Europe’s Highlights

Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free to you to explore this exciting city. Tonight, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers.

Enjoy sightseeing in Amsterdam with a Local Guide pointing out the city highlights, as well as a CANAL CRUISE to see the town from water level. Then, watch the cutting and polishing of precious stones at a DIAMOND CENTER. Time in the afternoon to explore on your own.

Traveling through Germany, choose an included scenic drive along the shores of the Rhine or, even more thrilling, the optional Rhine cruise with vistas of the Lorelei rock, hilltop castles, half-timbered wine villages, and terraced vineyards. Spend the night inthe Mannheim area.

Drive through Baden-Wüttenberg to the foot of the Alps to visit King Ludwig’s magnificent NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE, Germany’s fairytale castle. Carry on into the verdant Austrian Tyrol.

Cross the border into Italy to the unique floating city of Venice. This afternoon’s orientation includes a BOAT RIDE to St. Mark’s Square, followed by a visit to a traditional GLASSBLOWING WORKSHOP. Don’t miss out on the romantic optional gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to serenade you.

An interesting drive southward, cutting across the Po Delta, then through the gentle Umbrian hills to medieval Assisi, where St. Francis was born in 1182. Visit the world-famous BASILICA with its beautiful frescoes by Giotto, then head for Rome.

The “Eternal City” is steeped in history, vibrantly alive and exciting, and absolutely unique! Included sightseeing with a Local Guide starts with St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. Other highlights are the iconic Colosseum, the largest amphitheater ever built; the Roman Forum; Piazza Venezia, and Campidoglio.

An optional visit is available to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s impressive fresco of The Last Judgment. An easy drive on the Highway of the Sun to Florence. This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will help you enthralled for a whole day. Visitors can wander at leisure and admire the city’s timeless beauty, but don’t miss out on the included walking tour with a Local Guide that features most of the city highlights. You will see Piazza Santa Croce; beautiful Piazza Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio; Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificently carved East Door of the Baptistry, known as the “Gate of Paradise.” Overnight in the spa town of Montecatini.

Visit the SQUARE OF MIRACLES in Pisa and admire the curious Leaning Tower. Journey northwards through the Tuscan hills and across Apennines to Milan to see the majestic gothic Duomo. Continue to the shores of romantic Lake Como.

Leave beautiful Lake Como and cross the border into Switzerland for a stop in Lugano in Italian-speaking Ticino. Continue north, and once through Gotthard Tunnel, see more magnificent alpine scenery as you descend to the shores of Lake Lucerne.

Spend some time in beautiful Lucerne. Later, stop in idyllic Interlaken and follow the shoreline of Lake Thun. A few more miles to Lausanne, overlooking Lake Geneva.

Enjoy vistas of famous vineyards on the way to Beaune. Visit the medieval Burgundian town, known all over the world for its wine production. Take the autoroute to Paris. Tonight, maybe an exciting optional cabaret show

Get to know the city with a local expert and see many of the best-known Parisian sites, such as the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysées. An optional excursion is available to the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, King Louis XIV’s residence.

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.