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Benelux

Code: LE01BX
From: 2190.- EUR

Departure dates:

2008 - June 12, September 4

DAY 1:

LONDON - WATERLOO - BRUXELLES

We pick you up at your selected hotel in London and drive you to the airport from where we take morning flight to the city of Charleroi. You meet your DG at the airport, board your Maxivan and start this expedition. The first stop is at the site of the famous battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon finally rested his case. We continue to the capital of Europe - Bruxelles. Dinner and overnight in the city.

DAY 2:

BRUXELLES

Breakfast. Bruxelles is our host for the day. We see the beautiful old town with the famous Grand Place, Town Hall and Burgher's houses, the little side streets with restaurants and the Manneken Pis statue. The royal Bruxelles is up on the hill with parks and palaces and there is the third Bruxelles which is around modern offices of European Union. Overnight in Bruxelles.

DAY 3:

GENT - BRUGGE

Breakfast. Gent is world-known because of its altarpiece The adoration of Magi, which we visit in the St. Baaf Cathedral. Once, this city was the center of Flemish wool trade and the largest town of western Europe, and there are still canals and houses from that period. The next stop is smaller, but a bit better preserved city of Brugge. Again an old wool trade and Hanseatic city which was strong enough to defy kings. Overnight in Brugge.

DAY 4:

DELTA PROJECT - ROTTERDAM - DELFT

Breakfast. How true the old saying is that God created the World but Hollanders created Holland, will be explained at Delta EXPO - the great dam. We then drive through Rotterdam, the biggest port in the world and stop at some of the most interesting sights along the way. Delft, which is almost a part of Rotterdam is a small quiet town, world-known for the delft blue. Overnight in Delft area.

DAY 5:

DEN HAGUE - LEIDEN - AMSTERDAM

Breakfast. The Hague is modern administrative town with some hidden jewels - Maurice House Museum and the Palace of Peace, the home of the International Court. The resort of Scheweningen with the promenades and dunes has only one survivor of the golden age - the Kurhaus hotel. We continue to the north, through the fields of tulips and other flowers, which are the big biz in the area around the university town of Leiden. In the evening we arrive to the city of Amsterdam. Overnight in Amsterdam.

DAY 6 & DAY 7:

AMSTERDAM

Breakfast. In these two days we explore Amsterdam, which has a unique charm and mentality. We take a boat ride on the canals to see the city the way it was seen in the past when this was the more usual way to travel. The sights include: the Dam, National museum and Van Gogh's, Anne Frank's, Begijnhof, the notorious Red District, the Flower market and the beautiful bridges and towers. Overnights in Amsterdam.

DAY 8:

ZAAN - VOLENDAM/MARKEN - EDAM - EGMOND

Breakfast. Today we explore the North Holland peninsula with beautiful little villages like Marken, Edam and Volendam. We stop at the district of the river Zaan to visit a working windmill and taste some local cheese. We proceed to the little coastal town of Egmond. Overnight in Egmond.

DAY 9:

ALKMAAR - GIETHORN - LELYSTAD - UTRECHT

Breakfast. Today we stroll the local town of Alkmaar, before continuing over the 20 miles long dyke, which changed the former sea into the freshwater lake. On the other side of the lake is the lesser-known Netherland - Overijssel and Flevoland. We stop at Giethorn, village with the small interlocking canals and a project town Lelystad on the polder. We overnight in Utrecht area.

DAY 10:

UTRECHT - ANTWERP

Breakfast. This day is dedicated to Antwerp. It used to be more important than Amsterdam but after the War of Religion, money and brains escaped further north and Amsterdam started to blossom. We visit the Rubens Museum and see the sights around the Cathedral, the City Hall and the river Scheld. Overnight in Antwerp.

DAY 11:

MAASTRICHT - SPA

Breakfast. Maastrich is a very picturesque town, with the enormous Vrijthof square and the two parallel churches of St. Servaas and St. Jan. We drive into the Ardennes and have a stop in the oldest spa town of Spa. Overnight in the Spa area.

DAY 12:

LUXEMBOURG

Breakfast. The first stop is Stavelot - a hillside town which was heavily fought over in the WWII. Then we drive the back roads of the smallest sovereign state in Europe - The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The capital with the same name is our last stop. The city center has a spectacular position, between two deep canyons. Overnight in Luxembourg.

DAY 13:

CHARLEROI - LONDON

Breakfast. Driving to the airport from where we fly to London. End of our expedition.