European Charm & Oberammergau 2010

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

Day 2 - Arrival in Amsterdam, Holland.
(Mon.) The day is free to rest or to start exploring the Dutch capital. At 6 pm, meet your traveling companions and Tour Director for a welcome dinner at your hotel. (D)

Day 3 - Amsterdam.
(Tue.) Your guided sightseeing tour features a CANAL CRUISE past patrician mansions and humpback bridges. Next, visit a major DIAMOND CENTER. Later, maybe an optional excursion to Volendam? (B)

Day 4 - Amsterdam-Heidelberg, Germany-Rhineland.
(Wed.) Via the Dutch region best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far to Cologne. Visit the awesome twin-spired gothic CATHEDRAL. Then enjoy a romantic RHINE CRUISE past castle-crested cliffs and terraced vineyards. Arrive in Heidelberg, famous for its castle. (B,D)

Day 5 - Rhineland-Rothenburg-Munich.
(Thu.) Enjoy a leisurely morning break on the Romantic Road in spectacular Rothenburg with its ramparts and towers, cobbled lanes, and 16th century houses. South towards the Danube Valley and Munich, Germany’s “secret capital.” How about an optional outing to the famous Hofbräuhaus tonight? (B)

Day 6 - Munich-Oberammergau.
(Fri.) Your morning orientation features the Olympic Stadium, the 1,000-foot-high Television Tower, and a picture stop at Nymphenburg Palace. Next, visit Munich’s most famous square, MARIENPLATZ with the Old and the New Town Halls, and the gothic Frauenkirche. Then into the Bavarian Alps to picturesque Oberammergau for the highlight of this vacation: the original PASSION PLAY, held every 10 years, and performed by the residents of Oberammergau. (B,L,D).

Day 7 - Oberammergau-Innsbruck, Austria-Venice, Italy.
(Sat.) Morning break in Innsbruck, capital of the Austrian Tyrol. Stroll through quaint medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. Continue south on the spectacular Brenner Pass road across the mighty barrier of the Tyrolean Alps into Italy to Venice, the celebrated “Pearl of the Adriatic.” Tonight, enjoy the city’s fine restaurants. (BB)

Day 8 - Venice.
(Sun.) Enter Venice in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE, the Clock Tower, and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASS BLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then, enjoy Venice at your own pace or join an optional gondola ride. (B,D)

Day 9 - Venice-Lugano, Switzerland-Lucerne.
(Mon.) Pass the commercial capital of Milan into Italian-speaking southern Switzerland with a stop in subtropical Lugano. Admire the towering majesty of the Swiss Alps and St. Gotthard on the way to picture-book Lucerne. Enjoy a walking tour to admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses of the Old Town, then, cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Why not sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing for a first-hand impression of Alpine merrymaking? (B)

Day 10 - Lucerne-Montreux.
(Tue.) Morning at leisure. Time to shop for Swiss watches and join an optional excursion to the top of a mountain. Later in the afternoon, a smooth drive brings you to Lake Geneva and Montreux of festival fame. Take pictures of the Festival Hall. (B,D)

Day 11 - Montreux-Lausanne-Paris, France.
(Wed.) A short drive to Lausanne, home to the International Olympic Committee, where you board the high-speed “TGV” TRAIN to Paris. On arrival, sightseeing with a Local Guide features the most famous sights: the Opéra, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Notre Dame Cathedral, and more. For a bird’s-eye view, take the elevator to the second floor of Paris’ most famous landmark, the EIFFEL TOWER. (B)

Day 12 - At Leisure in Paris.
(Thu.) Another day to enjoy what this extraordinary metropolis has to offer. Shop for perfume and fancy fashion accessories, or take your pick from many fine museums Optional excursions are available to the Louvre Museum and the lavish baroque Palace of Versailles. Tonight maybe a lively cabaret show? (B)

Day 13
(Fri.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)

• Amsterdam: Welcome dinner; guided sightseeing, canal cruise; visit a major diamond center
• Cologne: Visit the cathedral
• Rhine Cruise
• Heidelberg: Take pictures of the castle
• Rothenburg: Walking tour of the walled town
• Munich: Orientation including Marienplatz
• Garmisch: Excursion to King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle and Passion Play town of Oberammergau
• Innsbruck: Walk through the Old Town to the Golden Roof
• Cortina: Panoramic view of the Olympic town
• Venice: Private boat ride; guided walking tour including headsets, visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs; glassblowers’ demonstration
• Lugano: Visit the subtropical town
• Lucerne: Walking tour including the Lion Monument and the Chapel Bridge
• Montreux: Take pictures of the Festival Hall
• Lausanne-Paris: By “TGV” train (first-class)
• Paris: Guided sightseeing, ascend the Eiffel Tower
• Oberammergau:Passion Play

This vacation consists almost entirely of two-night stays in a variety of famous European cities and picturesque towns. Your grand European trip begins in Amsterdam with a guided sightseeing tour and a canal cruise. Cruise the Rhine River past castle-crested cliffs, terraced vineyards, and trim, half-timbered towns. Stop in Cologne and Heidelberg, medieval Rothenburg, and Munich. Your orientation tour in Munich includes Marienplatz with the Old and New Town Hall. Travel into the Bavarian Alps to the Passion Play village of Oberammergau. Surrounded by majestic mountains and picturesque meadows, Oberammergau is famous for its Passion Play performed by locals just once a decade to fulfill the town’s promise to God in exchange for protection from the Black Death. Seeing the Passion Play is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you don’t want to miss!

Drive through the Alps via Innsbruck to Venice, where your sightseeing tour includes St. Mark’s Basilica and Doges’ Palace with its Bridge of Sighs. Then, enter Switzerland and stop in Italian-speaking Lugano before arriving in German-speaking Lucerne, where you can roam its medieval streets. Next is French-speaking Montreux of festival fame for an overnight stay. Travel to Lausanne and board the high-speed “TGV” train to Paris, where a guided sightseeing tour and visit to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower are included. A lively optional cabaret show in Paris may be the perfect ending to your European vacation.

• Buffet breakfast daily (B); 5 three-course dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Amsterdam
• Inside visits and special features shown in UPPERCASE in the tour itinerary, including admission charges where applicable
• Professional Tour Director, Local Hosts, and Local Guides
• Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges and tips for baggage handing
• Private deluxe motorcoach with air conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom while touring
• Globus travel bag and travel documents

Amsterdam: NH Carlton (F)
Rhineland: Holiday Inn City Centre (F) at Mannheim
Munich: Sheraton Munich Westpark (F)
Oberammergau: Böld (F)
Venice: Ambasciatori (F) at Mestre
Lucerne: Royal (F)
Montreux: Eurotel Riviera (F)
Paris: Concorde Montparnasse (F)

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land prices are guaranteed. Whenever air-inclusive tour prices are displayed, these prices do not include government taxes and fees, which are additional. Air prices are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Air-inclusive prices include air from a major U.S. gateway; air from other U.S. airports is available at an additional cost. Sorry, we are unable to offer air from countries other than the U.S. However, for those international customers who are able to arrange their own transportation to the tour origination city, we are able to offer the land portion of the package or tour, at the price quoted.