Today: Our pilgrimage begins today by boarding your flight to New York. Take a panoramic tour of the city before checking into our hotel. We have the rest of the day free for leisure.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Start your trip after breakfast by exploring New York’s most iconic skyscraper: THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING! The Empire State Building offers unmatched views of New York and neighboring states. Get skyward and discover what the city looks like when you are 1,050 feet / 320 meters high at the top of New York’s most iconic skyscraper. The 86th-floor observatory, with its popular 360-degree outdoor deck, also has indoor viewing galleries for guests to enjoy the views rain or shine, day or night. We will continue on to the world-famous Grand Central Terminal for a guided tour and then explore the New York Public Library with the adjacent Bryant Park. After dinner at your hotel, attend the 42nd annual Museum Mile Festival along a 30 block stretch of Fifth Avenue.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Begin the day with a NEW YORK HARBOR CRUISE. This fully narrated cruise offers visitors an impressive view of the NYC skyline and many of the most famous landmarks. After the cruise, we will begin a GUIDED WALKING TOUR as we make our way to the Meatpacking District by way of Hudson Yards and a beautiful park built on an abandoned section of rail tracks above the city: The High Line. We will stop for lunch on your own at Chelsea Market. From there we head to the Meatpacking District, the Flatiron Building, and Madison Square Park before returning to the hotel by motorcoach. After dinner at the hotel, attend a BROADWAY PLAY! No trip to New York is complete without attending a Broadway show. From the newest musical sensation to perennial favorites, there is something for everyone on Broadway.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: It will be a walk in the park— Central Park that is! First, visit one of New York’s many museums along Fifth Avenue before entering the park for bike riding and walking tours. With so many activities to choose from, visiting a museum and exploring the park will take up most of the day. Later, visit the TOP OF THE ROCK. At 850 feet / 259 meters above sea level, you are at the crossroads of commerce and culture, atop an art deco masterpiece and monument to progress. Originally opened over 70 years ago, the design of this deck was inspired by great ocean liners of the era, the perfect metaphor for floating above New York with unobstructed views in all directions. At Top of the Rock, you are surrounded by history, intrigue, architecture, transportation, invention, collaboration, and over eight million people from all over the world. The 67th and 69th floors include outdoor terraces that feature fully transparent, safety glass. The 70th floor, the uppermost level, provides a completely open-air, unobstructed 360-degree view of New York City and beyond.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Walk the famed Wall Street with your Tour Director to learn the history from the early days to the present. Continue to Ground Zero and the 9/11 MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM. Then we go to Lower Manhattan to board a ferry for a short cruise to Liberty Island to hear the history and enjoy the views of the city skyline. Once on the island, you will have an audio guide to learn about the symbol of Liberty with included access to the PEDASTAL and CROWN. Return to your hotel for dinner. Afterward, you may want to visit Times Square at night and also Ground Zero to see the areas lit up at night.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Arrive at Penn Station in New York to travel by TRAIN to Washington D.C. Union Station where upon arrival you will enjoy a narrated introductory tour of our capitol’s history and attractions as you visit the JEFFERSON, LINCOLN, and VIETNAM MEMORIALS. You’ll stop for photos of the White House and Capitol Hill before arriving at your hotel.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and also visit to the St. John Paul II National Shrine. After lunch, we will enter The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America on Mount Saint Sepulcher, and anchored by the Memorial Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it includes gardens, replicas of various shrines throughout Israel. Continue to The Dominican House of Studies, officially the Priory of the Immaculate Conception, which is a community of the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). It is dedicated to the theological formation of Dominican friars and the service of the church in the Archdiocese of Washington. End the day with a panoramic tour of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s headquarters.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Spend the day visiting the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION complex: National Air & Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Museum of American History or National Museum of the American Indian. Your evening starts with dinner at an elegant restaurant in downtown Washington DC, then continues with a three-hour illumination tour of several of the most famous memorials, including the WWII and Jefferson Memorials, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The tour shows you the national monuments and federal buildings flooded in lights, from the illuminated dome of the US Capitol to the World War II Memorial, these are exciting sights to see.

Evening: Overnight and dinner at your hotel.

Today: Pay your respects to this nation’s fallen heroes this morning when you visit ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (with Wreath Laying Ceremony) and witness the Changing of the Guard. Transfer to the airport for your return flight.