All participants are divided into small movie crews. Participants pick their professions – director, screenwriter, actor and actress, cameraman, lighting technical, clapboard girl, musician etc. The aim is to shoot at least 120 seconds of commercial footage on company products. Capacity 20 – 200 pax
Musical Prague – Private Visit of Estate Theatre
In addition to the historical National Theatre building, all of the three artistic units also perform in the Theatre of the Estates, which is part of the National Theatre. The name of W. A. Mozart is forever linked with the building and it was here that he personally conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni in 1787. You will visit backstage, the stage of the theatre and we can also arrange a short concert for you!
Capacity 10 – 40 pax
Prague Tubing – Collectors
One of four tours leading dozens of metres under the surface of Prague’s historic centre. You will see underground tunnels in which engineering networks provide the day-to-day functions of a modern city and passages leading directly into the basements of buildings. You will also view Prague’s underground train station and ride the underground train. Tour stops are forty metres below street level passing under historic sites such as the Prague Gate, the Municipal House, Old Town Square and the Týn Church. Capacity 5 – 16 pax
Prague Underground – City Tour
See the Czech Capital from a different perspective. On this unique guided tour you’ll have the chance to see what’s underneath the city of Prague. You will visit a hidden system of rooms and catacombs. Capacity 10 – 25 pax
Private visit of Presidential Salons at Prague Castle
The halls, as well as with both large and small salons, are used for guest receptions for the official guests of the President of the Czech Republic. Some rooms served as state rooms and dwelling quarters of the sovereigns in the 16th century. Capacity 10 – 20 pax
Private Organ Concert in the Illuminated St. Vitus Cathedral at night
St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. We can arrange private concerts in this impressive building. Capacity 100 – 700 pax
Private Opera Performance in Mirror Chapel: Best Woman Opera Arias, presented by Professional Diva in baroque costume
Clementinum, built on an area of 2 hectares, is one of the largest building complexes in Europe. The Mirror Chapel is the only historic building of Klementinum that is open to arrange a private opera concert. Capacity 20 – 150 pax
Private Concert of Water Glass Harp in St. Roch
The church in the area of the Strahov Monastery was built to the order of Emperor Rudolf the Second as a thanksgiving gesture for the eradication of the 1599 plague. It is now used as a commercial gallery where it is possible to arrange a private concert of the water glass harp. Capacity 20 – 50 pax
10 Centuries of Prague’s Building Art (City Tour)
Discover Prague with an Open-City Prague Architecture Tours. Explore the architecture, design and urban context of Prague with a specialist guide. Capacity 10 – 30 pax
A “sleep studio” has opened in the Austrian capital, Vienna, offering tired workers and shoppers the chance for a power nap in comfortable surroundings.
For 11 euro ($15), customers get 30 minutes on a sofa in an individual sleeping alcove, with classical music lulling them to sleep and a drink and snack when they awake.
The opening of the Hotel Indigo Barcelona Plaza Catalunya has marked the debut of InterContinental Hotel Group’s boutique brand in Spain. The hotel is located in Barcelona’s Eixample District and has 77 individually designed bedrooms that reflect the local architecture with their décor. The hotel also offers a poolside terrace, cocktail bar and dining venue servings traditional Spanish dishes with a twist!
Pulling together the best in classical music, opera, jazz and folk music, this annual festival is the largest cultural event in Hungary. A multitude of venues throughout the city welcome both, Hungarian and international performers. Budapest celebrates its 33rd Spring Festival in 2013.
There will be over 50 performances and exhibitions to choose from during the 10 days of the festival, the Budapest Opera will premier Parsifal and Rigoletto, the Papp László Sport Arena will welcome dance house events, the Palace of Arts will feature a series of classical concerts and several plays are on the repertoire at the Hungarian National Theatre.
The Budapest Spring Festival also celebrates the 132nd anniversary of a great Hungarian musician, Béla Bartók, with a concert by the National Philharmonic Orchestra on March 25th, in the Palace of Arts.
