On a performing tour to Germany or Europe, you can attend the Leipzig International Choral Festival. Once the festival has concluded you may extend your touring to include some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Leipzig is at the center of one of the most musically interesting, as well as attractive, areas of Europe, such as the beautiful and historic cities of Prague, Dresden and Berlin. After the Choral Festival, why not extend your stay to explore one of these outstanding locations on your own or with your group. A performing tour to Germany or Europe will be an enriching and rewarding experience for each of your choir members and, when combined with the unique Leipzig International Choral Festival, one they will never forget.

Dresden

resden has been justly called the Florence of the north with some of the greatest 18th century architecture set alongside the historic River Elbe. They include the Semper Opera House, the Hofkirche, the Zwinger, a baroque complex which now houses a series of museums, the newly restored Frauenkirche and the Albertinum, one of Germany's great museums, housing many treasures including Old Masters, modern German paintings, and ornate figurines. Attractions nearby include the baroque splendor of the Pillnitz Palace and the picturesque countryside known as Saxon Switzerland.

Prague

he historic capital of the Czech Republic is built on seven hills astride a great river, the Vltava. The beauty of Prague is legendary; Goethe described the city as "the most precious stone in the crown of this world." The old town is a tangle of quaint narrow streets surrounding the Hradcany Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, and with the ancient Charles Bridge historic Town Hall and the Tyn Church, any vist to Prague will be an unforgettable experience.

Berlin

ore than any other great city, Berlin symbolizes the historic division and the modern unity of Europe. Once the capital of Weimar Germany, then the headquarters of the Third Reich, then the divided city of the cold war and now the capital of modern Germany, Berlin is an exciting and historic tour option to compliment your festival experience. Here is the Unter den Linden, the elegant boulevard, the Museum Island, where some of the city's outstanding museums and galleries are to be found. Fashionable shopping streets typified by the Kurfürstendamm abound and the area is dominated by the ruined tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. Berlin is also a green city, with many extensive central parks, forests, and beaches on the shores of the Havel lakes. Relax, shop and explore this historic city.

The Trail of the Reformation

ollow the life of Luther in the trail of the Reformation extension tour. Visit Eisenach and Wartburg Castle where, in 1521, Luther came to complete his translation of the Bible into German, and the house where the reformer stayed as a schoolboy . (Also visit the Bachhaus Museum, Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685). Continue to Erfurt, where Luther attended university and spent five years in The Augustinian monastery and St. Mary's Cathedral where Luther was ordained. The highlight of the tour is the visit to Wittenberg, probably the best-known town associated with Luther. It was the center of the German Reformation and it was here that he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in 1517.