Benelux & Paris Icons Tour with Turkish Airlines, 5 Nights: Morning Departure to Luxembourg – Evening Return from Cologne

ISTANBUL – LUXEMBOURG – (Metz Tour) – PARIS
After baggage drop-off, check-in, and passport control procedures to be completed 3 hours before the flight at Istanbul Airport International Terminal, we depart for Luxembourg at 08:20 with Turkish Airlines scheduled flight TK1353. Following our arrival at Luxembourg Airport at 09:45 local time, we set off with our private vehicle waiting for us at the airport to organize our Luxembourg city tour. Luxembourg is the world leader in terms of per capita income according to IMF and World Bank data. The capital, which bears the same name as the country, Luxembourg, is protected under the UNESCO World Heritage List and is the only city that has managed to become the European Capital of Culture twice, in 1995 and 2007. After our city tour in Luxembourg, one of Europe’s smallest countries in terms of area, we depart for Paris. Along the way, our guests who wish may join our extra Metz Tour program (40 Euro). Metz is a historic city in northeastern France, located in the Lorraine region, where Roman, German, and French influences can be seen together. Situated on the banks of the Moselle River, Metz stands out with its architecture reflecting its military and religious past. Our tour, which we will begin by panoramic viewing of Saint-Étienne Cathedral, notable for its Gothic architecture and stained glass, in the city center, will continue through the old town area, where we will panoramically explore medieval streets and squares. During our tour, which we will carry out on foot along the Moselle River, we will see the city’s general silhouette from the bridges. After free time for photography and sightseeing, we depart to organize our Paris city tour. On our panoramic city tour, starting from Paris’s magnificent squares, we will visit Trocadero Square, located on the hill directly opposite the Eiffel Tower and offering the best view of the tower, with many cafes and restaurants. The Opéra Building, Concorde Square adorned with 365 street lamps, and Champs Elysées Avenue will be seen, and after the free time given here, we arrive at our Paris hotel. Room assignment and free time to rest.
PARIS – (Paris Highlights Tour and Seine River Boat Tour) – (Paris Icons Tour)
After breakfast, we offer a full day at leisure. Our guests who wish may join the extra Paris Highlights and Seine River Boat Tour (85 Euro). We begin our Paris Highlights tour with the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris and even France. This structure, a mixture of steel and iron built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Paris III. Universal Exposition, was initially intended to be demolished, but due to the great interest it received from tourists during and after the Universal Exposition in 1889, it was preserved and has stood to this day. We offer free time around the Eiffel Tower for photography and sightseeing. During this free time, guests who wish can go up to the 2nd floor of the tower, which consists of 3 sections (floors) and each section is reached by elevator, and enjoy the unique view of Paris and take beautiful photos (Optional Eiffel Tower elevator ascent fee is 23€, not included in the extra tour price). After our Eiffel tour, we organize a Seine River boat tour. (Boat tour is included in the extra tour fee.) The Seine River, one of the most well-known rivers in the world, with a length of 776 km, divides the city into two. During the trip we will make with long boats slowly moving along the river, we will see many famous buildings of Paris and the 37 bridges over the river from a unique angle. After our Seine River excursion, via the Invalides (Veterans) Square route, we panoramically view the Lady Diana Monument, Palais Royal, the 17th-century royal entertainment center, and Comedie Franceise Square, where many historical buildings including the French State Theater are located; then we visit the perfume museum, where the development of both the city and its perfume sector, as well as valuable perfumes with France-specific essences and scents displayed in original bottles with aesthetically impressive designs, are exhibited. Finally, in our tour, we arrive at BENLUX Store and give free time for shopping and sightseeing for products such as souvenirs, cosmetics, bags, watches, and accessories. Our guests who wish may visit the Louvre Museum, which was built as a defensive castle in the Middle Ages but began to be used as a museum after the French Revolution, and which was visited by nearly 10 million people in 2012, after the photo break we will give; they can visit the museum during the free time provided (Optional Louvre Museum entrance fee is 33€, not included in the extra tour price). After the tour, free time in the city center. In the evening, our guests who wish may join the extra Paris Icons Tour program (65 Euro). In our tour, we will first go to Montmartre Hill, where bohemian life still continues today, known as the “Painters’ Hill” thanks to street artists and caricaturists and the work of many famous painters, and which forms the highest point of Paris. After visiting the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Church of Vows), which rises on top of this 130-meter hill (transport by funicular is included in the extra tour fee), we will have free time for having your portrait drawn in the painters’ square and for sightseeing. At the end of the tour, transfer to our hotel.
