Take an International flight departing from SYD/MEL to Paris.

Upon arrival at the Paris Airport, you will be met and greeted by our representa­tive and be transferred to your hotel for a rest­ful and leisure day.

Hotel: Hotel Campanile Paris or similar

After breakfast, we leave Luxembourg behind and head across another Europe­an border into Germany. The first stop is historic Trier, Germany's oldest city and the birthplace of Karl Marx. You'll have the chance to see the outside of the house where the influential philosopher was born, which now functions as the Karl Marx Haus museum. Your walking tour then takes you into the centre of Trier; here you can look around the city's im­pressive cathedral, where the celebrated Holy Robe is said to be the tunic of Christ preserved and occasionally displayed. Trier is also known as ' The Second Rome' (Constantine served as an administrator here for 10 years), and significant legacies of the once-great empire remain today. The highlight is undoubtedly Porta Nigra, the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, which you'll get to see and photograph. After an exciting morning in Trier, proceed to Koblenz, famous as the location of the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Here you have the option of indulging in a relaxing lunch alongside the water, then afterward you can also choose to add on a scenic Rhine boat cruise for some memorable city vistas. Back on dry land you'll drive through the wine-making town of Rudesheim, and stop to see the bronze 19th-century Niederwald monument. Perched on a hill high above the town, this stop also offers a spectacular photo opportunity of the surrounding Rhine Valley. Then it's on to Frankfurt, where you'll discover the delights of Romerberg, a charming plaza with a distinctive medieval town hall as its centerpiece. 

Hotel:Park Inn by Radisson or similar

After breakfast, we leave Luxembourg behind and head across another Europe­an border into Germany. The first stop is historic Trier, Germany's oldest city and the birthplace of Karl Marx. You'll have the chance to see the outside of the house where the influential philosopher was born, which now functions as the Karl Marx Haus museum. Your walking tour then takes you into the centre of Trier; here you can look around the city's im­pressive cathedral, where the celebrated Holy Robe is said to be the tunic of Christ preserved and occasionally displayed. Trier is also known as ' The Second Rome' (Constantine served as an administrator here for 10 years), and significant legacies of the once-great empire remain today. The highlight is undoubtedly Porta Nigra, the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, which you'll get to see and photograph. After an exciting morning in Trier, proceed to Koblenz, famous as the location of the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Here you have the option of indulging in a relaxing lunch alongside the water, then afterward you can also choose to add on a scenic Rhine boat cruise for some memorable city vistas. Back on dry land you'll drive through the wine-making town of Rudesheim, and stop to see the bronze 19th-century Niederwald monument. Perched on a hill high above the town, this stop also offers a spectacular photo opportunity of the surrounding Rhine Valley. Then it's on to Frankfurt, where you'll discover the delights of Romerberg, a charming plaza with a distinctive medieval town hall as its centerpiece. 

Hotel:Park Inn by Radisson or similar

After breakfast, you will begin the leisurely drive northwest from Frankfurt to Bonn, the capital of the former West Germany until reunification. Discover the city's secrets on an orientation stroll through its streets, walking past highlights such as the Rococo-fronted town hall and Ludwig Van Beethoven Haus, a museum celebrating the life of the much-loved composer. Then it's on to Cologne, where you'll head inside the city's glorious Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO World Herit­age Site. The rest of the afternoon is yours to explore Cologne further to do a spot of local shopping or simply relax with a suitably refreshing German brew. Proceed to the Netherlands in the afternoon. 

Hotel: Hampton by Hilton or similar

After breakfast, a day of delights begins with a leisurely trip through the Dutch countryside, where you'll get to sample at close quarters some of the things that the Netherlands is traditionally famous for: clogs, cheese, and windmills. Call in at the hugely popular model town of Zaanse Schans. Next, you'll head from the quiet countryside to the cosmopoli­tan city as your journey takes you back to Amsterdam. After visiting a well-known diamond factory, where you'll see the unique cutting techniques that have been practised here since the 16th cen­tury, you can take an optional hour-long pre-dinner canal cruise, which is a great way to discover more about this unique European city. After disembarking you'll walk to one of the city's grandest areas, Dam Square, where the Royal Palace is located and the Queen's birthday cel­ebrations take place.

Hotel: Hampton by Hilton or similar

After breakfast, you will leave Amsterdam in the morning and head south across the border into Brussels, the Belgian capital and political centre of the European Union. On the way, the tour stops to see the distinctive Atomium monument, a cell-shaped structure of stainless steel spheres and tubes built for the 1958 World's Fair. In the centre of Brussels itself, an orientation tour will call in at the exquisite Grand Place, as well as seeing the famous impish Manneken Pis statue. After some free time, during which you can try some mouth-watering Belgian delights. From Brussels cross the French border to the bright lights of Paris.

Hotel: Hotel Campanile Paris or similar

After breakfast, your Parisian adventures get off to a spectacular start with a drive along the famous Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde, which played such a key part in the French Revolution. You will also get to see the iconic Arc de Tri­omphe here too, the imposing monu­ment that sits near the western end of the avenue and commemorates the fall of the revolution.

