Mediterranean Journey (Small Groups, Start Paris, 16 Days)

Guide

From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination. Monaco City: Enjoy a drive along part of the Grand Prix circuit and wander the old town with your Travel Director to see the Royal Palace and the yacht-filled harbor. Rome: During your orientation with you Travel Director see the medieval buildings, including Renaissance palaces and Baroque churches, scattered throughout the city.

Meals

4 Dinner with Wine (DW) 15 Breakfast (B) Paris: Join your Travel Director and fellow guests at a local restaurant in the heart of Paris for a delightful Welcome Dinner, served with wine. Paris: Join an avid local foodie on a walk through a local food market - Bastille Marché. Visit a variety of stalls and sample local treats and delicacies along the way. San Sebastián: Enjoy an evening of pintxos, dining with locals in this Basque tradition. Your delicious dinner includes a wide variety of finger food delicacies, each with their own regional flavor, flair and presentation. Avignon: At a local farm learn about olive oil and enjoy a tasting of the freshest produce before indulging in a farm-to-table dinner of traditional French home-style cuisine. Rome: Toast your Mediterranean journey with delicious Italian cuisine and wine.

Transport

Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available). If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport. Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.

Accommodation

2 nights at Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel 1 night at Pullman Bordeaux Lac, Bordeaux 1 night at Barceló Costa Vasca, San Sebastian 2 nights at Hotel Riu Plaza De Espana, Madrid 2 nights at Hilton Barcelona 1 night at Cloître Saint-Louis, Avignon 1 night at Hotel West End, Nice 2 nights at NH Firenze, Florence 3 nights at Veneto Palace Hotel, Rome

Others

Choose between two carefully selected activities Paris: Join an avid local foodie on a walk through a local food market - Bastille Marché. Visit a variety of stalls and sample local treats and delicacies along the way. Paris: We walk up and down the "quartier" and we see the school, the food stores, the housing situation, the heritage landmarks, the sports facilities and the theaters, in this car-free, pedestrianized, neighborhood. Landmarks will include passages couverts, perhaps also Patrick Blanc's spectacular jardin vertical 'oasis d'Aboukir', the Napoleonic "Egyptian" district etc. Madrid: Madrid: Join the pillars of the local community on a neighborhood walking tour and learn the history of the women's movement in Spain firsthand. This experience advances UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. Alternatively, visit the Reina Sofia Museum with an art historian to see Picasso's Guernica. Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary. Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels. We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door. Vatican: Gain Fast Track access into the Vatican Museums and admire the famous Bramante Staircase. Witness the genius of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel and view the splendid dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Chateau Chenonceau: Visit the majestic Château de Chenonceau, known as the 'Ladies' Château' it perfectly embodies the elegance of 16th century design in the Loire Valley. Bordeaux: Your Local Expert will show you the quayside facades, Grand Theater, Triangle d'Or and magnificent Esplanade des Quinconces. San Sebastián: Led by your Local Expert, enjoy a guided walking tour of the Old Quarter including Plaza de la Constitucion. Madrid: See the highlights of the city with your Local Expert. Visit the Old Town, traveling along the elegant Paseo de la Castellana, past the fountain in the Plaza de Cibeles, the Cervantes Monument and Royal Palace, before crossing the Puerta del Sol. Barcelona: With your Local Expert, drive down Las Ramblas and the elegant Passeig de Gràcia to witness some of the finest Modernist architecture. Journey through the Eixample district to see Gaudi's extraordinary masterpiece, the mesmerizing Sagrada Família. Avignon: View the Pont d'Avignon and walk the medieval narrow streets of the Old Town to the Palais des Papes. Nice: Enjoy exploring the beautiful coastal town of Nice on the French Riviera. Monaco City: Explore inside Monaco Cathedral. Pisa: Your Local Expert will show you the baptistery bristling with marble spines, the colonnaded bell tower lurching behind the 11th century cathedral and of course, the famous Leaning Tower in the Square of Miracles. Florence: Join a Local Expert to view the multi-colored marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, adorned by Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. Visit the political heart of the city, Signoria Square. See the area around Santa Croce Basilica, famous for the quality of its luxury goods. Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Hygieneprotocol

