ITALIAN INTERMEZZO (CLASSIC GROUP)
Price
Duration
Min People
Tour Type
Tour Code
INSIGHT-IT
Overview
Travel from the shores of Venice to the ancient city of Rome on this 8-day guided tour of Italy. Begin your journey in the Italian Lake District, where a feast – complete with decadent Italian wines – awaits you on the shores of Lake Maggiore. In Venice, relax on a private boat as you pass by its iconic floating houses to St. Mark’s Square, where you will see a gilded basilica anchoring the bustling piazza. Later, take a traditional gondola ride and sail through the canals as your Italian gondolier serenades you with songs. See the legendary Colosseum in Rome, then travel to the Vatican Museums, where a Local Expert will lead you through the papal art collection and to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Dine with your fellow travellers to celebrate a fantastic trip through Italy.
Included/Excluded
Day 1: Italian Lakes (Dinner with wine)
- Meet your Travel Director at Milan’s Malpensa Airport.
- Head to an elegant restaurant known for serving delicious fresh produce.
- Enjoy your Welcome Dinner, mingling and getting to know your fellow travelers over a pleasant evening.
Day 2: Venice, the Queen of the Adriatic (Breakfast)
- Journey through Lombardy’s fertile plains.
- Following the outline of the magnificent Alps, you arrive in the Veneto region and continue to the glorious city of Venice.
Day 3: Venice and the Magic of La Serenissima (Breakfast)
- Wake up ready to embrace Venice from a private boat, sailing past palazzos and churches to St. Mark’s Square.
- See the gilded basilica, the Doge’s Palace, and Lord Byron’s Bridge of Sighs.
- Enjoy a gondola serenade through the beautiful canals of Venice, listening to local traditional songs as you drift along.
- Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience during a visit to a traditional arts center to see expert glassblowers crafting beautiful handcrafted glass.
- Spend the afternoon and evening as you wish or join an Optional Experience to the island of Burano.
- Leave the hustle of St. Mark’s Square behind on a delightful private cruise around the islands of the Venetian lagoon.
- Alight at the island of Burano, famous for its candy-colored houses, artisan lace makers, and leaning bell tower.
- Enjoy a superb meal sampling the local specialties with wine included.
Day 4: Tranquil Tuscany, Pisa and Florence (Breakfast/Dinner with Wine)
- Explore Florence with Insight Choice.
- Choose to visit the Accademia Museum and see Michelangelo’s David.
- After, continue on foot to admire the multi-coloured marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, where Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise have been recreated in all their glory.
- Continue into the Piazza della Signoria, still the political heart of Florence and an open-air gallery of Renaissance masterpieces.
- Spend time gazing at statues such as Neptune, Hercules and Cacus along the front of the Palazzo Vecchio.
- Alternatively, take a stroll with your Travel Director to Piazza Santa Croce to enjoy a typical Italian treat in a local café, where you will be in the perfect spot to admire the basilica and indulge in people-watching the elegant Florentines.
Day 5: Free Time in Renaissance Florence (Breakfast)
- Visit a local workshop to learn the secrets of traditional Florentine leatherwork and admire the intricate work.
- Enjoy free time to immerse yourself in the Tuscan capital:
- Shop for leather or gold goods around Santa Croce.
- Relax and soak up the atmosphere in one of the many street cafés.
- Explore magnificent museums and galleries housing some of the most famous works of art in the world.
- Optional excursion to Tuscany’s most famous hill-top town, San Gimignano, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Evening: Enjoy the best of Tuscan cuisine served with local wine, including Chianti from the vineyards of Tuscany.
Day 6: Chianti Country to Orvieto and on to Rome (Breakfast)
- Journey to Umbrian Orvieto, a hilltop village overlooking a vineyard-covered plain.
- Explore the town with your Travel Director and visit Piazza del Duomo to admire the cathedral.
- Continue towards the Eternal City of Rome.
- Optional experience: Piazzas & Fountains.
- Take a “passeggiata” (stroll) with your Local Expert to explore the backstreets and secrets of pedestrian Rome.
- Marvel at sights such as the fascinating Pantheon and the beauty of 17th-Century fountains and beautiful Piazzas.
- Evening: Optionally throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to the city.
Day 7: Rome Sightseeing and Dinner in the Vatican (Breakfast/Dinner with Wine)
- In the morning enjoy the very best of the city’s highlights including visiting the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
- You then gain exclusive fast-tracked priority entry into the Vatican Museums with a Local Expert.
- Admire the Papal art collection and enter the Sistine Chapel where you’ll marvel at Michelangelo’s masterpiece on its ceiling.
- Afterwards, enjoy some free time.
- In the evening, dine on Lazio’s culinary specialties at Ristorante Di Rienzo, located beside the Pantheon, an architectural masterpiece and symbol of Italy.
Day 8: Arrivederci Roma (Breakfast)
- Bid farewell to the glories of Italy. Departure transfers arrive at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
Departure Transfer: Arrive at Leonardo da Vinci airport (FCO) at 07:00, 09:30
- Day 1: Ritz Milan
- Day 2 – Day 3: NH Venezia Santa Lucia
- Day 4 – Day 5: H Firenze
- Day 6: Golden Tulip Rome Piram
- Day 7: Room 007 Select