cultural tours & music holidays & music tours cultural CULTURAL TOURS & MUSIC HOLIDAYS FOR DISCERNING TRAVELLERS 2016 RNI N C E G S T I R D A V R E O L F L G E S IN T R Y RA B S S A LE AR E E D CELEBRATINGC 0 Y I 303 YEARS L 6 O 1 H 2 0 1 9 8 6 – ART • ARCHITECTURE • GARDENS • ARCHAEOLOGY • HISTORY • MUSIC CULTURAL TOURS: ALBANIA • BELGIUM • BULGARIA • cUBa • CZECH REPUBLIC • ENGLAND • FRANCE •holland italy • JAPAN • morocco • POland • PORTUGAL • Russia • Spain • TURKEY 2016 EXCLUSIVE KIRKER MUSIC FESTIVALS: ischia • MALLORCA • music cruises • SALAMANCA • suffolk • cornwall • TENERIFE ESCORTED Holidays TO LEADING MUSIC FESTIVALS & events: BADEN–BaDEN • BONN • BUDAPEST • dresden • GRAFENEGG La FENICE, VENICE • LA SCALA, MILAN • LEIPZIG • malta baroque • new york • north Norfolk puccini festival • Schubertiade • SIBELIUS • THREE CHOIRS, gloucester • VERONA • vienna 2016 DEPARTURES This list of holidays is updated regulary with additional tour departures added throughout the year. Please visit our website or telephone 020 7593 2284 to speak to an expert consultant for the most up to date information. JANUARY 2016 14th Images of Cuba 48 15th Malta Baroque Musical Festival 16 25th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 28th La Scala, Milan 19 Florence 30th The Kirker Music Festival in Tenerife 10 FEBRUARY 2016 22nd The Italian Lakes – Gardens and Villas of Como & Maggiore 29 10th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 26th La Scala, Milan 19 27th The Ring Cycle in Leipzig 22 MARCH 2016 29th Opera at the Arena di Verona 17 8th The Metropolitan Opera & Galleries and Museums of New York 14 27th La Scala, Milan 19 8th Seville & Andalucia 38 JULY 2106 13th The Kirker Spring Music Festival at the Hotel Tresanton, St. Mawes 12 13th The Bay of Naples 33 6th Music in Baden-Baden 24 14th Ruskin’s Venice 31 8th The Battle of Waterloo 46 17th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 23rd The Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester 13 17th La Scala, Milan 19 27th The Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester 13 18th Music in Baden-Baden 24 AUGUST 2016 24th Opera in Budapest 25 10th Puccini Opera Festival 17 APRIL 2016 21st The North Norfolk Music Festival 13 1st Lucca & the Lucchese Hills 30 23rd Opera at the Arena di Verona 17 1st Pas-de-Calais: Lille, Lens & Arras 35 24th The Schubertiade Festival 20 1st Ancient & Mediaeval Provence 35 25th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 5th Florence – Cradle of the Renaissance 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 9th The Metropolitan Opera & Galleries and Museums of New York 14 1st The Palaces & Galleries of St. Petersburg 45 9th Genoa – City of the Doges 31 5th Umbria – The Essence of Italy 32 11th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 7th The Grafenegg Music Festival 15 11th The Classic Tour of Bulgaria – Icons, Monasteries & Mountains 44 7th The Sebelius Festival 16 13th Opera in Budapest 25 9th Kraków to Warsaw – Castles & Palaces of Poland 42 13th Ravenna, Urbino & Ferrara 27 10th Art of the Côte d’Azur 36 14th The Palaces & Galleries of St. Petersburg 45 12th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 16th Art of the Côte d’Azur 36 12th The Classic Tour of Bulgaria – Icons, Monasteries & Mountains 44 16th The Dordogne 37 15th Gardens of the Riviera 36 17th Art Galleries of The Netherlands 41 17th Carcassonne & Albi 37 17th The Peninsular War 46 18th La Scala, Milan 19 18th The Grandeur of Rome 26 19th The Beethoven Festival in Bonn 15 18th Parma, Cremona & Mantua 27 19th Villas & Gardens around Rome 28 21st Gardens of the Riviera 36 19th The Country Houses of Bohemia & Moravia 43 23rd The Galleries & Museums of Washington DC, 21st Ravenna, Urbino & Ferrara 27 Philadelphia & New York 47 24th The Dordogne 37 25th Umbria – The Essence of Italy 32 24th An Introduction to Albania 44 26th Art & Music in Vienna 21 26th The Kirker Chopin Festival in Mallorca 8 26th Sicily – An Enigmatic Island 34 26th Parma, Cremona & Mantua 27 MAY 2016 29th Pas-de-Calais: Lille, Lens & Arras 35 1st La Scala, Milan 19 30th The Battle of Waterloo 46 5th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 OCTOBER 2016 6th The Kirker Music Festival in Salamanca 9 2nd Sicily – An Enigmatic Island 34 9th Villas & Gardens around Rome 28 2nd Art Galleries of The Netherlands 41 12th Discovering Lisbon 40 6th Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 12th The Palaces & Galleries of St. Petersburg 45 6th The Schubertiade Festival 20 13th Gardens, Temples and Cities of Japan 49 6th Discovering Lisbon 40 21st Opera in Budapest 25 6th The Palaces & Galleries of St. Petersburg 45 21st Carcassonne & Albi 37 8th Genoa – City of the Doges 31 21st Imperial Cities of Morocco – Fez, Meknès & Rabat 40 10th The 11th Kirker Ischia Music Festival 7 23rd The Country Houses of Bohemia & Moravia 