VISITING
ENGLAND, BELGIUM, HOLLAND, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, ITALY,
VATICAN CITY, SWITZERLAND AND FRANCE
Day 1 – Depart USA
Overnight flight to London.
Day 2 – Arrive London
Welcome to London! On arrival you are
transfered to your London tour hotel.
Hotel: Holiday Inn Kings Cross/Bloomsbury.
Day 3 – London Sightseeing
Your half day London sightseeing tour
shows you all the major sights. Afternoon at leisure. (B)
Day 4 – London – Amsterdam
A warm welcome from your Tour Director
awaits you! Leave London and cross picturesque Kentish farmlands en route to the
port of Dover where you board your ferry bound for Calais. Make your way across
Belgium’s Flanders Fields en route to Amsterdam complete with canals, bridges
and gabled buildings. Reach Dam Square and view the Royal Palace, before seeing
sparkling stones transformed during a visit to a diamond polishing factory.
Hotel:
Tulip Inn Riverside. (B)
Day 5 – Amsterdam – Rhineland
This morning it's southwards via Arnhem, scene
of the great battle of 1944, and on to Cologne in Germany. See the 13th century
Gothic Cathedral, with its twin spires over 500 feet high. Continue via Bonn to
join your Rhine cruise along the most romantic stretch of the river. Pass the Pfalz
Castle and legendary Loreley Rock en route to Weinheim situated on the famous Bergstrasse.
Hotel: NH Weinheim. (B,D)
Day 6 – Rhineland – Innsbruck
Drive to the city of the ‘Student
Prince’, Heidelberg. See the medieval castle which overlooks the town before
continuing south to the wooded Bavarian Alps. Stop to see King Ludwig’s fairytale
castle of Neuschwanstein, then cross the Austrian frontier to reach Innsbruck. Sightseeing
includes the Wilten Basilica and the Old Town, where you see the splendid Golden
Roof and Imperial Palace.
Hotel: Alpin Park. (B,D)
Day 7 – Innsbruck – Vienna
Follow the scenic Inn Valley, then
pass Mozart‘s Salzburg to reach the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut.
The hills are alive as you see ‘The Sound of Music’ wedding scene church
at Mondsee Lake. Continue across the farmlands of eastern Austria and beneath the
Benedictine monastery of Melk. Then descend to the Danube Basin and the elegant
capital city of Vienna.
Hotel: Bosei. (B)
Day 8 – Vienna Sightseeing
A guided tour of Imperial Vienna shows
you the Hofburg, beautiful St Charles’ Church and the statue of Strauss in
the Stadtpark; along the ‘Ring’, see the Parliament and glorious City
Hall. Why not spend the afernoon visiting the impressive Schonbrunn Palace or indulging
in a little shopping in elegant Karntner Street. (B)
Day 9 – Vienna – Venice
Travel southwards through Styria's
forested mountains into the Carinthian Lake District. Pass Europe's warmest lake,
the Worthersee, to cross into Italy near Tarvisio. Then follow mountain valleys
to the Veneto Plain and continue to your hotel.
Hotel: Park Hotel Bolognese. (B,D)
Day 10 – Venice Sightseeing
Cruise by private launch to St Mark’s
Square. See gondolas bobbing beneath the Bridge of Sighs. Then turn the corner where
the ornate Basilica of St Mark is revealed. A master craftsman demonstrates Venetian
glass-blowing before some time at leisure. (B,D)
Day 11 – Venice – Rome
Head south passing the commercial centre
of Bologna. Ascend the Appenines and follow the Autostrada del Sole through Tuscany
and Umbria. The course of the Tiber leads you to the ‘Eternal City’ of
Rome.
Hotel: Cristoforo Colombo. (B)
Day 12 – Rome Sightseeing
Your city tour with an expert guide
begins with the Vatican City. Visit St Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s
‘Pieta’, before perhaps joining an optional visit to the Vatican Museum
to see the Sistine Chapel. Your local guide unfurls the history at the Imperial
Roman Forum, before seeing the Colosseum. (B)
Day 13 – Rome – Florence
Head north to Tuscany and Renaissance
Florence – city of art and culture. Enjoy views of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo
and find the entire city at your feet. After a demonstration of Florentine leatherwork,
the city’s treasures are yours to discover.
Hotel: West Florence. (B,D)
Day 14 – Florence – Lucerne
We leave Tuscany this morning and cross
through the Appenines to the great northern plain of Italy. We travel westwards
passing by Milan, Italy’s industrial nerve centre, and head north towards the
beautiful Italian Lake district and the Swiss border where we catch a glimpse of
Lake Como. Then on to the Swiss lakeside resort of Lucerne.
Hotel: Landhaus Giswil.
(B)
Day 15 – Lucerne Sightseeing
This morning admire the Lion Monument,
carved into a limestone cliff. Stroll along the Chapel Bridge before relaxing, shopping
or perhaps taking a cable-car to the top of a nearby mountain. (B,D)
Day 16 – Lucerne – Paris
Cross the Rhine at Basel and enter
into France. Journey via the vineyards of Burgundy to arrive in the French capital
in the late afternoon. Tonight, why not soak up the atmosphere of an illuminated
Paris tour?
Hotel: Mercure La Defense 5. (B)
Day 17 – Paris Sightseeing
A local guide shows you the Eiffel
Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Place de la
Concorde. There is free time to visit the Mona Lisa in the Louvre or to enjoy dinner
in a typical Parisian bistro. (B)
Day 18 – Return to USA
Your memorable tour ends after breakfast
with a transfer to the airport. (B)
