OIanda & Flemish Treasures

This tour is particularly popular because of the variety of the itinerary. We are in Holland, the land of windmills and large pastures, the expanses of tulips, the fishermen's cottages of Volendam, the great works to dam the sea. Amsterdam with its canals, typical houses and the Royal Palace. Belgium with the beautiful region of Flanders. The cities of Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp, Unesco World Heritage architectural jewels, with craft workshops, ancient traditions and inhabitants in local costumes. A fascinating tour, well designed to offer the best of art, nature and tradition of these two neighbouring and very different countries.

Day 1 | Italy-Amsterdam
Convocation at the chosen airport and departure for Amsterdam. Arrival, transfer to the hotel and meeting with our tour guide. Dinner in a restaurant. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

Day 2 | Amsterdam
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer by tram to the centre, meet your guide and visit the city, which is rich in monuments, famous museums and splendid palaces, as well as an intense and varied nightlife. Founded in 1275 on a hundred or so islands, the old city centre retains the ancient canal structure that makes it one of Europe's most fascinating capitals. The elegant buildings overlooking the water were owned by merchants who became rich with the East India Company and with diamond processing, including the 'Cullinan', the largest in the world, and the 'Koh-I-Noor', destined for the British crown jewels in 1852. We admire the Museums area, the Mint Tower, the Flower Market, the Beguinage, Dam Square, the Royal Palace, the Red Light District. Lunch in a restaurant. Afternoon at leisure for sightseeing or shopping. Overnight stay.

Day 3 | Amsterdam/Zaanse Schans/La Grande Diga/ Volendam/Amsterdam (km 191)
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with the guide and departure for Zaanse Schans, a very characteristic area for the presence of several windmills and the factories of the colourful Dutch clogs. Continue on to the 32-km-long Afsluitdijk Dam, the first colossal work of high engineering built between 1927 and 1933 to wrest the land from the sea and prevent it from flooding. Continue to Volendam, the village that looks like a living postcard with windmills, small fishermen's houses with pointed roofs and characters in typical local costumes. Lunch in a restaurant. You will also visit a typical farm where the famous Dutch cheeses are produced. In the late afternoon you return to Amsterdam. Overnight stay.

Day 4 | Amsterdam/The Hague and Delft (optional)
Breakfast at the hotel. Entire day at leisure for visits of special interest or shopping. Optional excursion to The Hague and Delft. Departure for The Hague, seat of the government and royal family since 1831, the third largest city, William of the Netherlands erected a castle there in 1248, a remarkable monumental complex of buildings dating back to the 13th century with an Inner Court, an Outer Court, the Palace of the States-General, the Courts of Justice and the Knights' Hall. Equally interesting from a historical point of view are the Great Church, the Town Hall and the Prison Gate, now a museum. Continue to Delft, famous for its blue-patterned porcelain, high church tower and small houses overlooking the canals. Lunch in a restaurant during the tour. Return to the hotel. Overnight stay.

Day 5 | Amsterdam/Brussels (km 219)
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Brussels, capital of the European Union as the seat of important political bodies. Meeting with the guide and visit of the city. It is a true architectural and cultural jewel, where the lower town develops around the Grande Place, which is its heart: the guild buildings, the King's House and the Town Hall make it one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. In the royal quarter, in addition to the collegiate church of Saints Michael and Gudula, you will see the Palace of Justice and the park known as Warande, which connects the Palace of Parliament with the Royal Palace. We reach the Laken quarter to admire the Atomium, built in 1958, an iron crystal molecule magnified 165 billion times, the symbol of the city. Hotel accommodation in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6 | Brussels/Bruges/Brussels (km 204)
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning meeting with your guide and departure for Bruges, the capital of Flanders and medieval historical centre proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Guided tour of one of the most picturesque medieval old towns in Europe, with churches and patrician palaces overlooking the canals and many museums with works of art by Flemish artists. The visit ends in the central Markt Square, the market square, which has been the beating heart of the city for centuries and has always been characterised by the 83-metre high civic tower or Belfort. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7 | Brussels/Gand/Antwerp/Brussels (km 168)
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with the guide and departure for Ghent. Visit of the historical centre where you can admire the magnificent Cathedral of St. Bavo, where Emperor Charles V was baptised in 1500 and where the famous painting by the Van Eyck brothers, "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb", with no less than 284 figures, is exhibited. Continue to Antwerp, a city considered the most beautiful in Belgium, where the painter Rubens spent most of his life, until his death in 1640. Four of his most beautiful paintings are exhibited in the beautiful Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady. Lunch in a restaurant. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Overnight stay.

Day 8 | Brussels-Italy
Breakfast at the hotel. Depending on the departure time, transfer to the airport, processing of boarding formalities and return to Italy.

The itinerary may be subject to change, without prejudice to the content of the programme.
Departures on 21/08 the tour will take place in the opposite direction. Please request programme when booking.