43 10th The Grandeur of Rome 26 25th The Italian Lakes – Gardens and Villas of Como & Maggiore 29 10th Imperial Cities of Morocco – Fez, Meknès & Rabat 40 25th Bilbao, Cantabria & Old Castille 39 17th Ancient & Mediaeval Provence 35 27th Art & Music in Vienna 21 17th Bilbao, Cantabria & Old Castille 39 27th Kraków to Warsaw – Castles & Palaces of Poland 42 22nd The Galleries & Museums of Washington DC, 28th Istanbul & Gallipoli 46 Philadelphia & New York 47 30th The Kirker Music Festival in Suffolk 11 31st A Cruise to Spain, Morocco and Portugal 50 JUNE 2106 NOVEMBER 2016 2nd Opera at La Fenice in Venice 18 4th Lucca & the Lucchese Hills 30 2nd Leipzig & Dresden: Music in Saxony 23 4th The Bay of Naples 33 11th An Introduction to Albania 44 6th Gardens, Temples and Cities of Japan 49 12th Norway’s Midnight Sun – 8th Florence – Cradle of the Renaissance 30 A Midsummer Cruise Across the Arctic Circle 50 8th Seville & Andalucia 38 18th Genoa – City of the Doges 31 8th Images of Cuba 48 19th The Schubertiade Festival 20 11th Art Cities of Flanders, The Netherlands and Germany 50 19th Art & Music in Vienna 21 13th La Scala, Milan 19 19th Art Galleries of The Netherlands 41 15th Ruskin’s Venice 31 2 FOR DISCERNING TRAVELLERS 4 WATERLOO COURT • 10 THEED STREET • LONDON SE1 8ST Tel: 020 7593 2284 • Fax: 020 4593 1461 • [email protected] • www.kirkerholidays.com Welcome to the Kirker Cultural Tours & Music Holidays brochure for 2016. We look forward to welcoming both new and regular travellers on our range of carefully-designed escorted holidays. Every holiday is meticulously planned and researched and our clients appreciate the attention to detail we invest in each itinerary. Not only do we make sure that excursions include both familiar and lesser-known destinations, but we also pride ourselves on our excellent contacts, which enable us to offer the very best music and opera performances, exclusive access to places not open to the public, and private visits to museums and galleries outside of normal opening hours. Each year we work hard to get the balance right between perennial favourites such as St. Petersburg, Sicily and New York, and tours to tempting new destinations. For 2016, we have added the Dordogne, Provence and the Pas-de-Calais in France; Moravia in the Czech Republic, Poland and Budapest; and itineraries focussing on the art galleries of New York and Washington DC, plus the temples & gardens of Japan. This year we have designed several four and five night holidays which run consecutively. These may also be booked together to create a single longer tour with the same tour leader throughout – for example the Art & Gardens of the Côte d’Azur (see page 36) or the Art Cities of Northern Italy (see page 27). Last year we introduced a highly successful music festival in Suffolk and for 2016 we have created a new Kirker Music Festival in Spain, which will take place on a wine estate close to historic Salamanca. These join established favourites such as Ischia in the Bay of Naples, where we continue to enjoy our autumn concerts at La Mortella, and the Kirker Chopin Festival in Mallorca. We shall also be back on board Black Watch with three Kirker Music Festivals at Sea – to Norway in June, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco in October, and Bruges, Hamburg and Amsterdam in November. Our carefully selected tour leaders play a vital role in the success of our tours and we are delighted to have such a diverse range of individual experts who return to lead Kirker holidays every year. Many clients choose to travel with Kirker not only because of our tour leaders’ expert knowledge, but because of the ease with which they convey their learning. If you were thinking of arranging a private tour, perhaps for a group of friends or a local society, please contact us to discuss your requirements and we will plan a tailor-made itinerary especially for you. We enjoy sharing our experience and destination knowledge so please telephone 020 7593 2286 to speak to one of our experts. We do hope that you will choose to travel with us in 2016 and we look forward to hearing from you soon. RNI N C E G S T I R D A V R E O L F L G E S IN T R Y RA B S S Ted Wake A LE AR Barry Cheesman E E D CELEBRATINGC 0 Y JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR I 303 YEARS CULTURAL TOURS SENIOR EXECUTIVE L 6 O 1 AND DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING H 2 0 1 9 8 6 – ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT TOUR OPERATORS – OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD 2011, 2012 & 2014 ADVANTAGE INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENTS – BEST SPECIALIST TOUR OPERATOR 2012 & 2013 3 KEY FEATURES OF CULTURAL TOURS & MUSIC HOLIDAYS Our 2016 Cultural Tours & Music Holidays brochure includes a range of holidays that will appeal to a wide variety of tastes and interests.