Voyage from Lisbon to Amsterdam

Arrive in Lisbon and transfer to the Avenida Palace Hotel for overnight. Enjoy a welcome reception this evening.

Following breakfast at the hotel, tour Lisbon's highlights including the Belem Quarter and the Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage monument that is a superb example of Portuguese Manueline style. Also visit historic Belem Tower, the point from which many Portuguese explorers, including Vasco da Gama, set sail. Late in the afternoon, transfer to the pier to embark Diana and set sail in early evening.

From Figueira da Foz, travel to Coimbra, famous for its university, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tour the campus and visit Coimbra's Old Town, which features a splendid Romanesque Cathedral. In nearby Conimbriga, explore the beautifully preserved Roman ruins, most of which date from the reign of Emperor Augustus, and which constitute the largest Roman site in Portugal.

Travel today to Santiago de Compostela, one of the most beautiful and historic medieval cities in Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the third most important Christian pilgrimage site in the world after Jerusalem and Rome. A guided tour of the central square orients you to the Cathedral, the Townhall, and the Palace of Saint Jerome. After lunch at the Hostal de Los Reyes Catolicos, once a hospital and now a luxury hotel, rejoin the ship in the port of La Coruna.

From the port of Gijon, in Spain's province of Asturias, drive to nearby Oviendo the capital of the province and one of the most attractive and histortic cities of north Spain. You will explore the old quarter enclosed by sections of the medieval walls and centered around the Cathedral, which was first built in the 9th centry. The strets and quiares of Oviedo are lined with fine churches and other medieval buildings designed in the Asturian style of architecture.

In Bilbao you will spend the morning at the Guggenheim Museum designed by architect Frank Gehry. After lunch onboard Diana you wlil beist the Museum of Fine Arts and explore the old quarter of Bilbao, Casco Viejo. The Museum of Fine Arts contains a superlative collections of work from the old masters, such as Goya and Zurbaran, to the moder work of artists such as Bacon and Gaugin. It is considered to have one the most important collections of art in Spain.

Concarneau, on the southern coast of Brittany, is best known for its Ville Close (Walled City), built on a small island just offshore. This medieval fortification remains the heart of Concarneau, with 15th- and 16th-century half-timbered, gabled buildings lining the cobblestoned streets within the walls. Rue Vauban, the main street, leads to the fishing port—the leading tuna port in Europe—where more than 200 boats line the docks in front of the fish market. Also enjoy the lovely Brittany countryside.

This morning you will arrive at the medieval city of St.-Malo, a town that is fiercely proud of its seafaring traditions and was the lifelong home of the explorer Jacques Cartier. It is also your gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont-Saint-Michel. Rising abruptly from the flat Dol marshes is a great granite cone with a town, fortress, and monastery clinging to its steep sides. Crowned by the 11th century abbey church, Mont-St.-Michel is one of the architectural marvels of Western Europe. After lunch, enjoy time at leisure to walk along the town’s walls and explore the little shops that line the quaint streets.

After breakfast aboard, disembark and transfer to the airport for flights homeward.

Day 1: Arrive in Amsterdam
Day 2: Tour Amsterdam before embarkation
Day 3: Bruges, Belgium 
Day 4: Honfleur, France 
Day 5: St. Malo, France / Mont-St.-Michel 
Day 6: Concarneau, France 
Day 7: Bilbao, Spain
Day 8: Gijon / Oviedo, Spain
Day 9: Santiago de Compostela / Finisterre, Spain
Day 10: Conimbriga, Portugal
Day 11: Depart Lisbon, Portugal