Modern Europe

Duration

12 Days

Physical rate

Moderate

Starting city

Madrid

Available

April 2024 / March 2025

Cities to visit: Madrid; Zaragoza; Monasterio De Poblet, Tarragona Province; Barcelona; Paris; Rouen; English Channel; Canterbury; London; Colchester, England; ; Volendam; Amsterdam

Detailed day by day description

Introduction

This tour is part of our flexible coach touring range, guaranteed with a minimum of 2 people. Once the tour is booked, it is guaranteed so it will definitely go ahead, and will never cancel.

This tour is guided in English only. Please note if English speaking attendance numbers are low, the tour can become bilingual either accompanied by two tour leaders, one for each language, or a single tour leader providing explanations in both languages.

The tour offers flexibility, allowing you to customize it to your preferences. By clicking 'Quote or Book,' you will have the choice to select your desired start and end dates and destinations within the tour's defined parameters. Given this flexibility, it's important to note that the same people, tour guides or drivers may not be on your entire journey.

Day
Welcome to Madrid!
Welcome to Europamundo!!!
IMPORTANT -IF YOU REQUESTED
ADDITIONAL NIGHTS upon arrival at the hotel, you would have your room booked,
but your trip guide would normally contact you at the beginning of the included
activities. YOUR TIME THEREFORE BEFORE THIS MOMENT IS FREE. The hotel staff can help you with all the information you need.
Note: The schedules that you will find in this itinerary are indicative. The guide, depending on the situation and in order to improve the development of the trip, may adjust the schedules.
Upon arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. Check the informative panels in the hotel reception area for the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers to receive information about the trip.
In the evening we provide transfers to the Plaza Mayor and La Latina, Madrid´s most famous area for night life and tapas restaurants, where you can dine at your preferred restaurant: Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options.
The day starts around 08.30 hrs with a city tour through the centre of Madrid, including Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor.
We will visit Retiro Park , an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. Entrance to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the football stadium of Real Madrid. We get to know the areas reserved for the players as well as the public areas and the small museum about this team, considered by some as the best in the world.
Enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
At the end of the evening, we will return to the hotel.
Total distance covered: 640 km.
Scenery: Varied, with rugged sections, arid areas, and Mediterranean landscapes towards the end.
07:30 a.m. - Departure from Madrid. We’ll make a brief stop along the way.
12:30 p.m. - Zaragoza. Our guide will provide information about the city, leaving you in Plaza del Pilar to visit the basilica and enjoy lunch.
02:30 p.m. - Departure from Zaragoza.
05:00 p.m. – Poblet Abbey. We’ll stop to visit this beautifully preserved medieval monastery, surrounded by ancient walls in a picturesque setting (admission included).
06:15 p.m. - Departure from Poblet Abbey. We’ll travel through the rich agricultural regions of central Catalonia.
08:00 p.m. - Barcelona.

