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Destination > Europe > British Isles

European Treasures

Day 1: Home

Depart on your wide bodied overnight flight to Europe. Meals will be served at appropriate times and earphones will be supplied so you may enjoy the full length movie and the many audio channels available.

Day 2: London (D)

Today you arrive in London and will be met at the airport for your guided transfer to your hotel. Enroute, take a sightseeing tour of London, this masculine city of ever erupting ideas and trends, scene of pageantry and display, home of thinkers and speakers, birthplace of English drama, where more than 40 theaters remain in operation the year round. Your orientation tour will show you Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Whitehall. After arriving at your hotel, you will settle in and enjoy your free time. Dinner will be at a local restaurant. Overnight in London.

Day 3: London (B, D)

Your day begins today with breakfast at your hotel. Then you will head off with your Hop On-Hop Off ticket, which will give you a unique way to visit many of London’s famous monuments and museums. Departing from Piccadilly Circus at 9:00 a.m., and at 20 minutes intervals, buses pass Trafalgar Square, where you can visit the National Gallery, rich in early Italian (da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli and Titian), Dutch and Flemish (Rembrandt, Rubens, Hals, Van Dyck), Spanish (Velasquez and El Greco) and 18th & 19th century British (Constable, Turner, Gainsborough and Reynolds). Board the next bus and journey to St. James’s Palace built in 1532 by Henry VIII. Pass Buckingham Palace and watch the changing of the guard.

After a full day of sightseeing on your own, return to your hotel to relax and freshen up before dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in London.

Day 4: Oxford - Stratford (B)

Begin your day with breakfast at your hotel before you board your private coach for a full day tour to Oxford and Stratford. 57 miles from London is Oxford, a city well over a thousand years old. The earliest colleges in Oxford – St. Edmund, Hall, Merton and Balliot – date from the 13th century. Oxford consists of 28 colleges, five of which are for women. It is difficult to decide where the university ends and the town begins – the scattered colleges, quads and chapels blend in harmoniously with workaday buildings, giving every street scene dreaming spires and domes. Then to the small town of Stratford in Warwickshire where Shakespeare was born in 1564, and eventually returned to marry and live there after his wild and creative years in London had earned him enough money to settle down as the solid bourgeois he was at heart. You can trace his life story in Stratford, from his birthplace on Henley Street to his tomb in Holy Trinity Church. There’s still an aura of Old Elizabethan England among Stratford’s timbered inns and 16th century houses with their oddly protruding upper story. In Stratford, visit Anne Hathaway's home before you head back to London where you will overnight.

Day 5: London (B, D)

This morning after breakfast, you will have a free day to explore London on your own. Stroll through Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and then on to Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey etc. Visit on your own the freshly painted and restored Tower Bridge and the infamous Tower of London which has a notorious history of murder, confinement and intrigue. This historic fortress has served as a castle in wartime, a king’s residence in peace, and as a prison and execution site. It also houses the best display of crown jewels on earth. Later, make your way to Churchill’s underground Cabinet War Rooms, take a cruise down the Thames, stop at the barricaded and guarded 10 Downing Street and home of the Prime Minister or just relax in Hyde Park. Maybe even try your luck at speaker’s corner! Or perhaps you might head for St. Paul’s Cathedral and imagine being witness to the wedding of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana which took place in this cathedral.

You may also choose to visit London’s numerous world class museums. Some “must see” museums include: The National Gallery, The British Museum, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, The Science Museum, Museum of London, The Royal Academy, and the National Portrait Gallery.

This evening enjoy dinner at a local restaurant prior to your provided theatre performance in the West End. London showcases the greatest talent and variety in the world. The city has more than 50 theatres, with the greatest accumulation in the West End. A theatre ticket will be provided to a show. Overnight in London.

Day 6: Bath - Stonehenge (B)

This morning after breakfast enjoy a glorious journey through the English countryside. Drive through the green and gold landscapes of the Cotswold’s with its patchwork quilt of green fields dotted with ancient villages of golden stone as you head for the delightful Georgian city of Bath. Bath has been designated a World Heritage City, alongside Florence and Rome, and has the finest Georgian architectural ensemble in England. Bath is a perfect 18th century city, perhaps the best preserved in all of Britain. It is a compact place, easy to explore on foot. The general appearance of Bath is extremely harmonious – the city was “planned “in grand Georgian style, sweeping crescents and squares, based on classical principals of architecture. The museum and elegant shops and terraces of magnificent town houses are all close to each other and are a joy to experience. Your guided tour of the city will take in Pulteney Bridge said to be modeled on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Royal Crescent and the Circus. The Romans knew the value of the waters in Bath and they called the place "Aqua Sulis" (Water of the Sun). To this day, these springs gush from the earth at a constant temperature of 46 - 50 C. You will visit the Roman Baths, left beautifully intact from when the Romans settled here in around the natural springs of the area, and the Pump Rooms where gentry in Georgian times would socialize and take the waters.

You leave Bath in the afternoon and head out through Wiltshire to Salisbury Plain. Here you visit the amazing site at Stonehenge – the famous megalithic standing stone circles. This is the most celebrated prehistoric site in Britain which has stood witness to over 4000 years of history – for centuries its exact purpose has been unknown. . From a distance Stonehenge seems curiously small and rather dwarfed by the immensity of Salisbury Plain, but when looked at close, it assumes the full magnificence of a wonder of the world, and one marvels that primitive men equipped only with hand tools could have constructed such a monument. No one knows the exact combination of purposes for which it was built, but we do know that its axis was carefully aligned with the sunrise on the longest day of the year, June 21st. It is thought that its purpose was broadly religious and perhaps for worshipping the sun gods. What remains very mysterious is the great sophistication which enabled the stones to be put in place - the labour force must have been both highly disciplined and immense. You continue your return journey to London.

