Day 1 Start tour
Day 2 Hallo Amsterdam
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Details: Amsterdam city walk
Petite Amsterdam packs a big punch. Canals circle islands jammed with restaurants, bars, museums, markets, and more than a few tulips. Get oriented with your Tour Director as you stroll by the highlights, from the Royal Palace to the enormous Albert Cuyp market to the infamous Red Light District. Be careful of the bicyclists whizzing by—they’ve been known to knock unwary pedestrians into the canals (and you thought the French were bad drivers).
Details: Traditional Dutch pannenkoeken dinner
Enjoy a traditional Dutch dinner of pannenkoeken, a large thin pancake similar to a crepe, that can be topped with anything from bacon to apples or raisins and finished with a drizzle of stroop, which is a dark thick syrup.
Day 3 Amsterdam landmarks
Hard Rock Cafe dinner
Details: Amsterdam tour director-led sightseeing
Canals and crocuses. Bicycles and bluebells. With more canals than Venice (and more flower merchants than perhaps any other city in the world), downtown Amsterdam is an explosion of colour and light reflecting off the water. Take a glass-topped canal boat ride—the best way to see the gabled houses and nearly 1200 bridges. Visit a diamond factory to see how the stones are cut. And see Anne Frank's historic home.
Details: Canal guided cruise
Take a glass-topped canal boat ride down the flower-lined canals of Amsterdam for an amazing view of the gabled houses and nearly 1,200 bridges.
Details: Anne Frank House visit
Take a tour of Anne Frank's house, where three different Jewish families hid for more than two years during World War II and where Anne’s famous diaries were discovered. See where she and her family lived before being betrayed to the Nazi’s and deported to concentration camps.
Day 4 Amsterdam--Heidelberg
Details: Travel via Cologne to Heidelberg
Towering over the train station is the Kolner Dom cathedral, which took seven centuries to finish, only to be scarred by 14 bombings during World War II. During your stop in Cologne, admire the cathedral’s striking architecture, and even go off on your own to climb the 509 stairs to the South Tower for a great view of the Rhine. Nine bells are housed in the Glockenstube, and in one corner, weighing in at 24 tons, is the Petriglocke, the world’s heaviest working bell.
Details: Heidelberg tour director-led sightseeing
Surrounded by mountains, forests, and the Neckar River, Heidelberg showcases a quintessential German landscape. Join your Tour Director as you drive through this granddaddy of all college towns, with its scores of bars, cafés, and shops. Get a beautiful view Germany’s oldest university —founded in 1386—from the Marktplatz, Heidelberg’s main square. Notice that behind the university lurks the Students’ Prison, used from 1778 until 1914 to imprison students for up to four weeks for minor offenses like drunkenness, practical jokes, and dueling. (Imprisoned students still had to attend lectures — think of it as the 19th-century equivalent of being grounded.) Then head up to Heidelberg Castle, which is still a little wobbly from its partial destruction during the Thirty Years’ War, a 17th-century attack by the French, and a major lightening hit in 1764. The castle’s courtyard is home to the largest wine barrel in world, the Great Vat, which holds about 50,000 gallons of wine (possibly another contributing factor to the castle’s romantically off-balance appearance).
Day 5 Heidelberg--Munich
Travel to Munich
Munich guided sightseeing tourResidenz, Nymphenburg Palace, Alte Pinakothek, Deutsches Museum, BMW Headquarters visit, Olympic site of 1972, Frauenkirche, Neues Rathaus, Marienplatz, Hofbräuhaus
Bavarian bratwurst dinner
Details: Munich guided sightseeing tour
Join a professional licensed tour guide for a whirlwind look at Munich. Founded in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Munich now roars with the hustle and bustle of modern German life. As you pass by Marienplatz (named after the square’s gilded Virgin Mary and Child statue), mechanical knights joust and coopers dance to the folk-music chimes of the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel. The twin onion-bulb towers of the Frauenkirche Cathedral frame this whimsical display, while the scents, sounds and colors of the nearby food market attempt to draw your attention elsewhere. Resist temptation and continue on to Olympiapark, a new suburb built for the 1972 Olympic Games. Pass by several museums, such as the BMW Museum, Alte Pinakothek (home to Munich’s most precious art collections), and the Deutsches Museum of science and technology.
