Day 1: London to Hahnenklee
We leave St Pancras International by Eurostar today bound for Brussels, where we change trains, speeding through Germany. At Goslar we are picked up and transferred to Hahnenklee, which is located high above Goslar, set in the snow-capped Harz Mountains and surrounded by lush forests of spruce.We check into the 3* superior Ramada Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten for our four night stay. (D)

Day 2: Goslar Christmas Market
Today we make the short journey by coach to Goslar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with many historic buildings, majestic churches and a charming Christmas Market. The Kaiserpfalz Imperial Palace, the oldest surviving Romanesque palace in Germany, is certainly worth a visit, as is the gothic Town Hall, which dominates the Market Square. In fact, there are more than 1,500 timber-framed buildings in Goslar’s Old Town, which makes for a wonderfully atmospheric Christmas Market. (B,D)

Day 3:At leisure in Hahnenklee
Spend the day relaxing in the hotel’s leisure facilities or exploring the village. One of the oldest buildings in the community is the Gustav-Adolf church, a stave church made completely of wood. The picturesque spa park, which features two lakes,offers paths for sauntering along under gnarled old trees. Alternatively, why not take an exhilarating walk through the forests up Bocksberg Mountain for superb views over the surrounding area? Goslar is also just a short bus ride away, for those wishing to explore further. (B,D)

Day 4:Wernigerode & the Harz Railway
We travel by coach to Wernigerode today, a charming town complete with hilltop Gothic castle and a myriad of half-timbered buildings. There is free time here to enjoy Wernigerode’s Christmas Market, which has a splendid setting in the marketplace in front of the town hall. We then take a ride on the Harzquerbahn narrowgauge railway, which carries us past dramatic mountain ranges and through wooded valleys on a journey into the heart of the spectacular Harz area. After meandering steadily through the wonderfully scenic Harz National Park to Eisfelder Talmühle, we return to Hahnenklee and our hotel. (B,D)

Day 5: Homeward bound
We are picked up from our hotel and transferred to Goslar, where we catch our onward service via Cologne and Hanover to Brussels.We change here to the Eurostar which whisks us back to St Pancras International. (B)

B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
These meals, where shown, are included in the price of your holiday.