Fly Stay Cruise Tour - 29 Day Berlin, Splendours of Europe River Cruise & Paris - Flights Sorted

Welcome to Germany. On arrival in Berlin, make your own way to your hotel, leaving the rest of the day free to begin discovering the city at your own pace.Berlin wears its history openly. The Brandenburg Gate stood at the centre of the divided city and is now the symbol of its reunification, the Reichstag sits behind it under a glass dome open to the public, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe covers a full block just to the south. Museum Island, in the middle of the Spree, holds five museums in one UNESCO listed complex. Depending on your arrival time, a walk along Unter den Linden takes in most of this in an afternoon.This evening is at leisure. The streets around Hackescher Markt and Prenzlauer Berg have a good spread of restaurants and beer gardens within easy reach for a first meal, before an early night ahead of a full day in the city tomorrow.Special InformationAirport transfers are not included. Our transfer portal may offer the option to book your airport transfers for an easier arrival experience (additional charges apply). Access to this portal will be available through your Traveller Hub once your booking is confirmed.Please note - this itinerary is unescorted. You will make your way between destinations. A step by step guide will be included in your documentation.

Today is yours to spend in Berlin, with a 24 hour hop-on hop-off bus pass included. The route links the main sights across the centre, from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate to the wide socialist boulevards of the former East, with commentary on board and the freedom to get off wherever you like and carry on by foot.Berlin is a large city and the bus covers ground that would otherwise take a full day to walk. Checkpoint Charlie, the surviving stretch of Wall at the East Side Gallery, Museum Island and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the west all sit on or near the route. Away from the main sights, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg are worth an hour on foot for the cafes, the courtyards and the street markets.An optional half day tour of Cold War Berlin is available today. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are yours to enjoy at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsBerlin Hop-on Hop-off Bus, 24 hoursSpecial InformationYour hop-on hop-off bus ticket and boarding details will be included in your final documentation. The pass is valid for 24 hours from first use.

This morning, after breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the direct train south to Prague, a journey of around four hours. The line follows the Elbe through the sandstone gorges of Saxon Switzerland and on into Bohemia, and is one of the more scenic rail routes in central Europe.Prague sits on the Vltava and came through the twentieth century with its centre almost untouched, which is why so much of it survives. Spend the afternoon at leisure among the spires, the medieval Charles Bridge and the lanes of the Old Town, with the castle complex rising above the far bank.The Old Town Square is the natural place to start, with the astronomical clock on the side of the town hall and the twin towers of the Church of Our Lady before Týn behind it. From there the streets run down to the river and across the bridge into Malá Strana, where the lanes climb towards the castle.Special InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.Your train tickets and step by step directions to the station will be included in your final documentation.

Today is yours to spend in Prague, with a panoramic cruise on the Vltava included. The boat runs for just under an hour below the Charles Bridge and past the National Theatre, with the castle and St Vitus Cathedral on the skyline above.The rest of the day is at leisure. The Old Town is compact and best covered on foot, from the astronomical clock on the Old Town Square through the narrow lanes of the Jewish Quarter, where six synagogues and the old cemetery are preserved together. Across the river, Malá Strana climbs towards the castle through baroque palaces and terraced gardens.An optional half day city tour is available today for those who would rather see the highlights with a guide. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are yours to enjoy at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsPanoramic Vltava River CruiseSpecial InformationYour cruise ticket and directions to the pier will be included in your final documentation.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the direct train to Budapest, a long journey of around seven hours through Moravia, southern Slovakia and out onto the Hungarian plain. The line runs through farmland and small towns for most of the way, so it is worth having something to read.Budapest is two cities joined by the Danube. Buda climbs the hills on the west bank around the castle, and Pest spreads flat across the east with the boulevards, the Parliament and most of the restaurants and bars. The rest of the day is at leisure to settle in.The evening is at your leisure, the Danube embankment is a short walk with the Parliament, Chain Bridge and castle all lit after dark.Special InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 7 hours.Please note this is a long rail day. Catering on board can be limited, so we suggest buying food and water before you board.