Day 6 Munich--Venice
Travel to Venice via Innsbruck
Day 7 Venice landmarks
Details: Venice guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
Bubbling up on more than 100 islands in a lagoon off the Adriatic, Venice is an absolutely unique and unquestionably beautiful city. The weight of its opulent architecture – bulbous domes, gothic spires, and lacy marble – may be sinking the city by 10 inches a century, but your local guide will make sure you don’t sink out of sight as you tour the intricate labyrinth of streets and bridges. Step into Piazza San Marco, an airy expanse of arches, sunlight, and pigeons. The multi-domed Basilica on one end, completed in 1094 but decorated for centuries afterward, is the final resting place of the apostle St. Mark, Venice’s patron saint. The mosaics beneath the basilica’s outside arches depict the arrival of St. Mark’s body, stolen from Egypt in 828 by Venetian traders. The frothy Venetian Gothic Doge’s Palace stands next door. Continue on to a glass-blowing demonstration. Venetian glass has long been considered the best in the world, and its production was such a state secret that during the Middle Ages, any Venetian glassblower who attempted to ply his trade outside the city was immediately arrested.
Day 8 Venice--Lucerne
Details: Travel to Lucerne via Verona
Stop in Verona to see the Romeo and Juliet Balcony. Verona is known primarily for its role as the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and Capulets were based on real feuding families, but were Romeo and Juliet real? A 14th-century house claims to be Juliet's--you can decide for yourself while gazing down at a statue of her from the balcony said to have inspired Shakespeare's famous balcony scene.
Details: Verona tour director-led sightseeing
Brush up on your Shakespeare before heading to Casa de Giuletta to gaze up (or down from, for a few euros more) the famed balcony that set the stage for star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. Hear about the many versions of this tragic story that existed long before Shakespeare put his pen to it. Go from this battleground of love to a real gladiator’s Roman Arena. Theatre performances still take place in this third largest amphitheater in all of Italy, built in the 1st century B.C.
Day 9 Lucerne landmarks
Details: Lucerne tour director-led sightseeing
Before a backdrop of snow-capped Alpine mountains and green, cow-filled pastures, join your Tour Director on a tour of Lucerne’s famous sights. Weave your way through a maze of narrow, winding streets until you reach the River Reuss and the Medieval Kapellbrücke Bridge. Stop to marvel at the bridge walls, decorated with murals that recreate the 14th-century originals destroyed in a fire. Journey the cobblestone streets in the Old Town to see the Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument), the somber sandstone wild cat gazing down into a reflecting pool. Sense sheer courage as you ponder this artfully chiseled statue created to honor the Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries in 1792.
Details: Traditional Swiss dinner with fondue
Enjoy an authentic Swiss meal and sample fondue as your appetizer. Cheese fondue consists of a blend of cheeses, wine and seasoning. To prepare the caquelon it is first rubbed with a cut garlic clove. White wine is slightly heated with cornstarch, and then grated cheese is added and stirred until melted. It is often topped off with a bit of kirsch. The cornstarch or another starch is added to prevent separation. The mixture is stirred continuously as it heats in the caquelon.
When it is ready, diners dip cubes of bread speared on a fondue fork into the mixture.
Day 10 Lucerne--Burgundy
Travel to Burgundy
Dijon city walkPalais des Ducs, Rue de la Liberte, Place François Rude, Les Halles market
Day 11 Burgundy--Paris
Paris city walkÎle de la Cité, Notre Dame Cathedral visit, Île St. Louis, Latin Quarter visit
Dinner in Latin Quarter
Details: Travel to Paris via Auxerre
Located in Burgundy between Paris and Dijon, Auxerre is a quintessential French town, known for its woodworking, winemaking and quaint beam-and-board architecture. Sightseeing highlights include the Gothic St. Etienne Cathedral and the historic Clock Tower.
Details: Paris city walk
This city was made for walking. Stroll grand boulevards with sweeping views of the city, pristine parks with trees planted in perfect rows, and narrow streets crowded with vendors selling flowers, pastries and cheese. Then head to the Île de la Cité, a small island in the Seine, to see Notre Dame Cathedral.