All guests travelling with Insight Vacations through December 31, 2022 are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, which may include a booster shot to keep the vaccination status current and valid, depending on the travel destination. Children not eligible for vaccination and/or booster at the time of travel must provide a verifiable and negative Covid-19 test result, taken within 72 hours prior to the start of the tour (taking time zones into consideration) for all tours departing until December 31, 2022. While highly recommended, COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters are no longer required for guests traveling with us from January 1, 2023 onward. It is your client’s responsibly to comply with specific vaccine and/or booster requirements imposed by airlines and/or authorities in the destinations visited, as well as requirements for accessing restaurants and venues, which may be more restrictive than the above. No refunds will be given if they are unable to undertake some or all of their vacation due to failure to comply with these requirements.

Others

Other activities and services are not included.

Flights

Flights are not included.

Optional

MONTMARTRE VILLAGE & ARTISTS SQUARE Discover the bohemian quarter of Montmartre with your local expert. Walk through the historic lower area before ascending by funicular to the Place du Tertre, a favourite haunt of Toulouse Lautrec, Picasso, and Utrillo. Browse for original art or ask a local street artist to capture your likeness in minutes - a great souvenir to take home. Close by you can appreciate the view from the steps of Sacré-Coeur Basilica. ADULT PRICE: EUR 37.00 MOULIN ROUGE CABARET AND DINNER Enjoy dinner and cabaret, including wine and champagne, at the world-famous Moulin Rouge – the original Paris Cabaret. Immortalized by the award-winning film of the same name, this Parisian institution features 60 dancers and entertainers and over 1000 costumes! ADULT PRICE: EUR 165.00 SEINE CRUISE AND ILLUMINATIONS The City of Light really lives up to its name when the city's monuments, buildings and bridges are lit up in all of their glory. First, a specially-designed sightseeing boat takes us for an unforgettable cruise along the Seine and beneath famous bridges to appreciate the Left and Right Banks and the Île de la Cité and St Louis. Then, we'll enjoy an illuminations tour, when the rubies and diamonds of the Champs Élysées and the Eiffel Tower are at their magnificent best. ADULT PRICE: EUR 38.00 NOUVELLE EVE DINNER AND CABARET One of the oldest and most elegant revue theatres in Paris, Nouvelle Eve is a hidden gem where you’ll meet the Director and two of the cast members before enjoying a four-course dinner with wine. You will then experience unparalleled Parisian entertainment – including the world-famous Can-Can. ADULT PRICE: EUR 139.00 MADRILEÑO DINNER & PLAZA MAYOR First it's off to Plaza Mayor, once the Main Square dating back to 1617 and dominated by the spectacular façade of the 'Casa de la Panadería'. Now to our traditional 'mesón' to try many of the dishes that Madrid is renowned for. Drinks such as regional wine, beer and soft drinks are included with your meal and will be accompanied by a local 'Tuna de Madrid' playing all your favourite Spanish songs on traditional instruments. ADULT PRICE: EUR 61.00 BARCELONA BY NIGHT WITH DINNER After a delightful dinner in a traditional Catalan restaurant, take a sparkling illuminations drive up the hill of Montjuic for spectacular panoramic views over the city and harbour twinkling below. ADULT PRICE: EUR 60.00 CATALAN DINNER & FLAMENCO The food of the Catalan region is quite different from the rest of Spain. Enjoy a buffet dinner of Spanish and Catalan dishes including drinks, followed by the throbbing guitars, fire and passion of Spain’s national dance – the Flamenco. ADULT PRICE: EUR 87.00 MONTSERRAT & THE BLACK MADONNA We'll enjoy a stunning drive to Montserrat, the mystical sacred serrated mountain, with its unique formations and spectacular views. It's home to the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat and the ‘Virgin of Montserrat’, one of the most-venerated Black Madonna’s