Free arrival in Prague.

Suggested flight: 10.05am from Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle – 11.45am arrival in Prague (AF1382)

Welcome and private transfer to Prague for those having booked the recommended flight.

Lunch on arrival while your luggage is taken to your hotel.

After lunch, we begin our tour of the Old Town with a visit to the Clementinum, home to the National Library. Other splendors of this imposing complex include the Astronomical Tower and the Chapel of Mirrors, with its flamboyant splendors. Mozart was a regular visitor to the Church of St. Nicholas. During your visit to the Library, you’ll come face to face with priceless manuscripts.

Check-in at your hotel, then off to St. Anne’s Church:

TOTALLY YOURS

Polish Radio Choir

Krzysztof Penderecki: Song of the Cherubim

Krzysztof Penderecki: Agnus Dei

Henryk Górecki: Totus tuus Op. 60

Henryk Górecki: Kurpie Songs Op. 75

Stanisław Moryto: Kurpie Songs

Roman Maciejewski: Kurpie Songs

Martin Smolka: The Name Emmanuel

Bohuslav Martinů: Czech Madrigals H 278

Since its creation in 1948, the Polish Radio Choir has established itself as one of Europe’s elite ensembles. The choir has premiered countless important works, and it is this prodigious repertoire that the singers will perform in this exceptional concert. The program includes masterpieces by Penderecki and Gorecki, including the famous Totus tuus (written for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland in 1987, and which gives the concert its title “All yours”), but also – Prague Spring obliges – gems by Czech composers such as Martinů and Martin Smolka, arguably today’s greatest Czech composer.

Dinner after the show.

Night at the hotel.

Breakfast in hotel.

Day trip to Karlovy Vary in Bohemia.

Wrapped in thick forest, 50 km northeast of Marianske Lazne, Karlovy Vary appears in an amphitheatre of hills, shaped in a narrow valley on either side of the Tepla (“hot”) river. The most famous of the Czech Republic’s thirty-four spa towns boasts an International Film Festival that attracts a plethora of leading actors every July.

The birth of the town is linked to a 14th-century legend. Chasing a deer, Bohemia’s King Charles IV stumbled upon a geyser of boiling water and noticed its healing qualities on his wounded dog. The monarch then decided to build a spa town in his name (Karlsbad, which means “Charles’s bath” in German).Au XVI^e siècle, le médecin Vaclav Payer n’hésitait pas à prescrire l’absorption quotidienne de cinquante tasses de ses eaux.

In addition to being a popular spa town, also favoured by Georges Clemenceau who, every summer from 1891 to 1913, travelled here on the Orient-Express to treat his gout and diabetes, we’ll be taking a private tour of the Cristallerie Moser.

This House of Crystal offers the finest crystal. Since 1857, Moser has been creating luxurious glassware, prized by the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, King Mohammed V, the Royal Palace of Bahrain and other distinguished personalities. Because of its quality and prestige, Moser is one of the most collectible crystal brands.

Return to Prague and dinner in the Malá Strana district.

Overnight at your hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, we’ll enjoy the exceptional panorama from the terrace of Strahov Monastery. A private visit to the monastery’s bookshop is reserved for you. Next, the sanctuary of Our Lady of Loreto, known as Loreta, is a place of pilgrimage with the relic of the Virgin’s home, and its dazzling monstrance set with 6222 diamonds. As for the sublime St. Vitus Cathedral, it contains the famous St. Wenceslas Chapel, with its glittering, gilded walls.

After lunch, we’re back on top! Prague Castle sits on a hill above the old town, and its riches are inexhaustible. The expression “the city of a hundred spires” takes on its full meaning when you look out over the panorama, a city of golden reflections akin to a vision from a fairy tale. In the morning, we’ll visit three of Prague’s major buildings.  First, the Royal Castle overlooking the Moldau, a veritable city within a city, containing countless palaces, museums and the famous Golden Alley of colorful houses, where Kafka lived in 1916.

Rest at the hotel before heading to the Rudolfinum‘s magnificent Dvorak Hall.

8pm, Rudolfinum :

SEONG-JIN CHO RECITAL

Seong-Jin Cho Piano

Maurice Ravel : Menuet antique

Maurice Ravel: Sonatina

Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit

Franz Liszt : Années de pèlerinage, Second year: Italy, S 161

No one was expecting him… And yet, when Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho won the prestigious Warsaw Chopin Competition in 2015, his victory seemed like a foregone conclusion. Since this dazzling triumph, Seong-Jin Cho has signed an exclusive contract with the legendary Deutsche Grammophon label and confirmed in venues around the world that he is one of the finest pianists of his generation. After a debut concert at the Prague Spring in 2016, the musician returns with a magnificent, subtly organized program. The works of Ravel and Liszt have much in common: the former’s delightful Sonatine and sombre Gaspard de la Nuit are matched by the latter’s refined, poetic Années de Pèlerinage.

Return to the hotel after the show and dinner on your own (room service available).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure for St. Agnes Convent

At 11 a.m., at Saint-Agnès Convent:

MATINEE IN THE CONVENT

Vilém Vlček : Cello

Denis Linnik : Piano

Leoš Janáček: Fairy Tale for cello and piano

Robert Schumann: Fantasiestücke Op. 73

Thomas Demenga: Efeu

Benjamin Britten: Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major Op. 65

First of all, there’s the venue. St. Agnes Convent, Prague’s oldest Gothic building, hosts this concert by the recent winner of the Bělohlávek Prize: cellist Vilém Vlček. In this exceptional setting, the young Czech musician joins forces with pianist Denis Linnik to create a musical arch spanning several centuries. A fairytale atmosphere bathes the works of Janáček and Britten, in a setting that is, once again, fairytale-like.

Lunch after the concert, and afternoon in Nové Město.

5pm, at the Carolinum :

RECITAL QUINTETTE ALINDE

Anna Talácková : Flute

Barbora Trnčíková : Oboe

David Šimeček : Clarinet

Kryštof Koska : French horn

Petr Sedlák : Bassoon

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin

Pavel Haas: Wind quintet op. 10

Antoine Reicha: Wind quintet in D minor Op. 100 No. 2

It’s not widely known in France, but the Czech Republic is one of the best musical countries in the world. While the country’s musicians tend to make their careers more in Germany or Great Britain, there is a veritable profusion of exceptional soloists, conductors and musical ensembles. Founded in 2019, the Alinde Quintet belongs to this formidable young generation determined to conquer the world. Recalling the illustrious ties between France and the Czech Republic, the quintet performs Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin and Pavel Haas’s Wind Quintet. Bridging the gap between these two great composers is the endearing figure of Antoine Reicha, a native of Prague who emigrated to Paris in the early 19th century to become one of the great musicians of Louis-Philippe’s reign.

Farewell dinner after the show.

Return to hotel and overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Free departure from Prague.

Suggested flight time: 12:35 p.m. from Prague. Arrival at Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle at 2.25pm (AF 1383)