Paris to the Eternal City

London to Paris by Eurostar

Your holiday begins at London St Pancras, where you board Eurostar in Plus class, with a light meal and drinks served at your seat. In a little over two hours you are in the heart of Paris. A transfer takes you to Hôtel de Montesquieu, a small and stylish five star hotel in the 8th arrondissement with just 18 rooms and suites, tucked away in a quiet street between the Champs-Élysées and the elegant shops of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Overnight at Hôtel de Montesquieu, Paris.

Paris

A full day to enjoy Paris in early summer. The Arc de Triomphe is a short walk from the hotel and the Place de la Concorde not much further. From there the Tuileries Garden leads straight to the Louvre, while the Musée d'Orsay, with its great Impressionist collection housed in a Beaux Arts railway station, is just across the Seine. If you would rather simply walk, the left bank streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the restored Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024, make a perfect afternoon. Take a look at our guide to Paris for more ideas.

Overnight at Hôtel de Montesquieu, Paris.

Aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

This afternoon you transfer to the station to join the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Your steward, in the familiar blue and gold livery, shows you to your Historic Cabin, which serves as a private sitting room by day. As the train pulls away and Paris slips behind you, there is time to settle in before dressing for dinner.

Dinner is a highlight of the whole holiday. The restaurant cars are original carriages from the golden age of rail, each with its own character, from the René Lalique glass panels of the Côte d'Azur to the black lacquer of L'Oriental. Afterwards the Bar Car fills up, the pianist plays and the evening runs on as long as you like. When you return to your cabin the steward has turned the sofa into bunks for the night.

Dinner on board. Overnight on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.

Over the Alps to Venice

Breakfast arrives in your cabin with the mountains outside the window. Lunch and afternoon tea follow as the train descends into Italy, and in the late afternoon it rolls across the causeway over the lagoon into Venice Santa Lucia station. From here you transfer to the Londra Palace, a five star hotel on the Riva degli Schiavoni with views across the water to San Giorgio Maggiore. Tchaikovsky stayed here in 1877, when it was the Hotel Beau Rivage, and worked on his Fourth Symphony in his rooms overlooking the lagoon.

Meals on board. Overnight at the Londra Palace, Venice.

Venice and Embark Royal Clipper

Spend the morning in Venice. Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace are only a few minutes along the waterfront from your hotel, and an early start rewards you with the Basilica before the crowds arrive. Later you transfer to the port and embark Royal Clipper. As the ship sails out past the Giudecca and the domes of Santa Maria della Salute, many guests gather on deck for the sail away, one of the most beautiful departures in the Mediterranean. Read more about the city in our guide to Venice.

Full board on Royal Clipper begins.

Mali Lošinj, Croatia

Your first Croatian port is on the island of Lošinj in the Kvarner Gulf. Mali Lošinj grew rich in the 19th century on shipbuilding and seafaring, and its harbour is lined with the pastel houses of old sea captains. The island has long been promoted as a place of health and wellbeing thanks to its mild climate and pine scented air, and the surrounding waters are home to a resident population of bottlenose dolphins. Do not miss the Museum of Apoxyomenos, built around a remarkable ancient Greek bronze of an athlete that was raised from the seabed nearby in 1999.

Šibenik, Croatia

Šibenik is the oldest native Croatian town on the Adriatic coast and one of its most rewarding. The Cathedral of St James, built entirely of stone and finished in the 16th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for the frieze of 71 carved human heads that runs around its outer walls. The fortress of St Nicholas, guarding the narrow channel into the harbour, is also on the UNESCO list as part of the Venetian defence works of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Krka National Park, with its terraced waterfalls, is within easy reach.

Hvar, Croatia

Hvar is often called the sunniest island in the Adriatic, and in June its hillsides are purple with lavender. Hvar Town wraps around a harbour full of yachts beneath the Spanish Fortress, which repays the climb with views over the Pakleni Islands. The main square is one of the largest in Dalmatia, and on its edge stands a theatre founded in 1612, one of the oldest public theatres in Europe. Lunch in a waterside konoba, a swim from the rocks and a slow walk back through the marble lanes is a very good way to spend a day.