Day 7: London - Paris (B, D)

Transfer this morning after breakfast to the rail station for your train from London to Paris. Good morning Paris, the city of perfume and charm, everlastingly beautiful and unchanged. No other city has lavished such energy and attention upon its music halls and cabarets with names such as “Opera Comique”, “Follies Bergere”, and “Casino de Paris” that are famous around the world. Indeed it may only be a slight exaggeration to state that no one has fully lived until they have sampled the phantasmagoria of attractions and spectacles available in the capital of France.

This morning when you arrive in Paris you will transfer from the train station to your hotel and enjoy en route, a guided panoramic city tour including Les Grand’s Boulevard, L’Opera, Place de la Concorde, Les Champs Elysees, L’Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.

After you have settled into your hotel, you may wish to survey your surroundings or walk to the Latin Quarter. The remainder of the day is free to wander the narrow and colourful streets of Paris and to do some souvenir shopping. This evening you may wish to ascend the Eiffel Tower for a spectacular night view of the city from atop this world famous landmark. Dinner will be at a local restaurant.

Day 8: Paris (B)

You will have breakfast at your hotel before embarking on your guided walking sightseeing tour of this city of lights. You will be provided with a one day Metropass so that your guide can escort you throughout the lively streets of Paris. Meander the Champs Elysse, marvel at the Arc de Triomphe, and see the magnificent gilded dome church where you may choose to see the imposing Tomb of the Emperor Napoleon later on your own.

The remainder of the day is free to visit Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre Museum. This former Royal Palace, transformed by the Revolution into a museum, lays claim to the title of “most beautiful museum in the world.” You will enter through the I.M. Pei’s pyramids, highlights of the major modernization program; in the course of their construction the medieval foundations were unearthed and are displayed as an integral part of the museum’s collection. Containing over 200,000 works of art in 225 galleries, it is impossible for you to view them all so you must be very selective. Some of the most famous exhibits are: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the soaring 3rd century BC statue Victory of Samothrace, the celebrated Vénus de Milo (2nd century BC) and the realistic Egyptian Seated Scribe.

Have lunch or a cappuccino at an outdoor café, shop or just explore on your own the vibrant streets of this historic city. Overnight in Paris.

Day 9: Paris - Versailles (B)

This morning after breakfast you will be met at your hotel for your guided excursion to Versailles, the creation of the French monarchy at the time of its greatest splendor. Consisting of the great palace, the gardens and the Trianons, it is a wonderfully harmonious composition of building and landscape, a unique expression of the vitality of French art during the 17th-18th century. Between 1682 and 1789, Versailles was the seat of government and France’s political capital. Today the chateau of Versailles seems outrageously large, but in 1682 when Louis XIV took up residence it housed about 15,000 noblemen, servants, and hangers-on who moved in with Louis. Built between 1662 and 1690 it took 26,000 laborers and soldiers to construct. See the Grand Apartments, Hall of Mirrors, King’s and Queen’s suites, as well as many other sights.

This afternoon return to Paris and continue sightseeing on your own. Overnight in Paris.

Day 10: Paris - Amsterdam (B, D)

Depart this morning after breakfast and board your private coach for Amsterdam. Upon arrival, your coach will transfer you to your hotel. Amsterdam has a rich cultural heritage of museums, churches and the renowned Anne Frank’s House, immortalized by the poignant diary kept by the young Jewish girl from 1942 - 1944 when she and her family hid from the German occupying forces.

This afternoon, you will be met at your hotel by your guide who will take you on a walking tour through this graceful and elegant city. Tonight, you will have dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 11: Amsterdam (B)

This morning, board your coach after breakfast for your visit to the Dutch village of Volendam. In this quaint hamlet, you can learn how cheese and wooden clogs are made in the traditional Dutch technique.

This afternoon is free for you to explore Amsterdam on your own. You may choose to visit Anne Frank’s House. Later you may wish to visit the Rijksmuseum, a splendid red turreted building built in 1885. The Rijksmuseum is home to the world’s best collection of Dutch paintings from the 13th to the 19th century, the most famous being the Rembrandt.

Day 12: Amsterdam - Home (B)

Farewell Amsterdam and Europe! Transfer this morning after breakfast to the airport for your flight home arriving the same day.

Tour includes:

Return air
All return transfers and transfer to and from train station
10 nights hotel accommodation with private facilities – Students in triples and quads. Chaperone adults in twin bedded rooms.
Breakfast daily
5 dinners as shown
Guided sightseeing coach tour upon arrival in London and Paris
1 day Hop On Hop Off ticket in London
1 theatre ticket

Full day coach tour to Oxford & Stratford with entrance to Anne Hathaway’s cottage

Full day coach tour to Bath & Stonehenge with entrance to Stonehenge and Bath

Guided tour of Bath

Train between London and Paris

Guided walking tour of Paris and Amsterdam

One day Metropass in Paris

Half day guided excursion to Versailles with entrance to palace and gardens

Coach transfer between Paris and Amsterdam

Half day private coach visit to Volendam

Tips for drivers

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