We travel from Belfast to Stranraer, and continue through the north of England to Hull, where we catch the overnight P&O Cruiseferry to Zeebrugge.

From Zeebrugge we travel south, through France, to our first hotel just outside Nancy.

Today we follow the course of the Rhine into Switzerland and our overnight hotel, the Paxmontana in the tiny mountain settlement of Flueli-Ranft.

Leaving Switzerland today we drive south through the Italian Lakes countryside, around the cities of Milan, Parma and Bologna. Our base for the duration of our stay in Tuscany is the spa town of Montecatini Terme.

After a relaxing morning in Montecatini we drive into the Arno Valley - Leonardo da Vinci country. Turning west we stop at Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower. The journey back to our hotel is by a more direct route, calling at a local vineyard on the way.

We travel further south today, through typical Tuscan scenery, to Siena. A local guide joins us to show us the very best of this truly beautiful city, best known today for the colour and pageantry of the famous Palio - the reckless horse race around the Piazza del Campo.

On our return journey we stop for a while at the spectacular hill town of San Gimignano, Tuscany’s medieval answer to the Manhattan skyline.

We take the train to Florence today (approx. 1 hour) avoiding the traffic and getting quickly to the centre of the city. We have an introductory tour, with the rest of the day free to explore. The centre of the city is quite compact - the D’uomo, the Ponto Vecchio and the Ufizzi Gallery are within walking distance of the train station.

Today is free, so why not take the funicular railway up to Montecatini Alto for one of the most unforgettable views in Italy? Having already used the train to go to Florence you may feel like spending more time in this magnificent Renaissance city - the choice is yours.

We say goodbye to Tuscany this morning and travel along the Mediterranean coast as far as Genoa before turning north to our overnight hotel in the beautiful Rhone Alps.

Our route today takes us through five provinces of Eastern France to our hotel in Lorraine - back where we started, in Nancy West

We travel through the Belgian Ardennes today, around Brussels and on through Flanders to Zeebrugge where we catch the overnight sailing back to Hull.

P&O Cruseferry (cabins with facilities - all meals included)

We complete our journey today with a relaxing coach journey from Hull to Stranraer to catch the evening HSS, arriving back at the Europa Buscentre at 10.00p.m.