Explore the Vatican Museums with a Local Expert and see works assembled over centuries by the popes. In the Sistine Chapel, look up at Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes before visiting St Peter’s Basilica, one of Christianity’s most significant churches.

The collection brings together art from antiquity through the Renaissance within Vatican City. Access can be restricted on some departures; St Peter’s Square remains part of the visit, and the Capitoline Museums replace the Vatican Museums if tickets are unavailable.

Cruise Lake Lucerne to see its shoreline and surrounding mountains from the water. The lake’s changing curves open up views of steep slopes, villages and the landscape surrounding Lucerne.

Known locally as the Vierwaldstättersee, the lake has long connected communities across central Switzerland. A boat trip offers a quieter vantage point on its dramatic geography. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.

• 6 Dinner (D)
• 13 Breakfast (B)

• Vatican City: Visit the Vatican Museums and witness the genius of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Insight Vacations

Cruise Amsterdam’s tree-lined canals with your Travel Director and fellow travellers during a welcome reception. From the water, see the old city’s narrow streets, bridges and waterside mansions, including homes built during the Dutch Golden Age.

The canal ring reflects the wealth and ambition of 17th-century Amsterdam, when merchants shaped the city’s distinctive architecture. It is a relaxed introduction to the capital’s history and to the people sharing your journey.

Share a welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant in the heart of Amsterdam. Join your Travel Director and fellow travellers around the table for an evening devoted to conversation as well as food.

Dining in the city centre offers a chance to experience Amsterdam beyond its canal views, amid the streets and neighbourhoods that make up its everyday life. The hosted meal gives the group an inviting setting in which to get acquainted.

Cruise the Rhine from Boppard to Sankt Goar, sipping a glass of local wine as terraced vineyards and stone castles rise above the river. Look out for the steep Lorelei Rock along this winding stretch.

The Lorelei has inspired centuries of stories and songs, while the castles recall the Rhine’s importance as a trade route. Seeing the valley from the water reveals how closely its settlements, vineyards and fortifications follow the river’s course.

Walk Heidelberg’s Old Town with a Local Expert, exploring cobbled lanes, elegant squares and baroque facades beside the Neckar River. See student cafés and take in views towards the castle ruins above the town.

Heidelberg is one of Germany’s best-known university cities, and its academic traditions remain part of the old quarter’s character. The easy-paced walk brings together its lively street life and the hillside setting that has long attracted artists and writers.

Stop beneath Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau to view two royal castles set against the Bavarian Alps. Neuschwanstein’s towers and mountain backdrop make it one of Germany’s most recognisable sights.

King Ludwig II commissioned Neuschwanstein in the 19th century as an imaginative retreat inspired by medieval legend; nearby Hohenschwangau was his childhood home. This is a scenic viewing stop rather than a visit inside either castle.

Stroll Innsbruck’s Old Town with your Travel Director and see the Golden Roof, the Imperial Palace and historic houses beneath the Tyrolean mountains. Gothic and Baroque details give the streets their layered appearance.

Innsbruck’s position on an Alpine crossroads helped make it a centre of Habsburg power. Its compact old quarter puts that imperial heritage close to everyday cafés and shopfronts, with mountain peaks visible beyond the city’s rooftops.

Meet the winemakers at a family-run Veneto winery and learn how local spumante is produced. Hear about the craft behind the region’s sparkling wines before enjoying a guided tasting.

The Veneto’s vineyards stretch between the Alps and the Adriatic, and wine is closely woven into its food culture. A visit with the people who make it offers a more personal perspective on the methods and traditions behind each glass.

Watch Venetian artisans shape molten glass during a visit to a traditional workshop. See how heat, breath and practiced movements turn the material into delicate handcrafted pieces, and learn about the skill involved.

Venice’s glassmaking heritage stretches back centuries, with Murano becoming its celebrated centre. The demonstration offers a close view of a craft still maintained by specialist makers rather than simply displaying its finished work.

Travel by private boat through Venice as your Travel Director introduces the city from its waterways. Pass historic palazzi and see the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Square, with time to admire the basilica and the nearby Bridge of Sighs from outside.

Venice’s grand buildings were designed to be approached from the water, reflecting the wealth of a former maritime republic. This orientation shows how canals and ceremonial landmarks remain central to the city’s identity.

Join a local host for a home-cooked Italian dinner in Rome. Share regional dishes in a domestic setting and experience the warmth of hospitality that makes the table central to Italian family life.

Unlike a restaurant meal, this invitation offers a glimpse of how food, conversation and gathering together shape everyday culture. The menu’s local flavours provide a personal introduction to Rome through the traditions of its residents.

Explore Rome with your Travel Director, taking in its medieval buildings, Renaissance palaces and Baroque churches. At the Colosseum, walk around the amphitheatre’s exterior and hear about its construction and legends.

Completed in the first century CE, the Colosseum was built for public spectacles on an immense scale. Seeing its surviving arches alongside later layers of the city reveals why Rome is often described as an open-air record of its past. Interior entry is not included.

