Chelsea Flower Show & Floriade 2022 London to Amsterdam via Paris

Day 1  Overnight flight

Day 2  Windsor Castle – London

Day 3  London

This morning you will enjoy a guided city tour of London. Highlights of this tour will be the Tower of London, the Big Ben and Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square with the Lord Nelson Column and Piccadilly Circus. The tour through this captivating city ends at Buckingham Palace. Every day at 11:30 am the Changing of the Guard ceremony is being held here. Witness this colourful spectacle of British pageantry.  In the afternoon you will visit Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Discover the secrets hidden beneath the streets of Westminster in the underground nerve centre where Winston Churchill and his inner circle directed the Second World War. Conclude your day in London with a typical British Afternoon Tea.
Overnight in London.

Day 4  London Chelsea Flower show        

Today enjoy a full day at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show, a real delight for the eye. The annual Chelsea Flower Show has been the main show of the English Royal Horticultural Society for over 100 years. Over the years it has been eradicated to a major event with more than 600 exhibitors. Highlights to the Chelsea Flower Show include the avant-garde show gardens and the many smaller gardens such as the Artisan and Urban Gardens. These gardens are designed by top designers and landscaped in a sublime way. Everything is prepared at nurseries and then put together on site two weeks before the show. A major achievement. After this bright and colourful day you will return to London.
Overnight in London.

Day 5  London – Portsmouth – Normandy area

After breakfast you leave London and travel to Portsmouth. Before boarding the ferry to France you will visit the Portsmouth D-Day Story Museum. It is the only museum in the UK dedicated to the Allied Invasion in June 1944. It tells the unique personal stories behind this epic event. The museum’s unique and dramatic film show uses archive film to bring back memories of the wartime years. There are also extensive displays featuring maps; uniforms and other memorabilia; several vehicles and even a real LCVP landing craft.You continue to Portsmouth Port where a ferry will take you across the English Channel to Normandy. Dinner on board. You will arrive in Caen-Ouistreham in the evening.
Overnight in Normandy area.

Day 6  Normandy – World War II sites

Today you will have a full day excursion to the World War II sites. Your first destination will be Utah Beach, the site of the first allied beach landings on D-Day. Travel onwards to Sainte-Mère-Église, considered to be the first town liberated in France, and also depicted in the film “The Longest Day”. Visit he Airborne Museum, which makes you experience and understand the D-Day landing, from the invasion preparations in England to the battles for liberation. The museum is located opposite of the church where John Steele famously was caught, hanging on the bell tower with his parachute. Next, you will visit Pointe du Hoc, walk across the bomb-scarred terrain and see the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument at the top of the cliffs. Continue your way to Omaha Beach, where you will see ‘the Wings of Hope, Freedom and Fraternity’. Your last stop for today will be the American Cemetery and Memorial near Colleville-sur-Mer, the final resting place of nearly 10,000 members of the US military. You will also see the Visitor Centre, where several films are played and home to poignant exhibits that depict the stories and operations of the American soldiers. After this moving visit you will return to your hotel. Overnight in Normandy area.

Day 7  Normandy area – Giverny – Château Versailles – Paris

Today you will leave Normandy and head to Paris. On your way you will stop at Monet’s Gardens and House in Giverny. You will visit the house and gardens of the French impressionist and painter Claude Monet. Walking through the gardens, you will recognize many scenes from Monet’s paintings, like the bridge festooned with wisteria, arching over the water and water lilies below. After lunch together in Giverney, you will travel onwards to of Château de Versailles for a guided tour. The magnificent palace offers architectural splendor and artworks from 17th and 18th century  and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site for over 30 years. The Palace Gardens are lavishly decorated as the château itself and considered just as important as the Palace. The gardens are renowned for its large number of working fountains. Marvel the Trianon Palace, the musical garden and the palace park gardens as well. Afterwards, travel to Paris, ‘the City of Lights’. Overnight in Paris.

