23 DAY Europe Uncovered EHPALL-8

Transcription

1 23 DAY Europe Uncovered EHPALL-8 This tour visits: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands Discover what it means to be a #Topdecker on this unforgettable jaunt across Europe. From the bustling boulevards of Paris to the striking beaches of Croatia, the majestic mountains of Switzerland to the pulsating nightclubs of Berlin, you ll have the chance to experience the best that Europe has to offer on this trip of a lifetime. Pack your bags we ll meet you in London!

2 The Bucket List More Inclusions Walking tour of Amsterdam Driving tour of Berlin Gondola ride in Venice Visit former concentration camp Mauthausen Walking tour of Venice Canal dinner cruise in Amsterdam Walking tour of Rome Visit Pisa & the famous Leaning Tower Walking tour of Verona Walking tour of the restored city of Dresden Visit stunning Lake Bled Walking tour of Prague Walking tour of Florence with local guide Walking tour of Salzburg Visit a traditional French perfumery Vaporetto ride in Venice Dutch cheese & clogs demonstration Walking tour of Monaco Driving tour of Paris & gourmet picnic by the Eiffel Tower 22 breakfasts, 10 dinners 22 nights hotel accommodation (twin or double) English Channel crossing Modern air-conditioned coach with free wifi Guided tours of all major cities Awesome Trip Leader + Driver Trip Itinerary Day 1 - London, England to Paris, France Brush up your bonjours when you meet the crew and hit the road from London to Paris. With charm and beauty to boot, Paris is the city of dreams that you need to visit at least once in your life. Pinch yourself and Instagram your first #selfie before we kick off the trip with a guided driving tour and gourmet picnic next to the Eiffel Tower. Paris has more than deserved its reputation as the European capital for all things culture, fashion and food. And tonight, you're about to find out why. -Driving tour of Paris & gourmet picnic by the Eiffel Tower Day 2 - Paris A free day in Paris = go nuts! Hang with the locals or do 'you' in your own time today. You've seen the City of Love act as the backdrop in iconic movies, read about the French capital in all the books and today, it's over to you to explore the what makes this city tick. From the Louvre and Musée d'orsay to the l'arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysées, you'll be sure to make a solid dent in your bucket list. Round off your day with an optional Seine river cruise or a #throwback bohemian cabaret show.

3 Optional activities: -Traditional cabaret show in Paris -Scenic river cruise on the Seine -Bike tour of Paris Day 3 - Paris Last chance to explore Europe's most infamous city. Leave no Parisian boulevard un-strolled; no fabulous wines left unopened; and no delectable French dish uneaten. How you spend today is totally up to you. If it's a food tour of Paris or a visit to the Palace of Versailles that you're after, we'll sort it out for you. Optional activities: -Food tour of Paris -Visit the Palace of Versailles Day 4 - Paris to Swiss Alps, Switzerland Trade in Parisian streets for snowy peaks. With picturesque mountains and to-die-for scenery, you won't be short of pretty things to Instagram today. Day 5 - Swiss Alps Laid-back, Alpine village living on the cards. Reach new heights with an excursion to the impressive Mount Titlis to complete the Swiss Alps bucket list. To end the day, search for the the best hot chocolate this side of town. Optional activities: -Scenic excursion to Mt. Titlis Day 6 - Swiss Alps to French Riviera, France Trade in your gruezi for bonjour as we follow in Napoleon's footsteps downwards to the glamorous French Riviera to rub shoulders with the rich and famous.

4 Day 7 - French Riviera including Monaco visit Bring your paparazzi posse to the beach or let loose among the designer boutiques in Nice's Old Town. Later: Roll with the jet set as we hit up Monaco for a walking tour and the chance to see how the 1% live (hint: it involves lots of fur and bathing in caviar). Feeling lucky? Take to the tables at the Monte Carlo Casino and make it rain (or not). -Walking tour of Monaco Day 8 - French Riviera to Florence, Italy En route to Florence - where there's over 1,800 restaurants and more culture than you can poke a gelato at. Get schooled on the Medici family and struct along the Ponte Vecchio (the only bridge not bombed in WWII). Try: a Florentine steak. Google it, and thank us later. -Visit a traditional French perfumery -Visit Pisa & the famous Leaning Tower Day 9 - Florence to Rome Buh-bye Florence. Enter Rome, then step back to 753 BC in one of the world's oldest open-air museums. Make like Caesar (the emperor, not the salad) and work up a colossus hunger as you pass by the Pantheon, throw your two cents in the Trevi Fountain, sit on the Spanish Steps and visit ancient history's version of the Hunger Games set at the Colosseum. Have fun! -Walking tour of Rome -Walking tour of Florence with local guide Day 10 - Rome including Vatican City visit

