Railways and World War II History in Italy 10

from Milano Centrale to Roma Termini. You arrive by mid-day and check into your centrally located hotel for lunch. Afterwards, you’ll have free time to look around Rome using your complimentary, week-long public transport rover. Providing full access to Roma’s underground (Metro) and tramway. The green trams are a great hop-on, hop-off way to discover the city. In the late afternoon, you re-join your group for a private sunset cruise on the River Tiber with complimentary drinks and light refreshments. (B L)

Sunday 5th March Visit to the Roma Ghetto Museum and at Leisure in the City After breakfast, you visit Rome’s old Jewish Ghetto, with admission to the Jewish Museum and the Great Synagogue included. Here you’ll learn more about the Ghetto and its history during World War II, plus the liberation of Rome by the Allies in June 1944. After your guided visits, spend the rest of the day at leisure or other places of interest, such as the Roman ruins, galleries and museums. (B)

Monday 6th March Visit the Beaches of Anzio This morning you travel to the seaside port of Anzio, famous for the Allied landings that took place there in early 1944. Delight in this typically Italianate town, with its war monuments and the dedicated Anzio Beachhead Museum. Following lunch at a typical trattoria, in the late afternoon, you return to Rome (B L)

Tuesday 7th March Visit to the famed Monte Cassino Monastery and Battle Site Today you visit another iconic location steeped in WWII history. As a defensive strongpoint along the Axis´ Gustav Line, Monte Cassino was the site of a fierce battle of attrition that lasted from January to June 1944. Once the Allied forces managed to overcome this barrier it cleared the way for the Liberation of Rome. You take an FS service train to Cassino. Before transferring by coach to the hilltop Benedictine Abbey, where you can visit the famous crypt, basilica and war memorial with attached museum.After your trip, you take lunch in the main piazza before returning to Rome.(B L) Wednesday 8th March Italian National Railway Museum in Pietrarsa Italian railway heritage takes centre stage today as you travel on a high-speed service from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. At Napoli Centrale, there’s a local service directly to the gates of the Italian National Railway Museum at Pietrarsa. This is one of the most spectacularly situated railway museums in the world, boasting one of the most attractively displayed collections. Visit the great engine pavilion and see the steam icons of Italian railway history. After an immersive experience and refreshments, you’ll have free time to enjoy stunning views of the Mediterranean and Mount Vesuvius. In the late afternoon, you return by high-speed train from Napoli Centrale back to Roma Termini. (B L)

Thursday 9th and Friday 10th March At Leisure in Rome After several days of exploring outside Rome, the next two days are dedicated entirely to the Eternal City. Make the most of your included public transport rover to visit all the sights, the Colosseum, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City and many other famous monuments. At the same time, your included Interrail Pass gives you two days to explore Italian railway lines and go ‘track bashing’ in the region. (B)

Saturday 11th March By rail from Rome to Strasbourg This morning you begin the first leg of the railway journey back to London, travelling on high-speed services via Milano and Switzerland to Strasbourg, France. You’ll travel through the long Simplon and Lötschberg base tunnels in Switzerland, before enjoying the views of the Bernese Oberland from your train window. You arrive in Strasbourg in the late afternoon and check into your comfortable hotel opposite the station. A group dinner is scheduled at your hotel this evening. (B D)

Sunday 12th March By rail from Strasbourg After breakfast, you travel from Strasbourg to Paris Est by TGV high-speed service, before changing onto Eurostar for the last leg of your return trip from Paris Nord back to London St Pancras. You can reflect at leisure on a memorable holiday full of historical impressions and contemporary enjoyment of Bella Italia! (B)

Tour Summary

Tour price £2395 Single supplement £395 Ground only £1995 (Milan – Rome) Ground only £2145 (Milan – Strasbourg)

Price includes:

• 10 breakfasts, 3 dinners, 5 lunches • 10-Day in 1-Month Global Interrail Pass (Note: in Italy this covers all local, regional and regional express trains, but for High

Speed and Intercity services an additional reservation has to be made. On all the days where we make organized group trips or transfers, these high-speed or IC seat reservations are included, but on the two free days in Rome, you would need to secure the reservations at your own cost, should you wish to go track-bashing on high speed, IC or EC trains.) • Complimentary public transport rover tickets in Milano and Rome • All highspeed (Eurostar, TGV, Frecciarossa),

Intercity and EuroCity train travel and transfers with seat reservations as detailed in the itinerary • The services of a tour manager

All prices shown are per person based on two persons sharing. Meals included each day are shown as: B = Breakfast - L = Lunch - D = Dinner

March 2023

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Steam in Wolsztyn and North Western Poland

Wednesday 3rd May to Tuesday 9th May 2023

Enjoy a full-throttle experience of Continental main line steam from the heart of Poland to the Baltic seaside on a special one-off tour that will appeal to both steam aficionados and seasoned ‘track bashers’ alike. • Based initially in the historic city of Poznan, you’ll have ample time to explore its rich cultural heritage, impressive architecture and expansive tram network using your complimentary travel rover ticket. • Experience a steam adventure behind the impressive Pt47-65 locomotive as you head to the seaport city of Szczecin, covering both the main line route as well as some rare track. • Enjoy four full days of mainline steam in exclusively reserved First-Class comfort on excursions to Swinoujscie on the Baltic

Sea, the popular resort of Kolobrzeg, and Zbaszynek on the Warsaw – Berlin mainline. • Europe’s last active main line steam shed is one of the signature attractions of you tour as you experience ‘Plandampf’ behind a Class Ol49 tender locomotive around Wolsztyn, a visit to the roundhouse there and also have a private photo charter to Powodowo.

Wednesday 3rd May Flight to Poznan You fly directly from London Luton to Poznan in Western Poland and on arrival transfer to your conveniently-located city centre hotel. After check-in there is some free time for a look around the attractive city centre or to go trainspotting at the nearby main station, before enjoying a welcome dinner with your fellow travellers in the hotel restaurant. (D).

Thursday 4th May Main line steam with Pt47-65 via Rzepin to Szczecin Today you travel behind the 2-8-2 tender locomotive Pt47-65 on the Polish main line. You join the special train of the Wolsztyn Experience at the former border station Zbaszynek and then travel in a reserved First Class coach, with only 4 passengers accommodated in your 6-seat compartment for added comfort. The train has a bar car where drinks and light snacks are available throughout the tour. You first travel on the Warsaw - Berlin main line westward to Rzepin, then head north to the historic seaport city of Szczecin (Stettin). On arrival in Szczecin you check into your centrally-located hotel near the station and enjoy some sightseeing in the city or explore the extensive tramway network. Whatever option you choose, your luggage will have been directly transferred by coach from Poznan to await you at the hotel, where you stay for the next three nights. Once again, you will be issued with a complimentary tram network ticket for the duration of the stay. (B) Friday 5th May Main line steam to Swinoujscie on the Baltic Coast Another full day on the Polish main line beckons today, as you make a steam-hauled day-trip on your special train from Szczecin to the Baltic port city of Swinoujscie. Your outward journey heads north on the east side of the Szczecin lagoon via Goleniow and up to Miedzyzdroje through the scenic Wolin National Park before arriving in Swinoujscie, in the land of 44 islands, an unusual region of north-western Poland that consists of several dozens of islands and islets of which three are inhabited. Swinoujscie is located on one of these, Wolin, the biggest sea island in Poland. Your return journey to Szczecin follows the same route with a detour via Kamien Pomorskie. (B)