ESSENTIAL EUROPE
Day 1 - Board your overnight transatlantic flight. Day 2 - Arrival in Rome, Italy. Time to rest or start exploring the "Eternal City." At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome's lively restaurants. (D) Day 3 - Rome. Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. Then, time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (B) Day 4 - Rome - Florence. An easy morning drive north to Florence, "Cradle of the Renaissance." Enjoy a walking tour with a Local Guide and visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo's celebrated David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry's heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Later, take a moment to check out the enticing shops with Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry. (B,D) Day 5 - Florence - Venice. Drive across the Apennine Hills and through the plains of the mighty River Po to Venice. Enter the city in style by PRIVATE BOAT to ST. MARK'S SQUARE. Admire the byzantine basilica, the Clock Tower, lavish Doges" Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects, then time to explore or to join an optional gondola ride. (B,D) Day 6 - Venice - Lugano, Switzerland - Lucerne. Through the Lombardian plains, past Milan and Lake Como to the Swiss Alps. Stop in the subtropical town of Lugano, then, admire the towering majesty of the Swiss Alps and St. Gotthard on the way to picture-book Lucerne. Why not sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing for a first-hand impression of Alpine merrymaking" (B) Day 7 - Lucerne. Admire Thorwaldsen's LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses lining the cobbled streets of the Old Town, then, cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Afterwards, shop for Swiss watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car or take a cruise on the fjord-like lake. (B,D) Day 8 - Lucerne - Paris, France. Cross the border into France and enjoy a fast ride on the modern highway skirting the vineyards of Burgundy and Fontainebleau Forest. Tonight, you are in Paris, the traditional climax of every European tour. (B) Day 9 - Paris. Discover the world capital of chic and style with a Local Guide and admire its most famous sights: the Opéra, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Notre Dame Cathedral, and more. For a bird's-eye view, take the elevator to the second floor of Paris" most famous landmark: the EIFFEL TOWER. An optional excursion to the lavish baroque Palace of Versailles is available. Tonight, a lively cabaret show might just be the ticket. (B) Day 10 - Paris - London, England. Board the EUROSTAR TRAIN for a smooth ride to London arriving in the late afternoon. Why not take in a West End show tonight" (B) Day 11 - London. Sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall's mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister's Downing Street, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. Afternoon at leisure. You may wish to sign up for an optional excursion to the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels or an evening cruise on the River Thames. (B) Day 12 - Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B) |
