TRIP OVERVIEW

Discover Europe on this vacation with your family! Start in Rome with a welcome dinner, then enjoy sightseeing with a Local Guide featuring visits to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, where you get a family picture with a gladiator (if available). Next, travel to Florence and follow your Local Guide to visit the Academy of Fine Arts with Michelangelo’s celebrated David, admire the cathedral, and sculpture-studded Signoria Square. Tonight, enjoy a festive pizza party at a local restaurant to see how they are made! In Venice, ride a private boat to St. Mark’s Square and admire the basilica, the Clock Tower, Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. The highlight is a unique experience: create your own Venetian mask! Enjoy a pasta dinner at a local restaurant. Next, travel via Lake Maggiore and Stresa to the Swiss Alps. Ride a mountain train to car-free Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn. You may wish to join an optional ride up the open-air railway on Gornergrat Mountain before continuing to Lausanne at Lake Geneva for your overnight stay. Next, a ride on the famous high-speed “TGV” train to Paris. In Paris, visits to the top of the Eiffel Tower and to Notre Dame Cathedral are included, and your 3-night stay allows the possibility to join a full-day optional excursion to Euro Disney. On the last evening enjoy a farewell dinner in a local restaurant to celebrate the success of an unforgettable vacation!!

SIGHTSEEING HIGHLIGHTS

ROME: Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum, and Roman Forum; family picture with a gladiator (if available)
FLORENCE: Guided sightseeing including headsets, visit the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michelangelo’s David, admire the cathedral and Signoria Square; pizza party at a local restaurant
VENICE: Private boat ride; Venetian Carnival mask making; orientation including St. Mark’s Square; pasta dinner at a local restaurant
ZERMATT: Mountain train; orientation
LAUSANNE–PARIS: By “TGV” train
PARIS: Ascend the Eiffel Tower to the top floor; guided sightseeing, visit Notre Dame; farewell dinner at a local restaurant

WHAT'S INCLUDED

-MEALS: 9 buffet breakfasts (BB); 5 dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Rome, a pizza party in Florence, a pasta dinner in Venice, and a farewell dinner in Paris.
-AIRPORT TRANSFERS Airport transfers may be included when you make your flight arrangements with the tour company
-INSIDE VISITS are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges when applicable
-Hotel Accommodations Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges, and tips for baggage handling
ROME Villa Pamphili (F), FLORENCE Holiday Inn (F), VENICE Novotel Castellana (F) at Mestre, ZERMATT Ambassador (F), LAUSANNE Alpha Palmiers (F), PARIS Pullman Porte de Sèvres (F)
-Professional Tour Director while touring, cruise director on River cruises, host services on Independent Vacations, and 50 hosts in London alone to assist you at airports and hotels
-Private deluxe motorcoach with air-conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom while touring
-Travel bag and travel documents

TOUR ITINERARY
Day 1
(Sun.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 Arrive in Rome
(Mon.) Time to rest or start exploring the “Eternal City.” At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a special welcome dinner at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 3 Discover Ancient Rome & the Vatican
(Tue.) Morning sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world-famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit one of the New 7 Wonders of the World®, the COLOSSEUM. Here, you’ll learn about life as a gladiator and get a FAMILY PICTURE WITH A GLADIATOR (if available). Finish your tour at the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. Afternoon at leisure. Your Tour Director will have suggestions for exciting optional excursions. (BB)

Day 4 Explore Renaissance Florence & See the Famous David
(Wed.) This morning, drive north to Florence, cradle of the Renaissance. Follow your Local Guide to visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpturestudded SIGNORIA SQUARE. In the afternoon, time to check out the enticing shops with Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry. Tonight, enjoy a festive PIZZA PARTY at a local restaurant where an Italian chef demonstrates just how Italian pizzas are made! (BB,D)

Day 5 Cruise Venice’s Canals & Create Your Own Venetian Mask
(Thu.) Drive across the Apennine Hills and through the plains of the mighty River Po to Venice. Enter the city in style by PRIVATE BOAT. Enjoy a unique experience: create your own VENETIAN CARNIVAL MASK. Then walk through narrow streets along the canals and across scenic bridges to ST. MARK’S SQUARE with its byzantine Basilica. Take pictures of the Clock Tower, lavish Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Free time to wander at whim or join an optional gondola serenade. A PASTA DINNER at a local restaurant is included. (BB,D)

Day 6 Journey through the Lake District to the Swiss Alps
(Fri.) Travel past Romeo and Juliet’s Verona and past Milan to Lake Maggiore. Stop in Stresa and explore its little streets, then continue over the impressive Simplon Pass reaching the Swiss Valais renowned for its famous mountain resorts. In Täsch, board the COG RAIL MOUNTAIN TRAIN to climb the last few miles up to the picturesque village of Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn
Matterhorn. (BB)

Day 7 Admire the Matterhorn
(Sat.) With free time in Zermatt this morning, you may choose to take an optional excursion up Europe’s highest open-air railway on Gornergrat Mountain to experience incomparable panoramic views of Switzerland’s loftiest peaks, including the famed Matterhorn. In the late afternoon, continue to Lake Geneva for an overnight in Lausanne, home to the International Olympic Committee. (BB,D)

Day 8 Ride the Famous “TGV” Train to Paris
(Sun.) Depart for Paris this morning on board the famous high-speed “TGV” TRAIN. Upon arrival in Paris, ride the elevators to the top of the EIFFEL TOWER and enjoy spectacular views of the city. This evening, why not take part in an optional dinner experience at a Parisian restaurant followed by an illumination drive? (BB)

Day 9 Discover the “City of Light” & Visit Notre Dame
(Mon.) This morning, explore the world capital of chic and style with a Local Guide and admire its most famous sights: the Opéra, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, and visit NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL. Afternoon and evening at leisure. An optional excursion to the Louvre Museum is available. (BB)

Day 10 At Leisure in Paris
(Tue.) Today is at leisure for exploration on your own, or consider an excursion to Disneyland Paris. Tonight, a farewell dinner has been included at a local restaurant to celebrate the success of your European vacation. (BB,D)

Day 11 Depart Paris
(Wed.) Your homebound flight from Paris arrives the same day. (BB)

DATES & RATES

US$ Price Details

• Applicable air fare taxes and fees

• Single room supplement: $508

• Triple room reduction: $37

• Extra nights per person in Rome:
  Mar.-Apr.: in single room $212, in twin room $155, in triple room $123
  Jun.-Aug.: in single room $225, in twin room $165, in triple room $132

• Extra nights per person in Paris:
  Mar.-Apr.: in single room $218, in twin room $129, in triple room $115
  Jun.Aug.: in single room $248, in twin room $137, in triple room $124

• Extra nights per person in London:
  Mar-Apr.: in single room $155, in twin room $95, in triple room $85
  Jun.-Aug.: in single room $245, in twin room $173, in triple room $160

• Child discounts apply when they are the third traveler sharing a triple accommodation. For children aged 8-11: $1140, aged 12-17; $570. Young travelers who do not meet the above accommodation requirements are eligible for a discount of $228.

• Young travelers who do not meet the above accommodation requirements are eligible for a discount of $228.