5 Rise and shine, you've got some exploring to do. Tick another country off the 'places to visit before I die' list with a stop at the Vatican City. How you spend your time here is up to you. Then, ditch the crowds and take a break on the west bank of the Tiber River and feast on traditional food in the Trastevere area, tucked away on the edge of Rome and home to trendy restaurants. Optional activity: -Guided tour of Vatican City Day 11 - Rome to Venice Hark! Maketh haste to whence the lady Juliet was wooed in Verona. Snap a #selfie at her balcony and join throngs of lovers leaving notes on the wall (or avoid the crowds and just marvel at the ancient arena). Say ciao to Venice from across the lagoon as we check into our hotel, have an Eat Pray Love-worthy relationship with an irresistible Italian (meal) and get pumped for living out your own version of The Italian Job tomorrow. -Walking tour of Verona Day 12 - Venice 100+ slowly sinking islands won't explore themselves. Get your bearings on this morning's walking tour, then get hopelessly lost. Soak up St Mark's Square before a quintessential gondola ride on the Grand Canal. This afternoon, snoop the Doge's Palace, cross Rialto Bridge and shop for Carnevale masks. -Walking tour of Venice -Gondola ride in Venice -Vaporetto ride in Venice Day 13 - Venice to Pula, Croatia With an ancient Roman amphitheatre that doubles as a concert venue, Pula is pretty rad. Gear up for a small-town vibe, endless beaches and the scent of pine.

6 Day 14 - Pula It's a free day in Pula. Explore to your heart's content and soak up this one-of-a-kind paradise. Day 15 - Pula to Ljubljana, Slovenia Shoot one last longing look at Pula before arriving in Ljubljana (lyoob-lya-nah) - aka the capital of Slovenia. See the city come alive on an optional food tour of Ljubljana, or visit the impressive Postojna Cave. Optional activities: -Visit the world-famous Postojna Cave -Food tour of Ljubljana Day 16 - Ljubljana to Salzburg, Austria So long, farewell, as we set off to find The Sound of Music. But first a stop at Insta-worthy Lake Bled. Go for baroque and make a date with Mozart on a walking tour of his birthplace, and play eye-spy with the fortress overlooking the city (yeah, we see you Salzburg Castle). -Visit stunning Lake Bled -Walking tour of Salzburg Day 17 - Salzburg to Prague, Czech Republic Begin the day with a sobering visit to the former concentration camp Mauthausen. Then, we move onto Prague. Feast on trdelník (pastry deliciousness) before a walking tour amongst spires and cobblestone streets. Check out the castle deemed worthy by Guinness World Records as being the largest ancient castle in the world, cross medieval Charles Bridge and watch 'Death' toll the hour on an astronomical clock that's over 600 years old. -Visit former concentration camp Mauthausen -Walking tour of Prague

7 Day 18 - Prague Another free day for the win. Channel your inner bohemian and seek out the John Lennon memorial wall, soak up some more Czech history at the National or Communist Museum or get a taste of the quirky local culture at a marionette puppet opera (you gotta see it to believe it). Snap a selfie at Prague's own Eiffel Tower, visit a miniatures museum, eat roast pork from one of the street vendors lining Old Town Square and drink beer. Really. Good. Beer. Optional Activities: -Local beer tasting in Prague Day 19 - Prague to Berlin, Germany Get acquainted with 800 year-old Dresden - a city virtually destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt - and ogle the Frauenkirche before making your beard all the more ironic in Berlin. Prep yourself for currywurst, absinthe and more hipsters per capita than anywhere else. We'll drive you around to see (what's left of) the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building before making your food baby sing with a hearty German meal. -Walking tour of the restored city of Dresden -Driving tour of Berlin Day 20 - Berlin Shake off last night with a wander around the German capital. Optional: Third Reich walking tour and local insight into what the city was like under Nazi rule during World War II. Kreuzberg is a hit for lunch. Afternoon suggestion? Have a picnic at the historic Tempelhof airport turned public park #picniconthetarmac. Tonight: hit the hotspots on an optional street art and nightlife tour. Optional Activities: -Third Reich walking tour -Street art & nightlife tour of Berlin Day 21 - Berlin to Amsterdam, Netherlands Cheese lovers, rejoice. Your next stop is a local Dutch farm to see how cheddar (and clogs) are made. Next: Amsterdam, mayo-dipped fries and red lights. Get your bearings on a walking tour of the vibrant capital and see the Dam Square, Royal Palace and National Monument. Then: explore all that this notoriously liberal city has to offer.