The Radisson Blu Palais Hotel in Vienna has offered a special meeting package for 2013:
Meeting Special
SINGLE ROOM including buffet breakfast, minibar (one fill per day), WIFI
as from € 119,00 per room/night, including all services charges and taxes, net hotel.
CONFERENCE PACKAGE including 2 coffee breaks, business lunch, welcome coffee, soft drinks and standard technical equipment as from € 57,00 per person/ day, including all services charges and taxes, net hotel
It inspires passion, opinion and addiction. It’s the world’s second most valuable commodity (after petroleum), and it will almost certainly play a memorable role in your travels, no matter where you’re headed. We’re talking about coffee, of course, and the best places to partake…
Addis Ababa
Some claim that Ethiopia is coffee’s birthplace, so it’s not surprising that the good stuff is ubiquitous here. If you’re invited to an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, don’t miss it: it’s a unique and elaborate ritual you’ll never forget. If not, there’s always Tomoca, a traditional Italian-style café that’s guaranteed to please.
Havana
Cubans love their coffee, which is served strong, black and sweet in small espresso-sized cups. Homegrown in the Escambray and Sierra Maestra Mountains, a fresh brew will be brought out as an icebreaker wherever you go. Coffee houses are sprouting by the minute in Havana, but you can’t go past local classic, Café de las Infusiones.
Istanbul
Surprisingly, Türk kahve (Turkish coffee) isn’t as widely consumed in its homeland as çay (tea). But don’t worry: you’ll have no trouble getting your caffeine fix in Istanbul. Traditional coffee houses such as Etham Tezçakar Kahveci serve a brew thick and powerful enough to put hair on your chest!
Medellín
Colombia is famous for its rich, aromatic coffee. Unfortunately, it exports most of its best beans, leaving a mainly mediocre brew for its own citizens. One exception to this rule is groovy Le Bon Café in Medellín. You can also visit plantations in the Zona Cafetera and purchase coffee directly from the growers.
Melbourne
Coffee in Melbourne is often trumpeted as the world’s best, lovingly prepared with both Italian and supreme local roasts. The café scene is integral to much of the city’s socialising; lingering over a coffee is sacred, whether with a newspaper or with friends. Try stalwart Pellegrini’s for it’s old school, quintessentially Melburnian experience, or hit one of the many Third Wave spots like Collingwood’s Proud Mary for an updated brew.
Rome
As befitting the land of espresso, Italians take their coffee seriously. Do as the Romans do, and be precise about what you’re drinking: will it be un caffè, un caffè macchiato, un caffè lungo, un cappuccino or un caffè corretto? Famous throughout Rome, Caffè Sant’Eustachio is the perfect place to practise your newfound vocabulary.
Santa María & Valle de Dota
Coffee is probably Costa Rica‘s most popular beverage – you’ll be offered cafécitos everywhere you go. Aware of its energising qualities, the country’s government even decreed in 1840 that all labourers building roads should receive a free cup every day. Visit Santa María & Valle de Dota for an insight into the Tico coffee industry.
São Paulo
Brazilians like their coffee strong as the devil, hot as hell and sweet as love. In the morning they take it with milk (café com leite). After that, it’s cafezinhos, regular coffee served in either a glass or an espresso-sized cup. Thanks to its Italian heritage, São Paulo boasts Brazil‘s best cafés, with Café Floresta being one of our favourites.
Seattle
It’s hard to complain about Seattle’s weather when one of the best forms of rainy-day solace, coffee, is available in such abundance. Trust us, this is one inviting city to get a buzz on. Though Seattle is where Starbucks (and its terrifying ‘Trenta’) originated, there’s no need to go the chain café route: not with one-off gems like Caffé Vita to choose from.
Vienna
Vienna has a strong claim to the ‘Coffee Capital of the World’ title. Its Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses) are as famous as its classical music, and an attraction in themselves. The sheer number of coffee houses is staggering, but each has its own flair and flavour. Aida is a 1950s timewarp of a place, with a clientele to match and coffee to sing about.
Dozens of Vienna’s top restaurants offer great menus at a reduced fixed price from 18 to 24 February.
