Grand Gardens of Europe 2016

Grand Gardens of Europe with Sandra Ross

 

DAY 1 – Tuesday 10 May 2016
Sydney – Amsterdam
Your Ross Garden Tours leader, Sandra Ross will meet you at the departure gate at Sydney International Airport for the Emirates flight to Amsterdam.

DAY 2 – Wednesday 11 May 2016
Amsterdam (B)
Arrive in Amsterdam and check in for four nights at the luxurious Renaissance Hotel situated in the historic city centre. This afternoon is free. Relax in the hotel with a sauna and spa, or take a canal cruise and discover the real Amsterdam. Meet up for a welcome dinner at the hotel.
Accommodation: Renaissance Hotel, Amsterdam

DAY 3 – Thursday 12 May 2016
Amsterdam (B/L)
For 66 years the world’s most beautiful flowering bulbs have been showcased in the gardens at Keukenhof. We will spend most of the day there admiring tulips, daffodils and hyacinths beneath canopies of flowering cherries and beech in vibrant new leaf. The gardens are completely remade every year and open for 2 months.
Accommodation: Renaissance Hotel, Amsterdam

DAY 4 – Friday 13 May 2016
Amsterdam (B)
We’re up early this morning to get to Aalsmeer Flower Market in time to catch the action of the auction! From an elevated walkway we can watch the world’s biggest flower market at work as flowers are sold and shipped around the world. Hortus Bulborum is next, a museum of antique bulb varieties. Free afternoon in Amsterdam.
Accommodation: Renaissance Hotel, Amsterdam

DAY 5 – Saturday 14 May 2016
Amsterdam (B)
Het Loo Palace, built William III and Mary II, is known as the Versailles of Holland for its formal design. The gardens were restored for the 300th anniversary of the palace in 1984 and are really impressive.
We head into the gardens, which were fully restored for the 300th anniversary of the palace in 1984, then we’ll explore the sumptuously furnished interiors of the palace. From upper windows you can glimpse the enclosed and highly decorative privy gardens on either side of the palace. From the gloriette at the bottom of the formal garden there are beautiful views of the intricate patterns of the parterres and the façade of the Palace.
A special dinner tonight at De Kas restaurant – where the chef creates one fixed menu based on the daily harvest grown mainly in the greenhouses and gardens at the restaurant.
Accommodation: Renaissance Hotel, Amsterdam

DAY 6 – Sunday 15 May 2016
Amsterdam – Paris (B)
Travel across Belgium to Paris with a lunch stop (own arrangements) in mediaeval Ghent.
In Paris we head for the left bank and Saint-Germain-des-Près to check into Pont Royal Hotel. This hotel is a little gem just five minutes walk from the River Seine, the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay. Make time for a cocktail in the bar. This is where F. Scot Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda held court for the American literati and introduced Parisians to the joys of mixed alcohol.
Accommodation: Hotel Scribe, Paris

DAY 7 – Monday 16 May 2016
Paris (B)
Morning free.
It’s the beautiful potager this afternoon at Domaine de Saint-Jean de Beauregard, which is attached to a 17th century chateau. There are lots of lessons here in fruit and vegetable gardening. But it’s not all about produce; there are peonies, iris, and roses in wide flower borders and walled gardens.
Accommodation: Hotel Scribe, Paris

DAY 8 – Tuesday 17 May 2016
Paris (B)
The fabulous Jardin Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne in the heart of Paris with its mini chateau set in an English-style park. See the Chinese pavilion, grotto, waterfall and orangerie. There’s the Rose Garden, the Iris garden, the potager and the lake. Free afternoon.
Accommodation: Hotel Scribe, Paris

DAY 9
Wednesday 18 May 2016
Paris (B)
Andre Le Notre designed the gardens at Versailles, but first he made them at Chateau Vaux le Vicomte, and that’s where we’re headed this morning. The chateau with outbuildings makes an exquisite ensemble with gardens sweeping to the horizon. This garden marks the beginning of the Baroque tradition in garden design. Gardens sweep along a grand perspective, almost three kilometres long. We won’t need to walk though, will hire electric buggies. Free afternoon.
Accommodation: Hotel Scribe, Paris

