Be My Guest dinner on Rome’s river island, Isola Tiberina, where you’ll enjoy a welcoming drinks reception before a family-hosted Roman meal amid atmospheric excavations. Share stories with your hosts as regional dishes and local wines showcase Rome’s generous hospitality.

Set between ancient bridges, the island has long been linked to healing and sanctuary—from the Temple of Aesculapius to medieval hospitals. As the Tiber glints outside, the evening blends archaeology with contemporary life, offering an intimate encounter with Rome’s living traditions.

Cruise by private launch across the Venetian Lagoon to the ceremonial heart of the city, St. Mark’s Square. Glide past palace facades and bell towers before stepping ashore to admire the Bridge of Sighs and the pink-marbled Doge’s Palace, symbols of the Republic’s maritime might.

Soak up the square’s theatrical sweep—Byzantine domes, a soaring campanile, and arcaded cafés where orchestras play. Your Travel Director points out architectural details and vantage points, helping you capture Venice’s unique interplay of water, stone, and reflected light.

Step inside a historic workshop to witness a glassblowing demonstration, as maestros employ centuries-old Murano techniques to gather, blow, and shape molten glass. Hear the hiss of the roaring furnace and watch color bloom into vases, chandeliers, and filigreed beads.

Learn how the craft was once confined to Murano to reduce fire risk, and how guild secrets fostered innovation from crystal clarity to millefiori patterns. This is Venice’s living heritage—part performance, part preservation—offering a close-up look at precision and artistry.

Explore the Renaissance city with a Local Specialist as you join a guided walking tour of Santa Maria del Fiore and its striped marble ensemble, admire the Baptistery’s Gates of Paradise, and survey sculpture-studded Piazza della Signoria, the open-air gallery that once staged Medici power.

Continue to an artisan atelier to observe time-honored techniques in leather stitching, tooling, and fine metalwork—an echo of Florence’s medieval guilds. Gain tips on quality and craftsmanship as the aroma of tanned hides and burnished brass reveals the city’s enduring dedication to beautiful, functional design.

Experience the Eternal City with a Local Specialist, taking in St. Peter’s Square embraced by Bernini’s colonnade before pausing to admire the mighty Colosseum, the Flavians’ grand amphitheater that hosted emperors and crowds alike. Glimpses of the Roman Forum reveal arches, temples, and political life layered in stone.

Hear how papal Rome reshaped ancient avenues into Baroque stages, and how triumphs, rituals, and spectacles animated these spaces. Your guide’s commentary illuminates each landmark’s role—from imperial propaganda to Christian pilgrimage—while pointing out evocative angles for memorable photographs.

Begin your European journey as you ferry across the English Channel from Dover to Calais. Watch the White Cliffs of Dover recede in chalky tiers while seabirds wheel above the wake and the sea breeze and open deck set a bracing maritime tone.

As the French coast comes into view, reflect on centuries of crossings—from traders and pilgrims to wartime convoys. It’s a brief but evocative passage that frames your transition from Britain to mainland Europe with classic seafaring views.

Enhance your stay with an Optional Experience: a Local Specialist-led walk past illuminated ruins and neighborhood piazzas, pausing for views over the Roman Forum before delving into the lanes and trattorias of the streets of the Jewish Ghetto.

Hear stories of resilience and cuisine shaped over centuries, and see landmarks like the Portico d’Ottavia and Teatro di Marcello from evocative angles. This optional activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour, offering deeper insight into Rome’s evening mood and layered history.

• 3 Dinner (D)
• 7 Breakfast (B)

• Deluxe coach travel
• Selected hotel dinners plus a locally hosted meal
• 4-star stays

• Paris: Join a Local Specialist to discover the hidden squares and secret lanes of Paris.
• Switzerland: Marvel at the Alpine landscape as you drive past breathtakingly beautiful mountains and valleys.
• Venice: Discover the ancient skill of Venetian glassblowing and play a part in preserving this traditional craft.
• Florence: Join a Local Specialist to view the multicoloured marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, adorned by Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. Visit the political heart of the city, Signoria Square.
• Florence: See the area around Santa Croce Basilica, famous for the quality of its luxury goods, and witness a gold and leatherwork demonstration.

Trafalgar

Discover the French capital with a Local Specialist as you join a guided panoramic tour along the Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe, taking in elegant Haussmann boulevards and riverside views of the Eiffel Tower. Conclude in the Left Bank’s storied streets and stroll the Latin Quarter, where booksellers and cafés crowd lively squares.

Gain context on Paris’s layers of history, from medieval Île de la Cité to grand 19th-century redesigns. Hear stories of Notre Dame’s restoration and student life around the Sorbonne, while your guide points out photo stops and local tips to enrich time in the City of Light.

Walk Lucerne’s lakeside lanes and cross the Chapel Bridge, Switzerland’s iconic timber span lined with 17th-century paintings beneath its shingled roof. Continue through cobbled squares to view the Lion Monument, a poignant sandstone relief recalling the Swiss Guards who fell in 1792.

Absorb mountain silhouettes over Lake Lucerne as your Travel Director shares tales of mercenary tradition and civic pride. Mark Twain called the mournful lion the “saddest stone in the world”; standing before it, you’ll sense the quiet dignity that has moved visitors for generations.