13D England & Belgium & Netherlands & Germany & Austria & Italy & Switzerland & France

Itinerary
DAY 01: London - Amsterdam
Meet your Tour Director at London’s Thistle Marble Arch and travel to Dover for your channel crossing to France. Continue through Belgium, past medieval Bruges and the port of Antwerp, into The Netherlands. See the first windmills on your way to Amsterdam - ‘City of Canals’. Here your orientation tour shows you the Royal Palace and Mint Tower. Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Drink with your fellow guests.
Hotel: The Convent Hotel

DAY 02 : Amsterdam - Heidelberg (Breakfast / Dinner)
Travel into Germany today to visit Cologne. Take time to view the impressive Gothic Cathedral and wander down the pedestrian mall. Then continue via Bonn, to the scenic Rhine Gorge. Board your highlight Rhine cruise past medieval castles, steep vineyards and the legendary Loreley Rock. Now on to Heidelberg to see its red sandstone castle, towering above the university city of ‘Student Prince’ fame, before continuing to our hotel.
Hotel: NH Heidelberg

DAY 03: Heidelberg - Innsbruck (Breakfast / DInner)
Head into Bavaria today to admire the fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein. Continue to Oberammergau to see the renowned theatre and painted chalets before crossing the Austrian border to lively Innsbruck.
Hotel: Hilton Innsbruck

DAY 04 : Innsbruck - Venice (Breakfast / DInner)
This morning your Tour Director shows you the Golden Roof before a visit to the superb rococo Wilten Basilica - its interior richly decorated with cherubs and angels. Leaving Innsbruck, cross into Italy and follow the Adige River through spectacular scenery to Verona. Walk with your Tour Director past the Roman Arena and learn about Romeo & Juliet. Now on to the romantic city of Venice.
Hotel: Continental

DAY 05: Venice Sightseeing (Breakfast)
A scenic drive takes you through snow capped mountains to Innsbruck. Visit the Wilten Basilica, its interior richly decorated with cherubs and angels and see the Imperial Palace and delightful Golden Roof. The rest of the afternoon you are at leisure to relax among the typical Austrian cafes of the Old Quarter, with its narrow arcades and gabled shop fronts. Tonight enjoy a Highlight Dinner of traditional Tyrolean cuisine!
Hotel: Hilton Innsbruck

DAY 06: Venice - Rome (Breakfast / DInner)
Follow the ‘Highway of the Sun’ over the wild Apennine Mountains to your Rome hotel, scenically located in beautiful gardens. This evening join your fellow passengers for a Dine-Around evening of local cuisine offered from a selection of restaurants!
Hotel: Cicerone

DAY 07: Rome Sightseeing (Breakfast)
Sightseeing with your local guide takes you into St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City to see Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’. Then cross the River Tiber to visit one of the wonders of ancient Rome - the Colosseum. Round off your tour with a view over the Roman Forum, once the bustling centre of commerce, law and religion. There is time at leisure this afternoon.

DAY 08: Rome - Florence (Breakfast / DInner)
Follow the Tiber north to Florence this morning. Join your local guide to visit the statue of ‘David’ inside the Academy Gallery. Then continue to the Cathedral, Gates of Paradise and the open air art gallery in Signoria Square. Later enjoy a leatherwork demonstration in the Santa Croce area, before time at leisure! Hotel: Croce Di Malta

DAY 09: Florence - Lucerne (Breakfast)
Journey north today past Italy’s industrial nerve centre of Milan and the Italian Lake District. Cross into Switzerland amidst spectacular Alpine scenery, to reach the lakeside resort of Lucerne.
Hotel: Astoria

DAY 10: Lucerne - Sightseeing (Breakfast / DInner)
A full day in this beautiful city with its covered wooden bridges, painted gables, medieval fortifications, Lion Monument, baroque church, lake-side walks and excellent shops. Later take a spectacular cable-car ride up to the summit of Mount Pilatus for snow-capped views and true Alpine majesty.

DAY 11: Lucerne - Paris (Breakfast)
Travel into France and continue through the wine area of Burgundy to Paris. Tonight, perhaps enjoy a tour of the glittering Illuminations of the city?
Hotel: Pullman Bercy

DAY 12: Paris Sightseeing (Breakfast)
Your guided sightseeing tour shows you Notre Dame Cathedral and the immense facades of the Louvre. Drive through the Place de la Concorde and along the elegant Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Now ascend the famous Eiffel Tower for spectacular panoramas over the city! Enjoy free time to shop this afternoon.

DAY 13: Paris - London (Breakfast)
This morning cross the battlefields of WW1 en route to Calais. Sail back
across the channel to Dover and continue back to London where your tour ends.