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Tour Continental Odyssey

England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Greece

Tour start/end

19 days incl. air, or 18 days

London/Athens

GLKB50

USA departure

Mondays
from Apr 16 to Oct 15

2007

Tour Map

Tour price land only-  -  -  -   -  -  from    $ 3199 to $ 3279
Airline tickets from your home city also available

This London to Athens 19-day vacation is a true historic all-Europe vacation. In all major cities, Globus gives you included sightseeing with inside visits to the famous cathedrals and our special features like visiting the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s David, and more. An exciting Eurostar train ride from London to Paris, a private boat transfer in Venice, a jet- or hydrofoil ride to Capri, and an overnight cruise across the Ionian Sea are all part of this comprehensive vacation. The overnight stay in Naples allows for included visits to the Isle of Capri and Pompeii. In Greece you’ll visit Olympia, Delphi, and the excavations, as well as the Archaeological Museum. Then travel past Thebes and Marathon to end in Athens where city sightseeing also includes the Acropolis.


 

Included Features

LONDON  Guided sightseeing; visit St.Paul’s Cathedral and see the Changing of the Guard, if held
LONDON-PARIS  By Eurostar train
PARIS  Welcome drink; guided sightseeing; ascend the Eiffel Tower
LUCERNE  Walking tour including the Lion Monument and the Chapel Bridge
LIECHTENSTEIN  Stop in Vaduz
INNSBRUCK  Orientation including the Golden Roof
CORTINA  Picture stop
VENICE  Private boat ride; guided sightseeing including headsets; visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica; glassblowers’ demonstration
FLORENCE  Guided sightseeing including headsets; visit Michelangelo’s David, the cathedral, and Signoria Square
ROME  Guided sightseeing including headsets; visit Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St.Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum
CAPRI  Jet/hydrofoil-ride; guided sightseeing; visit Villa San Michele in Anacapri
POMPEII  Guided visit including headsets
ITALY-GREECE  Two-berth cabin with private facilities on the Bari-Patras overnight cruise
OLYMPIA  Guided sightseeing; visit the remains of the Gymnasium and the Museum
DELPHI  Guided sightseeing; visit the excavations and the Archaeological Museum
ATHENS  Guided sightseeing; visit the Acropolis

MEALS: 2 full English breakfasts (FB); 15 buffet breakfasts (BB); 7 three-course dinners (D), a welcome drink in Paris

INSIDE VISITS Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges when applicable.

 

Itinerary: Tour Continental Odyssey   London/Athens

Day 1 (Mon.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 Arrival in London, England. (Tue.) Uniformed Globus Hosts are available to help you make the most of your stay.

Day 3 London. (Wed.) Sightseeing with a Local Guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. Highlights are a visit to ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held. (FB)

Day 4 London-Paris, France. (Thu.) Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and transfer to the railway station to board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to Paris. Tonight join your Tour Director for a toast to happy touring. (FB)

Day 5 Paris. (Fri.) 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. (BB)

Day 6 Paris-Lucerne, Switzerland. (Sat.) A comfortable ride on the highway skirting Fontainebleau Forest and the vineyards of Burgundy to the Swiss border. Enjoy vistas of the Alps as you arrive in picture-book Lucerne. (BB,D)

Day 7 Lucerne. (Sun.) Admire Thorwaldsen’s LION MONUMENT on your walking tour through the Old Town and cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Afterwards shop for Swiss watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car, take a cruise on the fjord-like lake, or sign up for a folklore party with yodeling and alphorn blowing. (BB)

Day 8 Lucerne-Liechtenstein-Innsbruck, Austria. (Mon.) Morning break in Liechtenstein, then via the scenic Arlberg Pass to Innsbruck, and walk through its quaint medieval lanes to Emperor Maximilian’s GOLDEN ROOF. (BB,D)

Day 9 Innsbruck-Cortina, Italy-Venice. (Tue.) Across the spectacular Brenner Pass in the Tyrolean Alps and the Tre Croci Pass to Cortina in the Dolomites. Then follow the course of the Piave River down to the Adriatic Sea and Venice. (BB,D)

Day 10 Venice-Florence. (Wed.) Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and its BASILICA, the Clock Tower, lavish Doges’ Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects. In the afternoon drive across the Apennine Hills to Florence, cradle of the Renaissance. (BB,D)

Day 11 Florence-Rome. (Thu.) Follow your Local Guide to visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo's celebrated David, the magnificent CATHEDRAL, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Time to shop for Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry before you speed south to the Eternal City. (BB)

Day 12 Rome. (Fri.) Meet your Local Guide and start with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. (BB)

Day 13 Rome-Capri-Naples. (Sat.) From the colorful harbor of Naples speed across the bay to the Isle of Capri, a royal retreat for 2,000 years. Sightseeing with a Local Guide includes a visit to VILLA SAN MICHELE in Anacapri. Overnight in Naples. (BB)

Day 14 Naples-Pompeii-Bari-Ionian Sea Crossing. (Sun.) On the way to the Ionian Sea visit POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. In Bari board your overnight FERRY bound for Greece. (BB,D)

Day 15 Ionian Sea-Patras, Greece-Olympia. (Mon.) Sail across the sea which Ulysses explored in the Odyssey. Dock at Patras and continue by coach to Olympia. Learn about the history of the original Olympic Games as you walk among the impressive remains of the GYMNASIUM and the Temples of Hera and Zeus and visit the MUSEUM. (BB,D)

Day 16 Olympia-Delphi. (Tue.) Drive to mythical Delphi and visit the ancient sanctuary of the god Apollo in its dramatic setting on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Hear about the Oracle, tour the EXCAVATIONS with a Local Guide and visit the ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. (BB,D)

Day 17 Delphi-Athens. (Wed.) History comes alive this morning on your way to Athens as your Tour Director will tell you about Thebes, the setting of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Marathon, where in 490 B.C. 10,000 Athenians defeated more than twice that number of Persian invaders. In Athens sightseeing with a Local Guide features the Parthenon’s crowning beauty atop the ACROPOLIS, the Erechtheum with its Porch of Maidens, the beautifully preserved Theseum, Roman Temple of Zeus, and more. Vistas of the Royal Palace, government buildings, and elegant homes in the modern city provide a striking contrast to the remains of a glorious past. (BB)

Day 18 At Leisure in Athens. (Thu.) A full day at leisure. How about an optional day cruise to the islands of Aegina, Hydra, and Poros? Also ask your Tour Director for exciting evening outings to celebrate your last night in Greece. (BB)

Day 19 (Fri.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)

 

Quality Hotels

LONDON Novotel London West (F), PARIS Holiday Inn La Villette (F), LUCERNE Grand Hotel Europe (F), INNSBRUCK Maximilian (F), VENICE Il Burchiello (F) at Oriago, FLORENCE Novotel Firenze Nord (F), ROME Villa Pamphili (F), NAPLES Jolly (F), OLYMPIA Amalia (F), DELPHI Amalia (F), ATHENS Titania (F)

Hotel Rating Abbreviations:

SF = Superior First Class
F   =  First Class
ST  = Superior Tourist Class