Our 5* visit to Hamburg takes us to the heart of the new HafenCity and the Westin Hamburg which is built within the same structure as the world's most famous 21st century concert hall - the Elbphilharmonie. The music during the stay includes a concert with Andrew Manze and his 'other' orchestra as well as opera at the Hamburg State Opera and Theater Lübeck.
From it's historic past as one of the medieval Hanseatic ports the city today ranks as the second largest port in Europe and has two beautiful lakes at its heart, canals to explore and more than 2,000 bridges from which to enjoy the view. Over the past five years Hamburg has become a truly 'cool' city with the opening of the HafenCity district in the old docklands, the centrepiece of which is the magnificent Elbphilharmonie. The Westin Hotel is built in the glazed structure above the concert hall and our 'Elb' rooms look into the atrium overlooking the concert hall.
On our second evening in the city we attend a performance of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Hamburg State Opera.
We spend a day outside Hamburg travelling just over an hour by private coach to the historic city of Lübeck. The city was founded in 1143 as the first western city on the Baltic Sea coast and is a shining example of the character of the Hanseatic League members in the Baltic region. Its distinct and unique city skyline with the seven church towers, its systematically constructed city layout and the original historic buildings in the Old Town were the reason that it was granted UNESCO world heritage status in 1987. This evening we have dinner before our performance of La Traviata at the Theater Lübeck.
Andrew Manze is Principal Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie, Hannover and we have been able to secure tickets to attend one of their concerts while they are visiting Hamburg for the finale of our stay. We understand that the concert programme will be confirmed in January but will include Mozart Symphony 38.
We have a Welcome Dinner on the 12th, supper before each of the opera performances and a lunch in Hamburg. We have a full programme of sightseeing in Hamburg on the 13th & 15th and a full day out to the historic Hanseatic city of Lübeck on the 14th.
Flight's are from Manchester with Easyjet inc reserved seats and 20kg baggage allowance.
- 12th June Manchester - Hamburg 1230 - 1505
- 16th June Hamburg - Manchester 2150 - 2230
Flights are also available from Heathrow and Gatwick at a possible supplement.
Deposit is £450 and the balance will be due 15th April.
