11 Days Leisurely Italy Tour Package

Duration: 11 Days / 10 Nights
Priced From: $3,099 pp dbl. occ.
Dates: Sep, Oct

 

This leisurely Platinum vacation to Italy includes three nights each in Rome, Tuscany, and Venice. Your trip begins in Rome with a welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. In Rome, you also enjoy sightseeing tours with a Local Guide, including St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, and the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Enjoy the wines and a special lunch in Verrazzano Castle in Chianti before arriving in Tuscany, where you stay in the famous spa resort of Montecatini. Of course, you will visit the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence to admire Michelangelo’s David, the cathedral, and Signoria Square with a Local Guide. Take pictures of the 180-foot-high Leaning Tower of Pisa and visit charming Lucca. In Lucca, enjoy a walking tour and your Platinum Discovery – an olive oil tasting. On your way to Venice, stop in St. Anthony’s Padua and visit the majestic six-domed basilica. In Venice, your sightseeing tour includes a visit to St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, and Doges’ Palace with the Bridge of Sighs. Enjoy a private boat-ride and watch a glassblowers’ demonstration. Next, your Platinum Exclusive – choose your experience: enjoy a gondola ride on the Venice canals or have a drink at world-famous Café Florian on St. Mark’s Square. In Venice, a farewell dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation has been included.

Day 2 Arrival in Rome, Italy
Time to rest or start exploring the “Eternal City.” At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a special welcome dinner with wine at 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 ROMEN FORUM , where Roman legions marched in triumph. This afternoon, time to explore the city on your own, relax, or join your Local Guide for an optional walk that takes you to the magnificent marbled Trevi Fountain, Navona Square, the well-preserved Roman Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps.(B)

Day 4 At Leisure in Rome
Savor la dolce vita and enjoy independent activities. Take a stroll along beautiful Via Condotti, discover Rome’s hidden treasures at your own pace, or just sit on a terrace and watch people go by. Tonight, why not join an optional dinner with local specialties at one of Rome’s famous restaurants? (B)

Day 5 Rome–Verrazzano Castle–Tuscany
Travel north into Tuscany through the lush Apennine Mountains. Leave the highway and enter the Chianti wine area. Visit VERRAZZANO CASTLE, where you will hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti, and enjoy WINE TASTING and lunch before you reach your hotel in Montecatini. (B,L)

Day 6 Tuscany. Excursion to Florence
All day is dedicated to Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance.” 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 Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Time for independent sightseeing and browsing through the shops. Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. (B)

Day 7 Tuscany. Excursion to Pisaand Lucca
After a leisurely morning in your spa resort, drive to nearby Pisa to take pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Next, visit charming Lucca, a beautifully preserved medieval town. Enjoy a walking tour, then, the highlight of your day: an OLIVE OIL TASTING. (B)

Day 8 Tuscany–Padua–Venice
A scenic drive through the Apennine Mountains and the fertile Po area to Padua, city of St. Anthony, for a visit to the majestic six-domed BASILICA. In the afternoon, a scenic drive following the Brenta Canal brings you to Venice. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT. You may want to join an optional dinner tonight. (B)

Day 9 Venice
Highlights of your walking tour with a Local Guide are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS . Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Afterwards, a PLATINUM EXCLUSIVE: choose between a GONDOLA RIDE or have a drink at the world-famous CAFÉ FLORIAN on St. Mark’s Square. (B)

Day 10 At Leisure in Venice
A full day to enjoy Venice at your own pace . This city has attracted and inspired photographers from all over the world because of its setting and translucent light. You may also wish to take an optional cruise through the lagoon and have lunch on one of the islands. This evening an included farewell dinner at a local restaurant celebrates the success of your Italian vacation. (B,D)

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

10/09