After arriving in Paris and checking into your hotel, the remainder of the day is at your leisure to rest or explore your surroundings. Your Paris Visite pass becomes valid from the first use. Activate it when it's convenient for your schedule. The entire day is billed towards the duration time so it's best to activate the pass early in the day (NOTE: the Metro operates from 5:30am to about 1:00am). The pass for Zones 1-3 includes travel within central Paris including stops near all major tourist sites however, it does NOT include entrance fees.

(Accommodations, Paris)

Today meet your guide at the hotel for your private tours of two of Paris's renowned art museums. Your first stop will be at Musee d' Orsay. Housed in a former railway station along the Left Bank, the Musée d'Orsay is regarded for its rich collection of impressionist works. In addition to Monet, you'll see paintings by artists like Degas, Cezanne, and Van Gogh, among many others. The museum also houses a number of sculptures, as well as photography and even furniture displays. And if you climb to the museum's top balcony, you can catch a breathtaking view of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica through the museum's massive, transparent clock. Although the extensive Louvre may appear to get most of the Parisian limelight, recent travelers seem to enjoy the Musée d'Orsay more. After the museum tour, you'll have the opportunity to stop for lunch, and your guide can offer some suggestions.

Afterwards, you'll cross the river to the Musee de l'Orangerie. Located in the Tuileries Garden, this collection offers 144 paintings from the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century, including the works of Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, and Derain. This exhibit includes Claude Monet's masterworks, the Nymphéas (Water Lilies); painted in the artist's garden at Giverny and donated to the French state in 1922. Monet stipulated that the (8) monumental panels be displayed precisely as they are seen today, in twin oval rooms that surround enraptured viewers with his vision. The gallery also houses special exhibits by by photographers and artists worldwide.

(Breakfast, Accommodations, Paris))

After breakfast, meet your guide for a private full-day tour. While driving you along the Seine River Valley to Giverny, where Claude Monet lived from 1883 to 1926, your guide will retrace the painter's life and his sources of inspiration. You'll tour his house and studio, plus the gardens he created as a subject for his paintings. See the ponds and the Japanese bridges built with a lock on the tiny Epte river for the Water Lilies series. This serene setting is a joy to not only art lovers, but gardeners and botanists alike.

After departing Giverny, you'll stop for lunch before making the short one hour drive to Auver-Sur-Oise; the picturesque town that seduced Van Gogh and many other Impressionists. "Seriously beautiful" was Vincent's description in a letter to his brother Théo. This charming village attracted other painters, mainly impressionists, including Charles-François Daubigny, Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro who came to draw inspiration from it. Apart from the chateau, you can immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of the period at the Auberge Ravoux, the final resting spot of Vincent and his brother Theo. This tormented soul spent his last 70 days here, while continuing to paint (more than seventy pictures). Vincent's room is upstairs with only a solitary chair. Take a short walk up the hill to the Notre Dame church, and behind in the cemetery, you'll find Vincent and Theo's grave side by side; both covered with ivy and symbolically dotted with sunflowers. At the end of this poignant tour, you'll return to Paris and your hotel.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Accommodations, Paris)

After breakfast, you'll depart from Gare du Nord station for the Thalys high-speed rail trip to Amsterdam in 1st class. After arriving at their main station, take a taxi to your appointed hotel. The remainder of the day is free for independent sightseeing. If you wish to keep with the "art" theme, visit Rembrandt's house, or the renowned Rijksmuseum. Here you'll find works by Ruisdael, Vermeer, and Rembrandt's, "The Night Watch"; perhaps the most famous piece in the collection. A status substantiated by the fact that it is mounted within its own room.

(Breakfast, Paris; accommodations, Amsterdam)

The morning is free to relax and explore on your own. In the afternoon, meet your guide to experience Amsterdam "like a Local". Beyond the breweries and coffee shops that Amsterdam is known for, there are many charming pubs tucked in the corners of the historic city. You'll find pubs like the Wildeman that are frequented mostly by the locals, giving you an authentic experience. You'll have 2 hours strolling through a city center neighborhood down and around canals (there's 165 ). On this tour, you'll learn not only about the history of Amsterdam and the daily life of the Dutch, but also the history of Dutch beer brands and their local spirit Jenever (also known as Dutch gin). Along the way, you'll pop into one or two local pubs and have a drink* at each pub, absorbing the congenial atmosphere.

After the walking tour your guide will escort you to the restaurant Grand Cafe 1884** and leave you to enjoy a 3-course dinner (excluding drinks). The restaurant is located next to the Central Rail Station and only a 5-minute walk to the trams to get you back to your Amsterdam hotel. Or if it is a lovely evening you can enjoy a stroll along the various canals.

*either a local beer, wine, soft drink or a local spirit.
**If you are staying at a centrally located hotel, meet your guide in the hotel lobby. If you are staying at a hotel outside the city center, your guide will meet you at Restaurant Grand Cafe 1884, De Ruyterkade105.

(Breakfast, Accommodations, Amsterdam)

Meet your guide in your hotel lobby and enjoy a brief walking tour en route to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum is dedicated to the famous Dutch painter and his contemporaries. It's the largest Van Gogh collection in the world, with over 200 paintings, 400 drawings, and 700 letters. Many notable works by Van Gogh's contemporaries are featured as well, including Auguste Rodin, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat. After the tour, you are free to explore on your own. The Museum Quarter and Vondelpark neighborhood is internationally renowned for its melting pot of art, history and culture. The streets in this neighborhood, Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat, Van Baerlestraat, and Jacob Obrechtstraat, are chock full of cafes, restaurants, and shops.

(Breakfast, Dinner, Accommodations, Amsterdam)

After breakfast, make your way to the rail station or airport for your return home or on to your next Avanti Destination!

(Breakfast, Amsterdam)