Essential Europe

Join 881,000 bikes and get your cycle on with an optional bike tour of Amsterdam's iconic canals, bridges and parks. Culture fiends, delve deeper with a visit to the Anne Frank House or the Van Gogh or Rijksmuseum. Still thirsty for more? Check out the Heineken Experience and indulge in a spot of beer tasting.

Picture the definition of pretty and you've got Heidelberg. Have a one day romantic affair with the city that will capture your heart with its charm. We're talking hilltop castle ruins, cobblestone quarters and a fairytale 18th century bridge crossing the River Neckar. Feast German style before taste-testing steins from the local beer houses.

It's time to get to know the city where beer is officially considered a food. Your Trip Leader will clue you up on the Bavarian capital on a walking tour. Then: slide on your lederhosen and have a royal Happy Hour experience (none of that craft beer nonsense here) at the 428-year-old Hofbräuhaus. Did you know that the recipes here were passed down from Wilhelm V, the Duke of Bavaria? You do now!

You know it as The Floating City, but this place is actually sinking (slowly). Today we’ll check out a who's who of Venice's usual suspects on a guided walking tour (ticking off the likes of St Mark's Square and Accademia Bridge), then jump on a gondola ride to get the full experience. Throw away your map in the afternoon and try to find the world's most epic little bookshop, Libreria Acqua Alta, or just go on a mission to find the perfect gelato.

Time to give that bucket list a workout! Make like Caesar (the emperor, not the salad) and work up a ‘colossus’ hunger as you pass by the Pantheon, throw your two cents in the Trevi Fountain, sit on the Spanish Steps and visit ancient history's version of the Hunger Games set at the Colosseum. Tonight, you're in Disneyland for foodies. Have fun.

Create the ultimate Roman Holiday in one day with a whirlwind of Vespas, espresso, two-cheek kisses and pizza the way it's supposed to taste. Count your blessings on an optional tour of the Vatican City, then play ‘I-spy’ with two-and-a-half millennia worth of history. Want more? Then you could always shop till you drop on Via Condotti, head to Capitoline Hill for awesome views of the Roman Forum and Colosseum or just kick back in Piazza Navona for some dolce far niente (delicious idleness).

Make your food baby sing as we roll into the land of hearty Tuscan cuisine and the birthplace of gelato: Florence. Set off on a walking tour with a local guide and make the most of your time here before tucking into amore on a plate. Shop, eat, shop, eat, explore then eat again.

Prepare for more #epicviews as we head to the lakeside town Lucerne. Check out the famous Lion Monument, Chapel Bridge, Glacier Gardens and Hofkirche on a guided tour. The way you spend the night is totally up to you.

Pinch yourself and Instagram your first selfie in Paris. That’s right, you’ve made it! Home to Coco Chanel, the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa, Paris has more than earned its reputation as the European capital for all things culture, fashion and food. Get ready.

This morning: free time. From the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, you'll be sure to make a solid dent in your bucket list. Later on, you can stretch those legs on an optional bike tour of Paris, or simply roam the streets on your own. End your day with an optional Seine River cruise or a cabaret show. Don’t forget we’ve got a gourmet picnic by THAT famous tower tonight too.

Pack some macarons, or just, you know, keep travelling forever.