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DAY 1, Friday - Depart for Denmark
Depart for Denmark
DAY 2, Saturday - Arrive in Copenhagen
Arrive in the lively Danish capital of Copenhagen; transfer to your hotel. Your tour begins at 6 PM when you join your Tour Manager for an orientation meeting. We recommend that you select flights which arrive no later than 4 PM
Overnight: Copenhagen
DAY 3, Sunday - Copenhagen City Tour, Tivoli Gardens
Today, join your Tour Manager for a sightseeing tour of Copenhagen. Begin with a visit to the Royal Reception rooms in Christiansborg Palace*, the seat of the Danish Parliament, Prime Minister's Office, and Supreme Court. View the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum and the National Museum, the colorful 17th-century harbor district of Nyhavn, and Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Danish Royal Family and the site of the changing of the Guard. End the tour, with a visit to the iconic Little Mermaid statue by Edvard Eriksen. Spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure, or join the optional North Zealand Castle Tour to the Danish countryside and Riviera. This evening, after dinner at the hotel, visit Tivoli Gardens**, the most popular theme park in Scandinavia
*In the event Christiansborg Palace is closed due to local events, Rosenborg Castle will be visited instead
**September departures may not visit Tivoli Gardens, due to seasonal closure
Optional: North Zealand Castle Tour (PM)
Overnight: Copenhagen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 4, Monday - Travel to Gothenburg, Sweden
This morning, bid farewell to Denmark as you travel to Sweden via the mighty 5-mile-long Öresund Bridge. Arrive in Gothenburg in time for lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward, check into your hotel. In the afternoon, take an orientation tour of the city. Founded in the 17th-century, this lively university town is known for its parks, sporting events and modern opera house. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure. You may choose to take a cruise on the canals and harbor, or opt for a trip to the Liseberg amusement park, one of the most popular in Europe
Overnight: Gothenburg
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 5, Tuesday - Travel to Oslo, Norway
This morning, travel to Oslo, the capital of Norway. Along the way, stop in the charming fortified town of Fredrikstad. Arrive in Oslo and check into the hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Stroll the shopping streets, linger at a café or visit one or more of Oslo's world-class museums. Tonight, savor dinner at your hotel
Overnight: Oslo
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 6, Wednesday - Oslo City Tour
This morning, enjoy a city tour of Oslo. Start with a visit to the modern City Hall.* Then, pass the National Theater and the 19th century Royal Palace. Next, visit the Vigeland Sculpture Park, designed by Gustav Vigeland, containing over 200 sculptures with more than 600 figures. Its most popular attraction is the Monolith column, carved from a single block of granite, measuring 46 feet high. Conclude the city tour with a visit to the Oslo Opera House**, an impressive structure made from white granite and marble. In the afternoon, perhaps join a local guide for the optional Treasures of Oslo tour. Admire the highlights of Norway's great seafaring tradition as you visit the Fram Museum, home to the world-famous polar exploration ship Fram, followed by a visit to the Kon-Tiki Museum
*In the event that the Oslo City Hall is closed due to local events, an alternate activity will be determined locally by your guide
**For May 12 departure, Oslo Opera House will be closed for Norwegian National Day.
Optional: Treasures of Oslo (PM)
Overnight: Oslo
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 7, Thursday - Travel to Lillehammer
This morning, travel to Lillehammer. Situated at the northern end of Lake Mjøsa, the town is most famous for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. On arrival, enjoy free time to get a feeling for small town life in Norway before visiting the impressive ski jump. Then check in to your hotel and take some time to settle in before dinner
Overnight: Lillehammer
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 8, Friday - Lom Stave Church, Travel to Sogndal
We prepare for a beautiful and long day, starting early with a morning drive to the village of Lom to visit one of the largest and best-preserved stave churches in Norway*. Built around 1150 AD, the church's unique facade appears to have been plucked from a medieval fairytale. Next, drive via Sognefjellet (weather permitting), the highest mountain pass in Northern Europe known as the "roof of Norway", through the dramatic Norwegian countryside. Pass glaciers, pine forests and perhaps moose, as well as Galdhøpiggen, Norway's highest mountain in Jotunheimen National Park. Arrive late afternoon and overnight in the heart of the fjords
*Entry to Lom Stave Church is available when church services are not in session
Overnight: Sogndal
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 9, Saturday - Sognefjord Cruise, Flam Railway, Travel to Bergen
Today, take a leisurely cruise on the breathtaking still waters of the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest of all the Norwegian Fjords. Then, board the world-famous Flam Railway and ascend 3,000 feet within 12 miles into Norway's high glacial regions. View pastures, waterfalls and snow-clad peaks, all nestled beautifully into the surrounding mountainside. Continue to your hotel in Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, a major distributor of the wealthy trading guilds of the Hanseatic League, where many residents of this 11th-century city still earn their livelihoods from the sea
Overnight: Bergen
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 10, Sunday - Bryggen Walking Tour, Kode 3 Museum
Begin the day with a short walking tour of Bergen's Bryggen quarter. Stroll through the narrow lanes of the wooden Hanseatic pier and adjacent quarters dating back to the Middle Ages, with its UNESCO-listed buildings. Then, spend the rest of your afternoon at leisure, or join the optional tour to Troldhaugen*, the former home of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Attend a piano concert followed by a tour of the home. Later, visit Kode 3 Museum featuring a large collection of Munch's paintings, including many of his major works. Elsewhere in the museum view paintings from Norwegian artists such as J.C. Dahl, Harriet Backer, Erik Werenskiold and Gerhard Munthe. Tonight, bid farewell to your Tour Manager during dinner at a local restaurant
*Troldhaugen is only available from late Jun - Aug.
Optional: Grieg's Troldhaugen: An Afternoon Concert & Tour (PM)
Overnight: Bergen
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 11, Monday - Depart Norway
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight
Meals: Breakfast
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