Overnight flight to Amsterdam
Upon arrival to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, we will be met by our tour guide and motorcoach to begin our tour. After passing through passport control and collecting our luggage, we will travel to Haarlem, a 500-year-old Dutch city with 17th-century architecture, scenic canals and a large pedestrianized center. We will enjoy a guided tour of the Corrie Ten Boom Museum. This museum honors the Ten Boom family, who hid Jews and refugees during the Holocaust behind a secret wall and was featured in the book and movie, The Hiding Place. The remainder of the day will be at your leisure before we enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Haarlem (D)
After breakfast, we will drive to the City Center of Amsterdam to enjoy a guided walking tour. We will see the most iconic sites of Amsterdam such as the Dam Square with the impressive Royal Palace and New Church, The Begijnhof and the floating Flower Market. We will continue to Waterloo Square known for its famous market, the Rembrandt House, and the Portuguese Synagogue. Afterwards, we will enjoy a lunch cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. We will also have a guided tour this afternoon of the Van Gogh Museum, the world’s largest collection of artwork by Vincent van Gogh. Late afternoon, we will return to Haarlem. Overnight Haarlem. (B)(L)
This morning we will drive to Gouda, the ‘City of Cheese’, and visit the famous cheese market. We will learn about the centuries old tradition of cheese making and enjoy some tasty samples. We will also visit the factory of the famous Dutch Stroopwafle and enjoy a waffle baking and tasting workshop. After lunch and free time, we will continue to Leiden, a picturesque historic city in South Holland known for its oldest university in the Netherlands (1575), scenic canals, and as the birthplace of Rembrandt. Leiden is also home to the American Pilgrim Museum which is dedicated to the Pilgrim Fathers who fled England in 1620 and stayed in Leiden for 11 years before departing for the New World. After a guided tour of the museum, we will return to Haarlem for free time and overnight. Overnight Haarlem. (B)
This morning, we will drive to the Dutch village of Zaanse Schans, a unique village dating back to the 1850’s with its wooden houses, windmills and workshops. We will visit one of the operating windmills, the bakery museum, the cheese factory and other traditional Dutch workshops specializing in cheese and clog making. After a traditional Dutch pancake lunch, we will return to Amsterdam for free time. city. Some sites you may want to visit include the Anne Frank House, the hiding place of the young Jewish girl who wrote her famous diary here or the The Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands. This museum\art gallery houses a vast collection of 1 million objects that tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history and features masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age. Overnight Haarlem (B)(L)
After breakfast, we will drive to Delft, a charming, historic city known for its iconic blue and white pottery. We will tour the Royal Delft factory and learn about the history and production process of Delft’s Blue Porcelain and watch the master painters demonstrate the traditional cobalt painting technique. Late morning, we will continue to Keukenhof Gardens, one of the world’s largest and most famous spring flower gardens, often called the “Garden of Europe”. The Park features 7 million spring-flowering bulbs planted annually, primarily tulips, along with hyacinths, daffodils, and irises. After strolling through the gardens, there will be time to admire the world-famous Flower Parade at the Keukenhof. It is the only parade in the world constructed entirely of fresh bulb flowers like hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils. We will enjoy a group dinner tonight. Overnight Delft (B)(D)
This morning, we will visit The Hague, the administrative capital of the Netherlands and the royal family’s residence as well as a global hub for international law and justice. During our city tour, we will see the Houses of Parliament, Palace Noordeinde (the Kings working palace) and Carnegie’s Peace Palace (the International Court of Justice.) We will visit the Panorama Mesdag, a monumental 360-degree cylindrical painting from 1881, offering a panoramic view of the sea, dunes, and village of Scheveningena. Late afternoon, we will return to Delft for free time and dinner on your own. Overnight Delft (B)
This morning we will travel to Belgium and visit Ghent, a charming town with stunning architecture and lively squares. We will enjoy a guided city tour to see important buildings from the Middle Ages such as the UNESCO World Heritage site of Belfry Hall, the tallest medieval tower in Ghent. We will walk along the streets of Graslei and Korenlei, considered to be the most beautiful streets in the city due to the historic buildings and their facades’ reflection in the river. We will also visit St. Baafs Cathedral, a renowned Gothic cathedral founded in the 10th century and famous for housing the Van Eyck brothers’ 1432 masterpiece, “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”. After some free time, we will depart for Bruges for the next two nights. Dinner is included tonight. Overnight Bruges (B)(D)
After breakfast, we will enjoy a guided walking tour of Bruges, a remarkably preserved medieval city in northwest Belgium, renowned as a UNESCO World Heritage site and commonly referred to as “Venice of the North” for its scenic canals, cobbled streets, and gothic architecture. We will see the Basilica of the Holy Blood, the medieval Belfort tower, the Lake of Love and the Church of Our Lady with Michelangelo’s Marble Madonna. We will also visit Beguinage, a UNESCO-listed site featuring whitewashed houses, a convent, and a central garden, providing a quiet retreat from the city. After a peaceful canal cruise through Bruges’ canals to see the historic center, lace workshops, and ancient buildings, we will have the reminder of the day free to enjoy. Overnight Bruges (B)
This morning, we will drive to Antwerp, a vibrant city that combines 16th-century Flemish architecture, with modern, creative energy to create a compact, walkable center rich in culture. Antwerp is one of the largest sea ports in Europe and is known for its Gothic cathedral and being the “Diamond Capital of the World”. We will enjoy a walking tour through the Diamond District to see the highlights of Antwerp. After lunch, we will visit Chocolate Nation, the world’s largest Belgian chocolate museum and taste more than ten different chocolates. Late afternoon, we will depart for Brussels to enjoy a farewell dinner. Overnight Brussels (B)(D)
This morning we will depart Brussels Airport for our return flights to the USA (B)
