The Chicago Master Singers tours in Europe every two years. The tours are open to those CMS singers who wish to go as well as their spouses and friends. If you are interested, contact us for more information. We would love to have you join us!
2020 Tour to France and Switzerland
Chicago Master Singers 2020 tour revised 8/11/19
(Lyon, Burgundy, French Alps, Switzerland)
Thursday, 6/25 4:00pm Dep. O’Hare for Lyon on Lufthansa 431 to FRA; 1074 to LYS
Friday, 6/26 10:00 arr. Lyon for welcome luncheon (included); free afternoon (after hotel check-in) and evening;
Lyon is the most charming larger city in France, with all that Paris offers minus the crowds and congestion. It also
is the culinary capital of the world. Our hotel will be the Mercure Saxe-Lafayette, well-located within walking
distance of everything and with excellent public transportation options.
Saturday, 6/27 Free time to visit Lyon until 5:30 Mass and 7:00 Concert in the monumental Fourvière Basilica; remainder
of evening at leisure
Sunday, 6/28 Sing in 10:30 Mass at the Cathédrale St-Jean Baptiste; afternoon and evening free to enjoy Lyon
Monday, 6/29 9:00 Transfer to Beaune via a lunch stop at Le Cellier Volnaysien with magnificent views over the
Burgundy vineyards; visit Vezelay with 3:30 concert in the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene with its spectacular
ambiance and acoustics; hotel check-in; free evening in Beaune. Mercure Centre
Tuesday, 6/30 Visit Besançon with free time until dinner and 8 pm performance in the beautiful diocesan center Chapel
Wednesday, 7/1 Free day in Beaune with included tours of the Hospice; to Dôle 8 pm performance in the splendid Collegiale Notre Dame.
Thursday, 7/2 Transfer to Évian-les-Bains via lunch and a short sing in the magnificent Royal Monastery of Brou, Bourg-
en-Bresse, a unique and treasured flamboyant Gothic masterpiece (admission included)
Evian-les-Bains is a picturesque city set between the lake and mountains, offering a variety of activities.
Our spa hotel is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, a casino, Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) with swimming
and boating options, and numerous other attractions. Free afternoon and evening. Hilton Spa Hotel
Friday, 7/3 Visit Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe and Chamonix is an absolutely
enchanting resort town; noontime concert in Église St-Michel followed by free time in Chamonix; free evening in
Évian-les-Bains
Saturday, 7/4 Visit Lausanne via visit to Chateau Chillon and a lunch stop in Montreux near Les Jardins du Palais;
5:00 performance at St. François in Lausanne as part of a regular concert series; return to Évian-les-Bains
(possibly by ferry) for Farewell Dinner at the Hilton (included)
Sunday, 7/5 2:00pm return flights: Lufthansa 1217 GVA to FRA, 432 to ORD arr. 7:25pm
Hotels: 3 nights Lyon: Mercure Saxe-Lafayette
3 nights Beaune: Mercure Beaune Centre
3 nights in Évian-les-Bains: Hilton Spa Hotel
Performances:
Lyon: Fourvière Basilica Saturday evening and Mass on Sunday morning in Cathédrale St-Jean
Vezelay: afternoon performance
Besançon: evening performance
Dôle: evening performance
Brou: short sing in the Royal Monastery
Chamonix Mont Blanc: noontime performance
Lausanne: early evening performance
(Lyon, Burgundy, French Alps, Switzerland)
Thursday, 6/25 4:00pm Dep. O’Hare for Lyon on Lufthansa 431 to FRA; 1074 to LYS
Friday, 6/26 10:00 arr. Lyon for welcome luncheon (included); free afternoon (after hotel check-in) and evening;
Lyon is the most charming larger city in France, with all that Paris offers minus the crowds and congestion. It also
is the culinary capital of the world. Our hotel will be the Mercure Saxe-Lafayette, well-located within walking
distance of everything and with excellent public transportation options.
Saturday, 6/27 Free time to visit Lyon until 5:30 Mass and 7:00 Concert in the monumental Fourvière Basilica; remainder
of evening at leisure
Sunday, 6/28 Sing in 10:30 Mass at the Cathédrale St-Jean Baptiste; afternoon and evening free to enjoy Lyon
Monday, 6/29 9:00 Transfer to Beaune via a lunch stop at Le Cellier Volnaysien with magnificent views over the
Burgundy vineyards; visit Vezelay with 3:30 concert in the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene with its spectacular
ambiance and acoustics; hotel check-in; free evening in Beaune. Mercure Centre
Tuesday, 6/30 Visit Besançon with free time until dinner and 8 pm performance in the beautiful diocesan center Chapel
Wednesday, 7/1 Free day in Beaune with included tours of the Hospice; to Dôle 8 pm performance in the splendid Collegiale Notre Dame.
Thursday, 7/2 Transfer to Évian-les-Bains via lunch and a short sing in the magnificent Royal Monastery of Brou, Bourg-
en-Bresse, a unique and treasured flamboyant Gothic masterpiece (admission included)
Evian-les-Bains is a picturesque city set between the lake and mountains, offering a variety of activities.