09:00 h. - City tour with our guide or the local guide of Barcelona, famous for Gaudí and its modernist architecture. We will see the Columbus monument, Plaza de Cataluña, Paseo de Gracia, Diagonal, Sagrada Familia, Montjuich with the Olympic facilities and Plaza de España. We finish at the Ramblas area. You can have a walk in the historic center - Gothic quarter. After the city tour our guide will offer you optionally the visit to the Gaudí´s masterpiece and emblem of the city, the Sagrada Familia. Free time in the afternoon.
18.30 hrs- In the evening we include a transfer to the Maremagnum , a modern leisure center and restaurants facing the sea, next to Plaza Colón, where you can stroll through this lively area and dine.
20.30 hrs- Return to hotel.
At the time scheduled by your guide we will include a transfer to the station to take the Barcelona/ Paris high-speed train included in your trip. In just over 6 hours you will reach your destination on the comfortable train. Upon arrival at the destination, we will provide a new transfer to the hotel. Your guide will contact you in the evening or you can consult the information placed at the reception of your hotel.
Note: the train journey will be made without an Europamundo guide.
Total distance covered: 80 km
07:45 hrs. - Paris – departure.
08:30 hrs. - Versailles – Arrival to the Palace of Versailles (admission not included, long waits for tickets due to influx on some occasions). Immense Palace that belonged to the French kings; a good way to get acquainted with the culture and history of France.
11:30 hrs. - Versailles – departure - (the departure might be later in case of a long wait to enter the palace). Upon returning to Paris we head to Montmartre and taking a small cable car (included) we go up to this bohemian artists´ neighborhood to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and take a walk through its square and alleys.
15:00 hrs. - With a local guide we will begin the city tour of Paris lasting 2 and a half hours. During the visit you will be able to see the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées, Madelaine, Place de la Concorde, Opera, Louvre Museum, Tower St. Jacques, town hall, Ile de la Cite with the Notre Dame cathedral, Latin quarter, Pantheon, Sorbonne, Luxembourg gardens, Invalides, Military School, Champ de Mars-Eiffel Tower, banks of the Seine. We will make brief stops near the Invalides and the Champ de Mars. At the end of the city tour, we will return to the hotel, making a stop in the city center, so that people who still want to take advantage of their free time in Paris can get off the bus.
In the end of this very complete day, optionally, the guide will suggest you attend a cabaret or variety show in the evening, the Moulin Rouge or the Paradis Latin.
Note: due to the tourist complexity of Paris, the order of the services offered in the city may vary.
Total Distance: 140 km
Scenery: Extensive plains of northen France. Rouen.
08.30 hrs.- Departure from the hotel. We go to the EIFFEL TOWER , we include the ticket to go up to the second floor of this impressive metal monument (sometimes there are long waits to gain access due to massive influx). The second floor is considered to be the one with the best view, due to the optimal altitude in relation to the buildings below (on the third floor, they are less visible) and the general perspective (obviously more limited on the first floor). When the weather permits, it is estimated that it is possible to see up to 70 km away. After descending the tower we include a boat trip along the Seine River . Magnificent views of the main monuments and bridges of Paris on the majestic river. Journey of approximately an hour and a quarter.Free time later.
16.00 hrs.- Paris –we will leave for Rouen.-
18.15 hrs.- Rouen – Arrival and free time to walk and have dinner in the historic center of the capital of Normandy, an active city, whose origins date back to Roman times, with charming medieval architecture and an impressive Gothic cathedral.
20:45 hrs.- Transfer to the hotel and accommodation.
Note: Sometimes the waits to climb the Eiffel Tower are long, the climb may take place at a different time (or on Sunday), if it is considered convenient for organizational reasons.
Total Distance: 375 Km.
Scenery: interesting ferry crossing, green hills in England. Stroll alongside Tower Bridge.
Note: Remember to have your Passport ready, you will need it to cross the British border. -We recommend wearing warm clothing during the crossing. -It is necessary to set your watch back one hour when entering the UK. - The UK currency is the Pound; we recommend you change your currency on the ferry.
08.00 hrs- Rouen. Departure, we travel to the north of France.
11.00 h. Arrival to the port of Calais where we take the ferry to the UK followed by customs and border formalities. The ferry crossing takes one hour and a half. The ferry is modern and equipped with all commodities (restaurants, bars, areas in which to relax, games rooms, foreign exchange facilitles, shops).
13.30 h. (14.30 hrs. in France): Dover – arrival (approximate schedule due to availability of ferries), we disembark and set out for Canterbury.
14.15 hrs- Canterbury- arrival. Free time to stroll around the religious capital of England with a very attractive historic centre.
15.45 hrs- Continuation to London.
17:15 hrs. - London- On arrival in London, before going to the hotel, there will be time around Tower Bridge to see it lip up, to see the modern buildings of the city and have dinner in one of the restaurants of the area.
18.30 hrs. - Transfer to the hotel and accommodation.
In the early morning, comprehensive tour with local guide, lasting two hours and a half. We will see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Trafalgar Sq., Picadilly Sqare, Oxford Street, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace and the famous Changing of the Guard (depending on the time of year).
Afternoon at leisure.
18.30 h . In the evening, a stroll through Leicester Square, China Town and Soho , with its atmosphere, its theaters and its entertainment. Sit down for dinner at your preferred restaurant (Indian, Chinese, Thai, in­ternational, and so on) in the lively district. Return to hotel.
Total road distance: 170 km
Scenery: Pleasant hill scenery. Ferry crossing.
Notes: Remember to have your Passport ready, you may need it to leave the UK. -When entering in the Netherlands set your watch forward one hour (if it’s 11 ‘clock in London, it will be 12 o’clock in the Netherlands). Notes: we have a night crossing, put whatever you will need on the ferry in a carry-on suitcase.

After breakfast, we will go to the British Museum, one of the main and oldest museums in the world where we can see relics from cultures all around the globe. Free time.
At lunch time we provide transfer to Camden , a district famous for having one of the most varied and extravagant street markets in London where we can see relics from cultures all around the globe. Free time for lunch.
16.00 hrs- London - Departure.
18.45 hrs- Colchester - arrival the city known as the most ancient of England. Time to stroll.
20.45 hrs- Colchester. Departure, we will leave to Harwich.
21.30 hrs- Harwich- We will board a modern ferry with all the conditions of a cruise in Harwich, and take a night voyage in cabins with bathroom. Departure of the ferry scheduled at 23.00h. Night crossing to Netherlands.
Important note: Due to the fact that the ferry used has a limited number of cabins, sometimes the stage may undergo modifications and it might go from London to Amsterdam either by a day ferry (leaving around 17.00 hrs and spending the night in Antwerpen with a short stroll through the city) or, for reservations made less in advance, by train or plane to Amsterdam, including the transfers.
Total road distance: 130 km
Scenery: Dutch landscapes, plains, canals, mills. Picturesque typical village of Volendam. Visit to Amsterdam. Transfer to Rembrandtplein .
08.30 hrs.- Hoek Van Holland- Arrival and continuation of route.
10.00 hrs.- Volendam – We arrive in this charming fisherman’s village on the Southern Sea.
13.30 hrs.- Volendam – We head to Amsterdam.
14.00 hrs.- Amsterdam – Arrival. We include the city tour with a local guide of approximately two hours. We will begin the visit by stopping in front of the mill and statue of Rembrandt, one of the most attractive mills in Holland. We will continue through the Rai convention center, crossing the south of the city, the most exclusive part of Amsterdam. Next we will stop at the Museum Square to learn about the diamond cutting technique at the Diamond Museum. Later we will go towards the Amstel River, entering the old Jewish quarter with its Holocaust monument and the Portuguese Synagogue, passing later through the old port and the maritime museum. Finally we will head towards the central station, where we will leave the bus and having a pleasant walk, we will reach the church of San Nicolas, the heart of the city, where we will finish the visit.
Free time. In the evening we include a transfer to Rembrandplein with its many restaurants from all corners of the world, where you can dine at your pleasure, and near the red light district, with its liberal values. It is very likely that you will have heard about this neighborhood.
20.30 hrs - Transfer to the hotel.
After breakfast, our journey will come to an end, leaving you with wonderful lasting memories.
Note: Please be aware that the hotel check-out time is usually 10:00 a.m. You can leave your luggage in reception upon check-out, allowing you to explore the city without carrying your bags. You can retrieve your luggage at your convenience later in the day. If you require additional time to use your room, we recommend booking an extra night at the end of your tour.

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From AUD 3,031