Kotor, Montenegro

Sailing into the Bay of Kotor is one of the great arrivals by sea in Europe. The bay winds deep into the mountains past island churches and small baroque towns, and Royal Clipper's sails against those cliffs make quite a sight. The walled old town of Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a maze of squares, churches and cats. If you have the legs for it, the path up the city walls to the Castle of San Giovanni climbs around 1,350 steps to a view you will remember for a long time.

Saranda, Albania

Saranda sits on the Albanian Riviera, facing the Greek island of Corfu across a narrow strait. It is the gateway to Butrint, one of the finest archaeological sites in the Mediterranean and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian remains lie together in a peaceful lagoon setting. Others head for the turquoise water and white sand of Ksamil, just down the coast.

A Day at Sea

A full day crossing the Ionian Sea towards Sicily, and for many guests the day they will remember most. With the wind in the right quarter the crew set all 42 sails, and you can lie in the netting over the bowsprit, watch the sailors at work, join a knot tying session or simply find a sunlounger by one of the three pools and let the day drift by.

Syracuse, Sicily

Founded by Greek settlers from Corinth in 734 BC, Syracuse was once the largest and most powerful city in the Greek world and was the home of Archimedes. The old town sits on the island of Ortigia, where the Cathedral still has the Doric columns of the Temple of Athena built into its walls, and the Fountain of Arethusa bubbles freshwater beside the sea. On the mainland, the Neapolis Archaeological Park holds one of the largest Greek theatres ever built and the cave known as the Ear of Dionysius.

Lipari and Stromboli, Aeolian Islands

The seven Aeolian Islands, off the north coast of Sicily, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their textbook volcanic landscapes. Lipari, the largest, has a fine archaeological museum within the walls of its clifftop citadel. Later the ship sails in the area of Stromboli, one of the most active volcanoes on earth, which has been erupting almost continuously for thousands of years and was known to ancient sailors as the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean. Sailing past its smoking cone as the light fades is unforgettable.

Sorrento, Italy

Sorrento stands on cliffs above the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvius on the far shore and Capri just offshore. It is famous for its lemons and the limoncello made from them. From here you can follow the Amalfi Coast road to Positano and Amalfi, take a boat to Capri, or walk through the streets of Pompeii and Herculaneum, both buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and among the most extraordinary Roman sites anywhere.

Ponza and Palmarola, Pontine Islands

The Pontine Islands lie off the coast between Rome and Naples and remain a favourite summer escape for Romans rather than international visitors. Ponza has a harbour of pastel houses and Roman era tunnels cut through the rock, while almost uninhabited Palmarola is all sea caves, sheer cliffs and clear water, often counted among the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean. Expect a swimming stop and the chance to use the ship's watersports from the marina platform, weather permitting.

Civitavecchia and Rome

After a final breakfast on board, Royal Clipper arrives at Civitavecchia, the port of Rome since the Emperor Trajan built its harbour in the 2nd century AD. You disembark and transfer into Rome to the Roma Luxus Hotel, a five star Radisson Collection Hotel on Largo Angelicum between the Quirinal and the Monti district. The Roman Forum is a short walk away, and the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon are within easy reach on foot.

Breakfast on board. Overnight at the Roma Luxus Hotel, Rome.

Rome, the Eternal City

A whole day in Rome. You might start at the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, where the emperors built their palaces, then walk down through the Forum. In the afternoon cross the Tiber to St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums for the Sistine Chapel. As the light softens, take a glass of wine in a piazza in Trastevere or toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain, which by tradition guarantees that one day you will come back.

Overnight at the Roma Luxus Hotel, Rome.

Fly Home to London

After breakfast you transfer to the airport for your flight back to London, with a lifetime of stories to tell.

Transfer and one way flight from Rome to London.