France and Germany

Day 1:

Overnight Flight to Paris

Day 2:

Welcome to France!

• Meet your Tour Director at the airport
  
• Explore Paris on foot with your Tour Director, walking the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter, crossing onto Île de la Cité, and pausing by the flying buttresses of Notre-Dame Cathedral
• Visit the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and a world-spanning collection housed beneath a modern glass pyramid and royal palace walls
  

Day 3:

Explore Paris

• Guided by a local expert, follow the thread of revolution and elegance through Paris’s grand boulevards. From the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde, experience a city that lives and breathes its joie de vivre
• Guided excursion to Versailles
• Opt to take a guided excursion to Versailles. Explore the Hall of Mirrors, State Apartments, and sprawling gardens once home to the Sun King
• Enjoy a Seine River cruise in Paris, gliding past bridges and monuments as the city lights reflect off the water’s surface
  

Day 4:

Paris - Strasbourg

• Travel by TGV train to Strasbourg, gliding through vineyards and storybook villages in Alsace
  
• Guided by a local expert, explore Strasbourg where French charm meets European ambition. Visit Strasbourg Cathedral, walk the canals of Petite France, see the timbered houses of the Grande-Île, and pass the glass curve of the European Parliament
• Visit Strasbourg Cathedral to stand beneath its Gothic spire and watch sunlight pour through one of Europe’s most famous rose windows

Day 5:

Strasbourg

• Take a full day excursion to Colmar and the Maginot Line, spending the day exploring the storybook charm of Colmar before heading to the hills of northeast France to uncover the military history of the Maginot Line
• Visit Fortress Four à Chaux, one of the best-preserved forts along the Maginot Line, with underground tunnels, artillery positions, and a glimpse into France’s WWII defenses
  

Day 6:

Strasbourg - Heidelberg

• Travel to Heidelberg, stopping in Baden-Baden, a historic spa town once favored by European royalty
  
• Explore Heidelberg on foot with your Tour Director, strolling through the Old Town past Marktplatz, the historic university, and lanes that lead up to castle views and riverside charm

Day 7:

Heidelberg

• Explore Rothenburg on foot with your Tour Director, wandering past half-timbered homes and into the central Marktplatz before stopping at the town hall’s centuries-old tower
• Enjoy a special farewell dinner to celebrate your journey and share a final meal with your group
  

Day 8:

Depart for home