The lake district and Venice
7 nights/8 days
Day 1: Milan
Arrival in Milan and transfer to the city centre. Transfer to your hotel in Milan and overnight.
Day 2: The Borromean Islands
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the Maggiore Lake. Enjoy our excursion by boat of The Borromean Islands. Isola Bella is one of the world’s great gardens (and correspondingly popular), a wedding cake of terraces and greenery floating in Lake Maggiore, Isola Madre is the ideal dessert to follow Isola Bella: a relaxed, informal landscape garden around a charmingly domestic villa, visual entertainments include the marvellous plant collection. Lunch free. In the afternoon transfer to the hotel in the surroundings of the lake. Dinner and overnight .
Day 3: Orta island and the gardens of Villa Taranto
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Orta San Giulio on the Lago d'Orta. After a walk through this charming village, transfer by boat to the S. Gulio Church situated on the small island. Time for lunch and continuation to Pallanza. Here you can visit the gorgeous garden Villa Taranto, known the world over for their great beauty and the huge number of plant species they contain.
This extraordinary place was the brainchild of the Scottish captain Neil McEacharn, who bought the villa in 1931 with the specific intention of creating the garden of his dreams on the shores of his beloved Lake Maggiore. You will be enchanted by myriad of colours and scents, here the are always flowers in bloom.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 4: Como Lake
Breakfast at the hotel and depart by bus for the Como’s Lake. Arrival at Villa Carlotta, with its beautiful gardens, sculptures and paintings (entrance fee not included).
Transfer by boat to the lakeside village of Bellagio. Free time for shopping in this beautiful village with a wonderful panoramic view on the lake. Continuation to the Garda lake. Dinner and overnight to the hotel.
Day 5: Sirmione and Verona
Breakfast at the hotel and depart by bus for Sirmione. The historical centre of Sirmione is pedestrians; its narrow winding lanes busy with tourists. Sirmione is picturesque throughout, but its two main tourist attractions are the castle and the Roman ruins. A panoramic walk (signposted) leads out around the promontory, and on a clear day you can enjoy great views over the lake and towards the mountains in the north. Time for lunch. In the afternoon, transfer to Verona. Free visit or optional guided tour we start in Piazza Bra, where the Arena (entrance fee not included) is and then continue to Piazza delle Erbe, the Market Square, Piazza dei Signori. With this tour you have plenty of time to admire the many monuments, the inside courtyards, the beautiful buildings and also the hidden spots and streets of Verona. Juliet’s house is naturally on the program! Transfer to Venice- you’ll be lodged in Mestre. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 6: Venice
Breakfast at the hotel. From Mestre you can reach Venice by train. Join one of our walking tours in Venice: you will see San Marco’s square, the Doge’s Palace, the long-time residence of Venice’s Dukes and the center for the Court of Justice. It can be reached by crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs, so named because it provided prisoners with their last breathtaking view of the city before they were incarcerated. Lunch and afternoon free. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 7: Venice
Breakfast at the hotel. You can join one of our walking tours in the Museums or by boat visit the islands of the lagoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 8: departure
After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of our services.
