Grand Tours: Tour 4 - Paris & Châteaux, Venice, Rome, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

Grand European Tours (At Petit Cost!)

Tour 4 - Paris & Châteaux, Venice, Rome, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

Caroline Y Preston

Grand European Tours (at petit cost!)

Tour 4 - Paris & Châteaux, Venice, Rome, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

Copyright 2011 Caroline Y Preston

Smashwords Edition 1

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means other than that used by Smashwords and its approved distributors without the prior written permission of the author.

Disclaimer

Although information contained within this ebook is current at the time of going to press inevitably things change over time and it is recommended that you confirm venue opening times and other information on which you may rely, is still current when undertaking your tours.

Although this book includes the address of various websites, the author does not endorse, approve, certify or make warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information on these sites. The author cannot be held responsible in any way, for any loss or injury (however caused) to readers who use the Itinerary’s or information contained within this ebook or visit locations, accommodations, travel mediums and attractions mentioned within it.

Discover other titles in this series and other works by Caroline Preston at: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CarolinePreston

Or on her website at:

http://www.carolineypreston.com

Contents

Chapter 1 – European Grand Tours (At Petit Cost!) Overview

Chapter 2 – Introduction To Tour 4

Chapter 3 – Paris & Châteaux, Venice, Rome, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

Chapter 4 – Paris & Châteaux

4.1 Château de Versailles, 4.2 Paris, 4.3 Château de Fontainebleau

Chapter 5 – Venice

5.1 Venice, 5.2 Burano, 5.3 Murano, 5.4 Lido

Chapter 6 – Rome

6.1 Rome

Chapter 7 –Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

7.1 Naples, 7.2 Sorrento, 7.3 Herculaneum, 7.4 Pompeii, 7.5 Amalfi,

7.6 Positano, 7.7 Anacapri, 7.8 Capri

Chapter 8 – Putting Together Your Own Grand Tours

Chapter 9 – Acknowledgements

Chapter 10 – Index List Of Places & Attractions Visited

Chapter 1 – European Grand Tours (At Petit Cost!) Overview

This ebook is an excerpt from my larger book "Grand European Tours (At Petit Cost!) and has been produced to enable readers to purchase an individual tour from the book which they can take with them, and refer to, whilst on tour. The book was written at the request of my friends and colleagues who asked me for details of holidays I had put together for myself as they too wanted a different kind of holiday from those currently on offer.

The complete book Grand European Tours (At Petit Cost!) Comprises of the following six Grand Tours" and visits the European cities and areas shown below. I hope, if this eBook is successful, to publish all of the tours as separate ebooks as well as new titles in the series:-

- Tour 1 – Welsh Marches, Shrewsbury, Wye Valley, Hereford & Monmouth & Birmingham (this Tour also includes Church Stretton, Ludlow, Leominster, Ledbury, Hay On Wye, Ross On Wye, Raglan Castle, Chepstow, Tintern Abbey, Castell Coch and Cardiff).

- Tour 2 – Paris & The Towns & Cities of Catalonia (this tour also includes Lloret de Mar, Pineda De Mar, Blanes, Girona, Tossa Del Mar, Reus and Barcelona).

- Tour 3 – Liverpool (Beatles Theme), Oslo, Prague, Budapest & Glasgow

- Tour 4 – Paris & Châteaux, Venice, Rome, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast (the tour covered in this eBook)

- Tour 5 – Cologne, Cities & Towns of the Rhine, Berlin & London (this tour also includes Koblenz, Dusseldorf, Ahr Valley, Remagen, Schloss Augustenburg, Bonn and Phantasialand Theme Park Brühl and includes short picturesque journeys by train).

- Tour 6 – Liverpool, Berlin, St Petersburg, Riga & Stockholm (this tour also includes Peterhof and the Catherine & Alexander Palaces at Pushkin (formerly known as Tsarskoe Selo)).

I feel the tours in the "Grand European Tours (At Petit Cost!) series are a breath of fresh air in that:

- Unlike some other travel books the individual tours were all planned and conducted on a very tight budget, using budget airlines, discount hotel deals, promotions and vouchers, all of which would appeal to today’s cost conscious viewers.

- Each tour is multi locational and puts together destinations you may not normally find together; additionally some of the tours visit sites and other attractions which are off the beaten track and not usually visited by tourists giving a holiday which is a little different. A couple of the tours also have underlying themes i.e. following in the footsteps of Ancient Rome, links to Napoleon or short picturesque Rhine & Ahr Valley train journeys.

- For the inexperienced traveller sites and attractions at each location within the tour are grouped together with details of how to get between them, ensuring that maximum cost and timescale benefits are achieved.

- It gives the viewer information on how to put together a Grand Tour themselves (including transportation, accommodation, venues to visit, venue information and the best web sites to consult, etc) and how to customise a tour to their own requirements.

- The tours are suitable to all age groups and nationalities (particularly long haul visitors wishing to see as much of Europe as they can in a limited timescale, but not wanting to join a group arranged tour).

- The tours can be made by Single travellers, couples, families and group travellers as well as people working within the travel industry looking for different ideas. Additionally virtual travellers can follow the tours from their armchairs by looking up the cities, attractions and venues on their computer should they wish.

One thing to bear in mind if you feel a little phased about putting together your own Grand Tour, pick somewhere easy to start with in countries you are comfortable with and don’t forget that part of the fun is in the planning and getting to your destinations.

