The USA's Great Lakes with a Ponant cruise

Today you will explore the rich architectural heritage of the ‘Windy City’ on foot, from its soaring skyscrapers to elegant Art Deco buildings. Your tour will begin at the Monadnock Building, once the world's tallest office building. From here, you'll venture into Downtown Chicago, making stops at The Chicago Board of Trade Building, the dazzling Tiffany Dome in the Chicago Cultural Centre and the city's tallest skyscraper. Your tour will conclude with a stroll along the Michigan Avenue Bridge as your guide reveals more stories behind some of Chicago's most celebrated architectural wonders.

Your driver will pick you up from your hotel and take you to Milwaukee, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan. You will spend one night at The Iron Horse Hotel. Take a stroll along Milwaukee’s lakefront, a paved path runs along the shoreline and connects to Bradford Beach and Juneau Park.

Today, your guide will take you to explore Milwaukee on foot, with opportunities to sample some of the city's best delicacies. Milwaukee, or the ‘Brew City’, gained its reputation for exceptional craft beers and cheeses due to the German immigrants who settled there in the 19th century. Its European heritage is still present in the city’s vibrant culture and culinary scene today. In addition to sampling local cuisine, you'll also make stops at some of Milwaukee's highlights, including the lively Riverwalk and historic Old World Third Street, which was once the heart of the city's German community. You will also visit the Grohmann Museum, located on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), which houses more than 2,000 pieces of art dedicated to the evolution of human labour. The works span over four centuries from the 17th century to present day, including works by American painter Norman Rockwell. The museum also features a rooftop sculpture garden, with impressive bronze statues to highlight the industrial nature of Milwaukee's beginnings. Lastly you will board your Ponant cruise.

Today you will sail Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes of North America and its largest freshwater body. Wild landscapes of forests, cliffs, golden beaches and dunes stretch along its 2,600 km of shoreline. The first colonists settled in the south at the end of the 17th century, on the site of the current city of Chicago. In the north, several islands rise out of the lake, including Beaver Island and Grand Island. The Mackinac Bridge spans the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and is one of the world’s longest suspension bridges. Mackinac Island sits in Lake Huron, sandwiched between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Originally inhabited by Amerindians, then occupied by French and British colonists, this small island retains an atmosphere of yesteryear, with its Victorian-style buildings and horse-drawn carriages. Fort Mackinac, founded in 1780, is a walled cluster of military buildings on the heights of the island, and is a reminder of the conflicts that punctuated the island - once a fur trade centre. Mackinac Island State Park covers most of the island, with its trails, woods and a limestone Arch Rock formation.

Located along the St. Marys River, to the east of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is known for its locks which date back 160 years, the Sault Locks or the Soo Locks, and enable ships to travel the metres in change in elevation between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. These locks are considered the most important in the world due to their shipping traffic. Take a trip to the Museum Ship Valley Camp, where you can see a former freighter that sailed on the Great Lakes for more than 50 years.

A small port town in the North Channel of Lake Huron, Little Current is considered to be the gateway to Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world. A haven of peace and tranquillity, Little Current means “the island of spirits” in the local dialect. It is an ideal place for outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and horse riding. The Little Current Swing Bridge, built in 1913, provides the only land access to the island.

Parry Sound sits in the heart of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, east of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. A paradise for nature lovers and photographers, due to its varied flora and fauna, forests of conifers, rocky shores and clear waters with magnificent reflections that change depending on the time of day and luminosity. Parry Sound is popular with the province’s inhabitants as an excellent summer destination. It has the nickname “Parry Hoot” due to its history with log drivers. Lake Huron is one of the five American Great Lakes and one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. It is home to around 30,000 islands and serves as a natural border between the American State of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. As you cruise, you will be able to admire the wild beauty of the wooded and craggy coastline of Manitoulin Island and the spectacular cliffs of the Bruce Peninsula. Lake Huron is the fourth-largest lake in the world by surface area and is renowned for its beaches, sand dunes, wetlands, forests, and extensive river systems.

The St. Clair River flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, separating the United States and Canada. Part of the Great Lakes Waterway, it was used in the 18th century by the French colonists of North America who sailed on small boats to trade with the Amerindians for the fur trade. As you sail along the Detroit River, you will enjoy panoramic views of the largest city in Michigan, once a jewel of the automotive industry, as well as Fordism and Motown music in the 20th century. The Detroit River is an important commercial waterway linking Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair to Lake Huron. You’ll also be able to admire the Ambassador Bridge, more than two kilometres long, which spans the river and enables access to Windsor, on the Canadian shore of the river. This steel suspension bridge was built in 1929 and carries more than 25 per cent of trade between the United States and Canada.

Lake Erie is known for its unique ecosystem — its shallow waters make it an excellent fishing spot, while its banks, famous for their migratory birds, attract photographers and ornithology enthusiasts. It is located south of Lake Huron and connected to Lake Ontario by the Welland Canal. Lake Erie was named after one of the Amerindian tribes which populated its banks before the arrival of the French in the 17th century. Port Colborne is steeped in marine heritage, located in southern Ontario, at the mouth of the Welland Canal. It is home to Lock 8 on the Welland Canal, one of the longest locks in the world measuring 420 metres, which has an observation footbridge and marks the final transit point before the Erie Canal. Port Colborne will be your access point to Niagara Falls, renowned all over the world for their spectacular beauty.

The Welland Canal is made up of eight large locks and is more than 42 km in length. It is part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and enables ships to travel between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. A unique experience, as you sail through you will take in magnificent scenery as well as the different locks. The first canal dates back to 1824; it is considered to be one of the major technical constructions of the 20th century. When the Welland Canal was completed, it revolutionised trade in the Great Lakes by facilitating the transport of goods from the big industrialised cities to the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, you will complete your cruise and disembark in Toronto to transfer to your hotel, The Fairmont Royal York. The largest city in Canada and capital of the province of Ontario, Toronto fascinates as much by its incredible diversity as by its size. You will have some time at leisure to explore the city before you head off on an Island Twilight Bike Tour. Take a trip to the CN Tower, the tallest tower in the western hemisphere. The historic Distillery District unveils its brick-paved streets imbued with romantic charm and its myriad of small restaurants, cafés, boutiques, theatres and art galleries. The Royal Ontario Museum and its impressive collections devoted to the world’s natural and cultural history are also an unmissable stop during this port of call. This evening, you will enjoy a twilight bicycle tour around the island. This three-and-a-half-hour tour offers an opportunity to experience a different side of Toronto; an escape from bustling downtown to the largest car-free community in North America. There are 15 connecting islands in Lake Ontario, and your local guide will show you some of their highlights, including the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, Royal Canadian Yacht Club and the beaches and parks. Stopping regularly at important landmarks and to explain more about Toronto and the islands' history, you can expect to take in views of Lake Ontario and the city skyline from the beaches and boardwalks. As the sun begins to set, you will return to downtown Toronto on the ferry and admire the sunset as the city begins to light up.

You will be collected from your hotel in downtown Toronto for a tour to Niagara Falls and the surrounding area. On the way, you will pass the towns of Mississauga, Burlington and St. Catherine's. Upon arrival in Niagara, you will board the Hornblower Cruises boat for a close-up view of the Great Gorge, American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the mighty Canadian Horseshoe Falls with its thundering water and misty veil. Afterwards, you will travel along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake, considered one of Canada's prettiest towns, making several stops at scenic viewpoints along the way.

Today you will be collected from your hotel by private car and transferred to Toronto Airport for your international flight home.

Arrive home today to complete your journey.