Paris, the Riviera and Rome

This nine-day itinerary traces a clean arc across two of Europe's most storied countries, moving from the grand boulevards of Paris to the sun-bleached promenade of Nice and then inland through Florence before finishing in Rome. It is the kind of route that lets students feel the shift between French and Italian culture not as an abstract idea but as something they notice in the street life, the food, and the architecture changing around them each day. Four cities in nine days sounds ambitious, and it is — but the pacing is deliberate, giving your group a full day in Paris, a full day on the French Riviera, and a full day in Rome to absorb each place rather than just photograph it.