Tour Pace - There will be a few early starts on driving days in order to cover the required distances between hotels. From Venice onwards, however, this tour travels at a more relaxing pace with two nights stays in each location.

Fellow Passengers - This tour appeals to those with limited vacation time, who wish to experience the winter highlights of a good cross-section of northern and central Europe. Enjoy the festive spirit on Christmas market departures.

Departure Dates & Rates

Itinerary:

DAY 1 – LONDON – AMSTERDAM
After a warm welcome from your Tour Director at the Thistle Marble Arch hotel, leave London for the white cliffs of Dover. Board your ferry bound for Calais, where your luxury touring coach awaits. Continue northwards through Belgium into the Netherlands to reach lively Amsterdam, with its hundreds of tree-lined canals. An orientation tour shows you the Royal Palace and Mint Tower. Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Drink before a wonderful dinner of local specialties on a floating restaurant.
Hotel: Movenpick City Centre. (HD)

DAY 2 – AMSTERDAM – HEIDELBERG
Drive past the infamous town of Arnhem this morning before crossing into Germany. In the thriving commercial city of Cologne, view the superb Gothic cathedral with its soaring spires and fine windows. Continue alongside the Rhine via Bonn, birthplace of Beethoven, to the scenic Rhine Gorge, where you embark on a cruise past half-timbered villages and turreted castles perched high above terraced vineyards. Now on to your hotel in the ‘Student Prince’ town of Heidelberg, dominated by its red sandstone castle.
Hotel: Best Western Leonardo. (BB,D)

DAY 3 – HEIDELBERG – INNSBRUCK
Today your route skirts the northern Black Forest and passes Ulm, home to the world's highest church spire. At the base of the Bavarian Alps, stop to admire King Ludwig's fabulous fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein. Continue through rolling countryside to Oberammergau, where each decade, the villagers present the Passion Play - a promise that has been carried out for over 370 years. Then past Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the Austrian frontier and on to lively Innsbruck. Walk with your Tour Director past the narrow arcades and gabled shop fronts of the Old Town to see the Golden Roof.
Hotel: Hilton. (BB,D)

DAY 4 – INNSBRUCK – VENICE
Before leaving Innsbruck, visit the superb rococo Wilten Basilica - its interior richly decorated with cherubs and angels. Now the superb Europa Bridge ferries you over the valley of the Sill River towards the Italian border. In Verona, home of the legendary Romeo and Juliet, stop to see the maze of elegant squares, the Roman Arena and to glimpse the Capulet House with its famous balcony. Stay tonight amid the palaces, shops, restaurants and canals of romantic Venice.
Hotel: Boscolo Bellini. (BB,D)

DAY 5 – VENICE SIGHTSEEING
Sightseeing by private launch on Venice's watery 'streets' reveals canals lined with ornate palaces - memories of a golden age now finished. Pass the Bridge of Sighs, named in the 19th century by Lord Byron, to reach St Mark's Square, dominated by its magnificently decorated Basilica, and overlooked by the great Clock Tower where bronze Moors beat out the hours on a huge bell. After a demonstration of Venetian glass-blowing there is time to shop or explore at your own pace. (BB)

DAY 6 – VENICE – LUCERNE
Cross some of the richest farmlands in Europe today as you travel through northern Italy. Glimpse the beautiful Italian Lake District as you pass Lake Como to enter Switzerland. Continue into the heart of the Swiss Alps, through the St Gotthard Tunnel, then alongside towering mountains and past rushing torrents, down to Lake Lucerne. Tonight you may wish to experience a fondue party and folklore evening?
Hotel: Astoria. (BB)

DAY 7 – LUCERNE SIGHTSEEING
A full day to enjoy 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 the summit of Mount Pilatus for snow-capped views and true Alpine majesty. (BB,D)

DAY 8 – LUCERNE – PARIS
Travel into France and continue through the wine area of Burgundy to reach glittering Paris. Tonight, perhaps sample some French cuisine?
Hotel: Pullman Paris Bercy. (BB)

DAY 9 – PARIS SIGHTSEEING
Your guided sightseeing tour shows you Notre Dame Cathedral and the immense façades of the Louvre. Drive through the Place de la Concorde and along the elegant Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Your tour culminates with an ascent of the famous Eiffel Tower for spectacular panoramas over the city! This afternoon is free for shopping or more sightseeing? (BB)

DAY 10 – PARIS – LONDON
This morning cross the battlefields of WW1 en route to Calais. Sail back across the channel to Dover and return to London where your tour comes to an end. (BB)