This morning after breakfast, a three hour guided tour takes in the highlights on both banks of the Danube. The route covers the castle district in Buda, Fisherman’s Bastion and its terraces looking back across the river, Heroes’ Square at the top of Andrássy Avenue, and the Parliament building on the Pest embankment.The afternoon is at leisure. Budapest sits on a network of thermal springs and the bath houses are the obvious way to spend it, whether the grand Széchenyi baths in the City Park or the Gellért baths in their Art Nouveau building on the Buda side. Both are open to visitors and swimwear is required.Otherwise, the Great Market Hall, the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest in Europe, and the ruin bars in the old Jewish quarter are all within walking distance of the centre. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsBuda Castle districtFisherman’s BastionHeroes’ SquareParliament buildingSpecial InformationYour Grand City Tour voucher and the meeting point will be included in your final documentation. The tour runs for approximately three hours this morning.

Spend the day at leisure in Budapest, or head further afield on an optional excursion.In the city, Andrássy Avenue runs from the centre out to Heroes’ Square and is lined with the opera house, embassies and old coffee houses, with the first underground railway on the European continent running beneath it. The Buda hills are reached by the cog railway or the chairlift, and the Citadella on Gellért Hill gives the widest view over the river and the bridges.The optional excursion today heads north along the Danube Bend. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are yours to enjoy at leisure.

After breakfast we check out of our hotel and make our way to our ship, docked in Budapest overnight. Tonight we enjoy a Hungarian folklore show on board.Special InformationPlease make your own way to the ship unless advised otherwise in your final travel documents.

A guided coach tour of Budapest, or a hike up Gellért Hill.

A walking tour of the Old Town and coffee and cake with a Slovak family, or a hike to Bratislava Castle.

A guided tour along the Ringstrasse past the State Opera, or a guided bike tour.

We hike to Dürnstein Castle or bike along the Danube, sail the Wachau Valley and tour Melk Abbey.

A guided tour of Regensburg's UNESCO-listed Old Town. A Bavarian band joins us on board.

A guided sightseeing tour of Nuremberg, then free time.

A guided tour of Bamberg's UNESCO-listed medieval centre.

A walking tour of Würzburg and a visit to the Bishop's Residence.

The Glass Art Museum in Wertheim and a guided tour of Miltenberg, or a walk up to Mildenburg Castle.

Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet Museum in Rüdesheim, then we sail the Rhine Gorge.

We discover Cologne's Old Town. Farewell dinner on board tonight.

A canal cruise, or a bike ride out to Waterland.

After breakfast we disembark and make our way to our city-centre hotel. The rest of the day is free to discover Amsterdam at our own pace.Special InformationHotel check-in time is at 3pm. If arriving prior to this, you will be able to leave your luggage with hotel reception and explore your surroundings until check-in becomes available. The hotel may grant early check-in, however this is strictly subject to availability and at the hotel's discretion.

Today is yours to spend in Amsterdam, with a one hour canal cruise included. The boat runs through the seventeenth century canal belt, passing the gabled merchant houses and slipping under the low bridges, with a free audio guide on board covering the history of the ring and the harbour trade that paid for it.The rest of the day is at leisure, and much of the centre is flat and walkable with the trams covering the longer distances. Begin in the Nine Streets, a grid of small shops and cafes set between the main canals, then continue to the Begijnhof, a quiet almshouse courtyard reached through an unmarked door off the Spui. The floating flower market on the Singel runs along the water a short walk south, its stalls selling bulbs, seeds and cut flowers throughout the day. Museumplein, further out, is the city’s museum quarter, with the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk set around one open square.For those wishing to head further afield, an optional half day excursion into the countryside north of the city is available today. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are yours to enjoy at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsAmsterdam Canal CruiseSpecial InformationYour canal cruise ticket and directions to the dock will be included in your final documentation. The cruise operates daily between 9:00am and 9:00pm and departs from the main LOVERS dock at Central Station.

