Leave in the early morning from your London joining hotel and head through the lush English countryside to the Channel port, where you board your ferry for the Continent. Here your tour director and luxury coach meet you and you're off across Belgium to Brussels.

This morning take advantage of the Lucerne sightseeing walk and maybe join the optional excursion to Mount Titlis. Later head for the tiny but very wealthy principality of Liechtenstein. To the east lie the picture-postcard villages of Austria's Voralberg, and once you're through the Arlberg Tunnel, the scenic splendour of the Inn Valley. Overnight in Innsbruck with time to see its Golden Roof. (B, D)

A long but interesting drive southward, cutting across the Po Delta, then joining the expressway which skirts the Adriatic coast. After crossing the Apennines, stop in Assisi, where St. Francis was born in 1182. Visit the Basilica, then head for Rome. (B)

An easy drive this morning on the Highway of the Sun to Florence. This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will keep you enthralled for a whole day. Traffic is banned in part of the historic centre so visitors can wander at leisure and admire the city's timeless beauty in relative peace and quiet. Don't miss out on the included walking tour with a local guide which features most of the city highlights. You will see the Piazza Santa Croce; the beautiful Piazza Signoria; the Palazzo Vecchio and its courtyard; the Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, an inside visit to the Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Door of the Baptistery known as the "Gate to Paradise." (B)

Take the opportunity today to enjoy all the amenities of the French Riviera rightly known as one of Europe's loveliest regions. In the afternoon your coach takes the inland road crossing sun-drenched Province into the vineyards of the Rhône Valley. Overnight in Lyon. (B, D)

One full day to explore the city that's known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food, and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best-known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides, and Champs Elysées... (Itinerary and sights maybe altered due to newly enforced traffic and parking regulations.) Optional excursions are also available to the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, and to celebrate the success of your tour, a French farewell dinner might be just the ticket. (B)