Europe Highlights: Amsterdam, Rhine, Venice, Rome and Paris

1. Day 1: Arrive in Amsterdam

   Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to your hotel in the canal ring

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Amsterdam
   Day 1 details

   Arrive in Amsterdam, where Schiphol airport (AMS) sits a short drive from the centre, and take a proposed transfer to the hotel, arranged for your arrival time. The hotel is proposed inside or beside the canal ring, the 17th-century belt of Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht which UNESCO lists as a World Heritage site, so the city starts at the front door. If you land early, leave your bags and walk the Jordaan, the old workers' quarter of narrow canals and brown cafes, or sit by the water and watch the bikes. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide, to be appointed, meets the group for a short briefing on the two weeks ahead: how the trains work, what goes in the day bag on the Rhine night and how the free evenings are paced. A welcome dinner follows within walking distance.

   Included

   • Proposed pick-up at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), arranged for your arrival time
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner near the canals

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing; later arrivals could be met and join the group at dinner. Transfer details are not arranged.

2. Day 2: The Rijksmuseum and the canals by boat

   Amsterdam: Museumplein, the canal ring and the Jordaan

   • By boat
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Amsterdam
   Day 2 details

   The plan visits the Rijksmuseum early in the day. The museum publishes that it is open daily from 9 to 17, The plan proposes a morning slot to reach the Gallery of Honour: Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid and the Dutch Golden Age paintings around them, with a local guide proposed. After a coffee on Museumplein we walk back through the Spiegelkwartier antique streets to the canals and board a canal boat for about an hour under the low bridges of the Herengracht, with your guide telling the story of the city built on poles. Lunch and the afternoon are yours: the Anne Frank House if you hold timed tickets, rules as published, the Van Gogh Museum, the Albert Cuyp market or a bike along the Amstel. The evening is free.

   Included

   • The Rijksmuseum in the morning with a proposed local guide
   • Walk through the Spiegelkwartier to the canal ring
   • Canal boat of about one hour, operator to be confirmed

   Optional experiences

   • The Anne Frank House (timed tickets, rules as published)
   • The Van Gogh Museum

   Easier option: Stay on the boat back to the hotel and rest before a free evening.

   More active option: Rent a bike with your guide's route for the Amstel and the Westerpark.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 8 km on foot, mostly flat, with two to three hours standing in the museum. Museum hours and ticket rules are as published and confirmed at quoting.

   

3. Day 3: Along the Rhine to Bacharach

   Amsterdam to Cologne by high-speed train, a regional train up the Rhine to Bacharach, then a river boat to St Goar and back

   • By train
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Bacharach
   Day 3 details

   Suitcases are proposed to go ahead by road, so you leave Amsterdam after breakfast with only a day bag. A high-speed train is proposed to Cologne, with a glimpse of the cathedral from the platform, and a regional train then follows the river south past Bonn and Koblenz into the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, which UNESCO lists as a World Heritage site. Rail times and changes are not checked; we expect at least one change and about four to five hours in all. Bacharach is a walled wine town of half-timbered houses below Burg Stahleck. After a sit-down lunch the plan takes a Rhine passenger boat downstream if the afternoon timetable allows: past Pfalzgrafenstein, the toll castle on its island at Kaub, past Oberwesel and under the Lorelei rock to St Goar. Above St Goar we walk up to the ruin of Burg Rheinfels, then return by train for an evening walk on the river path and a Riesling dinner.

   Included

   • Proposed high-speed train from Amsterdam to Cologne and the Rhine line to Bacharach, seats reserved where possible
   • Sit-down lunch in Bacharach
   • Rhine boat from Bacharach to St Goar, subject to the river timetable for your dates
   • Burg Rheinfels with your guide, subject to its opening calendar
   • Train back to Bacharach and an evening walk on the river path
   • Riesling dinner in Bacharach

   Easier option: Stay in Bacharach after lunch: the town walls, the Wernerkapelle ruin and a wine bar, and meet the group at dinner.

