18 DAY Winter Getaway EEWGLL-8

Transcription

1 18 DAY Winter Getaway EEWGLL-8 This tour visits: France, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands Nothing s like Europe in winter. The snow-covered rooftops, the scrumptious food and the chance to cloak yourself in winter woolies are just some of the reasons why a trip during the chilly season is the perfect idea. Oh, and not to mention the lack of crowds. Take the opportunity to explore the wintry wonderlands of France, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands (sans, a throng of tourists) and give your friends a million reasons to hit Like on your Instagram page. The Bucket List More Inclusions Canal dinner cruise in Amsterdam Walking tour of Florence with local guide Visit former concentration camp Mauthausen A tasty sample of traditional Swiss fondue Driving tour of Paris Dutch cheese & clogs demonstration Vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal, Venice 17 breakfasts, 7 dinners 11 nights in hostels, 4 nights in bungalows & 2 nights in hotel upgrades English Channel crossings Modern air-conditioned coach with free Wi-Fi Guided tours of all major cities Awesome Trip Leader + Driver

2 Trip Itinerary Day 1 - London, England to Paris, France Leave London for dust as we jump over the English Channel to France for a beauty smackdown. Brush up on your bonjours when you meet the rest of the group and wrap your lips around your first real French meal at our included dinner. See the City of Light at its best on a driving tour and play landmark bingo with the Eiffel Tower, Champs Élysées and Arc de Triomphe. -English Channel crossing -Driving tour of Paris Day 2 - Paris A free day in Paris to soak up all the pastries, paintings and prettiness you can handle. Bike along the Seine on an optional tour or just flâner (stroll) around and drink it in. Check out L'eclair de Genie in Le Marais, get your obligatory Eiffel Tower #selfie then explore the world's largest grave at the Catacombs. Tonight, experience the razzle dazzle of a cabaret show or hop on a boat down the river to crank the romance dial to 11. -Bike tour of Paris -Traditional cabaret show in Paris -Scenic river cruise on the Seine Day 3 - Paris to Swiss Alps, Switzerland Tear yourself away from that baguette - fondue awaits! Driving through the Swiss countryside is like watching Monet paint a masterpiece, each mountain on the way to Lauterbrunnen another masterful brushstroke. Thanks, nature. Get your comfort eating pants on for an included dinner. Hint: There will be cheese. Day 4 - Swiss Alps Hop on board the optional excursion to Jungfrau ('The Top of Europe'), which takes you to the highest train station in Europe. Hint: the view is ridic. Want more adventure? Up the adrenaline by skydiving out of a helicopter, then head back down for some snow angels and hot chocolate.

3 -Scenic excursion to Jungfrau ('The Top of Europe') -Scenic helicopter ride -Skydiving -Schilthorn cable car experience Day 5 - Swiss Alps to Florence, Italy If you're going to make something wrong it better be good looking. Failures don't come anymore beautiful than the leaning tower of Pisa. Snap a pic (you know the one) then make your food baby sing as we roll into the land of hearty Tuscan cuisine and birthplace of gelato: Florence. Whip around Santa Maria del Fiore before tucking into amore on a plate. -Visit Pisa & the famous Leaning Tower Day 6 - Florence Florence has more stories than Bilbo Baggins, more culture than a Shoreditch hipster and over 1,800 restaurants. Get schooled on the Medici family, stroll the Ponte Vecchio and learn about leather (new handbag, anyone?) on a morning walking tour. Use the afternoon to meet a guy named David doing his best Blue Steel in the Accademia Gallery, shop the markets and hunt down the best aperitivo spreads. -Walking tour of Florence with local guide Day 7 - Florence to Rome Romeward bound, we make a stop in Orvieto for the chance to grab a wild boar sandwich so tender you can cut it with words. Then we hightail it to the Eternal City for a rendezvous with ancient architecture's biggest players. 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 and sit on the Spanish Steps. -Visit the town of Orvieto -Walking tour of Rome Day 8 - Rome including Vatican City visit Create the ultimate Roman Holiday in one day with a whirlwind of Vespas, espresso, two cheek kisses and pizza the way it's supposed to