The DiningCity Restaurant Week is being hosted in Vienna for the eigth time and is amongst the culinary highlights of the year. Also on offer this time are excellent menus at a reduced fixed price. The surprise menus cost €19 at lunchtime (for trhree courses) and €29 in the evening (for three courses). Establishments with two or more toques charge a supplement of €10 (evening and lunchtime). The Restaurant Week offers a unique opportunity to discover new places to eat at a discounted price.
About 70 top restaurants across Austria will be participating in Restaurant Week, with the focal point being on Vienna. They include the restaurants Anna Sacher, Ambassador, Stadtgasthaus Eisvogel, Harry’s Time, Hansen, Settimo Cielo, Theophil, Ella’s and Kristian’s Monastiri.
From 25 January to 10 March 2013, City Hall Square (Rathausplatz) will be transformed into a gigantic ice surface, making it a paradise for ice skating fans of all ages.
The dreamily lit facade of City Hall forms the backdrop for the Vienna Ice World. The 7000 square meter surface offers ice-skating fans a fabulous landscape of ice. Skaters of all styles, from spirited and wild to sweeping and elegant, can glide around the rink daily from 9 am to 10 pm to the hits of the 80s and 90s as well as waltzes. A fantastic ice path about 750 meters long will snake through the romantically lit City Hall Park. In addition, six curling rinks await visitors.
At various outdoor stalls and in the Almhütte, gastronomes pamper guests with culinary delicacies from around the world. Warming drinks are also available, of course, at the Vienna Ice Dream – from aromatic organic punch to hot tea. An opportunity to warm up is also provided by the special child and family friendly panorama tent, whose glass façades afford a lovely view of the ice skaters on Rathausplatz.
1,200 pairs of ice skates preheated with warm air can be rented on-site. On the opening evening (24 January), ice skating is free for all
Dodging Vienna‘s tourist traps and making the most of the Austrian capital on a tight budget is easy when you know how. Read on to learn how to see Klimt masterpieces for free, fill your belly for €6 and score opera tickets for a song.
Neighbourhood walks
To really see Vienna, walk – it won’t cost you a cent. The Hofburg, in the 1st district, was the Habsburg dynasty’s HQ for 700 years; approach it from cobbled Michaelerplatz, guarded by colossal Hercules statues, for the full whack of its imperial might. Notice Otto Wagner’s flower-draped Jugendstil buildings near the Naschmarkt, as you amble south to the Freihausviertel, in the 4th district, crammed with one-of-a-kind cafes, studios and the boutiques of local creatives. Or for a brush with Viennese artist Hundertwasser’s psychedelic, wonky-floored architecture, roam to the Hundertwasserhaus and Kalke Village, in the 3rd district.
Vienna freebies
Without forking out for a ticket, you’ll get only a tantalising glimpse of Gothic Stephansdom, but the late Romanesque Michaelerkirche is free, as is the nearby 14th-century Augustinerkirche, at its soul-stirring best when the choir sings mass at 11am on Sunday. It costs nothing to visit the MAK‘s outstanding collection of decorative arts from 6pm to 10pm on Tuesdays, while the Wien Museum on Karlsplatz showcases Roman finds, baroque art and the Klimt and Schiele masterpieces for free on the first Sunday of each month. There are free guided tours of the Rathaus, Vienna’s whimsical neo-Gothic city hall, at 1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
When the sun’s out, join the Viennese in the Burggarten, home to Mozart’s statue, waltz past Strauss in the pond-dotted Stadtpark, or spy the Riesenrad (of The Third Man fame) while wandering along tree-lined avenues in the Prater. Admission to the baroque gardens at Schönbrunn and the riverside Donauinsel is also gratis. To tiptoe off the beaten track, take tram 6 to the Zentralfriedhof cemetery, where the ghosts of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss hang out in group 32a.
City savers
If you plan on covering a lot of museums, invest in a 72-hour Vienna Card (www.wien.info), giving unlimited use of public transport as well as discounts on all the top sights and attractions. Otherwise, you’re better off buying a weekly Wochenkarte (www.wienerlinien.at), valid from Monday to Sunday, for the trams, buses and U-Bahn.
