Day 1

Let the excitement build on your overnight flight to begin your tour adventure.

Day 2

After arriving in Rome, YMT guests who have purchased their airline tickets from YMT Vacations, please meet your YMT representative outside baggage claim after you have cleared customs for meet and greet services and the transfers to hotel. In the evening, all guests will enjoy an included dinner before your overnight stay in Rome. (D)

Overnight: Interhotel Italia (or similar accommodations)

Day 3

After having an included breakfast, you’ll head off on an all-day tour of the Vatican. First on your list will be a once in a lifetime experience - an invitation-only audience with Pope Benedict XVI!* Afterwards, enjoy lunch at your leisure and continue to the first major Basilica built in Rome, the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano. This Basilica is dedicated to John the Baptist and is also the bishop of Rome’s cathedral, giving it the alternate name of the “Cathedral of Rome and of the World.” Opposite the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano you’ll find the Scala Santa, or Holy Steps. These 28 steps are traditionally known as the staircase that Christ ascended to be tried by Pontius Pilate, brought to Rome in the early 4th century by Emperor Constantine’s mother, a notorious collector of relics. Next, you’ll walk to the Trevi Fountain before ending your day-long tour and enjoying an included dinner. (B, D)

Overnight: Interhotel Italia (or similar accommodations)

Day 4

Once finished with your included breakfast, you’ll set out on a full-day sightseeing tour of Rome. You’ll pay a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the location of St. Peter’s crucifixion and burial. St. Peter’s Basilica’s architectural and spiritual influence will be an unforgettably inspirational place for you to celebrate your included private Mass - truly an unforgettable and inspirational experience! In addition, you will explore the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, bedecked from floor to ceiling in breathtaking Biblical frescoes painted by Michelangelo. Beginning your sightseeing highlight list, you’ll visit Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Home to many beautiful treasures, intricate mosaics, and priceless art pieces, the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore will be an inspiring location to visit. Next, you’ll visit Basilica San Paul Outside the Walls, a site chosen in the early 4th century to venerate the apostle St. Paul that has been adorned with various embellishments and reconstructions from its establishment up until the late 1800s. You’ll also get a view of the Colosseum, a perfect photo opportunity to add to your collection for this trip. Once finished with your sightseeing tour of Rome, you’ll enjoy an included dinner.  (B, D)

Overnight: Interhotel Italia (or similar accommodations)

Day 5

You’ll start the day with an included breakfast, then transfer to your flight to Lisbon, Portugal. Once you land in Lisbon, you will transfer to Fatima, Portugal for an afternoon tour that includes a visit to the Lady of Fatima Church and Shrine area and a private Mass at the Basilica of Fatima. Best known for the series of apparition sightings in 1917, Fatima’s Shrine of Our Lady draws many visitors hoping to also see the Virgin Mary and is a remarkable point of interest. Additionally, the Basilica of Fatima, which houses the tombstones of the three young individuals who witnessed the apparitions, is in an awe-inspiring place to partake in your included private mass. Once finished with the tour in the afternoon, you’ll enjoy an included dinner in Fatima. (B, D)

Overnight: Santa Maria Hotel (or similar accommodations)

Day 6

Enjoy your included breakfast to jump-start your day, then participate in your private Mass at Apariciones Chapel of Fatima, constructed on the site where the three visionaries witnessed the apparitions monthly between May and October of 1917. Afterwards, you’ll tour to the open-air Batalha monastery, Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria, adorned with spectacular Gothic architecture, exquisite stained-glass windows, and sculptures of many saints and other important religious figures. You’ll be off to Nazare to enjoy some leisure time for lunch (on your own) and a stroll along the waterfront of this picturesque fishing town before heading back to Fatima for an afternoon at your leisure. At night, enjoy an included dinner in Fatima. (B, D)

Overnight: Santa Maria Hotel (or similar accommodations)

