North Cape & Mediterranean Medley

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.

Bergen has played a crucial role in Norwegian history and culture since Olav the Good founded the city in 1070. Perched between the sea and seven hills, Bergen has witnessed Vikings setting sail on voyages of exploration, trade and war. In the Middle Ages, its old port was a major trading hub for the Hanseatic League, the band of Germanic merchants whose trading empire encircled the Baltic and North Seas. In the 19th century, Bergen was home to such cultural luminaries as the virtuoso violinist Ole Bull and the composer Edvard Grieg.

The city retains much of its 18th- and 19th-century charm. Visitors to Bergen will encounter a city that offers a heady blend of natural beauty, history and culture.

Flåm is a village in southwestern Norway, in an area known for its fjords. It sits at the end of Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the vast Sognefjord. The dramatic Stegastein viewing platform juts out high above the Aurlandsfjord. South of Flåm Harbor, the 17th-century wooden Flåm Church lies in the valley.

By the mid-19th century, European travelers were cruising the waters of the Nordfjord and visiting the village of Olden. The Romantic Movement inspired this new taste for dramatic landscape – and Norway had plenty of dramatic landscape. Then as now, travelers were impressed, moved, and not frequently overwhelmed by the stark contrast between peaceful rural farmsteads and a towering wilderness of mountain peaks and glaciers.

For many years Olden was home to American landscape artist William H. Singer (1868-1943). Scion of a Pittsburgh steel family, Singer provided Olden with a road and a regional hospital.

Trondheim is a city on the Trondheim Fjord, in central Norway. Dating back to the 11th century, Gothic Nidaros Cathedral features an ornate rose window and a detailed west facade.

Honningsvag is your gateway to Norway’s North Cape on Magerøya Island. This is the northernmost point in Europe, and the true land of the midnight sun. From mid-May to July, the full disc of the sun never dips below the horizon. In winter, the days barely lighten to a spectral gloom. To the north lies only the remote Svalbard Archipelago, Jan Mayan Island, and the polar ice cap. From the cliffs of North Cape, perched 1,000 feet above the Arctic Ocean, one stares into the arctic silence.

Lying north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø has been a departure point for Arctic explorers and hunters since the 18th century. Today, this town of some 50,000 individuals is home to the northernmost university in the world, which gives Tromsø a lively cultural and street scene, highlighted by the annual Midnight Sun Marathon.

Ride the cable car to the summit of Mt. Storsteinen for dramatic views of Tromsø city and Troms Island. Enjoy refreshments at the panoramic restaurant.

Lofoten is an archipelago in Norway. Its known for its dramatic scenery, with peaks like the Svolværgeita pinnacle jutting up into the sky. Himmeltindan Mountain sits on Vestvågøya Island. The nearby Lofotr Viking Museum features a Viking longhouse reconstruction.

Situated in the heart of the Norwegian fjords, the port of Skjolden-Sognefjord is your gateway to a world of wonder: this land abounds with national treasures, thundering waterfalls, two UNESCO sites, ice-blue fjords hemmed in by sky-reaching mountains and scenery so unbelievably spectacular you just may lose your breath. From the ruggedly handsome mountains in Jotunheimen National Park to the humble stave churches that dot the landscape, this captivating area is yours to discover.

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.

Mention Spain and the images that inevitably spring to mind are images of Andalusia – shadows falling across the bullring, the staccato rhythms of flamenco, the waft of orange blossoms from a Moorish garden. Cadiz is your gateway to this storied land and the city of Seville. Visit Seville’s massive Alcazar fortress, modeled on the legendary Alhambra Palace of Granada. See the city’s cathedral, a 15th-century Gothic masterwork that boasts a Moorish patio, fountain and minaret. Seville is also the legendary home of Don Juan, Bizet’s Carmen and Rossini’s Barber of Seville.

Cadiz is one’s of Europe’s oldest inhabited cities, dating from 1100 B.C., and your gateway to Seville and Andalusia.

