France, Switzerland and Italy

Day 1 – Depart

Board your flight to adventure.

Day 2 – Paris

Bon jour! Bienvenue en France! Your guide waits to escort you on a Paris City Tour. Discover the magic of the City of Light. See the symbol of France, the Eiffel Tower, the historic Latin Quarter, the world-famous Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Then visit the home of Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo, the Gothic masterpiece, Notre Dame Cathedral. Tour the Louvre, the largest museum in the world, housing such masterpieces as the exquisite Venus de Milo and da Vinci’s smiling Mona Lisa. Option: Enjoy a Bateaux Mouche cruise on the romantic Seine. View the monuments of France from a unique perspective as you take in the brilliance of the lights of Paris after nightfall. There is no better way to see the famous sights of Paris and her beautiful skyline, boulevards and bridges. Sail past the Eiffel Tower, the Trocadero, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Palais du Tokyo, the Pont Alexandre III, the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, and the Petit Pont, the smallest bridge in the city. Glide between Ile de la Cite and the Ile St. Louis and be sure to make a wish as you pass under Pont Marie, it’s guaranteed to come true!

Day 3 – Paris

Visit the palace of Versailles, home of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Stroll through the opulent galleries and sumptuous gardens to see the splendor in which royalty once lived. Don’t miss the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I. Option: Dine in artistic Montmartre, nestled in the shadow of Sacré-Cœur and the Moulin Rouge.

Day 4 – Montreux

Travel by coach to the Swiss city of Montreux on beautiful Lake Geneva. The resort stretches along the shore of a great bay, and is surrounded by woods and vineyards. Its sumptuous palaces and Edwardian hotels are reminiscent of the French Riviera. Option: Journey on the high-speed TGV train and enjoy extra time for sight-seeing.

Day 5 – Florence

Enjoy an excursion to the Castle of Chillon, made famous by Lord Byron in his poem The Prisoner of Chillon. Then travel through the snow-capped Swiss Alps to Florence, Italy.

Day 6 – Florence

Explore the capital of the Renaissance on a Florence City Tour. See the Church of San Lorenzo, the Piazza del Duomo with its cathedral and baptistery, the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia. Also visit the Accademia with Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, David. Then travel to Pisa to view the world famous disaster-in-waiting, the Leaning Tower.

Day 7 – Rome

Journey to Rome via Orvieto, where you will take a funicular up the hillside to visit its cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo, a magnificent example of Gothic architecture.

Day 8 – Rome

This morning you will take a Rome City Tour to see Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill, the Arch of Constantine, and visit the Colosseum, the Piazza Venezia, and Capitoline Hill with its view of the Roman Forum. Leave Italy behind as you cross the Tiber and enter the independent city-state of the Vatican. Visit amazing St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world. From St. Peter’s, continue to the Vatican Museum. Amidst the impressive work is the Sistine Chapel’s vault by Michelangelo, perhaps the greatest work of art from the Renaissance. This evening, enjoy a Walking Tour with your courier to the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Piazza Navona and the Piazza di Trevi with the famous Trevi Fountain. Be sure to toss in a coin in the fountain to guarantee your return to Roma.

Day 9 – Depart

Return home with a greater appreciation of Europe, its historical treasures and diverse cultures.

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