Our spa hotel is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, a casino, Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) with swimming
and boating options, and numerous other attractions. Free afternoon and evening. Hilton Spa Hotel
Friday, 7/3 Visit Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe and Chamonix is an absolutely
enchanting resort town; noontime concert in Église St-Michel followed by free time in Chamonix; free evening in
Évian-les-Bains
Saturday, 7/4 Visit Lausanne via visit to Chateau Chillon and a lunch stop in Montreux near Les Jardins du Palais;
5:00 performance at St. François in Lausanne as part of a regular concert series; return to Évian-les-Bains
(possibly by ferry) for Farewell Dinner at the Hilton (included)
Sunday, 7/5 2:00pm return flights: Lufthansa 1217 GVA to FRA, 432 to ORD arr. 7:25pm
Hotels: 3 nights Lyon: Mercure Saxe-Lafayette
3 nights Beaune: Mercure Beaune Centre
3 nights in Évian-les-Bains: Hilton Spa Hotel
Performances:
Lyon: Fourvière Basilica Saturday evening and Mass on Sunday morning in Cathédrale St-Jean
Vezelay: afternoon performance
Besançon: evening performance
Dôle: evening performance
Brou: short sing in the Royal Monastery
Chamonix Mont Blanc: noontime performance
Lausanne: early evening performance
A History of CMS European tours
1993: Germany and Austria: Munich, Neuschwanstein, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Oberammergau
1996: England: Salisbury, Worchester, Bristol, Wells, Bath, Cardiff, Cotswolds (Stow on the Wold et al.), Oxford, Coventry, Ely, Canterbury, Dover, London
1998: Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary: Prague, Kutna Hora, Tabor, Česke Budjovice, St. Florian, Vienna, Esztergom, Szentendre, Budapest
2000: France, Switzerland, Austria: Paris, Chartres, Reims, Strasbourg, Zurich, Lucerne, Vaduz, Innsbruck
2002: Italy: Rome, Orvieto, Siena, Florence (Montecatini), Pisa, Padua, Venice, Stroppari, Bergamo, Milan
2004: Czech Republic, Germany: Prague, Terezin, Dresden, Leipzig, Wittenberg, Berlin, Potsdam
2006: Poland: Warsaw, Poznan, Gniezno, Wrocław, Auschwitz/Birkenau, Krakow, Zakopane
2008: Provence: Arles, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Gordes, Senanque Abbey, Roussillon, Uzès, Les Baux, St-Remy, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence
2010: Germany: Heidelberg, Rüdesheim, Würzburg, Nürnberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Wieskirche, Neuschwanstein, Munich
2012: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia: Vilnius, Trakai, Rundale Palace, Riga, Pärnu, Tallinn, Narva, St. Petersburg
2014: Austria, Slovenia: Salzburg, Burg Hochosterwitz Lake Bled, Poreč, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Ptuj, Maribor
2016: Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Germany: Amsterdam, Delft, Haarlem, Maastricht,Trier, Metz, Aachen, Köln
2018: England: Canterbury, Maidstone, Ely, Norwich, Cambridge, Peterborough, Lincoln, Newcastle
1993: Germany and Austria: Munich, Neuschwanstein, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Oberammergau
1996: England: Salisbury, Worchester, Bristol, Wells, Bath, Cardiff, Cotswolds (Stow on the Wold et al.), Oxford, Coventry, Ely, Canterbury, Dover, London
1998: Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary: Prague, Kutna Hora, Tabor, Česke Budjovice, St. Florian, Vienna, Esztergom, Szentendre, Budapest
2000: France, Switzerland, Austria: Paris, Chartres, Reims, Strasbourg, Zurich, Lucerne, Vaduz, Innsbruck
2002: Italy: Rome, Orvieto, Siena, Florence (Montecatini), Pisa, Padua, Venice, Stroppari, Bergamo, Milan
2004: Czech Republic, Germany: Prague, Terezin, Dresden, Leipzig, Wittenberg, Berlin, Potsdam
2006: Poland: Warsaw, Poznan, Gniezno, Wrocław, Auschwitz/Birkenau, Krakow, Zakopane
2008: Provence: Arles, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Gordes, Senanque Abbey, Roussillon, Uzès, Les Baux, St-Remy, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence
2010: Germany: Heidelberg, Rüdesheim, Würzburg, Nürnberg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Wieskirche, Neuschwanstein, Munich
2012: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia: Vilnius, Trakai, Rundale Palace, Riga, Pärnu, Tallinn, Narva, St. Petersburg
2014: Austria, Slovenia: Salzburg, Burg Hochosterwitz Lake Bled, Poreč, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Ptuj, Maribor
2016: Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Germany: Amsterdam, Delft, Haarlem, Maastricht,Trier, Metz, Aachen, Köln
2018: England: Canterbury, Maidstone, Ely, Norwich, Cambridge, Peterborough, Lincoln, Newcastle
