ESSENTIAL EUROPE - 2010

12 days incl. travel, or 11 days from Rome to London (HF)

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Vacation Overview

This is one of our most popular Europe vacations. See the best of Rome, Florence, Venice, Lucerne, Paris, and London, featuring all the “must-see” landmarks with a Local Guide, like Rome’s Colosseum and Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s David and Signoria Square in Florence, Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Lucerne’s Lion Monument and Chapel Bridge, Notre Dame Cathedral and the second floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and London’s Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Other memorable highlights include Tuscany, Chianti and Burgundy wine country, the Apennines, subtropical Lugano, the stunning Swiss Alps, and an exciting trans-channel journey from Paris to London on the famous Eurostar train.

Special Departure:
Dec 18th Departure - Christmas Eve in Lucerne

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Add a River Cruise to Your Vacation (WCA)

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story Notre Dame Cathedral

Europe’s most famous cathedral, whose twin Gothic towers loom above France’s most beloved river, the Seine, actually owes a lot of its international success to the author Victor Hugo. Back in 1831, when Hugo wrote his classic novel about a hunchbacked bell-ringer at Notre Dame who falls in love with a beautiful gypsy, the medieval cathedral had fallen on hard times. During the Revolution in 1789, it had been seized, looted of its treasures and converted into an atheistic “Temple of Reason.” Even worse, after the monarchy was restored in 1815, Notre Dame was used as riverside warehouse – its once-splendid glass windows now dimmed and its facades decaying pathetically above the Île de la Cité. But Parisian’s indifference to their landmark ended suddenly in 1831, when Victor Hugo published his romantic novel the “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” (called “Notre-Dame de Paris” in French). The book was an international bestseller and lured armies of tourists to Paris in search of its Gothic cathedral setting. Hugo used this groundswell of public interest to lobby the French government for renovations of his beloved Notre Dame. From 1845 to 1864, repairs were indeed carried out – the clogged medieval streets nearby were cleared, revealing the marvelous edifice we see today.