   Activity: About 4 to 5 hours on trains with at least one change, by our estimate. Burg Rheinfels is an uphill walk from St Goar with uneven ground and dark passages. River sailings, season and castle hours have not been checked and are confirmed at quoting.

   

4. Day 4: The town walls, then south to Lucerne

   Bacharach to Mainz and Basel by train, then on to Lucerne

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Lucerne
   Day 4 details

   Before the train, an early walk on Bacharach's town wall: up through the vineyards to the Postenturm for the view down the river, past the open Gothic tracery of the Wernerkapelle and below Burg Stahleck. Suitcases are proposed to leave by road and meet you in Lucerne. This is planned as the longest rail day, estimated at five and a half to six hours with two changes, and it is proposed because the rail line follows the river to Mainz and then runs up the Rhine plain to Basel. Lunch is on board or at a change, and your guide, to be appointed, handles the tickets and platforms. We cross into Switzerland at Basel and reach Lucerne in the late afternoon. Connections are not checked. After check-in we walk the old town to the Chapel Bridge.

   Included

   • Morning walk on Bacharach's town wall to the Postenturm and the Wernerkapelle
   • Proposed trains from Bacharach to Lucerne via Mainz and Basel, seats reserved where possible
   • Suitcases by road to Lucerne, proposed
   • Evening old-town walk to the Chapel Bridge

   Easier option: Skip the vineyard climb and take a coffee on the riverfront before the train.

   Free time: Evening free after the walk

   Activity: About five and a half to six hours on trains with two changes, by our estimate and not checked against a timetable. The town wall path has steep steps.

   

5. Day 5: The Rigi by boat, cogwheel and cable car

   Lucerne to Vitznau by lake boat, the railway to Rigi Kulm, down to Weggis, boat back

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lucerne
   Day 5 details

   This day goes up the Rigi, the mountain that Victorian travellers came to Lucerne to climb. A Lake Lucerne boat is proposed from the Lucerne quay to Vitznau, where the Vitznau-Rigi railway, whose first train ran on 21 May 1871 and which the Rigi company describes as Europe's first mountain railway, climbs through meadows to Rigi Kulm at about 1,800 m. On a clear day the view runs across a ring of lakes to the Alps, but cloud can sit on the summit on any day. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the mountain. We come down by train to Rigi Kaltbad, then by cable car to Weggis and the boat back to Lucerne. Timetables, tickets and any railway maintenance period are confirmed at quoting. The rest of the day is free: the Lion Monument, the Musegg towers, the Swiss Museum of Transport or a swim from a lakeside lido. If cloud sits on the summit, your guide checks the forecast and can move the visit later in the day.

   Included

   • Lake boat from Lucerne to Vitznau and from Weggis back to Lucerne, subject to the timetable
   • The Vitznau-Rigi railway to Rigi Kulm, subject to the railway's operating dates
   • Sit-down lunch on the Rigi
   • Train to Rigi Kaltbad and the cable car to Weggis

   Easier option: Stay at Rigi Kaltbad after lunch, with its terraces and walks, and take the cable car down when you like.

   More active option: A ridge walk down from Rigi Kulm instead of the train, time to be confirmed.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: Short walks at the summit at about 1,800 m; it can be cold even in summer, so bring a warm layer.

   

6. Day 6: Under the Alps to Venice

   Lucerne to Milan through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, then the Frecciarossa to Venice

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 6 details

   A short morning walk leads to the Lion Monument, carved into the sandstone to honour Swiss Guards killed defending the Tuileries in Paris. We then board a train south. The plan uses the Gotthard Base Tunnel, under the Alps, which drops the line into Ticino and on to Milan. We estimate about three and a quarter hours to Milan, with the service pattern from Lucerne unchecked. At Milan Centrale the plan changes to a high-speed train for Venice, estimated at about two hours twenty across the Po plain, with lunch on board or at the station. Rail times, operators and reservations are not confirmed. The train crosses the lagoon causeway into Santa Lucia, and the Grand Canal is just outside the station. A water taxi or vaporetto is proposed to the hotel in the historic centre. The evening is free for your first walk.

