Enjoy a cultural autumn with Kirker Holidays

New itineraries added for October departures… plus a look ahead to Christmas

Specialist tour operator Kirker Holidays (www.kirkerholidays.com) has added four new autumn itineraries to its Cultural Tours & Music Holidays programme. Departing in October, three of the new tours offer world-class musical performances without the need to leave the UK, whilst the fourth promises an unforgettable visit to the battlefields of the Western Front as the centenary of the Armistice that ended the Great War approaches:

• The Kirker Cornwall Music Festival: Joining Kirker’s array of exclusive festivals, each of which boasts a music programme created specifically for its clients, this four-night holiday is based in the pretty seaside town of Fowey. Featuring three private performances by the Piatti Quartet, Kirker clients can also look forward to visiting Boconnoc, a magnificent historic house surrounded by twenty acres of wonderful gardens near Lostwithiel, where they will be welcomed by its owner, Elizabeth Fortescue.

Arriving 1 October, the price is from £1,498 pp (two sharing), including four nights’ accommodation with breakfast at The Fowey Hotel, three dinners at the hotel and one at Boconnoc, one lunch at Hotel Tresanton, transfers between Fowey, Boconnoc, St Mawes and St Ives, three concerts as per the itinerary, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

• Autumn at Glyndebourne (Sussex): For opera lovers, the opening of the annual Glyndebourne season in its Sussex home heralds the beginning of autumn. Enjoy two-world class performances – of La traviata by Verdi and Cendrillon by Massenet – in this superb setting, as part of a three-night holiday that also includes a talk on these sharply contrasting operas by a guest lecturer.

Arriving 11 October, the price is from £998 pp (two sharing), including three nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the five-star The Grand in Eastbourne, two dinners at Glyndebourne and one at the hotel, tickets and a programme for both operas, transfers between the hotel and Glyndebourne, a talk by a guest speaker and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader. Two further holidays, arriving 20 or 26 October, are based at the three-star Deans Place – from £798 pp.

• Benjamin Britten Weekend at The Maltings, Snape (Suffolk): Enjoy performances of all three of Britten’s string quartets (by the Doric and Castalian String Quartets) during this weekend feast of chamber music in Suffolk that also includes a visit to The Red House, the Aldeburgh home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.

Arriving 19 October, the price is from £947 pp (two sharing), including three nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the Brudenell Hotel in Aldeburgh, dinner each evening, tickets for all performances as described and a Britten Weekend Programme, a visit to The Red House and Aldeburgh, transport between the hotel and the concerts at Snape, all entrance fees and gratuities, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

• The Western Front – The Road to Victory: Visiting the principal battlefields of the British Expeditionary Forces from Ypres Salient to Amiens, as well as some exceptional museums, this five-night tour in the company of expert lecturer, Hugh Macdonald-Buchanan, offers a poignant and fascinating insight into The Great War.

Arriving 24 October, the price is from £1,498 pp (two sharing), including standard class Eurostar, five nights’ accommodation with breakfast (in Ypres, Lille and Amiens), five dinners, all entrance fees and sightseeing as per the itinerary, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

Kirker’s array of cultural autumn escapes also includes delightful itineraries to the Villas & Gardens Around Rome (departing 1 October, five nights cost from £1,696 pp*), The Palaces & Gardens of St. Petersburg (departing 5 October, six nights cost from £2,370 pp*) and the Gardens, Temples & Cities of Japan (departing 22 October, 11 nights cost from £5,966 pp*), as well as visits to Madrid & Old Castille (departing 29 October, six nights cost from £1,798 pp*), The Bay of Naples (departing 2 November, six nights cost from £1,798 pp*) and Jordan – The Land of T.E Lawrence (departing 29 November, eight nights cost from £2,997 pp*).

Music lovers are wonderfully accommodated in Kirker’s autumn programme, too, with itineraries including The Schubertiade Festival (departing 3 October, six nights cost from £2,188 pp*), Venice & Opera at La Fenice (departing 24 October, four nights cost from £1,798 pp), The Verdi Festival in Parma (departing 9 October, six nights cost from £2,785 pp*) and The Metropolitan Opera & Art Galleries of New York (departing 25 November, five nights cost from £2,980 pp*) amongst Kirker’s autumn collection.

*Prices are based on two people sharing and include flights (London), transfers, accommodation with breakfast, excursions and other meals as per the itinerary, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

Looking further ahead, Kirker has added Paris to its selection box of festive breaks for Christmas 2018, which also includes Rome, Venice and Vienna:

• Christmas in Paris: With many of the city’s cultural attractions open as usual and a packed programme of performances on offer at its opera houses, Christmas is a wonderful time to visit the French capital. Enjoy the ‘City of Lights’ in all its festive finery on this four-night holiday which includes a Christmas Day performance of Cinderella at the Opéra Bastille, a tour of the original Paris Opéra (the Palais Garnier), visits to the Musée d’Orsay, Musée Jacquemart-André and Musée Cognacq-Jay, and meals at four carefully selected restaurants that promise a true taste of gourmet Paris.

Arriving 23 December, the price is from £1,976 pp (two sharing), including return standard class Eurostar, four nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the five-star Grand Hôtel du Palais Royal, two dinners and two lunches including Christmas Day, second category tickets for Cinderella on Christmas Day, all entrance fees, sightseeing and gratuities as per the itinerary and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

• Christmas in Rome: Embrace the festive ambience of the Eternal City on this five-night holiday based at the wonderfully located five-star Grand Hotel Minerve, close to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navone and the Spanish Steps. As well as classic sightseeing opportunities, the Kirker Tour Leader, Gerald Deslandes, will also offer optional walks to some of his favourite, lesser-known, places during free time in the itinerary.

Arriving 22 December, the price is from £2,096 pp (two sharing), including flights (Heathrow), five nights’ accommodation with breakfast, lunch on Christmas Day and four dinners, all entrance fees and gratuities, and the services of the Kirker Tour Lecturer.

• Christmas in Venice: Enjoy La Serenissima’s myriad charms – and the absence of its summer crowds – during this five-night holiday. Browse the blissfully quiet galleries and museums, which remain open on most days, and dine on delicious Venetian cuisine, including Christmas lunch at the sublime Hotel Danieli.

Arriving 23 December, the price is from £1,895 pp (two sharing), including flights (Gatwick), five nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the four-star Monaco & Grand Canal Hotel, three dinners, Christmas Day lunch, all entrance fees and gratuities, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

• Christmas in Vienna: Exquisitely decorated shop windows, elegant festive lights and a magical ambience await visitors to the Austrian capital at Christmas time. Staying at the five-star deluxe Ritz-Carllton on Vienna’s famous Ring, this five-night break includes a performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Vienna State Opera on Christmas Day, visits to the Belvedere and the Kunsthistoriches Museum, and more.

Arriving 22 December, the price is from £2,577 pp (two sharing), including flights (Heathrow), five nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the five-star Ritz-Carlton, two dinners, Christmas Day lunch, second category ticket for one performance at the Vienna State Opera, all entrance fees and gratuities, and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

For more information on Kirker’s Cultural Tours & Music Holidays programme for autumn 2018 and beyond – including Christmas and spring 2019 – please call 020 7593 2283 or visit www.kirkerholidays.com. A copy of Kirker’s latest Cultural Tours & Music Holidays brochure, covering departures until May 2019, can be requested here.

Press: Please contact Karen Carpenter at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or email k.carpenter@travelpr.co.uk.