Downton Abbey may have ended its six-season run this spring, but fans don't have to abandon their love of the hit British series. Highclere Castle, the West Berkshire estate where the show was filmed, is throwing a Christmas ball this year, and you could attend alongside the lord and ladies. Tourism company Friendly Planet Travel is offering a six-day Downton-centric tour of Great Britain, whose crown jewel is exclusive access to Highclere's Christmas Gala, where guests gather around the (elegantly decorated, of course) Christmas tree to sing carols before sitting down to a three-course dinner complete with wine pairings. If the idea of rubbing noses (or at least shaking hands) with British aristocracy this holiday isn't enough of a selling point, the itinerary also includes a Champagne tea (think petit fours and tea sandwiches, but with a glass of bubbly in place of your usual cuppa), a tour of London in a vintage bus, and four nights of accommodation at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel. Guests who book by August 20 will pay $2,499 for the experience, and the price goes up $300 after that. The trip takes place between December 14-19, leaving enough time to come home and have a family Christmas, too.
But what's a girl (or a ladyship) to do if that Christmastime itinerary just won't fit into her travel schedule? No worries: There are other ways to get the Downton experience all year round. Cruise company The Barge Lady offers Downton-themed sailings that stop at historic British sites like Windsor Castle and Oxford University. Independent travelers can check out the map of filming locations throughout the country and plan out a custom route including St. James's Palace in London (whose interiors double for Buckingham Palace when Lady Rose is presented at court) and Wildy & Sons, the antique bookshop where Lady Edith bumps into Bertie Pelham. If that's not close enough to the real thing for a true super fan? Downton itself is available for overnight bookings—London Lodge, a smaller property on the Highclere estate, opened as a bed-and-breakfast in 2016. Bonus: you can also have high tea in the carriage house. The Dowager Countess's witty tableside chatter, though, is not included.