Discovering Italy

7 NIGHTS

Day 1 Arrival in Rome, Italy
Arrival in Rome (2 nights), meeting with your Tour Director and transfer to your hotel for our two night stay. Welcome drink. The rest of your day is free to perhaps relax or maybe explore on your own before a warm welcome from your Tour Director and a chance to meet your fellow travellers. Afterwards, maybe enjoy an evening Illuminations tour of the Eternal City or join the evening throng in cosmopolitan Piazza Navona with its centrepiece of Bernini`s magnificent fountain. Dinner and night.
Day 2 Ancient Rome & the Vatican
Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL (arranged next morning if closed today), 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. Then time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. Dinner and night.
Day 3 Tower of Pisa & Florence.
Follow the Aurelian Way along the Tyrrhenian coast to Pisa. Here take your pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then on to Florence, the splendid capital of Tuscany. Dinner and night.
Day 4 Explore Renaissance Florence & See the Famous David.
Follow your Local Guide to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. The afternoon is free. Florentine leather goods and gold jewellery sold by the ounce are attractive buys. You may wish to join an optional dinner outing to a fine Tuscan restaurant.
Day 5 Journey Through the Tuscan Countryside.
A fantastic day through the vine- and olive-clad Tuscan Hills, which are the home of the popular Chianti wines. Sightseeing with your Local Guide  of Siena then visit and wine tasting in a famous local wine shop. Dinner and night.
Day 6 Romeo & Juliet’s Verona then Venice
North to Verona, medieval setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. See Juliet’s Balcony and the well-preserved Arena. Stroll around the picturesque market square. Then transfer to Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Dinner and night.
Day 7 Cruise Venice’s Canals and its islands
Start the day in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the BYZANTINE BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE, and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Afterward cruise to the charming islands of Burano, with skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age old traditional manner, the Murano and Torcello.  An optional festive dinner may be just the way to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation.
Day 8 Departure
After your breakfast departure to your country