Insight Vacations European Fall Winter and Spring - TPI Worldwide

WinterspotlightTour Pace - There will be a few early starts ondriving days in order to cover the required distancesbetween hotels. From Venice onwards, however,this tour travels at a more relaxing pace with twonights stays in each location.Hotels - Enjoy views over Amsterdam from thecontemporary Movenpick City Centre. The PullmanParis Bercy is also modern and stylish. Contrast thiswith the historic Boscolo Hotel Bellini, set in a formerVenetian palace overlooking the Grand Canal.Fellow Passengers - This tour appeals tothose with limited vacation time, who wish toexperience the winter highlights of a good crosssectionof northern and central Europe. Enjoy thefestive spirit on Christmas market departures.Highlights - Follow European history fromthe Romans in Verona, to the story of ‘OperationMarket Garden’ during WWII. Contrast the canals ofAmsterdam with those of Venice, and the snowyAlpine scenery with city views from the Eiffel Tower!Eiffel Tower, ParisDAY 1 – DEPART CANADA. Overnight flight to London.DAY 2 – ARRIVE LONDON. Welcome to London! There are transfers from the airport to thetour hotel. After checking into your hotel, the afternoon is yours to relax. Hotel: Thistle Marble Arch.DAY 3 – LONDON SIGHTSEEING. Get acquainted with London on your half day sightseeingtour. Drive through London’s West End seeing Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square,Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (BB)fff10-11DAY 4 – LONDON – AMSTERDAM. After a warm welcome from your Tour Director, departLondon for the white cliffs of Dover. Board your ferry bound for Calais, where your luxury touring coachawaits. Continue northwards through Belgium into the Netherlands. See the first windmills on your wayto lively Amsterdam, with its hundreds of tree-lined canals. An orientation tour shows you the RoyalPalace and Mint Tower. Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Drink before a wonderful dinner of local specialtieson a floating restaurant. Hotel: Movenpick City Centre. (CB,HD)DAY 5 – AMSTERDAM – HEIDELBERG. Drive past the infamous town of Arnhem thismorning before crossing into Germany. In the thriving commercial city of Cologne, view the superb Gothiccathedral with its soaring spires and fine windows. Continue alongside the Rhine via Bonn, birthplace ofBeethoven, to the scenic Rhine Gorge, where you embark on a cruise past half-timbered villages andturreted castles perched high above terraced vineyards. Now on to your hotel in the ‘Student Prince’ townof Heidelberg, dominated by its red sandstone castle. Hotel: Best Western Leonardo. (BB,D)DAY 6 – HEIDELBERG – INNSBRUCK. Today your route skirts the northern Black Forestand passes Ulm, home to the world's highest church spire. At the base of the Bavarian Alps, stopto admire King Ludwig's fabulous fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein. Continue through rollingcountryside to Oberammergau, where each decade, the villagers present the Passion Play - a promisethat has been carried out for over 370 years. Then past Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the Austrianfrontier and on to lively Innsbruck. Walk with your Tour Director past the narrow arcades and gabledshop fronts of the Old Town to see the Golden Roof. Hotel: Hilton. (BB,D)DAY 7 – INNSBRUCK – VENICE. Before leaving Innsbruck, visit the superb rococo WiltenBasilica - its interior richly decorated with cherubs and angels. Now the superb Europa Bridge ferriesyou over the valley of the Sill River towards the Italian border. In Verona, home of the legendaryRomeo and Juliet, stop to see the maze of elegant squares, the Roman Arena and to glimpse theCapulet House with its famous balcony. Stay tonight amid the palaces, shops, restaurants and canalsof romantic Venice. Hotel: Boscolo Bellini. (BB,D)DAY 8 – 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 ofSighs, named in the 19th century by Lord Byron, to reach St Mark's Square, dominated by itsmagnificently decorated Basilica, and overlooked by the great Clock Tower where bronze Moors beatout the hours on a huge bell. After a demonstration of Venetian glass-blowing there is time to shopor explore at your own pace. (BB)DAY 9 – VENICE – LUCERNE. Cross some of the richest farmlands in Europe today as youtravel through northern Italy. Glimpse the beautiful Italian Lake District as you pass Lake Como toenter Switzerland. Continue into the heart of the Swiss Alps, through the St Gotthard Tunnel, thenalongside towering mountains and past rushing torrents, down to Lake Lucerne. Tonight you may wishto experience a fondue party and folklor e evening? Hotel: Astoria. (BB)DAY 10 – LUCERNE SIGHTSEEING. A full day to enjoy this beautiful city with its coveredwooden bridges, painted gables, medieval fortifications, Lion Monument, baroque church, lake-sidewalks and excellent shops. Later, take a spectacular cable-car ride up to the the summit of MountPilatus for snow-capped views and true Alpine majesty. (BB,D)DAY 11 – LUCERNE – PARIS. Travel into France and continue through the wine area of Burgundyto reach glittering Paris. Tonight, perhaps sample some French cuisine? Hotel: Pullman Paris Bercy. (BB)DAY 12 – PARIS SIGHTSEEING. Your guided sightseeing tour shows you Notre DameCathedral and the immense façades of the Louvre. Drive through the Place de la Concorde and alongthe elegant Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Your tour culminates with an ascent of thefamous Eiffel Tower for spectacular panoramas over the city! This afternoon is free for shopping ormore sightseeing? (BB)DAY 13 – RETURN TO CANADA. Transfer to Charles de Gaulle Airport this morning. (BB)