Itinerary

Day 1:
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2:
Arrival in Rome, Italy. Time to rest or to start exploring the Eternal City on your own. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine in one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (D)

Day 3:
Rome. Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. Time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (BB)

Day 4:
Rome–Pisa–Lucca. This morning head north along the Tyrrhenian coastline through an area where many a town was founded at the very beginning of recorded history by the mysterious, highly civilized Etruscans. Stop in Pisa for lunch and to take pictures of its Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then continue to Lucca, and enjoy an orientation walk and time to explore this pretty town on your own. (BB,D)

Day 5:
Lucca–San Gimignano–Siena–Florence. A scenic day in Tuscany. Morning visit to hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of Italy’s perfectly preserved medieval towns. On to Siena for a leisurely lunchtime break and a walk through ancient narrow lanes to beautiful Piaza del Campo, theater of the Palio, Siena’s spectacular medieval-style horse race. In the afternoon, drive along the Chianti Road leading from Siena due north to Florence. On the way, call at splendid VERRAZZANO CASTLE to hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti. Enjoy WINE TASTING , accompanied by local specialties. (BB,D)

Day 6:
Florence. Follow your Local Guide and visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Afternoon free for independent sightseeing and browsing through the shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. Why not try the culinary delights of a fine Florentine restaurant tonight? (BB)

Day 7:
Florence–Verona–Venice. Stop in Verona, setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to see Juliet’s Balcony and the Arena, an incredible well-preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater. Built in the 1st century A.D., it is now the magical venue for world-famous opera performances. Tonight you are in Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT. (BB)

Day 8:
Venice. Morning sightseeing with your Local Guide features ST. MARK’S SQUARE and BYZANTINE BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE, and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then enjoy Venice at your own pace, or join an optional gondola ride. Tonight is your chance to sample the city’s fine restaurants. (BB)

Day 9:
Venice–Ravenna–Assisi. Along the coastline of the Adriatic Sea to Ravenna. Here see the famous mosaics in the 6th-century basilica of ST. APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. In the afternoon arrive in Assisi. From St. Clare’s Church enjoy a pleasant walk with your Local Guide, via pretty Piazza del Comune, down to ST. FRANCIS’ BASILICA, the hub of a religious order devoted to the ideals of humility, forgiveness, simplicity, and love for all God’s creatures. (BB,D)

Day 10:
Assisi–Orvieto–Rome. Following the Tiber valley, reach Orvieto, perched high atop a volcanic rock and ride a modern FUNICULAR right through the forbidding ramparts. Time to browse through tempting shops in the lanes off Piazza del Duomo, and to take pictures of the fabulous Gothic facade of ORVIETO CATHEDRAL. In the late afternoon return to Rome. Why not join an optional festive dinner at one of Rome’s fine restaurants to bid farewell to the companions of a memorable Italian vacation? (BB)

Day 11:
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)

 

Dates & Prices

ROME
Welcome dinner in a local restaurant; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum

PISA
Picture stop at the Leaning Tower

LUCCA
Orientation

SAN GIMIGNANO
Orientation

SIENA
Orientation including Piazza del Campo

VERRAZZANO CASTLE
Wine tasting

FLORENCE
Guided sightseeing including headsets, visit Michelangelo’s David, the cathedral, and Signoria Square

VERONA
Orientation including Juliet’s Balcony and the Arena

VENICE
Private boat ride, guided sightseeing including headsets, visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, Doges’ Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs; glassblowers’ demonstration

RAVENNA
Visit St. Apollinaris in Classe

ASSISI
Guided sightseeing, visit St. Francis’ Basilica

ORVIETO
Ride a funicular through the ramparts to the cathedral