Day 1 - LONDON – BRUGES – BRUSSELS
Transfer to Dover and set sail from the white cliffs over to France. Drive into Belgium for a stop in medieval Bruges. Stroll by canals and along cobbled streets to the Main Square, overlooked by the town belfry. Continue to Brussels, where you visit the Grand Place and cheeky Mannekin Pis statue. Tonight, join your fellow guests for a Welcome Reception with drink and a light meal, followed by time to relax and explore.
Hotel: Marriott Brussels
Meals: Welcome Reception
Day 2 - BRUSSELS – COLOGNE – HEIDELBERG
Travel into Germany to view the spires of Cologne Cathedral before continuing along the Rhine, via Bonn, to Boppard. Join a highlight cruise past medieval hill-top castles and steep leafy vineyards to the village of St Goar, near the legendary Loreley Rock. Continue on to Heidelberg, to see the cliff top castle before arriving at your hotel.
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Heidelberg
Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dinner
Day 3 - HEIDELBERG – ROTHENBURG – MUNICH
Stop in medieval Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, still surrounded by its old walls and watch towers, frozen in time since the 16th Century. Continue along the Romantic Road to the Bavarian capital of Munich. See the Olympic Stadium, Ludwigstrasse, Marienplatz and soaring neogothic Town Hall. Tonight, maybe sample a stein of beer in a local beer hall?
Hotel: Munich Arabellapark
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 4 - MUNICH – SALZBURG
A short drive leads over the Austrian border to Salzburg, the city of Mozart and the sound of Music. Sightseeing with your local guide shows you the formal gardens of Mirabell Palace, the imposing fortress, cathedral and Mozart’s Birthplace in the lively Getreidegasse.
Hotel: Castellani Park Hotel
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 5 - SALZBURG – VENICE
Enjoy a morning at leisure to shop for the local marzipan specialties or re-enact scenes or seek out locations from the Sound of Music? Later enjoy stunning scenery as you drive down to the Carinthian Lake District. Cross the Italian border and descend to the romantic city of Venice, Queen of the Adriatic.
Hotel: Sant’Elena
Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dinner
Day 6 - VENICE SIGHTSEEING
Cruise down the canal to St.Mark’s Square and alight to see the Bridge of Sighs which connects the Doges’ Palace to the prisons. In the square, see the bell tower, the beautiful mosaics of St. Mark’s Basilica and the Clock Tower Moors, who have been striking the hour for over 500 years. After a demonstration of Venetian glass blowing, board a gondola for a serenade through the romantic canals accompanied by musicians. The afternoon is at leisure.
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 7 - VENICE – ROME
Head south over the Apennine Mountains and follow the ‘Highway of the Sun’ to Rome.
Hotel: Grand Hotel Beverly Hills
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 8 - ROME SIGHTSEEING
Enjoy a tour of the priceless art of the Vatican Museums, followed by a visit to the celebrated Sistine Chapel. Using your audio headset, a local guide explains the significance of Michelangelo’s famous painted ceiling. Then explore St Peter’s Basilica, one of the largest churches in the world. Cross the Tiber to visit the mighty Colosseum and look out over the Roman Forum. The afternoon is free for shopping, relaxing or more sightseeing. It’s up to you.
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 9 - ROME – FLORENCE
Drive to the Chianti Hills and the city of Florence. A local guide accompanies you to Michelangelo’s statue of ‘David’ in the Academy Gallery and on to the Duomo, where the Gates of Paradise adorn the Baptistery. Continue to Signoria Square lined with fountains and statues. In the area around Santa Croce Basilica, view a demonstration of traditional leather work. Afterwards there is time to shop.
Hotel: NH Firenze
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 10 - FLORENCE – LUCERNE
Journey north past the Italian Lake District to the Swiss border. Take the St Gotthard route and enjoy Alpine scenery all the way to Lucerne.
Hotel: Astoria
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 11 - LUCERNE SIGHTSEEING
First visit Lucerne’s emotive Lion Monument. See the covered Chapel Bridge and the Jesuit Church, then enjoy a Premium Highlight ascent of a Swiss mountain by cog-wheel train. From the summit, admire some of the best possible views of the snowcovered Alps. Tonight, enjoy a Dine-Around evening which offers a choice of dining experiences, atmosphere and cuisine.
Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Dine Around
Day 12 - LUCERNE PARIS
Drive to Basel before crossing the Rhine to enter France. Travel through the wine-growing Burgundy region to Paris. This evening enjoy good food, wine and company at an end-of-tour Celebration Dinner in a Parisian bistro.
Hotel: Pullman Tour Eiffel
Meals: Buffet Breakfast / Celebration Dinner
Day 13 - PARIS SIGHTSEEING
Drive via Notre Dame Cathedral for a private tour of the Louvre Museum. See the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Mona Lisa and many more priceless works amassed over the ages by the Kings of France. Sightseeing continues past Garnier’s splendid Opera House. See the obelisk in the centre of the Place de la Concorde and drive along the grand Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Now survey the city from the heights of the Eiffel Tower, built for the World’s Exhibition of 1889. The afternoon is at leisure.
Meals: Buffet Breakfast
Day 14 - PARIS – LONDON
Cross the World War One battlefields of the Somme to arrive at the port of Calais for your return Channel crossing to Dover. Continue to London, where your tour comes to an end.
Meals: Buffet Breakfast