Discover Florence with a Local Expert at its marble-clad cathedral, bell tower and baptistery. View the baptistery’s Gates of Paradise and explore Piazza della Signoria, where statues and fountains fill the city’s historic political centre.

These public spaces express the ambition of Renaissance Florence through architecture and sculpture. The square’s Palazzo Vecchio still anchors civic life, while the cathedral complex shows the artistic skill and patronage that helped define the city.

Savour dinner with wine at a local Florence trattoria, settling in for an evening of Florentine flavours in the heart of the city. The meal offers a hosted opportunity to enjoy regional cooking together.

Tuscany’s food traditions favour carefully prepared, seasonal ingredients and dishes suited to sharing around the table. A trattoria’s informal atmosphere makes this dinner a way to experience Florence’s dining culture, not simply a pause between sightseeing visits.

Choose your dinner from hand-picked local restaurants during a Dine-Around Evening in Baveno, on the shore of Lake Maggiore. Select the cuisine and atmosphere that most appeal to you.

The choice makes dining an experience of its own: each restaurant offers a different setting in which to enjoy the Italian lakeside resort. It is a chance to follow your tastes while sampling the hospitality of this long-established holiday destination.

Ride Stanserhorn’s open-top cable car towards the summit, breathing in mountain air and taking in wide Alpine views. Walk scenic pathways and watch for marmots and other native wildlife; there may also be a chance to hear a Swiss ranger discuss local conservation.

Partly powered by solar energy, the cable-car journey is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience supporting wildlife and habitat awareness. In clear conditions, views can extend towards Alsace and Germany’s Black Forest.

See Lucerne’s Lion Monument, carved into a limestone cliff, and stroll across the Chapel Bridge in the heart of the city. Admire the Jesuit Church beside the Reuss River as you explore these distinctive landmarks.

The lion commemorates Swiss Guards who died defending King Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Lucerne’s covered bridge and Baroque church reveal other chapters of a town shaped by its riverside setting, civic history and religious heritage.

Discover Paris on a panoramic tour with a Local Expert, seeing the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde and Louvre Museum. Views along the Seine bring the city’s bridges and broad avenues into focus.

Paris’s landmarks tell different stories: the Place de la Concorde recalls the French Revolution, while the grand boulevards reflect later changes to the capital. This guided overview connects familiar sights with the history behind them; museum entry is not specified.

Explore a pedestrianised Paris quartier on foot, looking beyond the major monuments to its schools, food shops, homes, theatres and community spaces. Discover heritage details that may include covered passages, the Egyptian-inspired district or Patrick Blanc’s Oasis d’Aboukir vertical garden.

This walk examines how Parisians use and shape their neighbourhood today, alongside traces of earlier city life. It is one of two included Paris choice experiences; travellers select this walk or the local food walk.

Walk Paris’s streets with a local food lover, calling at pâtisseries, boulangeries and chocolatiers to sample treats along the way. Learn about the sweet and baked specialities found in the city’s neighbourhood shops.

These everyday businesses are part of Parisian food culture, where a bakery counter can reveal as much about local habits as a landmark. It is one of two included Paris choice experiences; travellers select this tasting walk or the neighbourhood discovery walk.

Enjoy dinner at a Paris brasserie with your fellow travellers, sharing French cuisine and conversation in one of the city’s characteristic dining settings.

Brasseries are known for their lively rooms and unhurried tables, making them a fitting place to experience Paris after exploring its streets. This hosted meal brings the group together around a local dining tradition rather than treating dinner as a routine stop.

Cruise the Venetian lagoon to Burano for a possible meal of local specialities and wine. The island’s brightly painted houses and canals offer a different perspective on life beyond central Venice.

Burano has a long association with fishing and lacemaking, traditions reflected in its small-island character. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; ask your Travel Director about availability and the meal arrangements.

Visit Florence’s Accademia Gallery with an art historian to see Michelangelo’s David. Study the sculpture up close while hearing about the artist and the Renaissance Florence in which the work was created.

Carved from a single block of marble, David became a powerful symbol of the city’s civic identity. Expert interpretation adds context to its craftsmanship and enduring significance. This optional gallery visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Cruise Lake Maggiore to Isola Bella for a possible guided visit to its palace and gardens. Explore the island’s grand interiors and landscaped outdoor spaces against a backdrop of water and Alpine foothills.

The Borromeo family transformed Isola Bella into a showpiece of aristocratic design, with formal garden terraces rising beside the lake. This optional excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour; confirm availability with your Travel Director.

Take a horse-drawn carriage ride into the countryside near Lucerne and meet local farmers. Travel at an easy pace through the rural landscape for a closer look at life beyond the lakeside town.

Farms remain part of central Switzerland’s cultural landscape, set among the meadows and mountain scenery associated with the region. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; your Travel Director can advise on availability.

Spend an evening at a Paris cabaret show, taking in live entertainment in a city with a long tradition of music, dance and theatrical nightlife. It is an alternative way to experience Paris beyond its daytime landmarks.

Cabaret became a distinctive part of the capital’s cultural scene in the late 19th century and continues in a variety of venues today. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; the venue and arrangements depend on availability.

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star stays