Day-1. DEPARTURE CITY – PARIS: Overnight flight to Paris.

Day-2. PARIS: Upon arrival start with a guided city tour. See: Eiffel Tower, Opéra Garnier, Place de la Concorde, Place de la Bastille, Place de la République, Obélisque de Louxor, Champs-Élysées, Ecole Militaire, Tuileries Gardens, Les Invalides, Quartier Latin, Jardin du Luxembourg, and more.  At the end of the city tour arrive at your centrally located hotel and check-in. In the evening join your tour director on a walking tour to Basilica Sacre Coeur and the artistic Montmartre. In the evening take the elevator to the highest platform of the Eiffel Tower for a great view over “The City of Lights.”

Day-3. PARIS – VERSAILLES: Start your day with a short ride by the local train to the charming town of Versailles. On a guided tour visit the lavish palace of Louis the XIV, the Sun King. Visit the Royal Chambers, Hall of Mirrors, Drawing Rooms, Royal Chapel, and more. In the afternoon visit the beautiful Musée d’Orsay. It houses the biggest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh.In the evening walk to Pont d’ Alma where you will board Bateaux Mouchesfor an exciting cruise on the Seine.

Day-4. PARIS – ROME: Walk to Louvre for a guided tour. The professional guide from the museum will show you the most important artifacts and tell you about the history of the museum and the history of art. Explore the beautiful collection of sculptures and paintings including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, Venus de Milo, Nike the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and more. Proceed to Ile de la Cité and see the Notre Dame Cathedral. In the evening board a sleeper train to Rome.

Day-5. ROME: Arrive in Rome in the morning. Transfer to your centrally located hotel and go for a walking city tour of Ancient Rome. Visit the remains of the Roman civilization from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. Walk through Colosseum and imagine how it must have looked when the games were going on. Go on to Forum Romanum where there is the spot where Julius Ceasar was cremated. On the Eades of March every year someone still puts flowers on it. Also see Arch of Constantine, Titus Arch, and more. Admire the Victor Emanuel Monument celebrating the unity of Italy of the modern-day.

Day-6. ROME: Continue with the walking tour to see the sites of Baroque Rome: Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Pinzio Hill, and Piazza del Poppoli, and more. Visit Pantheon, one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. The Pantheon’s circular dome was unique in Roman architecture and has been copied many times by architects later on. In the evening some free time around the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps where you can try the best Italian Gelato.

Day- 7. ROME – VATICAN: Take the metro to go to the Vatican and enjoy a guided tour of the Vatican Museum one of the best museums in the world. End the visit in the Sistine Chapel. It is the seat of the Conclave where the Popes are elected. View the magnificent ceilings painted by Michelangelo. Continue to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Catholic Church in the world, and admire another Michelangelo’s masterpiece the sculpture of La Pieta. Then visit the Catacombs of St. Peter’s Basilica housing tombs of several late Popes. Free afternoon for exploring on your own and shopping.

Day-8. DEPARTURE: Transfer to the airport for your flight home.

PACKAGE INCLUDES:

Round trip airfare

5 nights in centrally located hotels (rooms with private bathrooms)
5 European buffet breakfasts
5 dinners (3 courses)

Night train Paris-Rome
Bus per program

GUIDED TOURS OF: 
Paris, Louvre, Versailles, Ancient Rome, Baroque Rome, and the Vatican

ENTRANCES TO:
Eiffel Tower(top platform), Louvre, Versailles, Musée d’Orsay, Colosseum, Forum Romanum, Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, and Catacombs.

Bateaux Mouches – a cruise on the Seine

2 metro tickets in Paris
2 metro tickets in Rome

ADD A DAY: Add one day in Paris. Take a guided bus tour to Château de Malmaison. The palace has been home to Josephine Bonaparte, the Empress of France. She lived there, on and off, for 15 years. The Château is beautifully restored and shows Napoleon’s rooms as well as Josephine’s rooms. The second floor shows a collection of the Empress’s wardrobe and many household things. Her coronation dress is there as well. The intimacy of the museum is extraordinary. It is about 15 km from Paris. The afternoon is free for some shopping and wandering around Paris by yourselves. $ 270.00

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