Hi..me and my wife are planning on taking a tour of Europe which includes Itlay,France, Swiss and England. We saw such a tour both on cosmos and globus. .But the cosmos tour is 1000$ cheaper. This is our 1st europe toue so we wanted to know if someone has taken both or either of these travel tours and their experience on both. How are the hotels on Cosmos?

Any advice on "must-see" in these places?

I answered your post on the Globus forum. Your tour company will take you to all of the "must sees". .

In my opinion all of Europe is a must see!!! I love it and will be going to Italy in May for my 5th trip to Europe. Europe is highly addictive and you will see that once is not enough. The good thing about taking a tour that covers many places is that you can decide the places you MUST return to.

I recommend that you go with Globus or Insight rather than Cosmos.

Although both Globus Tour and Cosmos Tours are owned by the same company, Globus Tours offer more inclusions and slightly higher grade accommodations.

Cosmos offers more independent options but you still have the comfort and benefits of traveling with a group (IE lower entrance fees). . You have more unstructured time on your own with local guides to give you basic information.

Globus includes more “visitâ€

If you are seriously considering Cosmos view my thread on Scenic Europe and Benina Express. As for as the must see things, it depends on your tastes. London-Tower of London, perhaps London Eye:buy your tickets online prior to going.. . saves bunches of time. Maybe day trip(excursion )to Stonehenge. Changing of the Guard is quite a procession and FREE.. . check times online. Depending on how much time you have in England you may want to check out some of the Museums. Please dont take the P&O Ferry from Dover to Calais.. . read my story in the above mentioned topic. Switzerland is awesome,, Lucerne, Lugano and all the little villages,, Interlaken and such are wonderful.. . Geneva however is a big waste of time. Italy you will love, have to see the Forum in Rome, Florence, The DAVID and Pisa is much more than just the leaning bits. Venice is a must, truly magical city. Try to get to some of the smaller towns in Itay , Assisi , Sienna.. . and the Amalfi Coast.. . WOW. France : Paris of course, something to see on every corner, but try to get out of the city also.. . wonderful little villages like Beaune and many others. Hope this gives you some thoughts.. . will answer any questions I can.. .. . Happy Trails! :D

When anyone asks what to do in London, I never see a mention of the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London.

This is something to do at night, after the sidewalks have been rolled in.

I believe you still have to request advance tickets (that can probably be done on the internet) but it is definately worth the time.

The London I know does not roll up the sidewalks at night!
Check out Covent Garden,there is always something going on there.
I did think about the Ceremony of the Keys but I do not like to be so structured as to have to be somewhere at a certain time. Particularly as the Tower is so far away from where the action is.I guess if I was right there at that time it would be fun but you do have to make reservations pretty far in advance. I've been to London 4 times and I always find something new to see and do. Maybe one of these years I will be able to see the key ceremony!

You do have to request advance tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys. Do it about 6 months ahead of time and give them two or three dates.