You'll take in an­other significant historical building next as you head to L'Hotel National des ln­valides, where Napoleon's tomb is lo­cated. Then it's on to the most legendary of all Paris icons: the Eiffel Tower. Choose to make the optional ascent of the tower for unbeatable views over the city, and a truly memorable experience. Back on the ground level, you can take a more leisurely cruise along the river Seine, a great sightseeing option that offers views including the Notre Dame Ca­thedral and Pont Alexandre III. Finally, you'll travel on the coach throughout the Parisian suburbs to the splendid Palace of Versailles, the vast regal cha­teau that was the residence of the royal family until the start of the revolution in 1789. In the evening, you can enjoy one of our optional Paris evening shows.

Hotel: Hotel Campanile Paris or similar

After breakfast, your Parisian experience begins with a visit to the Louvre, one of the world's greatest art museums. Here you'll set your eyes upon some of history's most famous masterpieces, in­cluding the Venus de Milo, Winged Vic­tory of Samothrace, and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. After the exhilaration of walking the gallery corridors, replenish your energy levels with lunch in the museum before heading to the area surrounding the Palais Garnier, Paris' opera house. Visit the legendary department stores Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, sightsee, or simply sit and sip. Back thehotel inthe evening.

Transfer to the Airport early morning to depart to Barcelona, Spain. Upon ar­rival at BCN International Airport, you will be picked up and be arranged to the Cruise Terminal to check in and embark on the luxury MSC Cruise Ship.

When cruising Southern France, you have to know that Marseille is the most renowned and populated metropolitan area in the country after Paris and Lyon. When you alight from your MSC cruise ship, the cafes around the Vieux Port, where glistening fish are sold straight off the boats on Quai des Belge. It is a wonderful spot to observe the city's street life. Particularly good in the afternoon is the north (Le Panier) side, where the ter­races are sunnier and the views are better. The best view of the Vieux Port is from the Palais du Pharo, on the headland beyond Fort St-Nicolas, or, for a wider angle, from Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the city's Second Empire landmark atop the La Garde hill. To the north of the Vieux Port is the oldest part of Marseille, Le Panier, where, up until the last war, tiny streets, steep steps Mediterranean introduction and houses of every era formed a vieilleville typical of the Cote.

Genoa is marvelously eclectic, vibrant, and full of rough-edged style; "La Superba" (TheSuperb), as it was known at the height of its authority as a Mediterranean superpower. It boasts more zest and intrigue than all the surrounding coastal resorts put together. During a holiday to Genoa, you can explore its old town: a dense and fascinating warren of medieval alleyways home to the large palazzi built in the sixteenth and seven­teenth centuries by Genoa's wealthy mercantile families and now transformed into museums and art galleries. You should seek out the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, the Palazzo Ducale, and the Renaissance palaces of Via Garibaldi which contain the cream of Genoa's art collections, as well as furniture and decor from the grandest days of the city's past when its ships sailed to all corners of the Mediterranean Sea. The Acquario di Genova is the city's pride and joy, parked like a giant oceanliner on the waterfront, with seventy tanks housing sea creatures from all the world's major habitats, including the world's biggest reconstruction of a Caribbean coral reef. It's a great aquarium by any standards, the second largest in Europe by capacity, and boasts a fashionably ecology-con­scious slant and excellent background information in Italian and English.

Dating back to the 2nd millennium B.C., Naples, an MSC Mediterranean Cruises destination, is one of Italy's ancient jewels. Boasting a vibrant historical centre set around a striking harbour bay, discover architectural landmarks, mas­terpiece artworks, and sumptuous food. The dormant volcano of Mount Vesuvius offers a picture-postcard backdrop. From the city, travel further afield to the archaeological site of Pompeii or take in Capri's glamorous culture. Discover the archaeological site of Pompeii which lin­gers in the shadow of majestic Mount Vesuvius. This ancient Roman city was buried under pumice and ash during the volcanic eruption of 79 AD. Today, Pompeii looks frozen in time, offering glimps­es of fossilised people, preserved baths, and fabulous frescs.

Messina may well be your first sight of Sicily, the glittering town spread up the hillside beyond its sickle-shaped Medi­terranean harbour. On a shore excursion, you can discover Messina's most impor­tant monument, the Duomo, which epit­omizes the city's phnix-like ability to re-create itself from the ashes of its last disaster. It's the reconstruction of a twelfth-century cathedral erected by Roger 11, one series of great Norman churches of Sicily that include the sump­tuous cathedrals of Palermo and Cefalu.

The UNESCO-protected port of Valletta, the capital of the island of Malta, is one of the must-see stops of the Mediterranean cruise. You can admire this port, which was constructed in the second half of the 16th century by the Frenchman Jean de Lavalette and moulded by the religious and military order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Over 300 monuments rising in little more than half a square kilometre makes this a place one of the greatest density of historical attrac­tions to visit during a cruise, not men­tioning other attractions such as its beaches, seaside locales, and restaurants.

One of the best things on the sea day is to fully experience the MSC Cruise. Enjoy exclusive world-class shows per­formed in innovative venues, Carousel Lounge, multi-purpose karaoke bar, comedy club, and bars. Everyone can enjoy hours of fun in one of the most intricate and exciting waterparks at sea. The Atmosphere Pool, with its beautiful lighting, a giant screen, and an atmospheric design makes the pool area even more al­luring after the sunset. The Aurea Spa is also rated the best on board.

It comes till the end of the unforgettable holidays in Europe. After breakfast, disembark from the cruise and you will be arranged to transfer to BCN Airport to depart back to Sydney/Melbourne. Arrive in Australia on the Day 18. (Stay behind in Europe could be arranged)