This morning, after breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the train south to Bruges, changing once en route. The journey runs out of the Netherlands and across the flat farmland of Flanders, passing through Antwerp on the way.Bruges made its money as a cloth and trading town in the Middle Ages, and when the waterway to the sea silted up the town stopped growing, which is why so much of it survives. The centre is UNESCO listed and small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes. Spend the afternoon at leisure among the cobbled lanes, the canals and the step gabled houses. An optional guided walk of the old town is available this afternoon.Special InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.Your train tickets and step by step directions to the station will be included in your final documentation.

Enjoy a slower morning in Bruges after breakfast before checking out and boarding the train east to Brussels, a little over an hour on the direct service.Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the seat of the European institutions, and the two sit alongside each other without much overlap. The Grand-Place at the centre is a single enclosed square of gilded guild houses rebuilt after the French bombardment of 1695, with the Gothic town hall on one side and the King’s House opposite. Spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the old town on foot.The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, among the first covered shopping arcades in Europe, runs north from the square past chocolatiers and cafes. The Manneken Pis stands a few streets south, smaller than most visitors expect. Further up the hill, the Mont des Arts looks back across the lower town, and the Sablon quarter beyond it is given over to antique dealers and chocolate shops.Special InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2 hours.

Continue your independent exploration of Brussels. The old town is compact, and the metro and trams reach the outlying sights easily.The Comic Strip Centre, housed in an Art Nouveau warehouse designed by Victor Horta, sets out the Belgian tradition from Tintin onwards, and a marked trail of painted wall murals runs through the streets around it. The Musical Instrument Museum occupies the Old England building on the Mont des Arts and has a rooftop cafe with a view over the city. The Parc du Cinquantenaire, east of the centre, is a short tram ride and makes an easy walk on a fine day.For those wishing to head further afield, two optional activities are available today, one a sightseeing bus linking the centre with the outer sights and the other the Atomium, north of the city. Otherwise, the rest of the day and the evening are at leisure.

This morning, after breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the high speed train to Paris, which covers the distance in a little over an hour and arrives at the Gare du Nord.The afternoon is at leisure to begin on your own terms. The Seine runs through the middle of the city, and a walk along the quays takes in the bridges, the bookstalls and the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame stands at the eastern end.From there the Marais, on the right bank, keeps the narrow street plan the rest of central Paris lost in the nineteenth century, with the Place des Vosges at its centre. On the left bank, the Latin Quarter climbs towards the Panthéon through a grid of small streets, bookshops and cafes. Both are within walking distance of the river.Special InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2 hours.

Spend the day at leisure in Paris. The city is large, but the centre is well served by the Metro and a day pass covers as much of it as you are likely to need.The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay in its converted railway station on the left bank, and the Eiffel Tower are the obvious calls, and all three are busy through the middle of the day. The Tuileries and the Luxembourg Gardens are quieter, as are the nineteenth century covered passages off the Grands Boulevards, where glass roofs run above small shops and tea rooms.Montmartre sits on the hill north of the centre, with the Sacré-Coeur Basilica at the top and a view across the rooftops of the city. The streets around it are steep, though the funicular from Place Suzanne Valadon saves the climb. Three optional activities are available today. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are at leisure.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and make your own way to the airport, where your tour comes to an end.Take with you the memory of a journey by rail from the canals of Amsterdam through Bruges and Brussels to Paris, and of the squares, markets and cafes along the way.Thank you for travelling with Inspiring Vacations. We hope you had a memorable experience.Special InformationAirport transfers are not included. Our transfer portal offers the option to book your airport transfers for an easier arrival experience (additional charges apply). Access to this portal will be available through your Traveller Hub once your booking is confirmed.