Highlights: The Burren, Dublin, Kilmainhaim Gaol, Galway, Giant's Causeway, Aran Islands.
Hot topics: History, Religion and Monasticism, Literature (W B Yeats, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift).
Highlights: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Bath, Oxford, Stonehenge, Stratford upon Avon.
Hot topics: Literature, History, Theatre, Finance, Art and Architecture.
Highlights: Glencoe, Edinburgh, Skye, Iona, Stirling Castle, Clava Cairns, The Hermitage.
Hot topics: Geography/Geology, History, Literature, Politics and Government.
Highlights: Krakow, Auschwitz, Kazimierz, Warsaw, Museum of 1944 Uprising, Westerplatte.
Hot topics: World War II, The Holocaust, Jewish Culture, 20th Century History.
Highlights: Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Versailles, Foutainebleu, Reims, Chartres, Normandy.
Hot topics: Art (Impressionists, Monet, Rodin), Literature, European History.
Highlights: Granada, L'Alhambra, Cordoba, Mesquita, Barcelona, Museo de Picasso, La Sagrada Famila, La Pedrera, Madrid, Museo Del Prado, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Toledo.
Hot topics: Art, Modern Art (Picasso, Miro), Architecture (Gaudi).
Highlights: Lisbon, Faro, Fatima, Coimbra, Porto.
Hot topics: Navigation and Exploration, Monarchy and Empire, European History, Religious Studies.
Highlights: Zurich, View from Felsenegg, Zermatt, Mount Rigi, Aare Gorge, Rhone Glacier, Lake Lucerne, Appenzell, Grundewald, Rhine Falls (Europe's largest waterfall).
Hot topics: Geology, Environmental Studies, Travel and Tourism, Finance.
Highlights: Amsterdam, Anne Frank's House, Rijkmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Canals, The Hague, Bruges, Brussells, Antwerp.
Hot topics: European Politics and Government, the European Community, International Law, Art, European History.
Highlights: Berlin, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie Museum, Pergamon Museum, Potsdam, Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Castle.
Hot topics: World War II, Modern History, Jewish Culture, Politics and the European Union.
Highlights: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Hot topics: Aliquam aliquam quam ac augue semper placerat vitae et mauris.
Highlights: Salzburg, Mozart Residence, Halstatt, the Alps, Estherhazy Palace, Eisenstadt, Castle Herberstein, The Imperial Hotel, Vienna, Graz.
Hot topics: Music, Geology, European HIstory.
Highlights: Budapest, Hungarian Parliament, Godolla Palace, Szechenyi Baths, Esterhazy Palace in Fertod, Szentendre, Visegrad.
Hot topics: The Hapsburgs, Austro-Hungarian Empire, European History.
Highlights: Dubrovnik, "The Pearl of the Adriatic", Hvar, Split, Trogir, Zadar.
Hot topics: Empire (Byzantine, Ottoman, Venetian, Hungarian), Ancient History, Archeology, Architecture, Modern European History.
Highlights: The Parthenon, Epidaurus, Delphi, Mycenae, Olympia, Meteora Pinnacle Monasteries.
Hot topics: Archeology, Classicism, Philosophy, Art, Ancient History.
Highlights: Roman Forum and Colisseum, Uffizi Gallery, San Marco, Venice, Pompeii.
Hot topics: Archeology, Art, Architecture, Ancient History.
Upon arrival enjoy a panoramic drive around town to get our first views of the Champs Elysees, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. In the evening enjoy some traditional French cuisine. After dinner you may choose to venture to the Tour Eiffel and scale the lofty iron framework for one of the best and most exhilarating views of Paris!
In the morning your guide will take you the Marais district of Paris with its beautiful squares and chateaus before crossing over to the Ile de la Cite, to see the awe inspiring Notre Dame Cathedral, with its menacing gargoyles and magnificent rose windows. In the afternoon, we will see the Mona Lisa’s smile among thousands of artistic treasures in the Louvre.
This morning let your guide take you to Versailles, the magnificent chateau of the Sun King Louis XIV. Once here you can discover the mirrored galleries, opulent rooms, and magnificent gardens that make this chateau such an unmissable attraction. This afternoon you can head back into Paris to continue your explorations and discover French Café Culture in the chic and fashionable Marais district or stroll down the Champs Elysees. Maybe Paris’s other great museums are calling you? See the impressionists at the Musee d’Orsay or Picasso at his own museum!
Today we are off to see the countryside and visit one or two old artistic friends. First stop will be to luxuriate in the floral bliss of Claude Monet’s country garden at Giverny. His Japanese garden with water lilies has been well looked after and the riot of colour is gobsmacking! After an included rustic lunch we’ll meander through some country lanes to find our way through to the picturesque town of Auvers-sur- Oise where Vincent Van Gough chose to end his days. The painting of the local church, L’église d’Auvers-sur-Oise is one of his best-known images.
This morning we leave Paris for the picturesque countryside of Northern France. Our first stop of the journey north is Chartres, home to one of the most celebrated gothic Cathedrals in the world. The Cathedral of Chartres, listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site, dominates the local landscape and is renowned for its stunning carvings and its beautiful stained glass. This evening we will stop at Saint Malo, an enchanting seaside haven.
This morning will see us travel east to the Mont St Michel, a monastery and thriving community perched on an island in the sea! Stunning views and vistas beckon as we explore this architectural gem. Seafood is the speciality here. This afternoon we return to the ferry port of St Malo and are guided through its rich and often controversial history. Thriving port or nest of pirates? Today you see an almost perfectly preserved walled medieval city. This evening we stay in St Malo.
Today we leave the City and head to Normandy. This afternoon we will visit the Caen Memorial, the pre-eminent museum and memorial to the D Day landings of June 1944. This museum is dedicated to the valiant men and women who laid down their lives to preserve our way of life. The memorial also focuses its attention on the causes of WW2 and its aftermath highlighting this event in a wider historical context. We will spend tonight in Caen.
Our historical journey takes us from medieval Caen, the fortress of William the Conqueror, the last man to successfully invade Britain back in 1066, to the landing beaches of 1944. We will visit the American Cemetery at Coleville, the resting place of 9,387 young American service personnel, the Pointe du Hoc where the US Rangers first made their name and Arromanches where the British troops landed. We will spend tonight in Caen.