Learn to row, voga alla veneta, in a traditional lagoon boat with a local instructor. Stand and steer with a single oar, mastering balance and rhythm in the Venetian style. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover the unique forcola (oarlock) and how residents navigate shallow canals and open lagoon. Feel the breeze, listen to lapping water, and appreciate a skill passed down through generations.

Taste your way through local bacari wine bars on a crawl of traditional cicchetti—lagoon-fresh bites paired with an ombra of wine. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Try sarde in saor, baccalà mantecato, polpette, and creamy polenta while learning how Venetians gather for convivial snacks between work and dinner. Navigate tucked-away counters and lively campos with a food-loving host.

Step inside the Colosseum with an expert Local Guide to explore the amphitheater’s tiers and tales of engineering and empire. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Walk the Roman Forum where senators once debated, then continue toward Palatine Hill for sweeping views over domes and ruins. Trace Rome’s rise through triumphal arches, basilicas, and timeworn marble.

Sample Roman specialties on a guided walk through Trastevere, where vine-draped lanes hide beloved trattorie and gourmet shops. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Taste supplì, porchetta, and plates of cacio e pepe before finishing with creamy artisanal gelato. Along the way, hear how Jewish-Roman and pastoral traditions shaped cucina romana’s bold, satisfying flavors.

Dine like a Roman at a welcoming trattoria, sharing antipasti and pasta paired with regional wines. After dinner, stroll the cobblestoned streets on an easy orientation, pausing at the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona as baroque fountains shimmer under lamplight.

Feel centuries of history in marble facades and travertine arches as the route reveals Renaissance palaces and ancient forums. Close with atmospheric views of the Colosseum by night, a timeless silhouette against the Roman sky.

Join a locally guided stroll to sample buttery viennoiseries, jewel-box macarons and éclairs, and seasonal tarts from artisan pâtisseries in elegant quartiers. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Learn how pâte à choux, ganache, and praline became French obsessions, and hear stories of royal pâtissiers who elevated dessert into art. Along the way, pick up tips on spotting true craftsmanship and pairing sweets with coffee or tea.

Dress for sparkle and settle in for a Paris cabaret show featuring feathers, sequins, and live music, paired with dinner and champagne. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Feel the Belle Époque glamour revived in a historic theater as dancers whirl into the high-kicking cancan. Between courses, the stage transforms with dazzling tableaux that celebrate Parisian style and wit.

Glide the canals on a classic gondola as a gondoliere navigates narrow rii and quiet backwaters, revealing palazzi, marble churches, and stone bridges from the waterline. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Hear the soft slap of oar on water and admire Gothic windows and peeling pastel facades. Slip beneath centuries-old arches and feel Venice’s rhythm slow to the pace of the lagoon.

Step inside a Parisian perfume house to learn the art of fragrance from expert hosts. Explore scent composition, testing notes and accords on blotters as you decode citrus top notes, floral hearts, and sensual bases that give French perfumes their depth.

Trace the craft’s lineage from the heritage of Grasse to the couture salons of Paris. Along the way, pick up tips on choosing a signature scent and understanding the olfactory pyramid that guides master perfumers.

Settle in for a scenic rail journey from the Vaud Riviera toward northern Italy, with windows framing storybook lakeside towns, vine-clad slopes, and misty mountain passes. Watch church spires, castles, and alpine meadows flicker by as the track climbs toward the high country.

Follow the historic Simplon route through stone villages and terraced vineyards, then pierce the historic Simplon Tunnel before descending into Italy’s warmer light. It’s a moving postcard of contrasts—from glassy lakes to granite peaks.

• 2 Dinner (D)
• 8 Breakfast (B)

• Paris: What could be better than sailing down the Seine with the Contiki crew, taking in all the chic Paris landmarks? Sign us up!
• Paris: Your chance to learn the art of fragrance at a Parisian perfume house. You know it makes scents! (soz).
• Lausanne: Jump on a train and let the views do the talking as we roll through Switzerland and into Northern Italy. Think lakes, mountains, and totally stunning storybook towns.
• Rome: Stroll around the Italian capital, ticking off some sights on your bucket list! 

Contiki

Savor a hosted welcome dinner at a neighborhood brasserie, toasting the start of your journey with seasonal French flavors and local wine. After dinner, cruise the Seine as Paris’ monuments glow to life, gliding past the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame while reflections ripple across the water.

Hear about the river that shaped the city’s fortunes and its elegant bridges from Pont Neuf to Pont Alexandre III. Watch the city lights shimmer on Haussmann’s grand facades as the bateau moves beneath softly lit embankments and sculpted stone quays.