Save on Vienna’s prized 20th-century art collection, MUMOK, by visiting on a Thursday evening, when entry costs €5 instead of €10.
Luxe for less
In-the-know travellers can live the high life for a pittance in Vienna. Among the best culture deals are the standing-room tickets at the city’s stately 19th-century concert halls. Opera at the Staatsoper? That’ll be €3 to €4 for a standing room ticket, sold 80 minutes before the performance. Or book standing room tickets (€4 to €6) up to seven weeks ahead to see the Vienna Philharmonic perform in the Musikverein‘s lavishly gilded Grosser Saal. Advance standing room tickets are also available for cheap at the Volksoper (€2 to €3) and the Burgtheater (€2.50).
Klimt, Freud, Mozart, Mahler – they all frequented Vienna’s palatial Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses), and so can you for the price of a coffee (€3 to €5). Pull up a Thonet chair to browse the papers or enjoy a game of billiards at chandelier-lit Cafe Sperl, a vision of faded, turn-of-the-century grandeur. Trotsky once played chess beneath the vaults and marble columns at Cafe Central, with free live piano music from 5pm. you can also treat your ears to free live piano music at 1950s-style Cafe Prückel from 7pm to 10pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at Cafe Landtmann from 8pm to 11pm Monday, Tuesday and Sunday.
Budget sleeps
For the best deals, avoid peak summer season and school holidays, when rates soar and beds are at a premium. If you’re travelling in a group, try apartment rental: with rates starting at €20 per person per night, it can be a real bargain, and also offers the chance to live like a local. Try Oh Vienna (www.oh-vienna.com), Way to Stay (www.waytostay.com) and GAL Apartments Vienna.
Vienna’s hostel scene is gaining a cool new following, thanks to a growing crop of design-focused backpacker digs. We particularly like loungey my MOjO vie (www.mymojovie.at), Believe it or Not and Kaiser23, all in Vienna’s happening 7th district. For a more homely Austrian ambiance, book well ahead at family-run B&Bs such as Pension Kraml and brilliantly central Schweizer Pension.
Cheap eats
Want to eat out for less than €10? Make lunch your main meal of the day, as many places offer a two-course Mittagsmenü for between €6.50 and €9. Among our favourites are the Terence Conran-designed Café Drechsler, and wood-panelled neo-Beisl Gasthaus Wild (Radetzkyplatz 1) for its winningly fresh, seasonally-inspired menus. Deli-cum-record-store Tongues (www.tongues.at), boho-chic Mill (www.mill32.at) and sleek vegetarian restaurant Tian (www.tian-vienna.com) are other inexpensive lunch picks.
Cheese at the Naschmarkt by Andrew Nash. Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike licence
From Monday to Saturday, you can assemble your own picnic at one of Vienna’s food markets. Naschmarkt is the most famous, packed with cafe stalls where you can stop for lunch or snack on falafel and kebabs. Turkish cafes, bakeries and delis huddle around the Brunnenmarkt and Yppenplatz in the up-and-coming 16th district. Karmelitermarkt in the 2nd district has an excellent farmers market on Saturday. Follow the locals’ lead and brunch or lunch at one of its cafes, such as Kaas am Markt (www.kaasammarkt.at) or Tewa (www.tewa672.com).
After a night out, the hungry Viennese gravitate towards a Würstelstand (sausage stand), such as the Bitzinger Würstelstand am Albertinaplatz, open until 4am. Here a fistful of change buys you a Bosna hot dog with fried onions or a cheesy Käsekrainer sausage.
Make it happen
Low-cost airlines easyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Niki fly to Vienna Airport (www.viennaairport.com). Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) serves Bratislava Airport (www.airportbratislava.sk), where a regular bus service (www.slovaklines.sk) makes the 90-minute journey into central Vienna. If you’re coming from another Austrian city by train, look out for ÖBB (www.oebb.at) SparSchiene rail tickets, bookable in advance online, for discounts of up to 60% on normal 2nd-class ticket prices.
