Continental Introduction (HY) Tour

Welcome to Paris! At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a [LF] special welcome dinner with wine, followed by a CRUISE on the Seine River for a first impression of this splendid city.

Morning guided sightseeing features Paris’ main highlights, like the Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Champs-Elysées, and more. For a panoramic view, take the elevator to the second floor of the EIFFEL TOWER. Choose from our optional excursions: the lavish Palace and Gardens of Versailles, and tonight, dinner and a show at the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret as a proper “Au revoir, Paris.”

Drive past Fontainebleau Forest and enter Burgundy. Enjoy views of impressive castles and vineyards on your way to the Swiss Alps. In picture-book Lucerne, admire Thorwaldsen’s emotional LION MONUMENT, dedicated to the fallen Swiss Guards who protected the Royal House of France at the time of the French Revolution, then walk through the Old Town and cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church.

Morning at leisure. Why not climb Mount Pilatus? Later, admire the towering majesty of the Swiss Alps and St. Gotthard on the way to subtropical Lugano in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. To truly appreciate splendid Lake Lugano, an exciting optional boat cruise is available, followed by dinner at a traditional “grotto” restaurant.

Pass the commercial capital of Milan and turn towards the Mediterranean Sea. Arrive in Pisa, and marvel at its amazing Leaning Tower. In nearby Florence, enjoy time to explore the many gold and leather shops on Piazza Santa Croce before joining your [LF] special dinner with Tuscan specialties and wine at restaurant Finisterrae.

Your guided walking tour features a visit to Michelangelo’s celebrated David in the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS. Also admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and visit sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Continue to the “Eternal City.”

Enjoy Globus’ unique guided sightseeing, including inside visits to all highlights of religious and ancient Rome: the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL with Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment, monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA to admire Michelangelo’s Pietà, the amazing COLOSSEUM, and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. To make the most of your stay, join our optional walking tour to see the Spanish Steps, and the sites and squares of medieval Rome made famous in the movie Angels & Demons.

In Ferrara, walk through impressive Este Castle to the marble cathedral and browse the attractive little shops. Tonight, in Venice, why not try out local specialties at one of the city’s fine restaurants.

Enter Venice in style by PRIVATE BOAT. Highlights of your walking tour with a Local Guide are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and its basilica, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Enjoy a GLASSBLOWER DEMONSTRATION. Afternoon at leisure; you may wish to join an optional gondola serenade.

Across spectacular Brenner Pass, through the Tyrolean Alps to Innsbruck, where a pleasant stroll through quaint medieval lanes takes you to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Continue to Munich, Germany’s “Secret Capital.” Visit MARIENPLATZ with its Old and New Town Halls. Highlight is a visit to [LF] the famous HOFBRÄUHAUS, dating back to 1589. Free time for dinner before going to your hotel.

Marvel at the Olympic Stadium and its 1,000-foot-high Television Tower. Continue through the Swabian Jura and part of the Romantic Road to picturesque Rothenburg for a walk through this walled town, famous for Christmas ornaments.

Admire castle-crested hills and terraced vineyards during a romantic RHINE CRUISE [LF] while enjoying Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake). Then, a comfortable drive brings you to Amsterdam, capital of Holland.

See the main sights of the 700-year-old capital with a Local Guide, like the Royal Palace, Mint Tower, the original Heineken Brewery, the Rijksmuseum, and more. Highlight is a leisurely CANAL CRUISE along the patrician mansions and gabled façades. Also visit a major DIAMOND CENTER. Later, you may wish to join an optional excursion to visit a cheese farm, a clog maker, and a working windmill, followed by dinner in the pretty fishing village of Volendam—the best way to say “Tot Ziens” to Holland.

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.