DAY 10 – Thursday 19 May 2016
Giverney (B/L)
Giverny, the garden of painter Claude Monet, might just be the most famous in all France. Monet’s garden was a part of his art – the garden and the paintings reflected each other. We’ll arrive early to experience the serenity of the Water Garden with its much-imitated, wisteria-draped Japanese bridge. Then there’s the thrill of the flower garden with roses growing over arches and flowers jostling for space. Lunch included in Giverney.
Accommodation: Hotel Scribe, Paris

DAY 11 – Friday 20 May 2016
Paris – London (B)
We’ll take the morning Eurostar (train) in First Class from Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras. We’ll have a sightseeing tour of London before we check in to The Royal Garden Hotel in the heart of Kensington, close to many London attractions.
Accommodation: Royal Garden Hotel, London

DAY 12 – Saturday 21 May 2016
London (B)
Wisley is our destination this morning, the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society with a suite of gardens that will make your heart leap. Free afternoon.
Accommodation: Royal Garden Hotel, London

DAY 13 – Sunday 22 May 2016
West Green (B/L)
Expat Marylyn Abbott’s West Green in Hampshire is a special treat for Australian visitors. Marylyn is an exuberant personality and wonderful gardener. You might remember her garden Kennerton Green, in Mittagong, NSW Southern Highlands. While the garden pays homage to its 18th-century origins, Marylyn’s sense of fun is given plenty of room to play. The Alice in Wonderland walled garden is a frivolous delight; the ornamental potager is beautiful; and there’s a classic water staircase and exquisite Persian water garden to contrast with the romantic lake garden. Lunch is included at West Green.
Accommodation: Royal Garden Hotel, London

DAY 14 – Monday 23 May 2016
Sissinghurst and Great Dixter(B)
If there ever was a hierarchy of Best British gardens, Sissinghurst would be at the top of the list. Surely 200,000 visitors a year can’t be wrong! Loved for its beautiful balance, garden rooms and inspired planting combinations, this is garden is the result of a special partnership between the Bloomsbury couple Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson. We’ll climb the tower for a fabulous view, explore each compartment of the garden, pop our heads into Vita’s writing room and walk down to the Moat, herb garden and through to the new Kitchen Gardens where produce is grown for the restaurant. The standard of horticulture here will astound and inspire you in your own garden. There’s time for lunch (own arrangement) before we travel on to Great Dixter.
Exuberant and full of joy, Great Dixter is a masterpiece of planting that just makes you want to smile. Its garden philosophy has been much copied around the world. Head gardener Fergus Garret took on the reins from the masterful Christopher Lloyd and now teaches horticultural students from around the world. The longest perennial border, subtropical plantings and a stunning orchard revolve around the heart of the gardens, a 14th century Tudor building full of charm.
Accommodation: Royal Garden Hotel, London

DAY 15 – Tuesday 24 May 2016
Chelsea Flower Show (B)
It’s our finale – ‘Opening Day’ at the Chelsea Flower Show, the most prestigious event in the horticultural calendar. Special tickets have been organised for us on RHS Members Day so we can avoid the crowded public days.
Accommodation: Royal Garden Hotel, London

DAY 16 – Wednesday 25 May 2016
London – Home (B)
Those returning home today have a free day in London. We transfer to Heathrow in the afternoon.

DAY 17 – Thursday 26 May 2016
Inflight

DAY 18 – Friday 27 May 2016
Arrive Home

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TOUR ESCORTED BY SANDRA ROSS

• Return airfare and taxes with Emirates Sydney/Amsterdam and London/Sydney


• First-class train travel Paris to London with Eurostar


• Air-conditioned motorcoach throughout tour


• Deluxe accommodation in 5-star hotels for 14 nights


• Breakfast daily (B), 3 lunches (L) and 3 dinners (D)


• Guided tours of Amsterdam, Paris and London


• Entrance fees to all gardens and sightseeing including Keukenhof, Aalsmeer Flower Market, Het Loo Palace and gardens, Hortus Bulborum, Domaine de Saint-Jean de Beauregard, Jardin Bagatelle, Vaux le Vicomte, Giverny, Wisley, West Green Garden, Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, Chelsea Flower Show on RHS Members Opening Day


• Ross Tours travel wallet & bag

TOUR PRICE

Twin Share land only $13,595 per person
Twin Share including air $15,995 per person (Airfare valid until 1/11/15)
Single Supplement $3,995 All prices in Australian Dollars. Prices based on minimum 15 passengers. Price is based on departure Sydney.