Where to go when - Spring
21/05/2020 · By Sukie Chapman
Uncover the best spring destinations with Great Rail Journeys. Wondering where to go when spring beckons? Find inspiration on our blog and book today.
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2024 Tour code: DZL24
About the tour
The vibrant town of Desenzano, set on the southern shores of Lake Garda, is our charming base. With a peaceful harbour and characterful old town, the town is perfectly placed for exploring. From here, we cruise to enchanting Isola del Garda to visit the opulent Villa Borghese-Cavazza, explore the medieval lakeside town of Sirmione, and experience the magical ambience of wondrous Venice.
Unforgettable experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Our holiday begins when we meet at London St Pancras for the Eurostar service to Paris. Changing trains in the French capital, we continue by rail to Stuttgart. Gliding through the vineyards of the Champagne region on our way to Germany, we arrive in lively Stuttgart in the early evening. Famed as the birthplace of the automobile, Stuttgart is home to both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz and contains a 140-year-old rack railway that climbs 673 feet in 1.4 miles. In the centre, the sprawling Baroque New Palace, which once housed Württemberg's dukes and kings, neighbours the attractive Palace Garden. After checking in to our hotel, we enjoy our first group dinner together in the on-site restaurant.
Some departures dates will have a different itinerary on this day due to Italian engineering works - click here to see affected dates
Additional information
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Reviews
4.3 / 5 · 205 reviews
there
Submitted 03 Nov 2023
I have 'done' the Simply Lake Garda before and was looking forward to repeating the experience with my sister who had never been to Italy. Unfortunately the beginning of the holiday was marred by the luggage service which never arrived to collect my suitcase, despite emails, phone calls and the offer of Google map and mobile number. The second disappointment was the downgrade by GRJ on EuroStar to Standard class, so no food or drinks on either journey, unless you struggled through several long, swaying carriages to collect them and then stagger back with hot paper cups and a bag of food. One member of the group grazed an elbow. I have made very many journeys with GRJ over the last 17 years and I have always felt that it is a cut above all other similar travel groups in every respect. Having a drink and some lovely food on Eurostar has always been one of the great experiences and a relaxing and enjoyable start to a holiday. Now you have to pay extra for an upgrade and I am sad that it seems to have been felt necessary to cut down on what could be a superb - even unique - experience to save a few pounds. The visit to Venice included long sea journeys round the industrial areas instead of short journeys across the Grand Canal, These, and an over-long talk where we only saw St Marks and one other square, cut down drastically on personal sight-seeing opportunities and meant that there was little time and no space to sit down to eat even a snack before embarking on a gondola ride (which was superb). Those were the downsides, but our tour manager was marvellous, and did his very best to ensure that, despite the poor weather as the week went on, we would make the most of every opportunity. The visit to Isola del Garda was wonderful and our guide, the very best. It was sad that the journey to Turin had to be by coach due to a major landslip, and a train strike on the last day meant another coach journey from Chambery, but Great Rail and our Tour manager had all that organised and got us to our destinations as soon as possible. I am very glad the GRJ have limited their guest number to maximum 25, As always on Great Rail Journeys everyone is very friendly and we all had a lot of fun. The hotels were great and the food superb. I am sorry not to be able to give 5 stars, as I have always done for GRJ and I hope that my comments will be read and considered.
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Paul
Submitted 02 Nov 2023
very good tour
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carol perkins
Submitted 02 Nov 2023
I have already left my review. The first day I returned. Please check your records.
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Swaffy
Submitted 30 Oct 2023
This was a fabulous holiday to visit some magical places including, Venice, Verona, Sirmione and Isola del Garda. On our free day we visited Brescia by train (reduced fares for over 65's) which is well worth doing. The town of Desenzano was a perfect location for our holiday with the hotel near to the station which was ideal for our planned visits requiring train travel. Admittedly the walk into town from our hotel was easy going down the hill but for some may be an issue when returning to the hotel up the hill, but even taking it slowly it still only took us about 15 mins. It is worth having a good look around the town as there are some interesting historical sites including roman remains (charges apply but there are concessions for +65's so it's well worth asking what they are). There are also plenty of good restaurants to choose from for occasions when meals are not provided in the hotel. Our Tour Manager was excellent and kept as well informed of the days activities and suggestions for any free time we had. It is well worth visiting Tourist Information centres in the towns visited to get detailed town maps to help navigate the warren of streets and alleys when any organised tours, all of which were excellent, have been completed so you can do your own thing afterwards without the fear of getting lost. The only downside for us was the fact that train travel from France into Italy was not possible due to the landslip, so coach travel from Lyon to Turin and on our return journey from Desanzano to Chambery in France was the only option, but once in Italy the inconvenience is well worth it and you do travel through some stunning scenery. All train travel once in Italy went off without a hitch and the same applied for our trains in France and Eurostar. Overall a brilliant holiday.
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Aideen Downing
Submitted 26 Oct 2023
Excellent guide, compatible group, good hotel.
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Ron
Submitted 24 Oct 2023
good value for money. well put together and well managed. we would book another GRJ holiday
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Europe by Rail 2024