Day 8  Paris   

After breakfast, enjoy a guided city tour to see the highlights of the city by coach and on foot. You will see the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Opéra Garnier, l’Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Élysées,Place de la Concorde and the Eiffel Tower. You will walk through the characteristic neighbourhood Montmartre. A district full of authentic charm, famous for the Sacré-Cœur. This Basilica, consecrated in 1919, is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris. A short walk from the Sacré-Cœur is Place du Tertre and the district of Abbesses with its steep, winding roads. In the afternoon you will enjoy a guided tour of the most famous museum of the world; Musée du Louvre with famous artworks like the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the Grecian Venus de Milo and masterworks by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Veronese. Conclude your stay in the ‘City of Lights’ with a mesmerising Seine River cruise dinner. Overnight in Paris.

Day 9  Paris – Bruges

A full morning of travelling is on the program, you will leave Paris for Bruges. Upon arrival you will have lunch together. Afterwards, enjoy a guided walking tour of Bruges. You will see the Holy Blood Cathedral, the Belfort, the Lake of Love, the Church of Our Lady with Michelangelo’s Marble Madonna, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Beguinage and the historic centre with its canals, lace workshops, ancient buildings. Remainder of the afternoon at leisure to explore this charming town on your own.
Overnight in Bruges.

Day 10  Bruges – Amsterdam

Today you will cross the border, into the Netherlands and drive to Amsterdam. Before travelling to the capital of the Netherlands, you will stop in Delft. After lunch together, you will enjoy a visit of the Royal Delft’s factory, ‘the Porceleyne Fles’ where you will discover the complete history and production process of Delft’s Blue Porcelain. You will experience the painters’ passion during a painting demonstration and will walk through the factory where craftsmen are still producing. Travel onwards to Amsterdam. The capital of the Netherlands is composed of 70 islands which are separated by nearly 50 miles of canals and connected by more than 1000 arched bridges. Your first acquaintance with Amsterdam will be by boat. Enjoy a canal dinner cruise and soak up the atmosphere of this vibrant city. Whilst passing warehouses with beautiful decorated facades, noble mansions, iconic buildings, and colorful houseboats your dinner will be served. Overnight in Amsterdam.

Day 11  Amsterdam

This morning enjoy a guided walking tour of Amsterdam to discover the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam was founded in the Middle Ages and has many historical buildings. You will see the most important sights such as the Dam Square with the impressive Royal Palace and New Church, the canals with the arched bridges, the Rijksmuseum and Waterloo Square. Afterwards visit the Rijksmuseum, with an expert guide. This museum features famous paintings such as Rembrandt’s `Night watch’ and `Jewish bride’. Paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael are on exhibit as well. In the afternoon you will visit the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. In the garden and the greenhouses a staggering 4,000 types of plants from all over the world. An expert guide will show you around in this haven of tranquillity in the busy city.
Overnight in Amsterdam.

Day 12 Amsterdam – Floriade Expo – Amsterdam

This morning enjoy a guided walking tour of Amsterdam to discover the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam was founded in the Middle Ages and has many historical buildings. You will see the most important sights such as the Dam Square with the impressive Royal Palace and New Church, the canals with the arched bridges, the Rijksmuseum and Waterloo Square. Afterwards visit the Rijksmuseum, with an expert guide. This museum features famous paintings such as Rembrandt’s `Night watch’ and `Jewish bride’. Paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael are on exhibit as well. In the afternoon you will visit the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. In the garden and the greenhouses a staggering 4,000 types of plants from all over the world. An expert guide will show you around in this haven of tranquillity in the busy city.
Overnight in Amsterdam.

Day 13  Amsterdam – Aalsmeer Flower Auction – Zaanse Schans – Amsterdam

In the early morning you will travel to Aalsmeer. Here you will see the trading in action at the world’s largest flower market, the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. In a building approximately the size of a 100 soccer fields, many different kinds of flowers are traded and packaged directly for shipping to destinations throughout the world. Afterwards, you will depart to the recreated Dutch village dating back to 1850, the Zaanse Schans. Wander around the unique village, full of wooden houses, windmills, workshops, and step back in time. You will have the opportunity to visit one of the mills that are still in operation, the bakery museum, the cheese factory, and tin foundry. View a range of traditional Dutch crafts such as cheese and clog making. Enjoy a typical Dutch Pancake lunch together. Return to Amsterdam and remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
Farewell dinner and overnight in Amsterdam. 

Day 14  Departure

After breakfast you will depart for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for your flight back home.