PARIS – (Disneyland Tour or Paris Local Neighborhoods & Luxembourg Gardens and Outlet Tour)
After breakfast, we offer a full day at leisure. Our guests who wish may join the extra Disneyland Tour (Single Park Ticket 130 Euro & Double Park Ticket 150 Euro – ticket prices may vary depending on availability. Pre-reservation is recommended. Transportation from the RER Train Station to Disneyland Park is the responsibility of guests joining the Disneyland Tour. Guests joining the Disneyland Tour will be dropped off at the RER train station on the way there, and on the return they will be picked up from the Disneyland Park entrance according to their preference.) In our tour, you can enjoy a full day of unlimited fun in the fairy-tale entertainment world of the world-famous Disneyland. Guests who wish may instead make use of their full-day free time by joining the extra Paris Local Neighborhoods & Luxembourg Gardens & Perfume Museum and Outlet Tour (50 Euro) program. In our tour, after the walking tour and passage visits we will carry out in St. Michel and St. Germain, which are lively and bustling at all hours of the day with luxury shops, cafes, and restaurants, and where Parisians mostly prefer to continue their daily lives, and thus where we can observe the truly Parisian atmosphere, we offer free time for shopping and sightseeing. Continuing our excursion, we visit Saint Sulpice Church, called the jewel of artistic architecture in Paris and which has hosted the weddings of many world-famous names, and then Luxembourg Garden, which inspires painters with its colorful flowers, impressive lake view, fascinating statues, and historical monuments. We continue our tour by heading to our outlet visit. After our tour, where we will offer free time for enjoyable shopping at Paris’s famous outlet shopping center, which houses stores of many famous brands from shoes to glasses, sports equipment to household goods, beauty products to ornaments and accessories, we return to our hotel in the Paris area and free time to rest.
PARIS – (Brugge Tour) – BRUSSELS – AMSTERDAM
After breakfast and hotel check-out, we depart for Brussels. Along the way, our guests who wish may join our extra Brugge Tour program (50 Euro). Brugge, known as “Belgium’s Venice” thanks to its houses located in the water and streets made up of canals, is known as a dream-like city. The city’s historical structure and medieval architecture, which were spared damage by chance during World War II, have remained intact to this day. The colorful, single-story, cake-like-roofed houses, churches, statues, and cobblestone medieval streets that appear in the city square will draw us into a fairy tale. After the city tour we will carry out in Brugge, we continue our journey to Brussels. We head to the Brussels city center to conduct our city tour. Brussels, which is considered both the European Union and European capital thanks to hosting many institutions related to Belgium as well as the European Union and NATO, is a city that has managed to preserve many historical artifacts throughout history. After our city tour in Brussels, where we will see Grand Palace, one of Europe’s most famous and lively squares, and places famous for their Gothic-style historical and architectural texture, we depart for Amsterdam. Upon arrival at our Amsterdam-area hotel, room assignment and free time to rest.
AMSTERDAM – (Amsterdam Icons Tour) – (Fairy-Tale Villages & Windmills Tour)
After breakfast, we offer a full day at leisure. During this free time, our guests who wish may join the extra Amsterdam Icons Tour program (55 Euro). In our tour, Dam Square, the Royal Palace, and Central Station are among the main places to be seen. After our tour, where we will explore Amsterdam’s local neighborhoods and narrow streets, famous for its walkways and canals, from different angles and visit its world-famous streets, we offer free time. During this free time, our guests who wish may join the extra Fairy-Tale Villages & Windmills Tour program (75 Euro). In our tour, we first arrive in Volendam. We complete our program with a walking tour in Volendam, a fishing town, through streets surrounded by well-kept and beautiful houses and along the waterfront full of restaurants and cafes, and head to Zaandam. Located in the north of the country along the Zaan River, Zaandam is among the favorites of Instagram influencers with its identity as an open-air museum combining modern shopping opportunities and historic traditional green Zaan houses. After the sightseeing and free time we will offer in Zaandam, which bears the title of being the location where Europe’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened, we head to our final visit point, Zaanse Schans. With its windmills, museums, nature, and culture, this historic town is one of the Netherlands’ most popular tourist attractions. After our Zaanse Schans excursion, where we will see shops offering souvenir handicrafts such as wooden clogs as well as windmills used today for paint and oil production (entrance fees to the archaeological site are included in the extra tour fee. The optional Zaanse Schans museum entrance fee is 15€ and is not included), we complete our tour and return to our Amsterdam-area hotel.
AMSTERDAM – (Cologne Masterpieces Tour) – COLOGNE – ISTANBUL
After breakfast and hotel check-out, we head to Cologne-Bonn Airport for our return flight to Istanbul. Along the way, our guests who wish may join our extra Cologne Masterpieces Tour program (55 Euro). Cologne, built around the Rhine River and maintaining its importance as a major commercial center since the Middle Ages, is an important German city known for its chocolates, Roman-era artifacts, Roman walls surrounding the city, medieval churches, and many historical structures. Cologne Gothic Cathedral, Hochenzollernbrücke Bridge, and Kaiser Wilhem II. Monument are among the main places to be seen during our city tour. After the free time to be offered following our Cologne excursion, we continue our journey to Cologne-Bonn Airport. After arrival at the airport and completion of baggage drop-off, check-in, and passport control procedures, we fly to Istanbul at 18:10 with Turkish Airlines’ direct scheduled flight TK1676. Arrival at Istanbul Airport at 23:25 Turkish local time and end of the tour.