Mediterranean Mosaic: Italy, Corsica, Tunisia, Algeria & Morocco

Board your independent flight to Italy. Arrive in Rome and transfer to your hotel with the rest of the afternoon at leisure. Gather at the hotel in the evening for a Welcome Dinner.

After breakfast, join a walking tour highlighting the many ancient monuments scattered around Rome’s city center. Following lunch at a local restaurant, board your ship, Le Champlain.

Join a walking tour of Porto Vecchio, also known as “salt city” due to its salt marshes that have been in use since antiquity. View the natural, lagoon-like harbor from the 16th-century citadel, then wind your way through a maze of narrow alleyways dotted with picturesque piazzas, stone stairways, and arched passages to discover quaint restaurants, lively bars, and stylish boutiques. Alternatively, visit the Natural Reserve of Bouches de Bonifacio where you will find a variety of seabirds including European shags, Audouin gulls, storm petrels, and Cory’s shearwaters.

Spend a leisurely day at sea and enjoy a series of lectures on the history, culture, art, and current affairs of Tunisia and Algeria.

From the port city of Sousse, choose from two options today: a visit to Kairouan, “the city of fifty mosques” and the spiritual center of Tunisia, or a drive inland to the World Heritage Site of El-Jem. In Kairouan, explore the walled and turreted medina enclosing a delightful old Arab quarter with a fascinating casbah, the Great Mosque, and a fortified Islamic monastery. Those visiting El-Jem will venture through the countryside to this amazing ancient Roman city boasting an enormous, well-preserved 35,000-seat coliseum, almost as large as Rome’s.

This morning, explore ancient Carthage, a fascinating World Heritage Site. From the heights of Mount Byrsa, you can gaze out at the horizon as Hannibal did millennia ago, and then visit the ruins of Hadrian’s theater, the vast thermal baths, and the amphitheater. After lunch, tour the delightful Bardo Museum located in a centuries-old Ottoman-style palace. Housing the largest collection from Roman Africa, this museum showcases the extravagant mosaics that once covered the floors and walls of Roman villas.

This ancient port near the Tunisian border was the home of Augustine of Hippo and a center of early Christianity known as Hippo Regius. This morning, visit the Basilica of St. Augustine, an imposing structure built in Roman, Byzantine, and Arabian styles (and resembling Sacré Coeur in Paris), which overlooks the city and sea from the hilltop. Nearby is the site of Hippo Regius whose network of large, flat stone roads, constructed with the help of elephants, connects the large forum, Christian quarter, and basilica. After a late lunch on the ship, explore the heart of Annaba. Highlights include Revolution Court Park, the casbah with the Great Mosque, and a Koranic school.

The seaside town of Bejaia is a jumble of narrow, winding streets nestled between the beach and the mountains. You can admire its strong Berber roots throughout the city in landmarks such as Fort Abdelgader, the Sarazzin Gate, and the casbah, along with nearby Park De Gourya and the remarkable view of Cap Carbon and its lighthouse. Choose to explore the highlights of Bejaia, or you may opt, instead, for a full-day tour of Djémila, a World Heritage Site encompassing some of the finest Roman ruins in North Africa. Founded in the first century to capitalize on the region’s rich agricultural potential, Djémila’s citizens once enjoyed two forums, public baths, a 3,000-seat theater, temples, and a basilica and baptistry. Explore the on-site museum that houses an incredible collection of mosaics.

Enjoy a full day in Algiers and the surrounding area with a morning excursion to the scenic Roman ruins of Tipasa, an amazing mix of Phoenician, Roman, Christian, and Byzantine ruins. Explore the villas, theater, fountains, baths, and museum of this Roman seaside town that was once home to 20,000 inhabitants. Nearby, situated on a hillside overlooking the valley and sea, is the enormous Mausoleum of Mauritania, an impressive circular structure over 550 feet in circumference. After lunch on board, stroll through the city itself and another beautiful World Heritage Site—the alleys, passageways, and markets of the labyrinthine Casbah of Algiers. Cap off the day with a visit to the museum of National Antiquities and Islamic Art, and the impressive Notre Dame d’Afrique Basilica.

Enjoy a day at sea relaxing on board the ship and attending lectures on Algeria and Morocco.

Today you have two options for discovering this fascinating region. Choose an in-depth exploration of Tangier with its unique blend of cultures and architecture, or depart overland into the Rif Mountains to visit the town of Chefchaouen, famous for its beautiful blue buildings that are spread across the hillside. Browse the medina for a variety of handicrafts, including hand-woven textiles, gleaming brass work, clay pots, intricate silver jewelry, and traditional spices.

Step ashore on the Rock of Gibraltar, a tiny outpost of Britain that is surrounded on three sides by Spain. Take a cable car up to Europa Point for superb views of the strait and the northern coast of Morocco. Enjoy a walk through the labyrinthine St. Michael’s cave and meet the Barbary apes, introduced macaques that are photogenic icons of The Rock.

Attend informative lectures and enjoy the ship’s amenities during your relaxing day at sea.

Disembark and transfer to the airport for your independent flight home.