   Included

   • Morning walk to the Lion Monument
   • Proposed trains from Lucerne to Milan and from Milan to Venice, seats reserved where possible
   • Water taxi or vaporetto from Santa Lucia to the hotel, proposed

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: About six hours on trains with one change, by our estimate. You take your suitcase onto the trains today; your guide helps at Milan. Not checked against a timetable.

7. Day 7: St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace

   Venice: San Marco, the Doge's Palace and Castello

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 7 details

   We walk to Piazza San Marco and plan a visit to St Mark's Basilica, with the time set by its published visiting schedule and confirmed at quoting. A licensed local guide, to be appointed, then takes the group through the Doge's Palace: the Scala d'Oro, the council chambers under Tintoretto's Paradise, and across the Bridge of Sighs into the old prisons. Entry rules, slots and amounts are as published and confirmed at quoting. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Castello, the quieter sestiere east of San Marco. The afternoon is free: the Accademia gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a gondola, or a vaporetto out to Murano or Burano. In the evening, cross to Dorsoduro for a spritz on the Zattere as the sun sets over the Giudecca canal. Venice charges some day visitors an access fee; guests staying overnight are described by secondary sources as exempt after registering, to be confirmed.

   Included

   • St Mark's Basilica, subject to its visiting schedule
   • The Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs with a proposed licensed local guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Castello

   Optional experiences

   • A gondola ride
   • Vaporetto to Murano and Burano

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 8 km on foot with many bridge steps. Venice's day-visitor access fee, if it applies to your dates, is not part of this plan.

   

8. Day 8: The Rialto market, then Florence

   Venice: Rialto, then the Frecciarossa to Florence

   • By boat
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Florence
   Day 8 details

   An early walk to the Rialto market, where the fish stalls sit under the old Pescheria loggia and the fruit and vegetable barrows line the Grand Canal behind them; market days and hours are to be checked, since we have not read them. Your guide takes the group through the lanes of San Polo for a cicchetti stop, small plates and a coffee at a standing bar, then back across the Rialto Bridge. We collect the bags and take the vaporetto to Santa Lucia for a late-morning high-speed train to Florence, estimated at about two hours by way of Padua and Bologna. Times and reservations are not confirmed. Lunch is your choice in Florence. In the late afternoon we walk the centre together: the Duomo and its bell tower, Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio, so the next day can go straight to the paintings. The evening is free in the Oltrarno.

   Included

   • Rialto market walk and a cicchetti stop in San Polo
   • Vaporetto to Santa Lucia and a proposed high-speed train to Florence, seats reserved where possible
   • Late-afternoon walk: the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio

   Free time: Lunch and the evening free

   Activity: Market days and hours have not been verified; the plan would be adjusted to the days the market is open.

9. Day 9: The Uffizi and Michelangelo's David

   Florence: the Uffizi, the Accademia and Piazzale Michelangelo

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Florence
   Day 9 details

   We plan to go into the Uffizi when it opens. The gallery publishes opening at 8.15 am from Tuesday to Sunday, and it is closed on Mondays, so the day is placed on a day it is open. A licensed local guide is proposed for Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo's Annunciation and the corridors of Roman statues. After a coffee break we walk across to lunch near the Mercato Centrale, where the upper floor is a hall of food stalls. In the early afternoon a timed entry is proposed at the Accademia for Michelangelo's David at the end of its long gallery, past the unfinished Prisoners; the Accademia's days and hours are to be confirmed at quoting. The rest of the afternoon is yours: the Bargello, Santa Croce or a rest in the shade. Before sunset we take the bus or walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the whole city turns gold below you. Dinner is your choice.

