Oberammergau Passion Play, Rome, The Vatican & Lake Garda

From

£1,799.00 / Per Person

See the 2020 Oberammergau Passion Of The Christ

  • 12 Days
  • Departing June 2020
  • Germany, Italy
  • 24 People in Group

Passion Play 2020 & Rome, The Vatican & Lake Garda

Incorporate the world-famous Oberammergau Passion Play with an exciting tour taking in some of Italy’s finest destinations. From the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to the Tuscan countryside, Rome, The Vatican, Florence Venice and Lake Garda, you’ll get a true taste of Italy most famous destinations before moving into Bavaria where we will attend the once-a-decade Oberammergau Passion Play. 2020 will mark the 42nd of the play of ‘life and death’ and is an experience certainly not to be missed.

Recommended for: Couples, Honeymoon, Religious, Anniversaries

crucifixion-oberammergau

Oberammergau Passion Play 2020

Once again, the world-famous Passion Play returns to the beautiful village of Oberammergau for its 42nd performance. Why not make 2020 the year you experience this ‘play of life and death’, combined with the beauty of Bavaria, Germany, Austria and Italy on one of our fully-escorted tours.

The History of the Passion Play

Imagine a small Bavarian village nestling in the shadows of the Alps in 1633. The Great Plague descended and many lives were lost to this mysterious illness. The villagers made a solemn vow that, if the lives of the villagers were spared the whole village would perform a play every ten years, depicting the story of Christ’s suffering, dying and resurrection. Miraculously the Plague did not claim any more lives and so true to their vows, the villagers of Oberammergau enacted their first play in 1634.

The tradition, which has continued without interruption every decade since, in spite of wars and other problems, will be continued for the 42nd time in 2020.

Famous throughout the world, it is expected that around 500,000 people will attend the Passion Play in 2020, over half of these will be guests from around the world.

The Play

Due to a play law, the performers of the play all come from the village beautiful village of Oberammergau, to maintain the tradition of the solemn vow the villagers made in 1633. Everyone taking part must have been born there, or lived in the village for at least 20 years. At times, the stage also holds small herds of sheep and goats, donkeys, a hors and armoured Roman soldiers.

From Ash Wednesday, 2019, all of the performers let their hair grow – the men also let their beards grow – so that they have an authentic biblical appearance.

Altogether, there will be more than 2000 Oberammergau villagers taking part in this world-famous play in 2020.

The play runs from mid May to the beginning of October starting at 2:30pm and finishing at 10:30pm with a break for dinner at 5pm.

The Village of Oberammergau

The picture-perfect Bavarian town of Oberammergau is located in the picturesque Ammergau Alps, and along with the Passion Play, is also known for its wood carvings and colourful frescoes – or Lüftlmalerei – which decorate many of the buildings. The town is a good base to see the impressive Linderhof Palace – favourite of King Ludwig II, and his famous fairy tale Neuschwanstein Castle.

Oberammergau Accommodation & Tickets

oberammergau-seatplan

There is a choice of accommodation, ranging from lovingly appointed rooms in private houses to luxurious hotels. Tickets for the Passion Play are allocated along with the accommodation, and whilst we can’t advise on the exact location of the seats, as a general rule, the higher the grade of accommodation, the better the seats. See the seating plan below which illustrates the location of each ticket category.

Category D Accommodation: Includes Ticket Category 2. Category D accommodation will be 2-star hotels or 3-star pensions/guest houses in Oberammergeau.

Category C Accommodation: Includes Ticket Category 1 or 2. For Category C accommodation, you will stay in 3-star hotels or 4-star pensions/guest houses in Oberammergau.

Category B Accommodation: Includes Ticket Category 1 or 2. If you choose Category B accommodation, your stay will be in 4-star hotels or 5-star pensions/guest houses in Oberammergau. Details of accommodation will be confirmed closer to the time.

Tour includes

  • 13 nights hotel (including one night in the Oberammergau area) with continental breakfast
  • 1 lunch
  • 11 evening meals
  • Ticket for the Oberammergau Passion Play
  • Convenient local joining points

Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to northern France for an overnight stay.

Day 2

We travel south to the Cremona area in northern Italy for an overnight stay.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 - Pisa

We continue through Italy, making a call into Pisa where you can view the famous leaning tower before continuing to the spa town of Chianciano Terme, located in the wine-producing area of Umbria where we stay for five nights.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4 - Tuscan Countryside

Today we offer an included excursion around the Tuscan countryside, with stops in the wine towns of Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 - Rome & The Vatican

An included full-day visit to Rome and The Vatican City. We begin in The Vatican, where you can discover the treasures of St. Peter’s Square, where some of the most important Papal ceremonies take place. Perhaps visit the Sistine Chapel to take in the awe-inspiring frescoes (entrance at extra cost). Afterwards, enjoy free time in Rome, or why not join our optional guided sightseeing tour by coach and on foot to take in the sights such as the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Piazza Venezia and much more.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6 - Siena

After a leisurely morning, join our optional afternoon excursion to Siena. No visit to Italy is complete without seeing this beautiful city. Discover the Piazza del Campo, claimed to be perhaps the most attractive in Europe and wander the maze of narrow medieval streets.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7 - Assisi

Today we have an included visit to Assisi, known for the famous Basilica, where St. Francis is buried and one of the greatest Christian shrines in the world.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8 - Florence

We leave Chianciano and call into Florence, where you will have some free time to relax and explore this marvellous city with its culture, art and outstanding Renaissance architecture. In the afternoon, we continue north to Lake Garda, our base for the next three nights.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 9 - Lake Garda

A day to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of life around this beautiful lake. Alternatively, join our optional guided tour visiting some of the local villages which sit on the shores of the lake, with a backdrop of mountains rising from the shore side

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10 - Venice

Join our optional excursion to Venice, the largest city in the Veneto area. Be sure to see some of the famous sights such as the Doge’s Palace, the symbolic seat of Venetian power and the enclosed Bridge of Sighs. A visit to St. Mark’s Square, the main public square of Venice, is also a must. It is dominated at its eastern end by the magnificent St. Mark’s Basilica, a superb example of the Romanesque-Byzantine style. Perhaps take a ride on a gondola, with your expert gondolier steering you through the busy waterways of Venice (at own cost) or maybe sit back and relax at Harry’s Bar with one of their famous Bellini cocktails, the choice is yours.

Day 11

We leave Lake Garda and travel north over the spectacular Brenner Pass from Italy into Austria and to our overnight hotel in the Tyrol.

Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 12 - Oberammergau

We head to Bavaria and to Oberammergau, where we stay overnight in the local area. Lunch will be at noon before the start of the Passion Play at 2.30pm*. After a break for dinner between 5pm and 8pm, the play will continue until 10.30pm, when we will transfer back to our accommodation.

* From 17th Aug-4th Oct, times for the play are as follows: performance begins at 1.30pm, dinner 4pm-7pm, performance ends at 9.30pm.

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