Madrid - Arrival.

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.

Madrid.

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.

Madrid - Zaragoza - Poblet - Barcelona.

Total distance: 640Km
Scenery: Varied. Abrupt in some sections, very arid in others, Mediterranean at the end.

07:30h Madrid – Departure. We will make a brief stop on our way.
12:30h Zaragoza – Arrival. Our guide provides with the orientative information about the city of Zaragoza, leaving you next to the Pilar Square to visit the basilica and have lunch.

14:30 hrs. -Zaragoza - Departure.
17:00 hrs. – Monastery of Poblet (entrance included). We will make a stop to see this beautiful medieval monastery, which, surrounded by its walls in a beautiful setting, is one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries in the world.

18:15 hrs. – Monastery of Poblet - Departure.- We cross rich agricultural regions of central Catalonia.
20:00 hrs. - Barcelona - Arrival.

Barcelona- Girona.-

Total distance covered: 115 km


09.00 hrs. - after the breakfast with our guide or a local guide we will enjoy the city tour of Barcelona, open to the Mediterranean Sea, famous for Gaudí and its modernist architecture, for its promenades and memories of the Universal Exhibitions and Olympics that took place there. Barcelona is considered one of the most beautiful and interesting European cities. We will see the Columbus Monument, Plaza de Cataluña, Paseo de Gracia, Diagonal, Sagrada Familia, Montjuic with its Olympic facilities, Plaza de España. For a few minutes we will make a stop near the Sagrada Familia to have the opportunity to contemplate this monument. The visit will finish in the Ramblas area for participants to walk around the historic center and Gothic quarter. After city tour our guide will offer you an optional activity to visit Gaudí´s masterpiece and emblem of the city, the Sagrada Familia. Free time for lunch and to continue strolling.


18.00hrs -Barcelona –Departure-. We travel towards the north of Catalonia.
19.30 hrs - GIRONA – Arrival in this small Catalan capital with its very beautiful historic centre where the cathedral stands out with its great staircase. The city is also magnificently lit up and has many small restaurants.


Note: if the hotel is not located next to the city center, you will have free time to walk around Girona until 21:15 hrs. before going to the hotel.

Girona- Arles- Carrieres de Lumiere- Chambery.-

Total distance: 650 km

Scenery: Pleasant green and Mediterranean landscapes.


08.00 hrs - Girona –Departure-; we going to France and cross the region of Provence.
12.00 hrs -ARLES - Arrival in this small World Heritage city, where we can see its Roman amphitheater, the best preserved in France, and its small Provençal Romanesque churches. We will also remember Van Gogh, the Dutch painter who, during his most productive period, knew how to best reflect the luminosity of the south of France. Time for a walk and lunch.


14:30 hrs - Arles –Departure to continue to enjoy Provence-.
15.15 hrs- Carrières de Lumière. Admission included to an impressive show of art, image and sound underground, in these more than 20 millions year former quarries.


16.30 hrs.- Carrières de Lumières - Departure.
20.30 hrs- Chambery- arrival and accommodation.


Note: If, due to crowds or a change of programme, it is not possible to obtain tickets for the Carrieres de Lumière show, a transfer to the Roman aqueduct at the Pont du Gard will be provided as an alternative.

Chambery- Geneva- Gruyeres- Chillon- Leysin.-

Total distance covered: 290 km
Scenery: Very beautiful scenery on Lake Leman. Great lakes, tall snow-covered summits in the distance. In the afternoon, we have a trip through the mountains passing through beautiful villages with wooden houses.
NB: Please have your passport in hand, as we are going into Switzerland and sometimes there are border controls asking for documentation.


08.00 hrs.- Chambery- A stroll through this charming capital of Savoy, medieval style city with beautiful historic center and great castle.


09.00 hrs.- Chambery- Departure to Switzerland.
10.30 hrs.- Geneva –Arrival. - The capital of the French-speaking region of Switzerland. A city on Lake Leman which houses the European United Nations headquarters, the offices of the International Labour Organisation, of the Red Cross and numerous other headquarters of international entities. With our guide, we will go to the Palace of Nations (the United Nations headquarters in Europe) and the pretty English Garden with its flower clock, and can admire the “Jet d´Eau”, the tallest fountain in Europe.


12:00 hrs - Geneva-. Our road follows Lake Leman amidst magnificent vineyard scenery (an area declared UNESCO world Heritage).
13.30 hrs- Gruyeres. – The area where the famous cheese is produced, Gruyeres is a very picturesque walled touristic village. Time for lunch. Near Gruyeres there are some of the main Swiss chocolate manufacturers (NESTLÉ among others), and we visit the Cailler factory, with a tasting included!


16.00 hrs - Gruyeres. Departure amidst mountains and very picturesque Swiss villages.
16.45 hrs - Chillon Castle, arrival at this fantastic medieval castle built on the waters of the lake. Tickets included.


