EUROPEAN JEWELS W/ LONDON EXTENSION
Day 1 - BOARD YOUR OVERNIGHT TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT. Day 2 - ARRIVAL IN LONDON, ENGLAND. Check into your hotel. Uniformed Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay. Day 3 - LONDON. A full day to savor our rich program of optional activities: take a panoramic tour of London's landmarks, visit the Tower of London, or choose an excursion to Windsor Castle. Tonight, maybe a leisurely cruise on the River Thames" (B) Day 4 - LONDON-AMSTERDAM AREA, HOLLAND. Leave London in the early morning and head through the lush English countryside to the Channel port, where you board your ferry for the Continent. Here you meet your Tour Director and join your luxury coach for the drive to the Amsterdam area. (B) Day 5 - AMSTERDAM AREA-THE RHINELAND, GERMANY. A morning to enjoy Holland's busy metropolis. After your included visit to a famous diamond center, it's time for sightseeing with a Local Guide pointing out the city highlights. Finally, a canal cruise to see Amsterdam from water level. In the afternoon travel southwards to reach the Rhineland for an overnight. (B,D) Day 6 - RHINELAND-ROMANTIC ROAD-MUNICH. Start the day with a scenic drive along the shores of the Rhine or opt for a Rhine cruise. Admire the pretty villages, the castles perched high above the river, and the numerous terraced vineyards. Next, a drive along the Romantic Road, through towns and villages protected by medieval towergates and battlements, with squares of half-timbered houses and richly decorated fountains. Stop awhile in Rothenburg. Overnight in Munich. (B) Day 7 - MUNICH-INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA-VENICE AREA, ITALY. Travel from Munich to Austria for a stop in the capital of the Tyrol, Innsbruck. In the afternoon drive over Brenner Pass into the Dolomites for a stop in the world-famous resort of Cortina before the descent into the Piave Valley to the Venice area. (B,D) Day 8 - MORNING IN VENICE-FLORENCE AREA. The included tour starts with a boat ride and is followed by highlights such as a visit to St. Mark's Basilica and a chance to watch Venetian glassblowers fashion their delicate objects as they did centuries ago. Southwards into the hilly Tuscan countryside to reach the Florence area for two overnights. (B) Day 9 - FLORENCE. This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will keep you enthralled for a whole day. Traffic is banned in part of the historic center, so visitors can wander at leisure and admire the city's timeless beauty in relative peace and quiet. Don - t miss out on the included walking tour with a Local Guide that features most of the city highlights. You will see the Piazza Santa Croce; the beautiful Piazza Signoria; the Palazzo Vecchio and its courtyard; the Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, the Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Door of the Baptistry known as the "Gate to Paradise." (B,D) Day 10 - FLORENCE AREA-LAKE LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND. Across the Lombardy plains this morning to Canton Ticino's subtropical resort of Lugano. Here you take a break to stroll along the lakeside promenade, before climbing towards the St. Gotthard Tunnel. Emerge on the Germanspeaking side of Switzerland and then descend into the gentle landscape around Lake Lucerne. (B,D) Day 11 - LAKE LUCERNE-PARIS, FRANCE. This morning join an optional boat trip. Then vistas of green pastures and attractive chalets with rustic timbering and luxuriant flowers. Then into France, via the comfortable highway, past some of its most famous vineyards, to Paris. Arrive in time to enjoy an optional cabaret show. (B) Day 12 - PARIS. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best-known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides, and Champs Elysées. Optional excursions are also available to visit some of the highlights and, to celebrate the success of your tour, a French farewell dinner might be just the ticket. (B) Day 13 - PARIS-LONDON, ENGLAND. Relax and let the countryside whiz by on the road north to the coast, where you board your Channel ferry. Through Kent return to London for an evening arrival. (B) Day 14 - YOUR HOMEBOUND FLIGHT FROM LONDON ARRIVES THE SAME DAY. (B) |
