Surrounded by mountains, forests, and the Neckar River, Heidelberg showcases a quintessential German landscape. Join your Tour Director as you drive through this granddaddy of all college towns, with its scores of bars, cafés, and shops. Get a beautiful view Germany’s oldest university —founded in 1386—from the Marktplatz, Heidelberg’s main square. Head up to Heidelberg Castle, which is still a little wobbly from its partial destruction during the Thirty Years’ War, a 17th-century attack by the French, and a major lightening hit in 1764. The castle’s courtyard is home to the largest wine barrel in world, the Great Vat, which holds about 50,000 gallons of wine (possibly another contributing factor to the castle’s romantically off-balance appearance).

Head up to Heidelberg Castle, which is still a little wobbly from its partial destruction during the Thirty Years’ War, a 17th-century attack by the French, and a major lightening hit in 1764. The castle is considered to be one of the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps, and the castle’s courtyard is home to the largest wine barrel in world!

Visit the town's historical Marktplatz, the Market Square.

Cruise along the most beautiful stretch of the Rhine River, surrounded by rocky cliffs topped with picturesquely crumbling castles and covered by the country’s most famous vineyards.

Christmas reigns all year round in Rothenburg, a jewel of a town on Germany’s picturesque Romantic Road. Beyond the year-round Christmas markets, the town boasts one of the most intact medieval city walls in Europe and a fairly unique clock. During the Thirty Years’ War, a former Rothenburg mayor was offered the chance to save the city by chugging close to a gallon of wine; he succeeded (and then slept for three days straight), and his accomplishment is reenacted seven times daily by mechanical figures on the clock in the Marktplatz -- adding a new twist to the concept of “cuckoo clock.” The enormous Gothic St. Jacob’s Church watches over the exploits from across the square.

There is no surprise here. The Romantic Road is exactly what it says it is -- a drive down the middle of Western Bavaria’s heartland and a path through the center of your own heart with its romantic picturesque scenery. Between Würzburg and Füssen, the route is strewn with quaint villages, colorful castles, farmhouses, elaborate churches and dense forest.

See the Olympic Stadium, the 1,000 foot-high Television Tower, the Frauenkirche (Munich Cathedral), the City Hall with its Glockenspiel on Marienplatz (the heart of the city), the Residenz Palace and the Opera House.

Discover the area of Munich around Marienplatz, which is dedicated to the patron of the city. See the Neues Rathaus and observe the Glockenspiel on its facade. This is the fourth largest chiming clock in Europe, and stages an elaborate performance twice a day.

Visiting the BMW Welt showroom is an immersive experience where you can explore the latest BMW models, learn about cutting-edge automotive technology, and enjoy the sleek, modern design of the venue.

See Olympia Park, the site of the 1972 Olympics. Buildings include the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, and the Aquatic Center. Many cultural events are still held at Olympia Park.

Discover the links between traditional dance and Bavarian history. Listen to and learn Bavarian music while participating in ancient folklore storytelling. You’ll also learn (and demonstrate) a variety of traditional dance steps as taught by local experts.

Meet six influential figures from Germany's history. Join a debate and argue their accomplishments to decide who the greatest German is.

Travel to the picturesque Bavarian village of Hohenschwangau which is located between two famous castles: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. Visit Hohenschwangau Castle, the childhood residence of King Ludwig II, and enjoy a hike up towards Neuschwanstein Castle for breathtaking views of the castle and the surrounding Bavarian Alps.

Learn about the castle’s history and its significance as the childhood home of King Ludwig II. The views from the castle are breathtaking, with the serene Lake Alpsee and the surrounding Bavarian Alps providing a picturesque backdrop.

Enjoy a scenic walk up the hill to Neuschwanstein Castle and over to Queen Mary's Bridge (known locally as Marienbrücke) for unbeatable views of King Ludwig II's fairytale castle and the surrounding Bavarian Alps.

Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a focal point of the region. Due to its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne, within sight of Mount Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne is traditionally considered first and foremost as a tourist destination.

Before a backdrop of snow-capped Alpine mountains and green, cow-filled pastures, join your Tour Director on a trip to Lucerne’s famous sights. Weave your way through a maze of narrow, winding streets until you reach the River Reuss and the Medieval Kapellbrücke Bridge. Stop to marvel at the bridge walls, decorated with murals that recreate the 14th-century originals destroyed in a fire. Journey down the cobblestone streets in the Old Town to see the Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument), the somber sandstone wild cat gazing down into a reflecting pool, and ponder this artfully chiseled statue created to honor the Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries in 1792.

One of the city's famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrücke, a wooden bridge first built in the 14th century. It has also been voted as the 5th most popular tourism destination in the world.

View the Lion Monument, or Löwendenkmal, created in 1820 in honor of the Swiss Guards who lost their lives in 1792 during the French Revolution.

View the impressive Jesuitenkirche which was the first large baroque church built in Switzerland. The ostentatious baroque style architecture is meant to represent the power and glory of the Catholic tradition.

Stroll through the picturesque medieval Weinmarkt Square and the Kornmarkt Square in the historical heart of Lucerne.

Legends of William Tell, the Lion Monument, Swiss independence and more come to life as you reenact episodes in the history of Switzerland.

In fair Verona shall we lay our scene. The setting for Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” still glows with romance. See Juliet’s balcony, tenderly draped with climbing ivy and overlooking a golden-hued statue of the young mistress herself. As you gaze out and contemplate the power of love, don’t get too swept away -- remember that while Shakespeare based his characters on Verona’s real-life feuding families, both Romeo and Juliet were, in fact, fictional.

Tour Verona's Roman Amphitheater, the largest in the world. Completed in 30 AD, this arena has been the site of executions, fairs, bullfights, opera, plays, and, of course, gladiator combat.

Bubbling up on more than 100 islands in a lagoon off the Adriatic, Venice is an absolutely unique and unquestionably beautiful city. Step into Piazza San Marco, an airy expanse of arches, sunlight, and pigeons. The multi-domed Basilica on one end, completed in 1094 but decorated for centuries afterward, is the final resting place of the apostle St. Mark, Venice’s patron saint. The mosaics beneath the basilica’s outside arches depict the arrival of St. Mark’s body, stolen from Egypt in 828 by Venetian traders. The Venetian Gothic Doge’s Palace stands next door.

View the famous Bridge of Sighs, which was built in the seventeenth century and connects the Old and New Prison. Local legend is that as prisoners walked across the bridge to their execution they would sigh as they got one last glimpse of the outside world.

Enjoy a visit to the Doge's’ Palace, residence of the rulers of the Serenissima Republic. We will explore the ornate and grandiose rooms of the palace, including a walk across thefamous Bridge of Sighs to the cells, where Casanova was once imprisoned, as well as the Grand Council chamber, featuring Tintoretto's Paradise, said to be the world's largest oil painting.

Visit St. Mark's Basilica, where Monteverdi was the maestro di capella and the Gabrielis composed their antiphonal brass pieces.