Classic Cruise – Holland

Guests are met in Amsterdam** and taken by private chauffeured minibus to the hotel barge Panache. After boarding, enjoy a welcome glass of champagne and meet your crew. Dinner is served on board.

Start the day with a walking tour of Alkmaar, then enjoy your first cruise to Zaanse Schans, a scenic village near Amsterdam known for its traditional Dutch windmills, barns, and houses. After lunch on board, explore Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum and heritage site that brings 17th- and 18th-century Dutch life to life. Highlights include original windmills, historic homes, a shipyard, a pewter workshop, a cheese and dairy farm, and a century-old grocery store. Dinner is served on board.

You enjoy an early morning cruise to the historic city of Haarlem, dating back to the 13th century. After lunch on board, this afternoon marks a highlight of the week with a visit to the world famous Keukenhof Gardens, known as the ‘Garden of Europe’. There are more than 100 acres filled with over 7 million flowering bulbs and you stroll through a breath-taking backdrop of color on this unforgettable half-day excursion. Dinner ashore this evening at a local restaurant.

An optional very early morning tour to Aalsmeer flower auction, where some 17 million cut flowers from all over the world are traded each day. You return to the hotel barge for breakfast, then enjoy a tour of Haarlem. The city is home to the Frans Hals Museum founded in 1862 with its vast collection of Old Masters. Other highlights include St. Bavo’s Cathedral on the main square, where both Handel and Mozart played the magnificent Muller organ, or there is free time to visit a fine selection of boutique shops. After lunch on board, you cruise to the mooring at Oude Wetering where there is time to walk or cycle along the towpaths around the lake. Dinner on board.

After breakfast, you cruise to Leiden. Home to one of the oldest universities in the country and the birthplace of Rembrandt, Leiden is a historical city full of charm and character, a perfect place to explore on a bicycle, or simply stroll the banks of the pretty tree-lined canals. This afternoon, you take a tour of the city and a private boat trip, with your tour leader explaining the history that dates back to Roman times and more recent sites such as the church, St. Pieterskerk, from which the pilgrims departed for America. Free time to explore the many local cafes, boutique shops, markets and antique dealers. Dinner on board.

Morning cruise arriving in Delft by lunchtime, the final mooring. Delft is renowned for its pottery ceramic products, which were styled on the imported Chinese porcelain of the 17th century. This beautiful, unspoilt town is more than 750 years old, and began as the home port of the Dutch East India Company. Following lunch, you visit the Royal Delft factory, just a 5-minute walk from the mooring to learn how this world-famous porcelain is made. You have time during the afternoon to explore Delft further. Captain’s Farewell Dinner on board.

After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to their choice of location in Amsterdam.