8 -Dutch cheese & clogs demonstration -Walking tour of Amsterdam Day 22 - Amsterdam Join the 881,000 bicycles and get local to explore Amsterdam's iconic canals, bridges and parks. Culture fiends, delve deeper with a visit to the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh or Rijksmuseum. Still thirsty for more? Check out the Heineken Experience for an interactive visit and tasting at the brewery. -Canal dinner cruise in Amsterdam Optional Activities: -Bike tour of Amsterdam Day 23 - Amsterdam to London, England After all the Amster-damage has been done and dusted, it's time to hit the road and make tracks to ol' Blighty. Soak up all the happy group vibes you can possibly handle - this is your last coach ride with the gang. #sadface. Accommodation We endeavour to select a combination of good quality hotels that reflect the character of the local area as well as being as centrally located as possible, while striving to keep the cost affordable. Your trip will stay in a range of European hotels of three and four-star quality. Please be aware that European hotel rooms, especially those in major urban centres or older cities, may be smaller than what you are used to in other parts of the world. Standards and ratings may also be different to your home country. Rooms are en-suite and either twin or triple-share, depending on what you have booked. If you are a solo traveller, you will always be sharing a room with someone of the same sex unless you have paid an extra fee for your own room. If you are travelling as a couple and would prefer to have a double bed, please officially request a double room with your travel agent or Customer Service Consultant. We never presume that two people travelling together are a couple, even if you share the same surname, unless informed otherwise.

9 Meals Your included meals are detailed in the 'More Inclusions' section of this document. Breakfasts are included every day in the hotel (except on the first morning). They are usually 'continental breakfasts', which are typical in most European countries. A typical breakfast may consist of cereals with milk or yoghurt, bread, croissants, cold meats, cheese and a range of spreads, with fruit juice, tea or coffee to drink. It is rare to get a hot breakfast in continental Europe, though on some occasions there may be some hot food available as well. Included evening meals are in local restaurants or accommodations, and are either two or three courses. In most cases table water is provided with the meals, and if you wish to purchase additional drinks you can do so at your own expense. If you have any dietary requirements we will make every effort to cater to your specific needs as long as you advise your travel agent or Customer Service Consultant when you book, or make note of this in the Topdeck app when you check in (refer below). However, please be aware that although we will do everything in our power to arrange it, we cannot guarantee that every restaurant we use will be able to cater to all dietary needs, particularly in Eastern Europe. We also cannot cater for tastes or dislikes, as most of our included evening meals feature a set menu. No Tip Necessary Your Topdeck crew never expect tips themselves and will not ask for any; that s not what friends do! We also know how much tipping can cost you. So go ahead, spoil yourself with the money you will save by travelling with Topdeck (just don t forget Mum s souvenir). Topdeck Travel App Our travel app has landed! With a range of awesome features including a Currency Converter, Budget Tracker, Check-In tool and Social Timeline you can plan your trip like a pro. Think of it like your very own Topdeck Trip Leader, always on call with the latest info, weather, maps and city guides to give you the trip of a lifetime, all in the palm of your hand. Please note: The Topdeck Travel App should only be downloaded once you have booked onto your trip. You will not be able to log in unless you have a Topdeck Booking Reference Number. Get it for iphone Get it for Android Passenger safety One of the best parts of travelling is experiencing the nightlife and entertainment each city has to offer. However, amidst the fun and excitement, it s important to be aware of your surroundings and personal safety as well. Before you hit the road with us, it s important to be aware of the following: When you re on a night out, remember to avoid walking alone, particularly through deserted areas like beaches and back streets. Always stick together, take a taxi where possible, and keep a note of your accommodation details so you can find your way back to your fellow

10 Topdeckers if you become separated. In some countries, alcoholic measures can be considerably larger than what you may be used to. Try to keep track of what you re drinking, and if you see one of your trip mates looking a little worse for wear, take them back to your accommodation. Be cautious when accepting drinks from strangers and never leave your drink unattended. It s also important to be aware that what you might consider harmless flirting may be interpreted differently in some countries. Be yourself and have fun, but don t be naïve, and be mindful of the signals you are sending out so that you don t find yourself in an uncomfortable situation.