltic gold.

Day 2: A morning tour to Trakai to visit magnificent 15^th century red-brick Trakai Castle on an Island. Once the seat of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes, the Castle now houses a museum highlighting the local history and a huge collection of objects d’art.

Day 3: Departure for Kaunas, the interim capital of Lithuania between the two World Wars with an en route a stop at Rumsiskes outdoor Ethnographic Museum near by. Covering a total of 176 hectares the Museum offers an understanding of the architecture, traditions, crafts and the life style of farmers at the end of the 18^th –19^th centuries. The museum boasts a collection of old houses, farms, schools, pubs and mills representing the major regions of the country. We will stay overnight in our hotel accommodation at Kaunas.
An afternoon tour of Kaunas includes the Old Town with its main attractions: the Town Hall, Theological Seminary, the Thunder House, 15^th century Vytautas Church, Pedestrian Street called Liberty Avenue lined up with shops, restaurants and cafes.

Day 4: Departure to Kaliningrad Region, now an enclave of Russia, but once the land of the Teutonic Knights and Prussian Kings. The road winds along the Nemunas River dotted with Raudondvaris, Veliuona and Raudone castles. Upon your arrival in Kaliningrad, you can settle in to your accommodation at the hotel.

Day 5: Today’s sightseeing of Kaliningrad relates the amazing history of this town known as Konigsberg until 1946. The tour highlights the main attractions of this town: the Cathedral, the symbol of the town, where the remains of the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant are buried, Albertina University founded in the 16^th century, the Church of Queen Louisa built in 1899 now housing a Puppet Theatre, Lasch Bunker, the underground command post built by Germans in 1945, and Rossgarten Gate built in the mid-19^th century as part of the city’s defense system.
An afternoon drive to the peaceful seaside town of Svetlogorsk (Rauchen) boasting the Brakhert sculpture park, 19^th century Water Tower and Art Noveau bathhouse. On the way back to Kaliningrad we stop at the worlds only open amber mine in Yantarny.

Day 6: This morning you drive back to Lithuania via the windswept Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage site and National Park, with its romantic fishing villages, forests, white sand dunes and the intriguing Hill of Witches. The area also has a dramatic history, and was owned variously by the Teutonic Order, Prussia, Sweden, Germany, and even for a short time served as French protectorate. Upon arrival in Klaipeda you will be taken to your accommodation at the hotel.

Day 7: A morning city tour of Klaipeda focus’ on the Old Town of Klaipeda with its Theatre Square dominated by the statue of a girl “Ann from Tharau”, narrow alleyways with attractive courtyards, art galleries, cafes, small boutiques, blocks of lattice-work buildings, old warehouses reflecting the influence of Germanic architecture of the Hanseatic period. The tour ends with a visit to the History Museum of Lithuania Minor relating the ancient history of the town, life style and traditions of the residents of the region.
The afternoon tour takes you to Palanga, the most popular seaside resort, just 25 km from Klaipeda, with a visit to the Amber Museum, the best place to learn the history of amber, “Lithuanian Gold”, a walk in the Botanical Park with Birute’s Hill, a 22-metre-high dune, along the central street full of souvenir shops and open air cafes, and leading to the beach and the pier.

Day 8: Leave Klaipeda for Vilnius (or continue your trip on to Latvia). Upon arrival at Vilnius, you will transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at your disposal.

Day 9: Departure