Chapter 2 – Introduction To Tour 4

If like me, you are an independent traveller who seeks adventure, adores culture, antiquities, history and getting value for money, you may find the following multi location holiday itinerary of interest. I put this itinerary together for myself and found it to be one of the most enjoyable holidays I have ever had. I found that visiting a city for a short time gives me a taste of that city and helped me decide whether or not to return for a longer future stay. I find some Cities have the right feeling for me and I feel comfortable and at home in them, others I must admit, despite several visits, I cannot take to. You, I am sure, will experience this for yourself as you explore.

I travelled alone on this tour, but there is no reason why couples, families or groups could not undertake it.

You can make the tour as cheap or expensive as you wish by your own choice of accommodation, restaurants and methods of transport. To assist, as I guide, I have mentioned the accommodations and transport facilities I used, you of course are at liberty to use or amend these to suit your own tastes and requirements.

You can tailor the tour to suit yourself by:

- changing the start/end cities/towns

- changing the order in which you visit the cities/towns

- adding or dropping cities/towns from the itinerary

- changing venues and incorporating ones that have particular interest to yourself

- changing the number of days you spend in some, or all of the locations

In order to maximise my time, I usually decide which venues I wish to visit before I go on holiday and group them due to their location and opening times. I usually leave a couple of hours free though each day to explore, shop or just chill out. You will find you will need to factor in chilling out time each day, particularly in large busy cities, to avoid culture overload and fatigue. I hope you find the tour to be fun and not too gruelling and certainly not, as has been suggested by my Brother, reminiscent of the 1969 film If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.

Please note however, I am a quick walker and tend to get round Museums and Galleries very quickly, particularly as I home in only on the items which I find of interest (I research where these are in the museum/gallery before I go to save time. Most websites have a map of their venues to enable you to find the items you most wish to see). You may wish to spend more time in certain Museums, Galleries, shopping or merely chilling out than I did and need to factor this in when designing your own itinerary of venues to visit.

As I tend to do a lot of walking on my tours, you would be well advised to take a couple of pairs of comfortable shoes (you may wish to consider at least one pair having thick soles, as many old European cities have cobbled streets, which can be a killer on your feet) and comfortable multi layered clothing, as I have been surprised that the weather in some places can either be warmer or colder than expected. I usually take a warm waterproof jacket with me, just in case, particularly if visiting northern climes or visiting countries in the winter, early spring or late autumn.

Simple Travel Guidelines I Follow

In order to get the most from my holidays I tend to use the following tips which you may find useful. Please note I have also included the guidelines I follow whilst travelling on trips abroad to assist international travellers who may wish to take this tour.

- Use the Internet to make bookings and research (including airline city destination guides)

- Use Budget Air Lines

- Book centrally located accommodation (it may cost a little more but it saves on both time and transport costs)

- Travel light (taking clothes which can be rinsed through and dry quickly) and where possible avoid checking in hold luggage (and the additional fees). You may find it cheaper to buy cheap heavy items like shampoo, bubble bath, etc. When you arrive rather than use up your luggage weight allowances by packing them, it also saves you having to lug them around which can be very tiring.

- Use soft, light travel bags rather than rigid suitcases as they are easier to store in overhead aircraft lockers

- When packing, roll clothes rather than folding them to prevent creasing.

- Book well in advance (to get the cheapest deals) and look for (and use) airline, accommodation and event/venue special offers and money off vouchers.

- Evaluate multi venue pass cards (e.g. Stockholm Card) to see if they are cheaper than individual entrance fees, but do bear in mind not all pass cards give free entry to all venues, some only give a % off entrance charges and/or entrance/discount to permanent collections. I have found on more than one occasion the difference between buying a full entrance ticket (to both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions) is only marginally more expensive than buying a ticket to the temporary exhibition, therefore when you add the cost of a multi venue card they may not always give good value for money; unless of course you visit several venues on the card. Take note of the venue’s included in the card (by accessing the cards internet site) prior to purchase, as it may not include sufficient of the venues you wish to visit to make it worth purchasing. As many of the cards are time specific I do not usually purchase them until arriving at the first venue (or if they include transport, immediately prior to first use) to ensure I get the best value from them.

- If not using my own car I evaluate travel cards to see if they are cheaper than individual bus, tram or underground tickets and check if venue pass cards (e.g. Budapest Card) includes transport as well.

- Look at currency exchange rates when putting together an itinerary of countries to visit, avoiding, or only have short stays, in countries where the exchange rates are poor.

- When abroad I tend to use cash, rather than credit cards and shop around for currency exchange rates, watching currency fluctuations for months before I go on holiday. I have also been known to haggle to get slightly better deals than those on offer, particularly if buying more than £500 or more than one currency in one transaction.

- I do not sell back any unused foreign bank notes to currency exchanges after my holiday, I usually keep them for future visits, or if in the case of a country which issues its own currency and I do not anticipate visiting that particular country again, will exchange the notes in a foreign currency exchange whilst on a future holiday for their currency to get a more favourable exchange rate.

- I never use airport/railway station currency exchanges, or exchanges which charge a commission.

- If you are flying with an airline which enables you to select your seat as you book on line, you may find the following Seatguru website at:http://www.seatguru.comhandy to let you know which seats are the best to sit in.

- If embarking on a flight taking more than a couple of hours, I usually buy a meal deal type meal (salad, sandwiches, crisps, fruit juice, etc) from the Airport branch of