Paris to Milan — Grand European Tour
Your Journey
Paris — Arrival
Arrive in Paris and transfer to your hotel. The evening is free to settle in and take in the first impressions of the French capital.
Paris — City Highlights
A guided city tour covers Arc de Triomphe at the head of the Champs-Élysées, the Louvre Museum (outside view of the glass pyramid), the Eiffel Tower (2nd level access, 115 m) for panoramic views over the city's rooftops, and a Seine River Cruise at dusk past Notre-Dame and the illuminated bridges.
Brussels — Amsterdam
Drive to Brussels (320 km): Grand Place — the UNESCO-listed baroque square surrounded by guild houses and the Gothic Town Hall — Atomium (aluminium structure from the 1958 World's Fair), and Manneken Pis. Continue to the Amsterdam region for the overnight.
Dutch Countryside — Amsterdam — Giethoorn
Zaansche Schans open-air museum: traditional Dutch windmills, wooden houses, and craft workshops on the Zaan river. An Amsterdam Canal Cruise winds through the 17th-century waterway network of bridges and gabled houses. Giethoorn — the car-free village where canals replace roads and thatched-roof farmhouses line the water's edge. Drive to Düsseldorf/Ratingen in Germany for the overnight.
Germany — Cologne & Stuttgart — Konstanz
A photo stop at Cologne Cathedral — the twin-spired Gothic masterpiece begun in 1248 and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Drive south to Stuttgart (400 km): a visit to either the Mercedes-Benz Museum (tracing the automobile's evolution from 1886) or the Porsche Museum (racing heritage and engineering design). Continue to Konstanz on the scenic shores of Lake Constance for the overnight.
Switzerland — Rhine Falls & Lucerne
A morning walk along the shores of Lake Constance before driving to Rhine Falls (75 km) — the most powerful waterfall in Europe, with a boat ride close to the roaring cascades on the Rhine. Drive to Lucerne for the overnight on the shores of Lake Lucerne beneath the Alps.
Switzerland — Grindelwald & Lauterbrunnen
Drive to Grindelwald at the foot of the Eiger. A cable car ascends to Grindelwald First — a ridge-top platform with a cliff-top suspension bridge and sweeping views of the Alpine peaks. Continue to Lauterbrunnen Valley — 72 waterfalls dropping from 300-metre cliffs, with the Staubbach Falls cascading directly above the village. Optional stop in Interlaken between Lakes Thun and Brienz. Return to Lucerne in the evening.
Italy — Milan — Departure
Drive south through the Alps to Milan (240 km). A city orientation covers the Duomo di Milano — the third-largest church in the world, with its forest of Gothic spires — and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the 19th-century glass-roofed arcade of luxury boutiques. Free time for shopping before transfer to Milan Airport for departure.