Grand Europe: 10 Countries in 21 Days

Every part can be changed to suit your group.

1. Day 1-2 Amsterdam

   Arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol and meet your tour leader, who stays with you for all three weeks. After check-in near the canal ring, take an evening boat cruise along the Herengracht and Prinsengracht, when the bridges are lit and the gabled merchant houses are reflected in the water. The next morning visit the Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt's Night Watch, or the Anne Frank House with tickets booked in advance. In the afternoon the coach takes you to Zaanse Schans, a village of green wooden houses and working windmills, where you watch a clog maker at work and taste Gouda cheese straight from the farm. Welcome dinner with the group.

   
2. Day 3 Bruges and Brussels

   The coach drives south into Belgium to Bruges, a medieval town of canals, brick gables and quiet courtyards. Take a short boat ride through the centre, walk past the Belfry on the market square and taste Belgian chocolate in one of the family shops. In the afternoon continue to Brussels. Your guide shows you the Grand-Place, often called the most beautiful square in the world, with its gilded guild houses and Gothic town hall, and the little Manneken Pis statue around the corner. Dinner is a Belgian classic: steamed mussels with fries and a local beer, followed by a waffle if you still have room.

   
3. Day 4-5 Paris

   A morning drive through northern France brings you to Paris. In the afternoon your guide introduces the city along the Seine: Notre-Dame and the Latin Quarter, the Louvre with its glass pyramid, the Tuileries Garden and the Place de la Concorde. Walk up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe and, in the evening, ride up the Eiffel Tower for the view over the lights of Paris. The next day is yours: visit the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, join the optional excursion to the Palace of Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors, or explore Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur. End with a cruise on the Seine.

   
4. Day 6-7 Lucerne

   Drive east through Burgundy and the Jura hills into Switzerland and arrive in Lucerne, a medieval town on a lake surrounded by mountains. Walk across the wooden Chapel Bridge with its painted panels and see the Lion Monument carved into the rock. The next day is dedicated to the Alps: take the rotating cable car up Mount Titlis to the glacier, with a cave of ice and the highest suspension bridge in Europe, or ride the world's steepest cogwheel railway up Mount Pilatus. On a clear day you see dozens of snowy peaks. In the evening enjoy a Swiss fondue in the old town.

   
5. Day 8-9 Venice

   The coach crosses the Alps via the Gotthard and continues past Lake Lugano and through the Po valley to Venice. A water bus takes you down the Grand Canal past marble palaces to St. Mark's Square. With your guide you visit St. Mark's Basilica with its golden mosaics and the Doge's Palace, connected to the old prison by the Bridge of Sighs. In the evening glide through the quiet canals by gondola. The next day take a boat across the lagoon to Murano, where glassblowers shape molten glass, and to Burano, an island of brightly painted fishermen's houses. Free afternoon to get lost in the lanes.

   
6. Day 10 Florence

   Cross the Apennines to Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. Your guide shows you the cathedral with Brunelleschi's red dome, Giotto's bell tower and the baptistery doors, then the Piazza della Signoria with its statues and the Ponte Vecchio lined with goldsmiths. In the afternoon see Michelangelo's David in the Accademia Gallery or the paintings of Botticelli in the Uffizi, both with reserved tickets. At sunset drive up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for the classic view over the red roofs of Florence and the hills of Tuscany. Dinner in a trattoria with Florentine steak or ribollita soup.

   
7. Day 11-12 Rome

   Two days in Rome, the Eternal City. With skip-the-line tickets you visit the Colosseum, where 50,000 spectators once watched gladiators, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. In the evening walk to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The next morning starts early in the Vatican Museums, with the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, followed by St. Peter's Basilica and Michelangelo's Pietà. The afternoon is free for shopping near the Spanish Steps or a gelato in Trastevere, where the group meets for a lively dinner on the cobbled lanes.

   
8. Day 13 Innsbruck

   A long but beautiful day: the coach drives north through Italy, past Verona and up the Brenner Pass into Austria. Arrive in Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol, surrounded by high mountains on every side. Walk through the old town to the Golden Roof, covered with 2,657 gilded copper tiles, and the Imperial Palace. If the weather is clear, take the modern funicular and cable car from the city centre up the Nordkette to 2,256 metres for a view over the Inn valley. Dinner with Tyrolean specialities such as dumplings and Kaiserschmarrn.

   
9. Day 14-15 Vienna

   Through Salzburg, with a short stop at Mozart's birthplace and the Mirabell Gardens, to Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg emperors. Your guide shows you the Ring Boulevard with the State Opera and Parliament, the Hofburg palace and St. Stephen's Cathedral. The next day visit Schönbrunn Palace, the summer residence of Empress Sisi, with its state rooms and gardens, then enjoy a Melange coffee and Sachertorte in a classic coffee house. In the evening you may attend a concert of Mozart and Strauss, or have dinner at a Heuriger wine tavern in the vineyards at the edge of the city.

   
10. Day 16-17 Budapest

    A short drive along the Danube brings you to Budapest. Walk up to the Buda Castle district with Matthias Church and the white towers of the Fisherman's Bastion, which offers the best view of the Parliament across the river. Cross to Pest for St. Stephen's Basilica and the Great Market Hall. The next day is about relaxation: spend the afternoon in the Széchenyi thermal baths, where outdoor pools at 38°C steam in a neo-baroque palace. In the evening take a cruise on the Danube past the illuminated Parliament, Chain Bridge and Buda Castle. Dinner with goulash and Hungarian wine.

    
11. Day 18 Prague

    North through Slovakia to Prague, the city of a hundred spires. Your guide leads you up through the Lesser Town to Prague Castle, the largest castle complex in the world, with St. Vitus Cathedral and the colourful Golden Lane. Walk across the Charles Bridge among baroque statues and street musicians to the Old Town Square, where the Astronomical Clock shows the twelve apostles every hour. In the evening enjoy Czech roast pork with dumplings and a fresh Pilsner in a traditional beer hall, or a quiet walk along the Vltava river.

    
12. Day 19 Berlin

    The coach continues north into Germany and reaches Berlin in the early afternoon. Your guide tells the story of the divided city at the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag with its glass dome, the Holocaust Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie. See the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining piece of the Wall, painted by artists from around the world. In the evening walk along Unter den Linden and through the lively streets around Hackescher Markt. After two weeks of travel through ten countries, Berlin gives the journey a moving and modern chapter.

    
13. Day 20 Rhine Valley

    A drive west across Germany brings you to the Rhine Valley, a UNESCO landscape of steep vineyards and castles. Board a boat in Boppard and cruise through the most beautiful stretch of the river, past the Marksburg, the Cat and Mouse castles and the Lorelei rock. In Rüdesheim take the cable car over the vineyards to the Niederwald Monument for a view of the river bend. The farewell dinner is in the lively Drosselgasse, with Riesling wine, live music and time to share memories of three weeks across Europe.

    
14. Day 21 Departure

    After breakfast the coach takes you to Frankfurt Airport, about one hour from Rüdesheim, for your flight home. If your flight leaves in the evening, we can stop at the Römerberg in Frankfurt's old town for a last look at the half-timbered houses and a final apple wine. Three weeks, ten countries and countless memories: from the canals of Amsterdam to the Colosseum, from the Alps to the Danube. Our team in Germany stays in touch after the trip, and many of our guests come back to explore one region in more depth.