Essential Europe from Globus

DAY 1 - ARRIVE ITALY

Welcome to Rome! At 5 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a welcome dinner with pasta and wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants.

DAY 2 - IN ROME

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, at the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. The rest of the day is free.

DAY 3 - TO FLORENCE

A pleasant drive through the Tuscan hills brings you to Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance.” Follow your Local Guide for a visit of the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David. Admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and visit sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Time to check out the enticing shops with Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry on Piazza Santa Croce before joining a PIZZA PARTY with wine at Finisterrae restaurant.

DAY 4 - TO VENICE

Arrive in Venice, city of romantics, and visit ST. MARK’S SQUARE and admire the Bridge of Sighs . Also watch a skilled GLASSBLOWER fashion delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then, you may wish to join an optional gondola ride. A PASTA DINNER with wine has been prepared for you at a Local restaurant, followed by an exciting ride by PRIVATE WATER-TAXI through the Grand Canal as a proper “Arrivederci” on your last night in Italy.

DAY 5 - TO LUCERNE

Leave the flat Po area and enter the Swiss Alps. Stop in the subtropical town of Bellinzona in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Enjoy a ride to the COURTYARD of Castelgrande. Then, Experience spectacular panoramic view and Light lunch with local specialties and  Merlot wine from famous Ticino area. Scenic Drive though Swiss alps and  .St. Gotthard on the way to picture-book Lucerne.

DAY 6 - IN LUCERNE

During your walking tour, admire Thorwaldsen’s emotional LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses lining the cobblestone streets of the Old Town. Cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. The rest of this afternoon and evening is free nut  Of course, you will taste CHOCOLATE PRALINES at Läderach Chocolatier Suisse, one of Switzerland’s most famous chocolate makers. Shop for Swiss watches or knives, and to make the most of your stay, choose from our optional activities: climb Mount Pilatus by cable car or take a cruise on the fjord-like lake.

DAY 7 - TO PARIS

Say “Auf Wiedersehen” in Basel and cross the border into France on High-speed TGV train.  An optional excursion to the Louvre Museum which is the world’s largest art museum and a historic monument and  one optional dinner with local specialties in one of Paris’ lively restaurants, followed by a drive through the “City of Light.”

DAY 8 - IN PARIS

In morning , you have free time in PARIS. Guided Sightseeing this afternoon includes orientation drive and seine river cruise. An optional excursion is available to the lavish baroque Palace and Gardens of Versailles and also for For a bird’s-eye view, take the elevator to the second floor of Paris’ most famous landmark: the EIFFEL TOWER. Tonight, an evening out for farewell dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge may be the best way to say, “Au revoir, Paris.”

DAY 9 -PARIS

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.

HIGHLIGHTS

ROME
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum

FLORENCE
Guided walking tour, visit Michelangelo’s David and Signoria Square; pizza party at Finisterrae restaurant

VENICE
Visit St. Mark’s Square; glassblower demonstration; pasta dinner at Rossopomodoro restaurant, private water-taxi ride through the Grand Canal

LUGANO
Visit the subtropical town

LUCERNE
Walking tour including the Lion Monument and the Chapel Bridge; taste Swiss chocolate pralines

PARIS
Guided sightseeing, ascend the Eiffel Tower

Headsets throughout the tour
NOTES:
In the rare event that the Eurostar train is unavailable, alternative services will be provided.
For operational reasons, slight schedule changes to the Paris program cannot be excluded.