4 taste. Pop in on the Pope on an optional tour of the Vatican City to see how Michelangelo messed around and created the High Renaissance, then play eye spy with two and a half millennia worth of history. Shop till you drop on Via Condotti, head to Capitoline Hill for awesome views of the Roman Forum and Colosseum or just kick back in Piazza Navona for some dolce far niente (delicious idleness). -Guided tour of Vatican City Day 9 - 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 and have an Eat Pray Love-worthy relationship with an irresistible Italian (meal). -Walking tour of Verona Day 10 - Venice 100+ slowly sinking islands won't explore themselves. Get your bearings on this morning's walking tour, then get hopelessly lost. Your GPS won't save you here. Soak up St Mark's Square before a quintessential gondola ride on the Grand Canal. Corny smooching not included. This afternoon, snoop the Doge's Palace, cross Rialto Bridge and shop for Carnevale masks. -Walking tour of Venice -Vaporetto ride -Gondola ride Day 11 - Venice to Salzburg, Austria So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye as we set off to find The Sound of Music. Go for baroque and make a date with Mozart on a walking tour of his birthplace, and then play eye spy with the fortress overlooking the city, Salzburg Castle. -Walking tour of Salzburg

5 Day 12 - Salzburg to Prague, Czech Republic First, a sobering visit to Mauthausen concentration camp for a lesson in the resilience of humanity. Then, fuel up on trdelník (pastry deliciousness) before a walking tour amongst spires and cobblestone streets in Prague. Suss out the castle deemed worthy by Guinness World Records as 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. After dinner, get cosy in a café with hot chocolate so thick you can stand a spoon in it or slip into an absinthe bar to meet the green fairy. -Visit former concentration camp Mauthausen -Walking tour of Prague Day 13 - Prague Channel your inner bohemian and seek out the John Lennon memorial wall to start your free day. 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 The Museum of Miniatures, eat roast pork from one of the street vendors lining Old Town Square and drink beer. Really. Good. Beer. Day 14 - 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 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. Save some room to get your DJ groupie on. -Walking tour of the restored city of Dresden -Driving tour of Berlin Day 15 - Berlin Join the optional Third Reich walking tour for an insight into what the city was like under Nazi rule during WWII, go on a museum crawl (covering everything from the Ramones to DDR) or head to the zoo. More culture awaits on Museum Island, with creative types and memorable meals available in the Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg neighbourhoods. Tonight, no curfew at clubs = all bets are off!

6 -Third Reich walking tour -Street art & nightlife tour of Berlin Day 16 - Berlin to Amsterdam, Netherlands Amster-DAM it's going to be a good day! Start dreaming of cheese, clogs and cheeky cafe stops as we roll through windmill dotted fields to Amsterdam. Get your bearings on a walking tour of the vibrant capital and see the Dam Square, Royal Palace and National Monument. End the night with a cone of hot chips with mayo. Mmm. -Dutch cheese & clogs demonstration -Walking tour of Amsterdam Day 17 - Amsterdam Get on your bike and ride! Do as the locals do and join the 881,000 bicycles on an optional city bike tour to soak up the wintery canal vistas before retreating with poffertjes and stroopwafels. Take on the city's 51 museums (must-dos: Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House). Still thirsty for more? Check out the Heineken Experience for an interactive visit and tasting at the brewery. Top it off with a dinner cruise on the canal. -Canal dinner cruise -Bike tour of Amsterdam Day 18 - Amsterdam to London, England Farewell your newfound travel buds when we hit the grand old city of London. Accommodation Hostel Plus trips host our most eclectic types of accommodation. While modern hostels make up the majority of your overnighters you could also stay in hotels (free upgrade - yeah!) or bungalows. The 'More Inclusions' section details what type of accommodation will be used for overnight stops on your trip.

7 The number of people to a room on Hostel Plus trips will vary. For hostels you will have multi-share rooms and usually share with between 3 and 5 others (although in some circumstances you will share with more than 5) while in hotels there will be twin or triple-shares (and the odd quad-room). Bungalows can be up to 4 people to a room. Please note: When staying on a Hostel Plus trip, multi-share accommodation is single-sex. Meals Your included meals are detailed in the 'More Inclusions' section of this document. Breakfasts are included every day (except on the first morning). Included meals will be a combination of those prepared by Topdeck On-Site Chefs, local restaurants and places in which we stay. 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

8 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 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.