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ITINERARY
VISITING ENGLAND, BELGIUM, THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, AUSTRIA, ITALY, VATICAN CITY, GREECE, TURKEY, MONACO, FRANCE AND SPAIN
Day 1 – London – Amsterdam
Meet your Tour Director at the Holiday Inn Kings Cross/Bloomsbury and travel to Dover for the ferry to France. Cross through Belgium onto the Netherlands and Amsterdam. Visit Dam Square and see the Mint Tower before visiting a diamond-polishing factory.
Hotel: Dorint. (D)
Day 2 – Amsterdam – Rhineland
Head for the German city of Cologne to see the spires of the Gothic cathedral. Continue to the village of Boppard to join a cruise past castles, vineyards and villages. See the legendary Loreley Rock, en route to your hotel.
Hotel: NH Weinheim. (B,D)
Day 3 – Rhineland – Lake Lucerne
View the castle at Heidelberg before driving through the Black Forest, passing the resort of Lake Titisee en route to the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen and Lake Lucerne.
Hotel: City Hotel (Brunnen). (B,D)
Day 4 – Lucerne Sightseeing
View the Lion Monument and see the Chapel Bridge, then shop or join a cable-car excursion up the spectacular Swiss Alps. Perhaps join a lively Swiss Folklore show as night falls. (B,D)
Day 5 – Lake Lucerne – Innsbruck
Pause at Liechtenstein to see 700-year-old Vaduz Castle before continuing on to the Alpine Tyrol. See Innsbruck’s famous ‘Golden Roof’ in the Old Town.
Hotel: Alpin Park. (B,D)
Day 6 – Innsbruck – Vienna
Drive along the Inn Valley to Salzburg to visit Mozart’s birthplace and some of the sites where ‘The Sound of Music’ was filmed. Continue through the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut to Vienna.
Hotel: Hotel Bosei. (B,D)
Day 7 – Vienna Sightseeing
A guided tour of Imperial Vienna takes you around the Ring Road seeing the Winter Palace, Parliament and St Charles’ Church. Spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the city, perhaps also visiting the magnificent Schonbrunn Palace. (B)
Day 8 – Vienna – Venice
Cross the Semmering Pass, and drive through the forests of Carinthia to Austria’s Lake District. Cross into Italy near Tarvisio, and follow mountain valleys down to the Veneto Plain and on your hotel.
Hotel: Relais Villa Fiorita (Monastier). (B,D)
Day 9 – Venice Sightseeing
Drive to the Venetian Lagoon where a private launch takes you to St Mark’s Square; see St Mark’s Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs and the Doges’ Palace before taking in a demonstration of Venetian glass-blowing. Spend the afternoon at leisure: perhaps enjoy a gondola ride. (B,D)
Day 10 – Venice – Rome
Climb the Apennine Mountains, passing the Etruscan hill towns of Orte and Orvieto which overlook the road to Rome. Follow the Tiber River all the way to the ‘Eternal City’.
Hotel: Papillo. (B)
Day 11 – Rome – Sightseeing
Visit St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City with a local guide, before seeing the Roman Forum and Colosseum. Consider dining out in Roman style when night falls. (B)
Day 12 – Rome – Overnight ferry
Bid Rome farewell before crossing the rugged Appenine Mountains to Bari where you board your overnight ferry to Greece. (B)
Day 13 – Patras – Athens
Dock at Patras and make a stop at the Corinth Canal before continuing to Athens, the cradle of European civilisation.
Hotel: Grecotel Omonia. (B)
Day 14 – Athens – Mediterranean Legends Cruise
Transfer to Piraeus to board a cruise ship to set sail for the lively island of Mykonos, with its dazzling sugarcube houses and white-washed windmills. (B,L,D)
Day 15 – Cruising – Rhodes
Enjoy a full day on Rhodes, once a fortified headquartes of the crusaders and home to the Colossus of Rhodes. (B,L,D)
Day 16 – Cruising – Kusadasi
Sail to the island of Patmos where St John wrote the Book of Revelations. Dock at the Turkish port of Kusadasi, where you can visit the bazaar or take an optional excursion to ancient Ephesus. (B,L,D)
Day 17 – Athens – Overnight Ferry
Sightseeing in Athens then we drive back to Patras. Your overnight ferry back to Italy awaits. (B)
Day 18 – Bari – Sorrento
Disembark in Bari. Cross the Italian peninsula to the clifftop resort of Sorrento.
Hotel: Zi Teresa. (B,D)
Day 19 – Sorrento at Leisure
Maybe join an optional excursion to the Isle of Capri? (B,D)
Day 20 – Sorrento – Tuscany
Pass Monte Cassino en route to Florence. After a demonstration of Florentine leatherwork and free time to relax, continue to your Tuscan hotel.
Hotel: Tuscany Inn. (B,D)
Day 21 – Tuscany – French Riviera
Stop at the Leaning Tower of Pisa before continuing along the Italian Riviera, past Genoa to the border. Visit sophisticated Monaco before arriving at your hotel on the Cote d’Azur.
Hotel: Novotel Nice Centre Acropolis. (B,D)
Day 22 – French Riviera
Spend a day relaxing on the French Riviera; swim or maybe visit a perfumery. (B)
Day 23 – French Riviera – Barcelona
Stop at the resort of Cannes before travelling through Provence and the Camargue, famous for its wild bulls and pink flamingos. Continue around the coast to the Spanish city of Barcelona.
Hotel: Abba Garden. (B,D)
Day 24 – Barcelona Sightseeing
Join your local guide to see Gaudi’s unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral, the Columbus Monument, the Ramblas and the Olympic complex. Why not spend the night experiencing some fiery Flamenco? (B)
Day 25 – Barcelona – Madrid
Cross the River Ebro and continue through the Morata Pass. Reaching the Plains of Old Castille, you will arrive in Madrid.
Hotel: Florida Norte. (B)
Day 26 – Madrid Sightseeing
A guided tour takes in the most famous sights: Puerta del Sol, Cibeles Fountain, the Gran Via and the Royal Palace of King Juan Carlos. The afternoon is yours to visit the Prado Museum or perhaps take a trip to nearby Toledo. (B)
Day 27 – Madrid – Lourdes
See the unspoilt heart of Spain, reaching the Pyrenees and the pilgrimage centre of Lourdes in time to join the torchlight procession.
Hotel: Sainte Rose. (B,D)
Day 28 – Lourdes – Bordeaux
Visit the miraculous Grotto and drink the curative waters before driving to Bordeaux for an orientation tour.
Hotel: Mercure Bordeaux Centre. (B,D)
Day 29 – Bordeaux – Paris
Cross the coastal plain and the Cognac area, and continue to the Loire Valley to see Amboise Castle, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. A photo-stop at the Chateau of Blois is followed by arrival in sparkling city of Paris.
Hotel: Home Business Paris Grande Bibliotheque (B)
Day 30 – Paris Sightseeing
Your local guide shows you the Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Eiffel Tower and the cathedral of Notre Dame. Perhaps enjoy a night of cabaret or a farewell dinner in a Parisian restaurant. (B)
Day 31 – Paris – London
Cross the battlefields of World War One to join your ferry to Dover’s White Cliffs. The tour ends a short time later in London. (B)
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