Tour: HD - 2012 (HD) - 2012 / 2013

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Itinerary

DAY 1Arrive in London, England

Uniformed Globus hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay.

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DAY 2London

Morning sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall’s mounted horseguards and the Prime Minister’s Downing Street, Piccadilly Circus, and Buckingham Palace. Visit ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL and see the Changing of the Guard, if held. Optional excursions are available to the Tower of London or to Windsor Castle. (Breakfast)

Overlooking The Houses of Parliament along the north bank of the Thames River

Westminster Abbey – the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs

Changing of the Guard

"Changing the Guard dates to Henry VII (reigned 1485-1509) and was designed to show military discipline as well as ceremony. The tall bearskin hats were introduced in the 18th century to make the soldiers look taller and thus more frightening, and they were adopted for ceremonial use in 1832. The ceremony we know today started in the late 1800s and involves real soldiers who fulfill all military duties, guarding the Queen being just part of their service."

Tower of London

"Since its founding in the 11th century, the Tower of London has served many roles: impregnable fortress, royal residence, armory, treasury, home of the famed Crown Jewels, and a prison for those who offended the monarchy. To this day it is guarded by the “Beefeaters,” a name that likely originates from when Tower guards were paid part of their salary with chunks of beef, a practice that continued until the 1800s."

Houses of Parliament

"Big Ben may be the most famous feature of the Houses of Parliament, but equally impressive is the hammerbeam ceiling of Westminster Hall. The Hall dates back to 1097 and, at that time, the roof was supported by pillars. During the reign of King Richard II (14th century), however, it was replaced by the hammerbeam roof seen today. This roof – its beauty and sustainability – is even more impressive when you know its history. It was built with beams made from trees that were ancient at the time, reputedly acorns, dating back to the 6th century (or earlier). If only these walls (beams, rather) could talk!"

Buckingham Palace

"Amid the splendor of modern cities it’s hard to imagine what places looked like before they became what we know today. In a previous incarnation, the ground where Buckingham Palace now stands was a mulberry garden cultivated by King James I as food for silkworms. The silk industry he hoped to nurture never materialized, and eventually a roadhouse was built there, followed in due course by the Blake House, Goring House and Arlington House.Originally known as the Buckingham House, built as a townhouse by the Duke of Buckingham in 1709, the estate was acquired by King George III in 1762."

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DAY 3London–Brussels, Belgium–Amsterdam, Holland

Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and head for the railway station to board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to Brussels, Belgium. From here, a comfortable drive will bring you to Amsterdam, Holland’s 700-year-old capital. Enjoy an orientation drive including a CANAL CRUISE aboard a glass-roofed launch, which is the best way to get a good impression of how this city was built and how much still remains from the Golden Age. You may want to join an optional Dutch dinner with local specialties. (Breakfast)

View the magnificent Gothic and Baroque architecture on the Grand Place in Brussels

Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age

Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands

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DAY 4Amsterdam–Cologne, Germany–Heidelberg

This morning, drive past the Dutch region near Arnhem, best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far, then on to Germany. In Cologne, visit the awesome twin-spired gothic CATHEDRAL, and then the afternoon’s highlight: a romantic RHINE CRUISE. Continue to Heidelberg and take pictures of the famous red-walled ruins of Heidelberg Castle. (Breakfast, Dinner)

Pay a visit to Cologne’s awesome gothic cathedral

A Short Wine Guide

"Historically, Germany’s wine has suffered with an “inferiority complex” fueled by the reputation of wine powerhouses France and Italy. And in modern times, they’ve tacked of “how to compete with a Bordeaux or a Chianti” by improving quality, while keep prices reasonable. Finally, German vintners are starting to reap the rewards. The world famous Riesling region, centered on the Rhine and its tributaries and in eastern Germany near Dresden, is the biggest success story to come out of Germany’s 13 wine growing regions. White grapes form 80 percent of the harvest, but reds are on the rise, as well as the general reputation of German wines."

Mark Twain's Heidelberg

"“One thinks Heidelberg by day – with its surroundings – is the last possibility of the beautiful; but when he sees Heidelberg by night, a fallen Milky Way, with that glittering railway constellation pinned to the border, he requires time to consider upon the verdict.” Mark Twain wrote this ode to Heidelberg in his humorous travel book, “A Tramp Abroad” (1880). During the three months that Twain spent in the city in 1878, many of his recorded experiences aren’t entirely dissimilar from activities that travelers and residents still enjoy today. He gazed out over the Nektar River; strolled across the Old Bridge; and watched university students dueling in a tavern."

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DAY 5Heidelberg–Lucerne, Switzerland

Morning stop in the lush valleys and pine-clad hills of the BLACK FOREST, renowned for its cuckoo clocks. On the Swiss border, stop at the thundering RHINE FALLS before continuing to picture-book Lucerne. Why not sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing for a first-hand impression of Alpine merrymaking? (Breakfast)

The Lion Monument or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland

The Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland

The Black Forest in southwestern Germany

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DAY 6Lucerne

During your walking tour, admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses lining the cobblestone streets of the walled Old Town. Then, cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Balance of the day is at leisure to shop for Swiss watches and to choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car or take a cruise on the fjord-like lake. (Breakfast, Dinner)

The iconic Chapel Bridge in Lucerne is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe

Lion Monument

“The Lion of Lucerne” (Lowendenkmal) is a compelling statue in the north section of Old Town dedicated to the 42 members of the Swiss Guard who were assigned to protect Louis the XVI, Maria Antoinette and their family at the Royal Palace. When the Tuileries was stormed on August 10, 1792 by rioting Parisians at the start of the French Revolution, the king ordered the soldiers to lay down their arms. They were subsequently slaughtered by the crowd and the royal family was captured. Louis had made a big mistake. In 1821 Danish sculpture Berthel Thorwaldsen finished the sculpture, a 30-foot likeness of a wounded and dying lion with a broken lance in its heart and his paw resting atop the fleur-de-lys shield of the Bourbon king. The Latin inscription translated “To the bravery and fidelity of the Swiss.”

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DAY 7Lucerne–Paris, France

Cross the Swiss border into France and enjoy a comfortable drive through the Burgundy wine area and past Fontainebleau Forest to Paris. (Breakfast)

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DAY 8Paris

Discover the world capital of chic and style with a Local Guide and admire its 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. An optional excursion to the lavish baroque Palace of Versailles is available. Tonight, a lively cabaret show might just be the ticket. (Breakfast)

The Arc de Triomphe standing in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle

French Fashion

There’s more than one way to conquer the world. The flabby, charismatic “Sun King,” Louis XIV, knew that he could impress the French people with his insanely lavish royal lifestyle, but he also wanted to make his mark on Europe. Throughout his 55 year rule in the 17th Century, he campaigned vigorously to establish Paris as the continent’s capital of style, promoting its gourmet food and wine, haute couture, cutting-edge perfumes, opulent furnishings and exquisite jewelry. Every new innovation required Louis’ personal imprimatur, making him the world’s first fashion dictator. Author Joan DeJean claimed in “The Essence of Style” that Louis’ devotion to elegance has shaped the culture of indulgence today – “Without the Sun King’s program for defining France as the land of luxury in glamour, there would never have been a Stork Club, a Bergdorf Goodman, a Chez Panisse or a Christophe of Beverly Hills.”

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.

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DAY 9Paris

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (Breakfast)

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