   Included

   • The Uffizi at its published opening time with a proposed licensed local guide
   • Sit-down lunch near the Mercato Centrale
   • The Accademia and Michelangelo's David, timed entry
   • Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo

   Optional experiences

   • Climbing the dome of Florence cathedral (timed tickets, if available)

   Easier option: Take the bus up to Piazzale Michelangelo, or skip it and rest before dinner.

   More active option: Climb the dome of the cathedral in the free afternoon, between the inner and outer shells, if timed tickets are available.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 9 km on foot and three to four hours standing in galleries. The Uffizi is closed on Mondays; dates would be set to avoid it.

   

10. Day 10: Train to Rome, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum

    Florence to Rome by Frecciarossa, then the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Forum

    • By train
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Rome
    Day 10 details

    A slower morning, then a high-speed train is proposed to Rome, estimated at about an hour and a half through Tuscany and Umbria; times and reservations are not confirmed. A van is proposed to take the bags to the hotel in the centro storico. After lunch on your own we walk to the Pantheon, still roofed by its ancient concrete dome, and on past the Trevi Fountain. A licensed local guide, to be appointed, is proposed for the Colosseum, with the time slot set at quoting, then along the Via Sacra through the Roman Forum and up the Palatine Hill, where the emperors built their palaces above the Circus Maximus. The park publishes that tickets are issued in the holder's name, that the Colosseum entry needs a booked time slot, and that sales open 30 days before the visit. Its winter closing time is 4.30 pm, so slots are as published and confirmed at quoting. Dinner is yours in Monti.

    Included

    • Proposed high-speed train from Florence to Rome, seats reserved where possible, and the bags by van to the hotel
    • The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain
    • The Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill with a proposed licensed local guide, tickets as published and confirmed at quoting

    Easier option: Skip the Palatine climb and wait in the shade by the Forum exit.

    Free time: Lunch and the evening free

    Activity: About 8 km on foot on uneven ancient paving, with a climb up the Palatine. Visiting hours change by season and tickets are named, so late slots are not guaranteed.

11. Day 11: The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's

    Rome: the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's, then Trastevere

    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Rome
    Day 11 details

    The plan visits the Vatican Museums early. The museums publish that they are open from Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 8 pm with final entry at 6 pm, and free on the last Sunday of the month, and that the only official online ticket site is their own. A licensed local guide is proposed for the long galleries of maps and tapestries and the Raphael Rooms. In the Sistine Chapel you have time to look up at Michelangelo's ceiling and his Last Judgement over the altar. From the chapel we go on into St Peter's Basilica, to Michelangelo's Pieta and Bernini's bronze canopy under the dome. Lunch is a sit-down Roman meal near the Vatican. The afternoon is free: Castel Sant'Angelo, the Galleria Borghese if you book it, the Spanish Steps or a nap. In the evening we cross the Tiber to Trastevere with your guide for a walk through its lanes and Santa Maria in Trastevere's mosaics, and dinner is your choice.

    Included

    • The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel early in the day with a proposed licensed local guide, tickets as published and confirmed at quoting
    • St Peter's Basilica
    • Sit-down lunch near the Vatican
    • Evening walk in Trastevere

    Optional experiences

    • The Galleria Borghese (timed tickets, book ahead)

    Easier option: Take a taxi back to the hotel after St Peter's and meet the group in Trastevere.

    More active option: Climb to the dome of St Peter's, if open and ticketed on your day, in the free afternoon.

    Free time: Afternoon free

    Activity: About 9 km on foot and four hours standing. The Vatican Museums close on most Sundays; dates would be set to avoid them. Covered shoulders and knees are expected; check the published dress rules.

