New York City Holiday Weekend
November 29-December 2, 2012
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It’s that time of year: Join us for our traditional New York City Holiday Weekend!
Your big weekend begins on Thursday night at one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world, Birdland, where you’ll enjoy a delicious dinner and an evening of world-class jazz in a relaxed and intimate setting. Get to know your fellow travelers and start your holiday weekend in classic New York style at this gracious and welcoming venue.
Friday morning begins with a guided tour of the new Picasso Black and White exhibit, at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Guggenheim Museum, and continues with a matinee performance of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances by the New York Philharmonic at the iconic Lincoln Center. Friday night is unscheduled so that you can craft an evening in the city of your own design.
Likewise, all day Saturday is free for shopping, museums, seeing the sights or enjoying other performance options, but that evening your Holiday Weekend continues with tickets to the elegant Metropolitan Opera for their production of Mozart’s wonderful Don Giovanni.
As always, we have put together an outstanding weekend of performances and activities, and you still get plenty of time to shop, see the sights, and enjoy the energy of New York City at this exciting time of year. Come enjoy the height of the holiday season in high style with old friends, new acquaintances, and an educational travel experience that you will remember for a lifetime!
Make plans now to join us!
Program Itinerary
Download a pdf of this itinerary
Thursday, November 29
- Morning
Travel to New York City and the Hilton Garden Inn and enjoy a free afternoon on your own. - Evening
An evening of jazz music and a delicious group dinner welcomes you to the city at the famous jazz club Birdland. World-class music to entertain you while the gracious staff at this intimate club make you feel right at home—a great way to start the weekend!
Friday, November 30
- Morning/afternoon
Travel to the Guggenheim Museum for a guided tour of the exhibition Picasso Black and White. Afterwards you will be transported to Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for a matinee performance of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances by one of the world’s great orchestras: the New York Philharmonic. - Evening
This year we’re including an unscheduled evening in the city so that you can do choose your own dining and/or performance experience. Attend a Broadway play; see The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center; or maybe Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular. The choice is entirely yours, and your options are almost limitless.
Saturday, December 1
- Enjoy an entire day to yourself in New York City at this most festive time of year.
- Tonight your weekend in the city concludes with a visit to the elegant Metropolitan Opera for their performance of Mozart’s classic, Don Giovanni.
Sunday, December 2
- Today you’ll depart the city for home to share the rest of the holidays with your family.
Your travel director:
Doug Whittle is the UW-Madison director of educational travel. He served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire and has traveled independently in Asia, Africa, Europe and throughout Central and North America. He has led trips on five continents for UW-Madison.
General information:
Costs: $1669 per person based on double occupancy; plus air. Price includes prime orchestra seats at the symphony and the opera, dinner and music at Birdland, Guggenheim Tour and lunch, lodging and transfers. The single supplement for this trip is $451.
Airfare is not included in this package price. If you plan to make your air own arrangements, please contact us first to confirm availability of space and ground arrangements. Information on group air will be included in your confirmation materials.
As with all of our trips, you may choose to extend your stay in New York. Please let us know if we can assist you in your plans to stay beyond our travel dates. Please join us for a great weekend!
Location/accommodations
You’ll enjoy first-class accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn, Times Square.
Traveler comments
“The trip met and exceeded my expectations. As a bonus, the group we traveled with was a great bunch of people. This was truly a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.”
“I would (and have) recommended these trips to friends – they are well-organized, great seats for performances, and a great value.”
“This was our first trip with UW-Madison. I felt the hidden plus to this trip was our fellow travelers…”
Contact information:
For information contact Doug Whittle, 608-263-7787, dwhittle@dcs.wisc.edu; or Kim Seymour, 608-262-3731, kseymour@dcs.wisc.edu.
How to register:
To register download and complete the registration form and mail it to:
Kim Seymour
Educational Travel Program
21 N Park St., 7th Floor
Madison, WI 53715