The 1992 Summer Olympics revealed to the world what Europeans and seasoned travelers already knew – Barcelona is one of the world’s greatest treasures. Vibrant and earthy, commercial and cultural, this city of two million residents is the capital of Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia. Stroll along the wide, tree-lined promenades of Las Ramblas and marvel at the spires of Gaudi’s Basilica La Sagrada Familia. Or visit the former Olympic Ring on the hill of Montjuic – also home to world-class parks, fountains and museums. Barcelona, which nurtured such artistic giants as Picasso, Dali, Miro and Casals, is definitely a traveler’s paradise.

The largest port on the Mediterranean, Marseille is France’s second largest city and a virtual melting pot of peoples and cultures. It is also a place of striking contrasts, from the fishing boats and pleasure craft of the picturesque Vieux Port to the modern Canebiere. Dominating the harbor is the infamous Chateau d’If, the rocky prison from which Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo escaped. Marseille is also your gateway to Provence. Explore the countryside around Arles and Avignon, immortalized in the canvases of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso.

Livorno is the gateway to glorious Tuscany. Visit Florence – the cradle of the Renaissance – home to the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio. Here the Medici fostered a city-state whose cultural legacy is as great as classical Athens. Giants like Dante, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Galileo infused the West with a new creative spirit. Then there is Pisa, Florence’s rival for political power. Pisa, a brash, commercial seafaring town rivaled the great maritime powers of Venice and Genoa. The city was a leader in art and architecture second only to Florence.

Your gateway to the Eternal City, Civitavecchia has served as Rome’s seaport since the 13th century. The port has a long and venerable history. The emperor Trajan built a pleasure villa near the modern city, while Bernini and Michelangelo designed the harbor fortifications.

Yet the Eternal City eternally beckons. The ancient capital of the Western World and the center of Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, Rome provides an inexhaustible feast. Visit the ruins of the Forum, view the splendors of the Sistine Chapel, or climb the Spanish Steps, once the heart of Rome’s Bohemian Quarter.

Rome has been a magnet luring the world’s greatest artists, architects, and philosophers since the days of the Caesars.

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean. Like its neighbor Corsica, Sardinia boasts a dramatic coastline, superb small harbors and beaches that draw visitors from around the world. Gaunt hills crowned with granite outcropping take up most of the island interior, though the landscape is broken by vineyards and groves of olive trees and cork oaks. The island’s harsh beauty is counterpointed by its rich culture – the island boasts extensive prehistoric ruins, fine Pisan churches and medieval walled towns.

For centuries, Italian city-states and Spain vied for control of Sardinia. The old port of Alghero has a distinctive Catalan feel – it was known as “Little Barcelona.” The Albi Palace was a residence for the Spanish viceroys who governed Sardinia.

Alghero is an anchorage port. Passengers transfer to shore via ship’s tender.

The Rock crouches over the sea like an ancient stone beast, looking Sphinx-like to Africa. Beneath the white cliffs of this natural fortress grows a profusion of palm, pine, and cypress. No fewer than 600 varieties of flowers thrive here, some not found anywhere else on Earth. Gibraltar’s stunning setting is matched by its history – five countries have battled for 13 centuries to control the passage between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The result made for a cultural melting pot. Veiled Moroccan women in caftans and vacationing Englishmen and Spaniards stroll along the narrow, steep lanes. The locals revert to a liquid Spanish when talking among themselves. And visitors to a 15th-century cathedral pass through a blue-tiled courtyard, once part of a 13th-century mosque.

The south of England boasts a dramatic coastline that encloses some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. The landscape of hills and heaths, downs and forests, valleys and dales, is without rival. Southampton serves as your gateway to the countryside – and to a wide variety of historic sites, national landmarks and charming. And of course, London is a two-hour drive by modern highway.

The United Kingdom’s premier passenger ship port, Southampton was home for many years to the great transatlantic liners of yesteryear.