of Europe. Catalan landscapes unfold before us, as our Local Expert introduces us to this place of immense beauty and significance. ADULT PRICE: EUR 40.00 RIVIERA '3 CORNICHES' & MEAL The 'Corniches' are three stunning serpentine roads linking Monaco to Nice, 'where the mountains meet the sea'. The Grande Corniche is perhaps the most spectacular, first constructed as part of the ancient Roman Aurelian Way and rebuilt by Napoleon in 1806. You may recognise its sweeping vistas, pink sunsets and medieval towns from such famous films as Hitchcock's 'To Catch a Thief'. Your cliff-hanging drive culminates with a fabulous dinner of Provençal specialities, wines and aperitifs - all enjoyed while embracing one of Europe's most breathtaking backdrops. ADULT PRICE: EUR 72.00 JEWELS OF THE RENAISSANCE With our local guide enjoy priority reserved entry into the most important Renaissance museum of Florence, the ‘Accademia di Belle Arti’, Academy of Fine Arts. Amongst the masterpieces you will see are an outstanding collection of 15th & 16th Century Florentine paintings by the likes of Uccello, Ghirlandaio, and Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo’s four unfinished ‘Prisoners’. The highlight of the visit is Michelangelo’s ‘David’. Created between 1501-1504 it was once the symbol of Republican Florence and is considered by many to be the greatest sculpted masterpiece in the world. This optional involves reservations and entrance prepayments. If you decide to cancel this optional, a 50% cancellation fee will be incurred. ADULT PRICE: EUR 47.00 DINNER IN THE TUSCAN HILLS A fabulous dinner of Tuscan specialities awaits you. We drive into the hills surrounding Florence for a delicious typical Florentine meal complete with Chianti wine, music and lots of fun! An evening to remember. Viva Italia! ADULT PRICE: EUR 65.00 ROME BY NIGHT - ILLUMINATIONS DRIVE Join your Travel Director for a classic journey through one of the most fascinating cities in the world. Rome by night is a vision with its ancient monuments, classical buildings, palaces and churches beautifully illuminated against the evening sky. A wonderful introduction to the Eternal City! ADULT PRICE: EUR 19.00 POMPEII AND THE BAY OF NAPLES We travel south to the famous Roman city of Pompeii, buried in 79 ad, by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Here we visit one the greatest archaeological sites in the world! Our local guide strolls us into a 2,000 year old town revealing fascinating discoveries preserved in time! Later a panoramic tour of the Bay of Naples with the dormant Volcano as a back drop. We then return to Rome passing the formidable Abbey of Montecassino, one of the greatest shrines of Christendom, and the site of the epic battle of 1944. ADULT PRICE: EUR 100.00 GUIDED VISIT TO THE COLOSSEUM With our local expert, step back in time to explore the glorious history of the Roman Empire. Admire the Arch of Constantine and tread in the footsteps of Gladiators and Roman Soldiers. Enjoy priority reserved entrance ahead of the crowds and once inside the mighty Colosseum hear tales of deadly gladiatorial combat and the mighty Roman Empire. Please note: This optional is subject to availability and involves reservations and entrance prepayments. If you decide to cancel this optional, a 50% cancellation fee will be incurred. ADULT PRICE: EUR 53.00 PIAZZAS & FOUNTAINS With our local expert, let's take a "passeggiata" (stroll) to enjoy the backstreets and secrets of Pedestrian Rome. Be amazed at sights such as the fascinating Pantheon and the beauty of 17th-Century fountains and beautiful Piazzas. Come and enjoy the Rome of the Romans. ADULT PRICE: EUR 33.00 ROMAN DINNER PARTY AND TREVI FOUNTAIN Enjoy an evening of delicious Roman cuisine with drinks and great Italian ambiance. Then visit the beautifully-restored Trevi Fountain to toss a coin over your shoulder and assure your return to the eternal city. The fountain is a true wonder, a breathtaking jewel of water and stone that is nestled between the palaces of this historic city. Immortalized in Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita’. ADULT PRICE: EUR 61.00

Insurance

Insurance is not included.