Theatre Tours Music Tours Opera / Ballet Tours Festival Tours European Tours

Arts Festival Tours of Europe

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (August)

The Edinburgh International Arts Festival is one of the world's greatest and most exciting arts events. Featuring plays, recitals, concerts, operas and dance by major artists and companies from all around the world, each of who are specially selected and invited to be part of this unique cultural event, this remarkable occasion combines the excitement of experiencing live performance from some of the great artists of the day with the joy of discovering new and unfamiliar work. Hosted since 1947 by the city of Edinburgh, which, with its medieval and Georgian architecture is one of the most stunningly beautiful cities in Europe, guest artists within the last two or three years alone have included: Peter Stein, Luc Bondy, Peter Zadek, Klaus Bachler, Anne Bogart, Peter Sellers, Carles Santos, Frank McGuinness, Simon Rattle, Alfred Brendel, Bryn Terfel, Thomas Zehetmair, Pierre Boulez, Ian Bostridge, Andras Schiff, Carlo Rizzi, Mats Ek, Peter Martins, Boris Charmatz and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

This is but the tip of the iceberg. Running in parallel, The Fringe Festival is a rich feast of the unexpected and the unpredictable as professionals, amateurs and students rub shoulders in a myriad of tiny venues presenting an array of theatre, mime, music, dance, cabaret and stand-up-comedy. Here you will find Steven Berkoff performing next to a group of unknown up-and-comings whilst The National Theatre of Lithuania perform alongside a group of drama students from the USA. Here you take your own risks and discover your own gems.

The rich combination of Festival, Fringe, The City of Edinburgh and, of course Scotland itself, is one that makes for an unforgettable and challenging summer.

Salzburg and Munich (July and August)

These two great centres of international music-making are only a few hours apart and combine ideally in one trip. The idea of the summer arts festival was born in the city of Mozart nearly a century ago, and to an amazing extent Salzburg retains its supremacy in the field. To its unequalled record as the provider of no-expense-spared, five-star performances, Salzburg has recently added a sense of adventure and a cutting edge, encouraging new creators and young audiences. Concerts and Opera provide the heart of our visit, and we offer one of each, plus a day in the mountains of the Salzkammergut. Prosperously endowed with the cultural institutions and layout of a former royal city, Munich has been described as the secret capital of Germany. The Munich Festival centres on the Bavarian State Opera, a house to compare with those of Vienna and Berlin, where we see two performances. We also visit Nymphenburg Palace, and the recently restored Alte Pinakothek, Munich's world-class collection of Old Masters.

Provence: Aix, Avignon, Orange (July)

Three overlapping July festivals of music and theatre in one of the most gloriously well-endowed areas on earth. Between the French Alps, the Mediterranean and the Rhone valley, Provence has been rich in buildings, art, cities, wine and food for more than two thousand years. Aix-en-Provence, ancient capital of the Provencal kings and birthplace of Paul Cezanne, stages a music and opera festival renowned for its Mozart and baroque, with many of Europe's rising young stars, led by Peter Brook. One of the liveliest small cities in France, Avignon attracts leading actors, directors and designers from Paris and abroad for a theatre festival almost as famous for the fizzing atmosphere in the cafes and streets as for the shows themselves. The stupendous open-air Roman theatre at Orange stages operas and concerts in a style that matches the grandeur of the surroundings. All three festivals combine their feasts of the performing arts with the Mediterranean pleasures of lunching in the shade, siestas, and winding down at midnight after the heat and excitements of the day. On a performance-free day, we shall drive through the vineyards, olive groves and lavender fields of the Provencal countryside and lunch, or dine, at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Verona (July and August)

The Verona Arena Opera Festival is, in many ways, the great La Scala's summer stock: many of Milan's star singers, designers and conductors move 100 miles east and take to the open air in the largest Roman amphitheatre surviving. Operas at Verona are an unforgettable experience, and we offer three. The season is celebrated both for its enthusiasm and authenticity, for this is opera-going, Italian style. Audiences arrive early, and settle themselves with the excitement of football crowds; soft drinks are pedalled along the terraces; thousands of tiny candles ring the arena just before the maestro arrives. Don't be deceived: this is serious. A rapt, listening silence falls the minute the music begins, and is broken only by expert eruptions of pleasure or disapproval as the performance unfolds. We explore Verona itself, still remarkably unspoiled, and make at least one day-long excursion. There is plenty of choice: Lake Garda, the Palladian villas of the Veneto, Verdi's country house and birthplace, or Mantua, the city of Rigoletto.