Grand Tour of Italy | From Venice to Rome

In flight.

Welcome at Venice airport and private transfer to the hotel in Mestre. The rest of the day is free for your own visits.

After breakfast, guided tour of St. Mark’s Square and St. Mark’s Basilica (interior visit), where you can discover the basilica’s interior, a major site of Western mosaics. Admire the magnificent golden mosaics covering the ceiling—gold-backed mosaics that earned the church the nickname “Golden Basilica”—as well as its splendid marble pavement. Also discover the Doge’s Palace (exterior), symbol of the grandeur and power of Venice’s Doges. Admire the Campanile (exterior), Clock Tower (exterior), Bridge of Sighs, Procuratie, etc.

Tasting lunch in a Bacaro, a typical wine bar, featuring “cicchetti” like tapas made with vegetables, cheeses, and charcuterie, plus 2 glasses of wine.

Afternoon stroll through typical and popular neighborhoods to the Rialto Bridge. Return to the hotel.

Free dinner

Full-day boat excursion for a cruise on the Venetian Lagoon: stop at Murano for a visit to a glass factory with a demonstration by a master glassblower; at Burano, the island of lace and colorful fishermen’s houses.

Lunch ($). You can choose from one of the many typical restaurants they offer, specialized in fish dishes.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

Dinner ($).

After breakfast, departure for Verona. Entirely built with the pink marble of the region, Verona is one of the most beautiful art cities in Northern Italy. It is a true open-air museum where monuments from the Roman, Gothic, and Renaissance periods coexist, testifying to the city’s political and economic importance over past centuries. Guided tour of the city’s most important monuments: the Roman Arena (exteriors), Via Mazzini, Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza dei Signori, the Scaliger Arches, and naturally, the balcony of Juliet’s house (all visits from the outside).

Lunch ($).

The afternoon will be dedicated to discovering the Lake Garda region. Accompanied walk through the historic center of the charming town of Sirmione, with a view of its elegant Scaliger Castle (exterior), on the shore of the lake, the largest of Italian lakes. Before returning to the hotel, tasting at a red wine producer in the Garda region.

Dinner and overnight in the Lake Garda region.

Departure towards Emilia-Romagna, arrival in the Parma-Modena region. Visit to a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese producer. Tour of the production facilities and tasting of a few pieces of Parma’s white gold. Stop at a producer of the famous Parma raw ham, to learn the secrets of creating this monument of Italian gastronomy. He will be sure to let us taste a few pieces of his production.

Lunch and tasting at the ham producer’s.

Continuation towards Tuscany, check-in at your hotel in Montecatini.

Dinner ($).

After breakfast, departure towards the Cinque Terre. You leave the hotel towards the seaside resort of La Spezia. You will discover throughout this day the region of the Cinque Terre, renowned for its spectacular landscapes. Boat from La Spezia to the village of Riomaggiore. After the visit and free time, we will take the boat that will take us to the small village of Vernazza, overlooking the sea and clinging to the mountainside, before reaching Monterosso, a picturesque little medieval village.

Lunch ($). At the end of the afternoon, we will return to La Spezia by train and head back to our hotel in Montecatini.

Dinner ($).

After breakfast, departure towards Florence. The morning will be dedicated to a guided tour of Florence and its main monuments: the flamboyant Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore adorned with pink, green, and white marbles, its dome designed by Brunelleschi, its Campanile designed by Giotto. The construction of its famous dome originated from a great competition organized among Florentine artists in the 15th century; the competition was won by Brunelleschi, who created such a grandiose dome that for centuries no building in the city was allowed to be taller than it. Even today, architects try to uncover the secret of the artist’s construction technique without finding the key. The visit will continue with the discovery of the Baptistery and its monumental doors created by great Florentine artists such as Michelangelo or Ghiberti, Piazza della Signoria, the facade of Palazzo Vecchio, the Church of Santa Croce, etc. (all visits from the exterior).

Lunch ($).

In the afternoon, departure through the gentle and cheerful hills of Tuscany towards Pisa and visit to a farm where you will have the opportunity to taste the famous red Chianti wine and the extra virgin olive oil they produce. Return to your hotel in Montecatini Terme.

Departure for San Gimignano and stop at a wine producer from the famous Chianti region. Visit to his vineyard and cellar for a tasting dinner. In the afternoon, departure for the sumptuous medieval city of Siena. Visit to its historic center: Piazza del Campo, Torre del Mangia, Palazzo Vecchio, the cathedral (all visits from the outside).

Free time for dinner and overnight at the hotel in Siena.

After breakfast, departure for Rome.

Lunch ($) en route. Upon arrival, visit to Vatican City including the Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica on the square of the same name. This sanctuary, the most important in Catholicism, is also a masterpiece of 16th-century architecture.

Check-in at your hotel in Rome for dinner and overnight stay.

You will attend the guided tour of Ancient Rome: we will take a leap through the centuries and set off to discover one of the city’s most famous monuments, the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum. We will visit this spectacular amphitheatre, where in the 1st century the famous gladiator combats or other naval battles took place. We will continue this journey through Ancient Rome with the discovery of the Roman Forums, the center of political and religious life during Antiquity.

Free time in the afternoon. Stroll through Baroque Rome (Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain).

Dinner in a restaurant in central Rome, return to your hotel for the night.

Departure from Rome after breakfast towards Pompeii. Visit of the city of Pompeii. The state of preservation of this ancient Roman city, buried by a volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79, provides a very good idea of the layout of a Roman city from that era. The richness of numerous villas is admirable, with their mosaics still vibrant in color. Continuation to Sorrento, a famous city and seaside resort on the Amalfi Coast. Check-in at your hotel in the Sorrento Peninsula.

Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day entirely dedicated to visiting the island of Capri and Anacapri. Boat crossing between the port of Sorrento and the island of Capri; upon arrival, you will meet your guide who will take you to visit Anacapri and Mount Axel Belvedere (entrance fees not included), the center of Capri with the famous Piazzetta, the Gardens of Augustus, and the Faraglioni.

Lunch ($) and free time for a stroll and shopping.

Return to the Sorrento hotel and dinner in a restaurant in downtown Sorrento (walking distance from the hotel).

Departure for a day excursion by bus along the Amalfi Coast, from Sorrento. You will discover Positano, clinging to the mountainside, and Amalfi. You will take the boat to Maiori to rejoin your bus and return to the hotel in Sorrento, passing by Vietri sul Mare, popular for its Majolica ceramics.

Return in the late afternoon to your hotel and farewell dinner in a restaurant in Sorrento (walking distance from the hotel), night in Sorrento.

Departure and transfer to Rome airport.