-Day 1 Start tour
Day 2 Hello London
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Day 3 London landmarks
Covent Garden walking tour
Details: London guided sightseeing tour
Join a licensed local guide for an in-depth look at London, from the royal haunt of Buckingham Palace (the official London residence of King Charles III) to the slightly more democratic Speakers’ Corner of Hyde Park, where anyone can pull up a soapbox and orate to his heart’s content. You’ll see the changing of the guard (season permitting), the clock tower of Big Ben with its 14-ton bell, and Westminster Abbey, where almost every English king and queen since William the Conqueror has been crowned. After a stop at the Houses of Parliament, continue on to the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of London architect Christopher Wren.
Details: Trafalgar Square
See Trafalgar Square, often used for community gatherings and political demonstrations.
Details: Piccadilly Circus
Visit Piccadilly Circus, a shopping and entertainment area brightly lit with video displays and neon signs.
Day 4 London
Details: Anne Hathaway’s Cottage visit
The cottage provides a rare insight into the life of a family in Shakespearean times, and many of the original furnishings are preserved inside the house.
Details: Shakespeare's Birthplace visit
Explore Shakespeare's Birthplace, a carefully restored 16th Century house where The Bard was born, April 23, 1564. After touring the property and the period-correct gardens, we will visit the Shakespeare-related exhibits in the adjoining Shakespeare Center, built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth.
Details: Oxford University college visit
Explore the oldest English-speaking university in the world. Founded in 1096, Oxford got a big attendance boost in 1167, when a tiff between the English and French kings caused all English students to be expelled from the University of Paris. Many came back to Oxford, and since then the university has been home to many of England’s most illustrious thinkers and writers, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Roger Bacon -- and Dr. Seuss. With a local guide tour one of the 39 colleges that make up the university (colleges you may visit include Brasenose, Christ Church, or New College).
Day 5
Paris guided sightseeing tour Details: Eurostar Chunnel crossing
Take the Eurostar under the English Channel. Faster than you can say... anything, in French, you'll whiz through a tunnel and arrive in Paris.
Details: Notre-Dame Cathedral
View the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Work began in 1163 on a spot that had been a holy shrine since Roman times. Over the centuries, the cathedral has been the scene of some of France's most momentous occasions, including the coronation of Napoleon.
Day 6 Paris
Details: Louvre visit
The world's largest art museum, the Louvre is housed in a Medieval fortress-turned-castle so grand it's worth a tour itself. You walk through the 71-foot glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei and added in 1989, and step into another world--one with carved ceilings, deep-set windows, and so many architectural details you could spend a week just admiring the rooms. The Mona Lisa is here, as well as the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory (the headless statue, circa 200 BC, discovered at Samothrace). The Louvre has seven different departments of paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and antiquities. Don't miss the Egyptian collection, complete with creepy sarcophagi, or the collection of Greek ceramics, one of the largest in the world. (Please note the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.)
Details: LEAP Cover the Canvas
Live the artist's life. Explore line, color, perspective, negative space and form, then paint a masterpiece inspired by the beauty of Paris.
Details: Montmartre tour director-led sightseeing
Follow your Tour Director through the artsy hilltop neighborhood of Montmartre towards Basilica Sacré-Cœur. Watch local street artists work their magic in the central square of Place du Tertre before seeking out the iconic red windmill on the roof of Moulin Rouge, birthplace of the French cancan dance.
Day 7 Paris
Dinner on your own
Details: Versailles Guided Excursion
The ultimate palace, Versailles was built by Louis XIII, and housed the royal family and its groveling court from 1682, when the Sun King moved in, to the French Revolution. Everything in Versailles is worth a look, from the 250-foot-long Hall of Mirrors, with themed salons- "war" and "peace" -on either side, to Marie Antoinette's faux country hamlet. When being a queen became too much to bear, she would pretend to be a commoner, tending her sheep and wearing peasant clothes. (Please note Versailles is closed on Mondays.)
Details: LEAP Seize the Château!
A lively role-play puts you in the shoes of the monarchy, clergy, nobility, bourgeoisie, or peasantry to explore the issues underlying the French Revolution.
Details: Lunch
Today, lunch is included in place of dinner
Details: Seine River cruise
See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.
Details: Eiffel Tower ascent
Line up to climb to the top floor of this iconic landmark for a spectacular birds-eye view of the glittering City of Light.
Day 8
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare and other transportation described in the itinerary
- Centrally located three- and four-star hotels
- Plentiful daily breakfast to start the day energized and ready to go
- Appetizing, culturally representative, three-course dinner daily (lunch replacement where "dinner on your own" is noted)
- Full time, multilingual, WorldStrides tour director who is LEAP-trained in experiential education
- Local guide at sites and on city tours as described in the itinerary
- LEAP! Learning through Exploration and Active Participation; trademarked immersive approach of learning by doing
- Entrances and transportation to sites and activities described in your itinerary
- Local guide and local bus driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- 24/7 On Tour Emergency Support
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, any required passport or visa fees, optional excursions, or recommended Tips for the Tour Director or multi-day Bus Drivers. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid tips, or other individual/group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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