Day 7

After your included breakfast, you’ll travel to one of the most beautiful stops on the tour, Salamanca, for a visit to the Old Cathedral and New Cathedral. The Old Cathedral, whose construction began in 1140 and spanned over a century, offers a hybrid architectural design of Romanesque and Gothic features. It was in the 1513 that King Ferdinand decided that a bigger, more spectacular cathedral be built; over two centuries of construction on the New Cathedral has left this amazing building with a unique blend of Gothic, Renaissance, and Barogue architecture. After an included Mass, you’ll continue on your way to Valladolid for your included dinner. (B, D)

Overnight: Olid Melia Hotel (or similar accommodations)

Day 8

Once you have your included breakfast, you will travel to Burgos, home to the third-largest cathedral in Spain. A magnificent Gothic-style, the Burgos Cathedral took over three centuries to complete after King Ferdinand III and Mauricio ordered its construction, including a construction hiatus of almost 200 years. Once your included Mass is finished, you’ll enjoy a scenic travel afternoon as you transfer to Lourdes for an included dinner. (B, D)

Overnight: Astoria Vatican Hotel (or similar accommodations)

Day 9

Your day will being with your included breakfast, then you’ll depart on a half-day tour of Lourdes. In the year 1858, Lourdes became an important pilgrim destination when a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary as she was collecting firewood. Over a five month period, 18 visions in total appeared to Bernadette, many of them selecting the precise spot where a chapel was to be built. In 1933, Bernadette was canonized a saint. During your tour, you’ll visit the home where St. Bernadette and her family lived during the time that she (as a young girl) witness the visions of the Virgin Mary. Afterwards, you’ll celebrate Mass at the Grotto of Lourdes, a previously unknown location revealed by the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette in a vision. Once your tour of Lourdes is completed, you will have the afternoon at your leisure. On your own, you may decide to join in the daily procession to the Grotto of Lourdes, or partake in a sacred bath. At night, enjoy an included dinner in Lourdes. (B, D)

Overnight: Astoria Vatican Hotel (or similar accommodations)

Day 10

After you enjoy your included breakfast, you will transfer to Paris via the exciting high-speed TGV train (coach class). Once in Paris, you’ll take an afternoon tour to orient you to the amazing “City of Lights.” Hop aboard the Montmartre Funiculaire (cable car) in order to pay a visit to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, or Sacre Coeur. This impressive structure is located on the highest point in Montmartre, offers a spectacular view of Paris, and is home to a religious relic that is believed by some to be Christ’s Sacred Heart. After celebrating in a Mass, you will have your included dinner in Paris. (B, D)

Overnight: Hotel Mercure la Defense (or similar accommodations)

Day 11

Once finished with your included breakfast, you’ll be off on a full-day tour of Paris. To begin, you’ll visit the world-famous Louvre Museum. A dominating structure in central Paris since the 12th century, the building has transformed from its original design as a royal fortress to an impressive and influential institution: the Louvre’s 60,000 square meters of permanent exhibition space is filled with over 35,000 works of art. After plenty of time to explore the Louvre, your tour will continue with a photo stop at the Eiffel Tower. Included is a stop at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal where, in 1830, three apparitions of the Virgin Mary appeared to a young nun (who, in 1947, was canonized and became St. Catherine). In these visions, the Virgin Mary gave specific instructions for designing what would become the Medal of Immaculate Conception, or “Miraculous Medal.” Before leaving the site, you will participate in a private Mass at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. (B, D)

Overnight: Hotel Mercure la Defense (or similar accommodations)

Day 12

After finishing your included breakfast, you’re on your way to the airport to begin your trip home. (B)

**Hotels in Rome and Paris may be located in outer or suburban city areas.

Please note that this is a proposed itinerary; the actual itinerary may vary due to season, special events, or weather. Because our tour arrangements are often made a year or more in advance, YMT Vacations reserves the right to alter the itinerary. Itinerary changes are made to improve your vacation experience, as well as respond to any unforeseen circumstances that mandate alterations.

Note: By their nature, all tours vacations involve a certain level of physical activity. While YMT tours have been designed with our guests in mind and are not physically demanding, this tour does include walking and periods of standing during the sightseeing visits. You will also encounter steps and some uneven ground along the way, particularly at older, historical sights.

The Motor Coach Experience