Arrive in Melbourne on suggested flights and make your way to The Langham Hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including a private transfer to the hotel, pre-tour accommodation and a room category upgrade.

At 15:00, meet tour leader Arnold Klugkist and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing and talk at the hotel. Afterwards, walk to the Melbourne Recital Centre for a performance by the acclaimed Australian Brandenburg Orchestra of George Frideric Handel’s Watermusic.

PROGRAM:
Maymuru / Wales – Water
Handel – Watermusic

After the performance, enjoy a special Welcome dinner at The Langham Hotel’s restaurant.

(D)

In the morning, enjoy a private, curator-led tour of the Justin Art House Museum, a private collection of contemporary art, comprising over 300 works by established and emerging artists.

After an afternoon at leisure, walk to the historic Regent Theatre and delight in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s most celebrated work, Manon, a classical ballet adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel, performed by The Australian Ballet to the music by Jules Massenet.

(B)

After a talk by Arnold on the coming days’ performances, travel to Werribee, southwest of Melbourne CBD, and wander through the internationally awarded Victoria State Rose Garden at your own pace. Afterwards, enjoy a guided tour of the heritage-listed Werribee Mansion and round off the experience with lunch at the Lancemore Mansion Hotel.

In the evening, attend an intimate recital by acclaimed British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, one of the most important emerging artists, at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

PROGRAM:
Chopin – Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35
Ravel – Gaspard de la nuit
Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition

(BL)

In the morning, drive to the Yarra Valley to follow in the footsteps of Dame Nellie Melba, once the most famous soprano in the world. Enjoy a private tour of Melba’s cottage and garden and delve into her extraordinary life. Enjoy lunch in the historic estate’s restaurant, Melba’s restored motor house with its original chiming clock tower.

In the evening, walk to Southbank Theatre and attend a reinvented adaptation of the classic tale of the twentieth century Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier by the Melbourne Theatre Company. The gothic romance is one of the major new productions of the Australian stage in 2025.

(BL)

Today is at leisure to relax or further explore Melbourne at your own pace.

In the late-afternoon, travel to the bayside suburb of St Kilda for a farewell dinner with Arnold and fellow travellers before this evening’s performance at the Palais Theatre.

Experience The Victorian Opera’s production of Janáček’s rarely performed operatic masterpiece, Katya Kabanova conducted by Alexander Briger and directed by Heather Fairbairn, with tenor Alexander Lewis as Boris Grigorjevič, soprano Desiree Frahn as the main character Katya and soprano Antoinette Halloran as Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová.

(BD)

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

If you are returning home today, make your way to the airport for suggested flights. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including any additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (highly recommended).

(B)