A fabulously festive, four days away, this mini break offers maximum comfort and cossetting service, to sail through a stress-free Christmas. Go with the flow of the Rhine to explore splendid Strasbourg, beguiling Rüdesheim, and historic Mainz

A short break during the weeks of Advent, this tour combines the history of the Habsburg Empire with the traditions of the Christmas Markets, cruising the Danube to a trio of riverside capitals, from elegant Vienna to beautiful Budapest and medieval Bratislava

Exceptional value for a journey of discovery from Istanbul to Ephesus via Troy, Pergamon and Bursa through ancient, Ottoman and Byzantine Turkey

There is nowhere else on earth like Venice. The busy city’s streets of water and the tiny islands of its lagoon combine in a unique UNESCO enclave. The tour is a similarly fitting combination, quietly based on an elegant boat, with all the sights at the foot of the gangplank

A winter wonderland week in Austria, this tour is based in the typically Tirolean village of Obsteig, staying in a family-run hotel, and revealing the region’s character with a snowshoe walk, horse-drawn sleigh ride, and visits to Seefeld, Stams Abbey, and Innsbruck

A supremely scenic week, with Meta di Sorrento as your base, includes the evocative remains of Pompeii, a drive along ‘the divine coast’ to Amalfi, Positano and Ravello, and Capri by boat

A remarkable tour of Romania, this journey begins at Bucharest’s majestic monuments and takes you to medieval towns and rural villages, legendary castles and iconic ‘painted churches’, via mountain roads, river gorges, idyllic landscapes and inspiring heritage

Across Bulgaria’s beautiful landscapes, monasteries, monuments, and museums mark thousands of years of historic heritage. From the Rila Mountains to river valleys and Black Sea shores, this beguiling tour visits stately cities, intriguing towns, and tiny villages

A wealth of history, ancient archaeology and pretty villages, Tunisia’s little landmass has seven UNESCO sites, from the ruins of Roman Africa to medieval medinas and the domes of Kairouan

Staying in three UNESCO World Heritage towns, Alcalá de Henares, medieval Ávila and Toledo, and visiting magnificent Madrid, Roman and Romanesque Segovia, and Renaissance Salamanca, this is a tour of the Middle Ages, art and architecture, plazas and palaces

Uncover the Algarve’s hidden gems on this group walking tour that highlights windswept coastal paths, bird-spotted natural parks and pine-scented peaks

Four countries, four capitals, and seven centuries of architectural styles, in their street-scenes and monuments, form the focus of this intriguing Baltics tour, as we travel to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and take the ferry across the Gulf for a final day in Finland