A marlstone building typical of the South Limburg area of Holland, Hotel Walram is situated beside the river Geul which flows through the centre of Valkenburg.
Price includes
• 3 star hotel
• Dinner, bed & breakfast
• Return ferry crossings (including cabins and meals onboard P&O Cruiseferry)
• Through coaching
• Visits to Lille; Cologne; Brussels; Utrecht
PRICE EXCLUDES
• Single cabin supplement TBA
• Single room supplement £25
• Obligatory holiday insurance
The European
France, Holland,
Germany & Belgium
Based in the charming town of Valkenburg in Southern Holland, The European is a wonderful opportunity to skip across old borders and experience four very different cultures in one short tour, with visits to Lille in France, Cologne in Germany, Brussels in Belgium and Utrecht in Holland.
Day 1 - Monday
The coach leaves the Europa Buscentre at 6.30am. We travel to Stranraer by Stena HSS and proceed through Southern Scotland and over the Pennines to Hull, on the English east coast, where we catch the overnight P&O sailing to Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Overnight::
P&O Cruiseferry (outside cabins
with facilities, all meals included)
Day
2 - Tuesday - France
From Zeebrugge we travel for just over an hour to the historic city of Lille. The sign at the railway station proclaims “Lille - Flanders”. We are now in what is sometimes called “Gallic Flanders”, officially the capital of Northern France.
In the afternoon we drive further into Mainland Europe to a point where Belgium meets Germany and Holland. We check into our hotel, our base for the duration of the tour in the centre of the charming Dutch town of Valkenburg.
Hotel:
Walram Hotel, Valkenburg ***
(3 nights)
Day
3 - Wednesday - Germany
About an hour and a half to the east, on the banks of the Rhine, stands Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city. Founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, the city is famous for its Cathedral (the unofficial symbol of the city) and, of course, Eau de Cologne.
Day
4 - Thursday - Belgium
The Belgian and European Union capital of Brussels today. There are two official languages, Dutch and French, as you will see on every street sign. The spectacular central square is the “Grand Place” or “Grote Market”. Every style of architecture is here, from classic to modern - check out the Atomium, Europe in Miniature and of course Manneken Pis, a national symbol for many but really only a ‘wee’ boy!
The Belgians are famous for their love of chocolate and beer - a trip here wouldn’t be complete without sampling the many varieties of mouth-watering chocolates and perhaps some of the city’s 400 high quality brewed beers
Day
5 - Friday - Holland
We leave Valkenburg this morning and drive north through the Netherlands to our final city, Utrecht. Not unlike its larger neighbour Amsterdam, it has its own network of canals. We end our European tour on a high note - several in fact - at the unique organ museum, a surprisingly entertaining finale.
In the afternoon we travel to Europoort just to the south of Rotterdam where we catch the overnight sailing back to Hull.
Overnight::
P&O Cruiseferry (outside cabins
with facilities, all meals included)
Day
6 - Saturday
From Hull we retrace our outward journey to Stranraer and on to Belfast, arriving back at the Europa Buscentre around 10.00pm.
