Extended Learning Tour 2015
Ave Maria College
The English and History Extended Learning Tour
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Schloss Neuschwanstein, Germany
English and History Extended Learning Tour
Friday, Sep 18, 2015, 09:00 PM
Melbourne Airport, Victoria, Australia
Palace of Versailles
Big Ben, London
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Itinerary!
NOTE: This is still in draft form and will be confirmed once approval is granted
(B) – Breakfast (L) – Lunch (D) – Dinner
Day 1: Melbourne – London
Please meet at Melbourne International airport ready to check in for your flight to London.
Day 2: (D) London
On arrival at London Airport, meet the representative and transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the day is free to explore with your teacher. London is an exciting vibrant city and one of the world’s capitals of finance, fashion, arts and entertainment. It's perhaps the greatest paradox of a city with a history spanning two millennia that it stays forever young and energetic. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 3: (B) London
This morning after breakfast at your hotel, enjoy the perfect introduction to London on an open-top bus tour taking you to all of London’s famous landmarks and revealing London’s colourful 2,000-year history. The tour offers you a choice of a recorded commentary or a live commentary delivered by entertaining guides. Highlights will include The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, Horse Guards and Downing Street.
Day 4: (B) London
This morning after breakfast, you will explore London’s theatre district with a morning walking tour. This afternoon you will have a tour of the Globe theatre, a theatre dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare’s work, and the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means of performance and education. The visit will then be followed by a visit to the Rose Theatre, one of London’s most historic theatres and home to many of Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s first productions. This evening watch a performance at the Globe Theatre.
Day 5: (BD) London – Oxford – Stratford upon Avon
This morning after breakfast, you will depart for a full day tour to the bustling cosmopolitan town Oxford. You will visit Christ Church College, including a behind the scenes Lewis Carroll tour, well known throughout the world as the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. In the afternoon you will marvel at the magic and mystery with a guided tour of Blenheim Palace (location of a Harry Potter Film), before continuing on to Stratford upon Avon. This evening you will be delighted by a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Dinner tonight is included at a local restaurant.
Day 6: (BD) Stratford-upon-Avon – London
This morning after breakfast, depart for a full day excursion that includes entrance to all 5 Shakespearean sites. Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare is steeped in culture and history, and set in beautiful countryside on the banks of the river Avon. Depart for London in the late afternoon, where dinner tonight is included at a local restaurant.
Day 7: (BD) London – Brussels – Ypres
Early morning we depart to the station for your train to Brussels. On arrival into Brussels board the private coach and transfer to Ypres. On the way, visit Zonnebeke, Broodseinde (where you will stop for a panoramic viewpoint), Tyne Cot cemetery, Hill 60, Caterpillar, Gheluvelt, and Messine Ridge (Peace Tower, Cemetery and Memorial). The afternoon is free explore this beautiful restored medieval town, which was bombed extensively in 1918, as it was in the middle of the frontline between the German and the Allied Armies. At 8pm, after dinner at a local restaurant, attend the Menin Gate Ceremony which commemorates the 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers, who gave their lives in WWI, and whose remains have never been found. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 8: (BD) Ypres – Paris
This morning after breakfast at the hotel, visit the Flanders Field Museum before boarding the coach to travel to Paris with a stop en-route in Fromelles to visit the museum. Continue onto Villers Bretonneux to enjoy an independent visit of the memorial, the Adelaide Cemetery and the Franco Australian Museum. In the First World War on 24 April 1918, the small town of Villers Bretonneux, was the site of the world’s first battle between two tank forces: the Germans took the town, but that night and the following day it was recaptured by ANZAC troops at a cost of over 1200 Australian lives. The people of Villers Bretonneux remain indebted to Australia for this feat. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 9: (B) Paris – Versailles – Paris
This morning after breakfast at the hotel, make your way to the station for your journey on the RER train to Versailles. On arrival into Versailles you will enjoy an independent visit to both the palace and gardens. The Palace of Versailles is one of the most beautiful achievements of the 18th century French art. Return to Paris in the afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day free for teacher organised sightseeing and activities.
Day 10: (B) Paris – Munich (overnight train)
This morning after breakfast, make your way to the Eiffel Tower where you can choose to climb the steps or take the elevator to level 3. This immense structure was erected for the Paris Exposition of 1889, and is a French icon. Following the Eiffel Tower enjoy a Seine River Cruise. The water of the Seine River has always been the heart and soul of Paris, and is another great way to discover some of the most beautiful monuments in a different light. This afternoon enjoy a visit to the Shoah Memorial. Opened in 2005, the Shoah Memorial, or Memorial de la Shoah, is a museum located in the Marais, Paris’ 4th arrondissement, dedicated to the 76,000 French Jews deported from France to Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Honoring their memory through a series of poignant monuments and focusing on educating the public about the harrowing truths of the Holocaust, the museum is one of the country’s most moving tributes to its Jewish population. This evening we board the overnight train to Munich.
Day 11: (BD) Munich
On arrival into Munich, transfer to the hotel and enjoy the remainder of the day free for teacher supervised activities. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 12: (B) Munich – Neuschwantein Castle – Munich
This morning after breakfast, board the coach to Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the most recognisable of all German castles (if not European), for its distinctive towers and turrets, and it was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
Day 13: (BD) Munich – Dachau – Nuremberg
Today we board the coach to Nuremberg with an en-route stop at Dachau Concentration Camp. Opened in 1933, Dachau was a model for all Nazi concentration camps. Like many other camps, Dachau has become synonymous with the atrocities carried out during World War 2. On arrival into Nuremberg, enjoy a half-day city tour with local guide including visit to the Kaiserburg, the Nazi Party Rally Grounds and Documentation Centre. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 14: (BD) Nuremberg – Leipzig – Berlin
Today after breakfast enjoy some free time before boarding the coach to Berlin with an en-route stop in Leipzig for an independent visit of the Museum of Contemporary History. On arrival into Berlin, use your 3 day transport pass to visit the Stasi Museum before climbing the Reichstag Dome. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
Day 15: (B) Berlin
After breakfast at your hotel, board your coach for a guided tour of this fascinating city. Amongst other sights, the tour includes the Eastside Gallery, the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) in Alexanderplatz, Berlin Cathedral, the Unter den Linden, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. The tour finishes at the Story of Berlin, for your independent visit. The museum provides an interactive journey through Berlin’s 800-plus years, complete with sound and light shows. The remainder of the day is free for teacher supervised sightseeing. Whilst you’re in the area, you might like to visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, once the symbolic centre of former West Berlin. Badly damaged in an allied bombing raid during WW2, the church now stands in partial ruins as an anti-war memorial to peace and reconciliation. Stop off at the DDR Museum on the way back to your hotel, for an experience in what life was like behind the Berlin Wall.
Day 16: (B) Berlin
This morning after breakfast at your hotel, make your way to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, located at the most well-known former checkpoint between East and West Berlin. Its famous sign: YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR was one of the iconic images of the divided city. The museum chronicles the Cold War Years, and the extraordinary and highly ingenious escape attempts made by East German citizens to reach the West. Afterwards, visit the Topography of Terror, the grounds of which were once home to the Gestapo Headquarters, and the Gestapo “house prison”. In the afternoon, take the U-bahn to to Gesundbrunnen for your tour Berlin’s Unterwelten – underground bunkers and shelters used during WW2.
Day 17: (B) Berlin – Melbourne
This morning after breakfast you will board your coach and transfer to the airport for your return flight home.
Day 18: Melbourne
On arrival into Melbourne you will collect your luggage and clear customs.