11 day European Delight - Costsaver

About this trip

Savour the flavours of France and Italy as you travel north from Rome, Florence and Venice through the rolling Tuscan countryside, Switzerland's Alpine landscape and the Burgundy wine region to Paris to see the Champs Élysées and Arc de Triomphe.

YOUR ITINERARY

DAY 1 ARRIVE ROME (2 NIGHTS)
Welcome to Rome. Unwind after your journey. Meet later with your Travel Director and fellow travellers.

HOTEL
Ergife Palace

DAY 2 ROME SIGHTSEEING AND FREE TIME
Your Local Specialist takes you on a fantastic sightseeing tour. Visit St. Peter's Basilica and admire Michelangelo's Renaissance masterpiece, the Pieta. Your guided tour continues across the Tiber where you view the mighty Colosseum, see Circus Maximus and the ancient sites of Rome. Spend time afterwards seeing more sights or shopping for souvenirs.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast

DAY 3 ROME – SIENA – FLORENCE (2 NIGHTS)
Head north through the Chianti wineproducing region to the beautiful medieval city of Siena in Tuscany. Stroll through ancient cobbled streets to Piazza del Campo where the colourful Palio horse race takes place every year. Marvel at the striped marble cathedral and shop for attractive ceramic pottery. Arrive later in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance and your home for the next two nights.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast
Dinner

HOTEL
Starhotels Vespucci

DAY 4 FLORENCE ORIENTATION AND FREE TIME
Florence is a treasure trove of art and history. Enjoy spectacular views from Piazzale Michelangelo, then spend time exploring the delights of this amazing city. Perhaps visit Piazza della Signoria featuring many statues and palazzos, and don't miss the Duomo or Giotto's Bell Tower. Learn about the quality and workmanship of two of this city's historic industries at demonstrations of Florentine leathercraft and 18 carat gold.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast

DAY 5 FLORENCE – BOLOGNA – VENICE (2 NIGHTS)
Cross the forested Apennines to the city of Bologna, home to one of the oldest universities in Europe and famous for sausages and salami. Your sightseeing tour with a Local Specialist includes views of the Kissing Towers. We enter the fertile Po plain and cross the Adige river en route to the Venice region.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast
Dinner

HOTEL
Villa Giulietta

DAY 6 VENICE ORIENTATION AND FREE TIME
Watch Venetian craftsmen at work creating local specialities at a glassblowing workshop on Giudecca island. Admire the many sights of this Byzantine city as you cruise by private launch to St. Mark's Square. See the Palladian Churches of the Redeemer and St. George, the ornate Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Marvel at the Basilica and Campanile. In your free time take an optional cruise across the lagoon to the Island of Burano for a delicious meal.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast

DAY 7 VENICE – VERONA – LUCERNE REGION (2 NIGHTS)
Follow the Veneto plains to Verona and stop to see the Roman Arena and Juliet's balcony. Pass Milan and head north to the Italian and Swiss Lake Districts via Como and Lugano. Drive along the scenic alpine St. Gotthard route through central Switzerland to the region of Lucerne.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast
Dinner

HOTEL
City Brunnen

DAY 8 LUCERNE ORIENTATION AND FREE TIME
Enjoy the sights of Lucerne during your orientation tour, including the 14thcentury wooden Chapel Bridge and a visit to the Lion Monument commemorating the heroic Swiss Guards during the French Revolution. In your free time, take an exhilarating mountain excursion, shop for Swiss watches and chocolate or perhaps explore the flowerbedecked squares and fortified towers in the quaint old town.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast
Dinner

DAY 9 LUCERNE REGION – PARIS (2 NIGHTS)
Drive across the French border past Belfort and the remains of the Maginot Line and through the Burgundy wine region. View the sprawling vineyards that stretch across the hillsides. Arrive later in Paris, the City of Light. Tonight why not dine at a cosy Parisian bistro and finish with a dazzling tour of the city's illuminations?

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast

HOTEL
Novotel 14 Porte d'Orléans

DAY 10 PARIS SIGHTSEEING AND FREE TIME
This morning enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe during your sightseeing tour. Spend free time exploring the banks of the Seine. This evening you might like to experience a worldfamous cabaret show.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast

DAY 11 PARIS – LONDON
Traverse northern France past World War I battlefields. Cross the English Channel to Dover where you see the famous White Cliffs. In London say goodbye to your Travel Director and newfound friends at the end of your spectacular European holiday.

MEAL(S)
Buffet Breakfast