Arrive in Amsterdam and make your own way to the hotel. Meet your Odyssey Programme Leader in the hotel for a tour briefing before dinner at a local restaurant. (D)

We spend the morning on a guided tour exploring the World Heritage listed historical heart of Amsterdam and taking in the fascinating architecture of the luxurious houses with their gabled facades, built by wealthy merchants during the Dutch Golden Age. We join a canal cruise that provides us with a unique perspective of the city. We visit the famous Rijksmuseum and take a short excursion north of Amesterdam to explore a famous and highly photogenic collection of windmills at Zaanse Schans.

An early morning departure allows us to view the famous Aalsmeer flower auctions, the largest in the world, and the frenetic activity on the ‘shipping floor’. Travelling via the bulb fields we proceed to the highlight of our tour – the Keukenhof Flower Garden. Set amongst glorious woodlands and water gardens we explore the spectacular colours of the seven million tulips planted each year. As well, the world’s largest lily show is housed in one of the pavilions; while in another hundreds of orchids are displayed in the most artistic exhibitions.

Leaving Amsterdam, our first stop is the historic Hortus Botanicus, at Leiden. Founded in 1594, this is the oldest botanic garden in the Netherland’s and one of Europe’s oldest as well. It was here that botanist Carolus Clusius planted the first tulip bulbs leading to the ‘Tulip Mania’ that gripped the country in the 1600s. Many fortunes were made and lost during the obsession of the Dutch people with the tulip. Following free time to explore Leiden we travel on to Utrecht and join a canal cruise through the city’s mediaeval heart from which we view ancient wharves, warehouses, bridges and historical buildings. This lesser-known city is regarded by some as Europe’s most beautiful city – a hidden gem.

De Hoge Veluwe National Park houses a highly unusual landscape of woodlands and heaths with a fascinating natural history that we will explore at the Museonder. Also located within the park is the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, that houses the world’s second-largest Van Gogh collection of 90 paintings and 180 drawings. Also found here are paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. Distributed throughout its garden are over 160 sculptures by iconic artists, such as Auguste Rodin and Henry Moore. The Palace of Het Loo was built in 1686 for William and Mary who later became King William 111 and Queen Mary 11 of England, serving as the hunting lodge and summer residence of members of the House of Oranje, the current Dutch royal family, until 1970. The palace displays original furniture, objects and paintings of the House of Orange-Nassau. The palace is a rijksmonument or national monument. The glorious Baroque garden with its perfect symmetry, axial layout with radiating gravel walks, parterres, fountains, basins and statues was designed by the nephew of André Le Nôtre, the most famous French garden designer of all time.

In the morning we depart Zwolle and start our journey back to Amsterdam with two stops along the way. First, we take in the delights of Vollendam a traditional fishing village with quaint, uniquely gabled, green-painted wooden houses. Vollendam is well known for its traditional and colourful costumes which we may be lucky enough to see. We visit a cheese factory with an unbelievable and delectable array of cheeses and accompaniments! Our Programme Leader will guide us on a short walk through the delightful small town of Edam, the original home of Edam cheese, to view its attractive alleys, tree-shaded canals, canal bridges and locks. Some say it is like entering a Dutch Master painting. Late this afternoon we return to Amsterdam.

Our tour finishes after breakfast at the hotel.