15 days incl. air, or 14 days Paris-Amsterdam (HYGJ)

Itinerary

Day 1

(Fri.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2Arrival in Paris, France

(Sat.) The day is free to rest or to start exploring the splendid French capital. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Paris’ fine restaurants. (D)

Day 3Paris

(Sun.) Sightseeing with a Local Guide features Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine,Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Champs-Elysées. For a panoramic view take the elevator to the second floor of the EIFFEL TOWER. Afternoon at leisure. An optional afternoon excursion to the Palace of Versailles is available. Tonight a lively cabaret show might just be the ticket. (BB)

Day 4Paris–Lucerne, Switzerland

(Mon.) A comfortable ride skirting Fontainebleau Forest and through the vineyards of Burgundy to the Swiss border. Enjoy vistas of the Alps as you arrive in picture-book Lucerne. (BB,D)

Day 5Lucerne–Como, Italy

(Tue.) Admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT and walk through the Old Town, then cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Why not join an optional excursion to the top of the mountain? In the afternoon, continue on the St. Gotthard highway via Lake Lugano to the Italian border and arrive in Como, beautifully situated on the lake, for your overnight stay. (BB,D)

Day 6Como–Pisa–Florence

(Wed.) Past Italy’s commercial capital of Milan reach Pisa where you stop for pictures of its amazing Leaning Tower. Arrive in Florence, cradle of Renaissance art and architecture. Time to explore the many gold and leather shops, then enjoy dinner with Tuscan specialties at a local restaurant. (BB,D)

Day 7Florence–Rome

(Thu.) Visit Michelangelo’s celebrated David in the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS and the magnificent CATHEDRAL with a Local Guide, admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Time to shop for Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry. Early afternoon departure for a fast and easy ride on the Highway of the Sun to the Eternal City. (BB)

Day 8Rome

(Fri.) Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings. 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. (BB)

Day 9Rome–Assisi–Venice

(Sat.) Morning break in peaceful Assisi. Visit the massive 13th-century BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS built above the saint’s grave. Next, drive across the Apennine Mountains and through the flat Po area to the Adriatic coast and enter Venice in style by PRIVATE BOAT. (BB)

Day 10Venice

(Sun.) Highlights of your walking tour with a Local Guide are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and its basilica, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects. Exciting optional activities are available. (BB)

Day 11Venice–Innsbruck, Austria–Munich, Germany

(Mon.) Leave Italy on the spectacular Brenner Pass which leads through the barrier of the Tyrolean Alps to Austria. In Innsbruck enjoy a pleasant stroll through quaint medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF before continuing through the Bavarian Alps to Munich, Germany’s “secret capital.” Your orientation tour features the most famous landmarks: Olympic Stadium, 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, and the 17th-century Nymphenburg Palace. How about a stein of beer at the famous Hofbräuhaus tonight? (BB,D)

Day 12Munich–Rothenburg–Rhineland

(Tue.) Drive through the Swabian Jura to Rothenburg for an orientation of this walled town. Enjoy free time before continuing to the Rhineland. (BB,D)

Day 13Rhineland–Amsterdam, Holland

(Wed.) This morning’s highlight is a romantic RHINE CRUISE past castle-crested hills, terraced vineyards, and the Lorelei cliff. Then continue to Cologne and visit the awesome twin-spired gothic CATHEDRAL before traveling through the Dutch region best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far on the way to Amsterdam, capital of Holland. (BB,D)

Day 14Amsterdam

(Thu.) A Local Guide shows you the 700-year-old city, and the highlight is a CANAL CRUISE past patrician mansions, gabled façades, and humpback bridges. Time to visit a major DIAMOND CENTER or one of Amsterdam’s famous museums. The afternoon is at leisure, and an optional excursion to Volendam can be arranged. (BB)

Day 15

(Fri.) Your homebound flight from Amsterdam arrives the same day. (BB)