THE TOUR INCLUDES: - Top category seats for all performances as listed - 9 nights Deluxe accommodations at the 5-star Hotel Schloss Mönchstein in the city centre - Full breakfast daily, 3 lunches and 3 dinners - 3 custom (private) city tours (Old Town, Hellbrunn Palace & Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzkammergut) - private Airport-Hotel transfers - an Aria Tours director on site - a comprehensive tour handbook containing travel info, performance synopses and a detailed daily itinerary Cost: $6845 US Single Supplement: $1400 US Deposit: $2500 Balance due: May 30, 2007

OPTIONS FLIGHTS We will be happy to make any flight arrangements, including reward travel with your preferred carrier, for $75 per person. Inbound flights can be booked to Salzburg via Vienna, Munich or other major hubs, depending upon the carrier. TOUR ADDITIONS The itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and desires. Please call us to discuss any changes or amendments you wish to make. INSURANCE We strongly recommend that all tour members purchase cancellation insurance upon registration. We can assist you with this, though you are welcome to purchase a policy at your own discretion. If you would like information on the policies offered by our supplier, please contact us for details, or click HERE for an insurance brochure and application.

Since the founding of the Salzburg Festival in 1920, it has developed a reputation worlwide as the Festival of the Superlative. It has made careers for musicians, singers and conductors, and the over 200 annual festival performances provide countless musical memories for audiences from all over the world. Only the supremely talented are invited to perform, assuring a program quality that is second to no other festival. The Festival's Musical Director for 2007 is Jürgen Flimm, and he has assembled a program that features Eugene Onegin, Der Freischutz, Armida, András Schiff, Grigory Sokolov, Evgeny Kissin, the Basle Sinfonietta and several outstanding chamber concerts. We enjoy excellent seating for all performances, and we stay at the incomparable Hotel Schloss Monchstein, rated the best city hotel in Austria. Included are tours of the Old Town, Hellbrunn Palace, Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Salzkammergut Lake district.

Hundreds and thousands of visitors from all over the world visit the “Small Paradise” of Salzburg throughout the year. Unspoilt countryside with unique natural attractions such as the Salzkammergut, and the beauty of the “Baroque Jewel” of the old town centre of Salzburg offer an enchanting variety. Baedeker describes Salzburg as "both architecturally and scenically one of the most beautiful cities in Europe," while the Michelin Green Guide claims that "an indefinable charm makes Salzburg, over which hovers the shade of its most famous son, Mozart, a city beloved of the Gods." The Altstadt (Old Town), on the left bank of the Salzach River, likely has more masterpieces of Baroque architecture per square mile than any other city on Earth. No matter what adjectives you use, Salzburg is one of the prettiest cities you will ever encounter.

THE ITINERARY

Monday, July 30
Individual departures for Salzburg.

Tuesday, July 31
Arrival in Salzburg and transfer (included) to the opulent Hotel Schloss Monchstein, ideally situated atop Monchsberg and overlooking the Old Town. Gather for a Welcome Reception (light dinner) prior to our first performance, a recital at the Haus für Mozart with pianist Grigory Sokolov (program tba).

Wednesday, August 1
Morning: Guided city orientation tour, featuring the highlights of Old Salzburg. Our walk inevitably leads us in the footsteps of Mozart– to the houses where his family lived, to his friends, to the guest-houses, to the grave-yards. A walk of this kind becomes our own visionary encounter with Mozart, as our imagination explores the Salzburg that he also knew. Lunch is included. Evening: Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Grosses Festspielhaus, featuring Renée Morloc, Anna Samuil, Ekaterina Gubanova, Emma Sarkissián, Peter Mattei, Joseph Kaiser, and Ferruccio Furlanetto; conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Thursday, August 2
Today we offer a tour of the Salzkammergut lake district outside of Salzburg. The name Salzkammergut means "possession of the salt chamber" and is so-called because it belonged to the Imperial Salt Chamber, the authority charged with running the precious salt mines in the Habsburg empire. The unique charms of the area have been appreciated for many years - as long ago as the days of the Habsburg Empire, the emperors and noble families of Austria chose the Salzkammergut as the location for their summer holidays. The same atmosphere and beauty are what draw visitors to the Salzkammergut today. The idyllic towns and picturesque lakes, whose clear water is often pure enough to drink, provide the setting for an unforgettable visit. We will visit Bad Ischl, the town that once played host to the emperors, and stop for lunch (included) in St. Wolfgang. Evening is at leisure.

Friday, August 3
Day at leisure. Evening: Schumann-Szenen chamber concert at the Mozarteum, featuring a program of works by Kurtág, Brahms and Schumann. Late dinner is included.

Saturday, August 4
Day at leisure. Late lunch in our hotel followed by a recital by pianist Evgeny Kissin at the Grosses Festspielhaus, in a program featuring Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin.

Sunday, August 5
Day at leisure. Evening: Der Freischütz at the Haus für Mozart, featuring Markus Butter, Roland Bracht, Petra Maria Schnitzer, Aleksandra Kurzak, Peter Seiffert, John Relyea, Günther Groissböck, and Alexander Kaimbacher; conducted by Markus Stenz.

Monday, August 6
Morning: Guided tours of Hellbrunn Palace, one of the finest examples of mannerist architecture in the world, and Hohensalzburg Fortress, the chief landmark of the city and the largest fully-preserved fortress in central Europe. Lunch included. Evening: An all-Beethoven Chamber Concert at the Mozarteum featuring cellist Miklós Perényi and pianist András Schiff.

Tuesday, August 7
Day at leisure. Evening: Haydn's Armida at the Felsenreitschule, featuring Annette Dasch, Michael Schade, Patricia Petibon, Vito Priante, Richard Croft and Bernard Richter; conducted by Ivor Bolton.

Wednesday, August 8
Day at leisure. Evening: Farewell Dinner, followed by the Kontinent Scelsi 3 concert at the Kollegienkirche, featuring violist Geneviève Strosser with the Basle Sinfonietta; Stefan Asbury conducts.

Thursday, August 9
Group departures (included).