Best of Europe in 21 Days Tour
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Overview
Highlights
- Visit Germany's greatest Rococo-style church, the Wieskirche
- Visit the Doge's Palace or the Titian- and Tintoretto-packed Accademia art gallery
- Visit the famous Hôtel Dieu medieval hospital
- Enjoy driving into French Burgundy for a look at small-town France.
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Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Attractions
Activities
Trip includes
- A small, friendly group of 24–28 people — half the size of most tour groups
- Full-time services of a professional Rick Steves guide and local experts who will make the fascinating history, art, and culture of Europe come alive for you
- All tours and admissions — at no extra cost — covering at least 34 group sightseeing events, Haarlem walking tour, Amsterdam walking tour, Rijksmuseum tour, Amsterdam canal cruise, Dutch open-air museum, Rhine cruise, Rheinfels Castle tour, Bacharach walking tour, Rothenburg Night Watchman tour, Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial tour, Wieskirche, Neuschwanstein Castle tour, Mountain luge ride (weather permitting), Venice walking tour, St. Mark's Square and Basilica, Florence Renaissance walking tour, Florence's Accademia Gallery including Michelangelo's David, Uffizi Gallery tour, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Evening walk through Rome including Trevi Fountain, Colosseum tour, Forum tour, Pantheon, Italian hill town visit, Orientation for "vacation" day in Cinque Terre, Hiking orientation in the Swiss Alps, Hôtel Dieu in Beaune, Wine tasting in Burgundy, 2-Day Paris Museum Pass, Paris panoramic bus tour, Louvre Museum, Paris walking tour , Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle…and more
- All group transportation from Haarlem to Paris
- 20 nights' accommodations in memorable, centrally located hotels
- All breakfasts and half your dinners
- All tips for guides and driver
- Rick Steves Travel Store credit to use toward guidebooks for your trip
- Guaranteed tour price, locked in the moment you make your deposit
- Optional single supplements — this tour has a limited number of private rooms for solo travelers for an additional fee
- Tour alum discount of $50 for each tour you've taken prior to 2017
- 50% discount on a consulting appointment with our in-house experts to assist with your pre- or post-tour travel plans
- Flexibility should you need to transfer, or cancel/interrupt your tour
- Fine print: You are responsible for the cost of your drinks and free-time sightseeing
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Itinerary
We'll start in quintessentially Dutch Haarlem, a quick 30 minutes by train, bus, or taxi from the Amsterdam airport. We'll meet at our hotel at 3 p.m. for an orientation and chance to get acquainted, followed by a walking tour of this charming town and a traditional rijsttafel dinner together. Sleep in Haarlem (2 nights). No bus. Walking: light.
We'll hop aboard the train into Amsterdam this morning, and get an introduction to this progressive, artistic city on an informative walking tour of Amsterdam's historic streets, lined with teetering, gable-topped houses overlooking centuries-old canals. We'll continu...
We'll travel to Arnhem's open-air museum this morning to see what life was like in this corner of Europe centuries ago. We'll wander among the quaint houses, village storefronts, and working windmills, followed by a traditional Dutch pancake lunch. Then we'll work our...
This morning we'll take a walking tour of the village of Bacharach with an entertaining local guide. At nearby St. Goar we'll hike up the hill to tour the mighty medieval Rheinfels Castle, and enjoy its commanding view of the Rhine Valley. We'll then board a boat for ...
We'll get an early start today, arriving in Rothenburg, Germany's best preserved medieval town, just before lunchtime. After a helpful orientation tour, the afternoon is yours to see the best woodcarving in Germany (Riemenschneider's altarpiece), walk the medieval wal...
Today we'll make a 21st-century pilgrimage to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial near Munich, where we'll learn powerful lessons about the Holocaust and World War II. We'll then drive across the Bavarian countryside to visit Germany's greatest Rococo-style church,...
It's a short drive and a half-hour hike to "Mad" King Ludwig's deservedly famous Neuschwanstein Castle. We'll tour the castle and have time for lunch. Afterward you'll barrel down the Tegelberg luge (weather permitting). This afternoon you'll be free to visit another ...
We'll take a scenic, all-day drive to Venice today, stopping en route for lunch together in a characteristic Italian-Tirolean village. In Venice we'll park our bus and board a vaporetto boat for a Grand Canal ride to our hotel in the historic heart of this seductive c...
This morning our local guide will take us on a winding walking tour through Venice, blending historic and modern-day stories of this one-of-a-kind treasure, and giving us a local's perspective on Venice's fascinating past…and its uncertain future. We'll finish our mor...