Day 12 Paris landmarks
Paris guided sightseeing tourArc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, École Militaire, Les Invalides, Conciergerie, Tuileries, Place Vendôme, Opera House
Details: Paris guided sightseeing tour
What's that huge white arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées? The Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. Your licensed local guide will elaborate on this, and other Parisian landmarks. See some of the most famous sites, including the ornate, 19th-century Opera, the Presidential residence, the ultra-chic shops of the Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, and the gardens of the Tuileries. You'll pass the Place de la Concorde, where in the center you’ll find the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt in 1836, and the Place Vendôme, a huge square surrounded by 17th-century buildings. Spot chic locals (and tons of tourists) strolling the Champs-Élysées. Look up at the iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. See Les Invalides (a refuge for war wounded), the École Militaire (Napoleon's alma mater), and the Conciergerie (the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept during the French Revolution).
Details: Seine River cruise
See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.
Day 13 Paris--London
Details: Eurostar Chunnel crossing
You're so close, why not continue to London? Take the Eurostar under the English Channel. Faster than you can say...anything, in French, you'll whiz through a tunnel and arrive in London.
Details: London city walk
Step outside your hotel for a stroll through the heart of the English-speaking world. In this city of nearly seven million, you'll see everything from 12th-century fortifications to modern skyscrapers, royal parks to street art. Your Tour Director will lead you to some of the most famous sites. Walk along the Thames River. Cross Trafalgar Square. See bustling Piccadilly Circus. Pass trendy shops and cafés in Bohemian Soho on your way to Covent Garden, a 13th-century fruit and vegetable garden transformed into a maze of narrow streets and pedestrian walkways burgeoning with street performers, open-air markets and boutiques.
Details: National Gallery visit
Located in an impressive domed building right in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery houses a rich collection of over 2,000 works of art dating from the mid 13th century to 1900. Explore the beautiful marble hallways to see famous paintings by Van Eyck, Turner and Van Gogh.
Day 14 London landmarks
Details: London guided sightseeing tour
Join a licensed local guide for an in-depth look at London, from the royal haunt of Buckingham Palace (the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II) to the slightly more democratic Speakers’ Corner of Hyde Park, where anyone can pull up a soapbox and orate to his heart’s content. You’ll see the changing of the guard (season permitting), the clock tower of Big Ben with its 14-ton bell, and Westminster Abbey, where almost every English king and queen since William the Conqueror has been crowned. After a stop at the Houses of Parliament, continue on to the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of London architect Christopher Wren.
Day 15 End tour
Day 15 Start extension to Dublin
Fly to Dublin
Details: Dublin city walk
Get a friendly introduction to Ireland’s capital city, compliments of your Tour Director. Discover an international urban scape of Georgian buildings, castles and cathedrals. Literary legends and budding musicians. All while one million people welcome you with smiling eyes. Stroll bustling O’Connell Street, once (at 150 ft wide) the widest street in Europe, and still the busiest thoroughfare in Dublin. Pass shop after shop of local and global wares and flairs, and a lush street-meridian lined with tall trees and ebony statues of Irish leaders. Make your way to the end of the strip to Parnell Square, an antique scape of red brick townhouses and classic Irish theaters. As you wander the streets, take in the international glamour of Ireland’s most cosmopolitan city.
Day 16 Dublin landmarks
Traditional public house dinner
Details: Dublin guided sightseeing tour
Join a professional licensed tour guide on an adventure to Dublin’s finest attractions. Pass the residence of Ireland’s president along your journey through Phoenix Park. Within Europe’s grandest enclosed park, encounter 1,760 undeveloped acres scattered with cricket pitches, grazing cows, and red deer. Stop to eye a stone phoenix rising from flames atop the Corinthian-style Phoenix Column. Tour the roads along the River Liffey to 12th-century St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the largest of its kind in all Ireland. Get a glimpse of the neighboring park where St. Patrick (who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century) baptized converts. Continue on to Trinity College, the stone-clad sprawling campus where Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett studied. Stop by the Long Room in the Old Library for a zoom-view of the illuminated edition of four Gospels, the Book of Kells. The original manuscript was penned in Latin around AD 800 by four Irish Monks who used multicolored ink from plants and bugs. Take some time to study the brilliant latticework of curvy Celtic symbols woven with animal figures that enlivens the script.
Day 17 End tour
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 13 overnight stays (15 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional Tour Director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Guided sightseeing tours with high-tech headset as per itinerary
- High-speed Eurostar Chunnel crossing
- Tour Diary™
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Please visit our Fees FAQ page for a full list of items that may not be included in the cost of your tour.
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