London Pass - With Oyster Card

Inclusions:   Glass of Champagne Driver/Guide Transport by limo to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Bottled Water Snacks Exclusions Gratuities (Recommended)

Stirling Castle is a great symbol of Scottish independence & a source of national pride. The Castle's long, turbulent history is associated with great figures from Scotland’s past such as William Wallace & Mary Queen of Scots. The Royal Palace The Palace at Stirling Castle allows visitors to step into the astonishing richness of royal life in the 1500s. James V’s Palace at Stirling is one of the finest and best-preserved Renaissance buildings in Great Britain. Following a major programme of research and re-presentation, it can now be seen by visitors much as it may have looked on completion around 1545. The decoration of the Palace’s six main rooms is overwhelmingly colourful, rich and elaborate. James and his French wife Mary of Guise aimed to present themselves as wealthy, learned and sophisticated. The decorative style belongs to the Renaissance – a great flowering in arts, literature and philosophy that revolutionised Europe in the 1400s and 1500s. Bright colours, expensive fabics and ornate patterns were essential elements. But this was not flamboyance for its own sake. The decorative scheme was filled with messages about power, prosperity and plenty. It was not limited to the interior chambers but also extended to the exterior walls, embellished with hundreds of statues and other stone-carvings. Why not combine your visit to Stirling Castle with other famous attractions and activities in Central, Tayside & Fife such as Discovery Point & RRS Discovery or Loch Lomond Aquarium

Stops Line A Piazza Bra Corso Porta Nuova Stazione FS Prota Nuova Basilica San Zeno Castelvecchio Via Diaz Prota Borsari Teatro Romano Porta Leoni   Line B Piazza Bra Via Pallone Tomba Giulietta Via G. Giusti S. Stefano Teatro Romano Castel S. Pietro Panorama Duomo Piazza Erbe Casa Giulietta Castelvecchio

Your day begins with pick up will be from your Las Vegas Hotel in a luxury motor coach.   Make the trek east passing through the Mojave Desert and the Black Mountains and Grand Wash Cliffs of Arizona on the way.   En route to the Grand Canyon, your tour guide will provide you with expert narration of the area’s most historical and interesting facts about the Spanish explorers, numerous native cultures, and the early Western Settlers of northern Arizona.  Upon arrival to the Grand Canyon National Geographic Visitor Center, enjoy a delicious lunch and some souvenir shopping.   Then onto the Grand Canyon National Park for several hours of sightseeing and exploring.  See a number of different panoramic views from various lookout locations while learning about the history and geology of the canyon from the expert tour guide. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: Hotel Pick-Up And Drop-Off Service For Most Major Hotels On The Strip And Downtown Lunch Served At The National Geographic Visitor's Center And IMAX Theater Grand Canyon And Visitor’s Center Admission Rest Stops Included In Kingman AZ Fully narrated bus tour to the Grand Canyon South Rim and National Geographic Visitors Center from Las Vegas A stop at the Hoover Dam Bridge! - a marvel of engineering.  Enjoy at 20 minute stop and great photo opportunity.    See the extinct volcano 'Fortification Hill' Visit the widest and deepest point at Grand Canyon's South rim (over 8400 ft. deep and 21 miles across). Starting 12/15/16 all vehicles offer WI-FI on all tours: 15 minutes - free up to 25MB 1 hour - $2.95  up to 255MB 3 hours - $4.95  up to 655 MB 24 hours - $14.95 up to 1000 MB

The Queen's Gallery was built in the shell of the former Holyrood Free Church and Duchess of Gordon’s School at the entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The buildings were constructed in the 1840s with funds from the Duchess of Gordon, but fell into disuse in the late 19th century. Benjamin Tindall Architects were appointed project architects for the new Queen’s Gallery in October 1999. Their central visual theme was a celebration of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, expressed through a series of arches and screens that lead visitors from the Gallery entrance to the exhibition spaces beyond. Their design complements the original 19th-century architecture, elements of which were incorporated into the new spaces. Unsympathetic later internal alterations were removed, and a new exposed steel and concrete floor inserted to reflect the original ‘gallery’ of the Church.   A new stone arched entrance was created at the centre of the Horse Wynd frontage, opposite the new Scottish Parliament building. The use of a stone archway, with a courtyard beyond, is a traditional entrance device in Scottish architecture. The main walling is of Catcastle stone, the dressed work and lettering is of Stainton stone and the base is of Kenmay granite. ‘THE QUEEN’S GALLERY’ lettering above the entrance is the work of John Neilson, a calligrapher and carver. The letters were cut from single pieces of stone. Above sits Scotland’s heraldic lion, designed by Jill Watson. The lion sedant is based on a small red lion that sits at the feet of Mary, Queen of Scots on her tomb in Westminster Abbey. (The Palace of Holyroodhouse was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots.)   The monumental entrance doors of oak have gilded bronze hinges by Jill Watson. Continuing the heraldic theme, the main hinges are decorated with the Scottish lion and unicorn. The beasts are set against the adjacent urban scene of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and the rural scene of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags. The upper hinges are made as golden boughs of flowering native trees – chestnut and laburnum, oak, rowan and hawthorn. The stone archway is decorated with a carved and gilded garland of Scottish flowers, including daisies and thistles, created by Graciela Ainsworth, an Edinburgh-based sculptor, carver and conservator. Over the old entrance to the former church is a stained-glass window by Christian Shaw.  The design shows a perspective drawing of the interior of a gallery. At night, the shape of the archway is reflected by the glass lights by Keiko Mukaide set into the paving. The artist has given the tiles a water flow pattern, mirroring the stream of visitors walking in and out of the Gallery. Inside, the reception desk by Hamid van Koten is made from curved pieces of Scottish elm with kilned glass and patinated copper. The pendant lights were designed and made in Edinburgh by Ingrid Phillips. Dividing the reception from the main Gallery area is a patterned glass screen by Jacqueline Poncelet. The screen’s bronze handles by Jill Watson incorporate figures looking at art in a gallery.   The dramatic central stair of native timber leads to the Gallery spaces above. The complex shape was designed by the architects with Charles Taylor Woodwork, who were responsible for the construction. Lights set into the first floor illuminate the curved balustrading.