An early-morning vaporetto ride will reunite us with our bus and driver. We'll drive straight to Florence and hit the ground walking with a Renaissance tour of the city's historic center. We'll see and learn about Brunelleschi's magnificent cathedral dome, Ghiberti's ...
This morning is on your own. You can sleep in — or get an early start and scramble to the top of Brunelleschi's dome, or browse through Florence's colorful food and craft markets. After lunch, we'll tour the wealth of Botticellis, Leonardos, and Raphaels in the greate...
This morning we'll drive straight to the heart of Rome. After a quick lunch and transportation lesson, we'll focus on Renaissance (Catholic) Rome at the sprawling Vatican Museums. We'll visit what seems like a limitless collection of treasures as you make your way to ...
Today we'll uncover Ancient Rome as a local guide takes us through the monumental Colosseum, history-drenched Roman Forum, and the awe-inspiring Pantheon. You'll have the rest of your day free and Rome beckons. Take a modern day pilgrimage at the greatest church in Ch...
We'll drive along Italy's western coast today, with a refreshing stop at one of Italy's enchanting hill towns. This afternoon's destination is Italy's dramatic Cinque Terre: five perfectly preserved fishing villages, laced together with hiking paths that meander betwe...
Ahh, it's time to take a "vacation from your vacation" today in our Mediterranean getaway. Pick a Cinque Terre village and spend your day exploring the stairways and alleyways, sunning yourself on the rocks, or sipping a cappuccino and catching up on your journal at a...
Today we'll catch an early train back to our bus and head over the hills, past the farms and along the pristine lakes of northern Italy, and into the Alpine wonderland of Switzerland. After a breathtaking drive into the very heart of the Swiss Alps, we'll arrive at ou...
The day is all yours to enjoy some of Europe's most dramatic scenery. You may want to join your guide for an optional mountain excursion that combines the local narrow-gauge railway, a gondola lift, and a spectacular Alpine walk above the tree line, surrounded by a pa...
Today we'll say auf Wiedersehen to the Alps and bonjour to la belle France. We'll drive into profoundly French Burgundy for a look at small-town France. We'll have an orientation walk through the heart of Burgundy's inviting wine capital, Beaune, visit the famous Hôtel Dieu medieval hospital, then enjoy a wine tasting together. Sleep in Beaune (1 night). Bus: 5 hrs. Walking: light.
This morning we'll drive straight to Paris, where you'll have an orientation of the neighborhood markets and cafés to find lunch on your own. After checking into our nearby hotel, we'll have a transportation lesson and Métro ride to the historic heart of Paris: the Il...
This day provides a busy, star-studded finale for our tour. We’ll start the day with a private panoramic bus tour through the city. After our rolling orientation to the City of Light, your guide will orient you and set you free to explore Europe's greatest museum — th...
Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today. If you're staying on in Paris, today would be a great day to hop on the train and tackle the sprawling palace and grounds at Versailles. If you're headed home, it's a breeze to reach Paris' airports by taxi, shuttle or public transportation. Au revoir!
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Rick Steves.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
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Our mission is to inspire, inform and equip Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable and culturally broadening. We value travel as a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live. We strive to keep our own travel style, our world outlook and our business practices consistent with these values.
About Rick Steves
Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America's most respected authority on European travel. Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. As an 18-year-old, Rick began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a staff of 80 full-time, well-travelled employees at his headquarters in Washington state. There he produces more than 50 guidebooks on European travel, America's most popular travel series on public television, a weekly hour-long national public radio show, a weekly syndicated column, and free travel information available through his travel center and website. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful European tour program. Rick Steves lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington. His office window overlooks his old junior high school.
What we do
--We research and write European guidebooks, produce a public television series and a public radio show
--We organize and lead energetic tours throughout Europe
--We sell select travel bags, guidebooks, maps, DVDs, and other travelers' supplies
--We offer travel consulting and trip planning services
--We teach do-it-yourself travel seminars
--We provide a wealth of free information about travel in Europe via our Travel Center and Website
--We travel a lot
What we don't do
--We are not travel agents, so we don't book flights, hotels, or rental cars
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Logistics
Your tour deposit is 100% refundable for 30 days from the date it is received, unless noted otherwise below. After 30 days your deposit becomes nonrefundable, and will be forfeited should you decide to cancel your reservation. Deposits made 60–90 days before a tour departs become nonrefundable on the final payment due date. If you book a tour less than 60 days before its departure date, the entire tour cost becomes non-refundable after 7 days
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