17.45 hrs - Chillon Castle –Departure-. Magnificent mountain scenery, we cross areas with scenic villages with wooden architecture.
18.30 hrs - Leysin, arrival in this beautiful holiday village with spectacular views of the Rhône plain and Mont Blanc, known for its winter sports resort or its hiking possibilities. Dinner included.

Note: on some occasions accommodation may be given in the Swiss town of Martigny.

Leysin- Glacier 3000- Interlaken- Lucerne- Zurich.-

Total distance covered: 230 km

Scenery: Probably the most spectacular part of our route in the Alps; High summits where snow remains all year round; Lakes.
Note: Wear warm clothing and comfortable shoes. It is also recommended some waterproof clothing (especially for the waterfalls´ visit). Please also be advised to use sun protection during the sunny days while visiting the high mountains.
Notes: Due to weather conditions (strong wind) or maintenance the cable car may not operate on certain dates. The ascent is not authorized for children under 2 years old

08.30 hrs.- Leysin -Departure-. High mountain landscapes of great beauty surround us and you will be able to see ice and snow during most of the year.
09.00 hrs.- We will take the cable car up to the Glacier 3000 mountain station, one of the most spectacular points in Switzerland where, from its terraces, you will be able to see different panoramic views of the alpine landscapes. You can walk on the suspension bridge over the gap between two mountain peaks, enter the Ice Cathedral or "play" in the Fun Park.


11.30 hrs- Departure to Interlaken through beautiful mountain and lake scenery.
13.30 hrs - Interlaken, a small town situated between two lakes and dominated by an impressive mountain scenery. Time for lunch.


15.00 hrs - Interlaken - departure.
16.15 hrs- Lucerne –Arrival-. This is one of the most beautiful cities of Switzerland. Time to stroll over its wooden bridges crossing the lake.


18.00 hrs.- Lucerne -departure-.
19.00 hrs.- - Zurich –Arrival-. We will take a stroll in the largest city in Switzerland and its economic centre, before going to a hotel.

Zurich-Basel-Colmar -Riquewihr-Ribeauville- Strasbourg.-

Total distance covered: 240 km.
Scenery: charming small towns of Alsace.

08.30 hrs. - Zurich, departure to northern Switzerland.
09.45 hrs. – Basel - arrival in this important city on the banks of the Rhine, border with Germany and France. You can walk through its historic center, where the town hall square stands out and contemplate its cathedral that dominates the Rhine River.

11.30 hrs. - Basel, departure. We continue our route to Alsace, a French region contested over the centuries between France and Germany, which maintains a dialect of its own German, "the Alsatian", and an architecture and traditions of great Germanic roots.
12.30 hrs. - Colmar. We arrive in this beautiful city of the unique architecture, with colored wooden houses and canals that cross it. Time for a walk and lunch. Enjoy its prestigious white wine and gastronomy.

15.30 hrs. - Colmar, departure. We will visit two of the most beautiful villages of the heart of Alsace.
16.00 hrs. - Riquewihr. Time to know this medieval town with cobbled streets and colored houses that seem to get out of a fairy tale and that inspired scenes of the movie “the Beauty and the beast”.

17.15 hrs. - Riquewihr, departure.
17.30 hrs. – Ribeauville. We will make a stop in this town with its historic center and its 3 medieval castles in ruins that dominate the town.

18.45 hrs. – Ribeauville - departure.
19.45 hrs. - Strasbourg. Arrival in the evening. We suggest walking through the Cathedral and Petite France area, full of charming places and small restaurants.

Strasbourg- Epernay- Paris.-

Total distance covered: 499 km.


Scenery: Champagne region.


Time in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace. The city is the seat of the European Parliament. Its historic center is wonderful with its picturesque medieval streets, its impressive Gothic cathedral and its canals and flowers. We include a boat trip through the canals of Petite France.

11.30 a.m. - Strasbourg, departure. We continue our route to the Champagne region, a region known worldwide for its sparkling wines. We will travel through the evocative landscape, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the category of Cultural Landscape, valuing this winemaking tradition of culture and work of generations. We´ll see hectares of vineyards that hide miles of underground cellar galleries full of champagne bottles.


16.00 hrs- Champagne Winery. We make a stop to visit one of these historic wineries that has some of the most prestigious vineyards in the region and learn the secrets of the most famous sparkling drink in the world. Admission and tasting included.


17.00 hrs- Winery, departure, we continue to Paris making a brief stop in Epernay, the capital of Champagne, to have a stroll through this charming little city of large private mansions along its avenue of Champagne, the so-called Champs-Elysées of the region.


18..00 hrs- Epernay, departure. Continuation to Paris.
20.30 hrs. - Paris. Arrival in the evening.

After breakfast, end of our services.

Note: Remember that hotels check-out time is usually at 10.00 hrs. In most cases, you can leave your luggage at the hotel reception at check-out time, so you can enjoy the city and pick it up at the time you require that same day. If you need more time to use your room, please consider booking an additional night at the end of your tour.