12. Day 12: Fly to Paris, the Seine at dusk

    Rome Fiumicino to Paris by air, then a Seine boat

    • Drive about 1.5 h
    • Breakfast
    • Stay in Paris
    Day 12 details

    This is the one leg planned by air. A rail journey from Rome to Paris takes many hours with changes, so we propose a flight of about two hours instead; no flight, airline or schedule is booked. A van is proposed to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) in the morning, and after landing in Paris another van brings the group to the hotel in the centre in the afternoon, with suitcases in the hold. Your guide handles the check-in. Settle in, then walk along the Left Bank quays past the green bouquinistes' boxes towards the Ile de la Cite. As the light goes we board a Seine boat for about an hour, under the Pont Neuf and the Pont Alexandre III, past the Louvre's riverside wing, the Musee d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower, whose evening lighting times we would check. Dinner is your choice in Saint-Germain or the Marais. The France travel page notes demonstrations and strikes that can disrupt transport.

    Included

    • Proposed transfer to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) and a flight to Paris with checked bags, no flight booked
    • Proposed transfer from the Paris airport to the hotel
    • Walk along the Left Bank quays
    • Seine boat of about one hour at dusk, operator to be confirmed

    Free time: Late afternoon and the evening free

    Activity: About three and a half hours in vans and on the plane, plus airport time, by our estimate. Strikes or demonstrations can change a travel day.

    

13. Day 13: The Louvre and the Île de la Cité

    Paris: the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame

    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay in Paris
    Day 13 details

    The plan visits the Louvre when it opens at 9 am; the museum publishes that it is closed on Tuesdays and open until 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. A licensed local guide is proposed, and we go first to the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, then the Venus de Milo and the French paintings. Mid-morning we walk out through the Tuileries and along the river to the Ile de la Cite. Sainte-Chapelle is known for its stained glass. Notre-Dame, reported to have reopened in December 2024 after the fire, is a few minutes away; its visiting rules are as published and confirmed at quoting. The afternoon is free for the Musee d'Orsay, Montmartre, the Marais or a cafe terrace. In the evening the group meets for a farewell dinner at a bistro, with your guide and the people you have crossed five countries with.

    Included

    • The Louvre at opening with a proposed licensed local guide, tickets as published and confirmed at quoting
    • Walk through the Tuileries and along the Seine
    • Sainte-Chapelle
    • Notre-Dame, visit rules as published
    • Farewell dinner at a bistro

    Optional experiences

    • The Musee d'Orsay
    • The Eiffel Tower summit (dated tickets sold online; rules as published, confirmed at quoting)

    Easier option: Take the metro or a taxi from the Louvre to the Île de la Cité.

    More active option: Climb the towers of Notre-Dame in the afternoon if timed tickets are available.

    Free time: Afternoon free

    Activity: About 8 km on foot. The Louvre closes on Tuesdays; dates would be set to avoid it.

14. Day 14: Leave from Paris

    Your hotel in Paris to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

    • Breakfast
    Day 14 details

    A last breakfast in Paris, and the morning is yours if your flight is later in the day: a walk to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a pastry from a boulangerie, or a last look at the river from the Pont des Arts. Hotels in Paris usually ask for rooms by about noon, and the guide would arrange for the bags to be held if you go out after check-out. A van is proposed to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), with the time set for your flight; we would group departures that leave close together. If you are staying on in Paris or taking a train somewhere else in Europe, tell us when you enquire and we can quote extra nights or a station drop-off. Your guide says goodbye at the hotel and checks that everyone's transfer is set.

    Included

    • Proposed drop-off at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), timed for your flight

    Optional experiences

    • Extra nights in Paris

    Free time: Morning free

    Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 11 am; for an international flight, plan to be at the airport three hours before departure.

Wildlife and weather: April, May, September and October are usually milder and less crowded; July and August can be hot in Florence and Rome and are busy everywhere. The Rigi can be in cloud on any day, and its railway publishes maintenance periods, so the Rigi day is planned with the afternoon free to move the visit within the day. No supplier calendars have been checked, so the season is a planning window only.

• Amsterdam2 nights
• Bacharach1 night
• Lucerne2 nights
• Venice2 nights
• Florence2 nights
• Rome2 nights
• Paris2 nights