London, Paris and Rome: The Gold Standard of Student Group Tours
Your first European educational tour as a high school student traveling abroad with your teacher and classmates is the one that sets the stage for the rest of your life. It’s the one that people always look back on as the time they were “bitten by the travel bug.“ That first trip is the one that, as adults, people remember decades later, as they try to recapture that feeling on a family trip, watching their own kids experience Europe for the first time.
Whether a first-time teacher or student traveler, the most basic and well-rounded of itineraries is the “gold standard” London, Paris and Rome program. Sometimes called “The Three Capitals”, “Peoples of Europe”, “Europe Express” or just plain “London, Paris, Rome”, this is the quintessential student introduction to Europe. A great way to “get your feet wet” and experience the top three destinations in European student travel.
London: With its wide boulevards, underground subway system, castles, churches, double-decker buses, iconic black taxicabs and trendy restaurants, London, England is the easiest transition for the American student to make his or her first port of entry after crossing “the pond”. Everyone speaks English here, obviously! Aside from driving on the “wrong” side of the road, and that pesky British Pound exchange rate, London is a great place to get past your jet lag and grasp just the right amount of culture shock.
Paris: Now that you’ve recovered from the trans-Atlantic time zone changes, it’s time to cross the English Channel, by boat or by the super-fast Eurostar train that goes under that body of water. Upon arrival in France, cars are in left-hand-drive mode again, but the language you will hear is a lilting, and very romantic, French! Bienvenue à Paris! The large boulevards still dominate this city’s landscape, but the architecture is decidedly different from England’s smaller cathedrals and castles. French castles like Versailles, and cathedrals like the famous Notre Dame and Chartres are opulent and breathtaking – like none other on the planet! Take it all in, along with French cuisine, the Louvre Museum, and of course la Tour Eiffel!
Rome: It’s a bit longer trip to Rome from Paris than it was from London to Paris, and for that reason you’ll probably get a little bonus excursion to Florence, Italy on the way. This will acquaint you with Renaissance art and history, in a big way. After some sightseeing in Florence, and perhaps a stop in Assisi if your itinerary accommodates that possibility, you’ll arrive in the Eternal City – Rome! Here’s where religion, art and architecture live and breathe: from the Colosseum and the Forum, to the Vatican with its museums, the Sistine Chapel, the famous Piazza Navona, and of course, the Trevi Fountain where you’ll throw in a coin to guarantee your return to this wonderful, magical place. The easy language you’ll hear is Italian; and the food is second to none. Grab a pizza margherita, and dig in! Mangia!
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