Marvel at the ancient grandeur of Rome and the renaissance masterpieces of Florence. Your CEO will take care of the details so you can travel at a leisurely pace and appreciate the scenery, whether it’s sipping vino in the Piemonte or sampling local delicacies in Florence's markets. Experience the best of Italy in this all-encompassing tour.
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Day 1: Arrive Rome
Unquestionably Rome exudes history: from its Catacombs that entombed early Christians, to the Colosseum where gladiators battled to the death and on up to the Palatine Hill, the traditional site of Rome’s founding. It is also home to the Vatican City, the home of the Pope, and St Peter's Basilica. As your fellow travellers are arriving throughout the day, there are no planned activities until your Group Meeting this evening, so check-in to the hotel (check-in time is approx 3pm) and enjoy the city. Check the notice boards or ask at reception for the exact time and location of the group meeting. After the meeting, you might like to take the option of heading out for a meal in a nearby local restaurant to further get to know your CEO and travelling companions.
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Day 2: Siena
We have a morning free in Rome, to give you chance to experience a brief taste of the Eternal City. You will have time for a visit to the Colosseum or the Forum, or a walk around Rome's sights, before our afternoon departure to Siena. We then travel by comfortable long-distance coach to Siena and our twelfth-century hotel inside the medieval city walls. Built on three hills and surrounded by well-preserved medieval walls, Siena is filled to the brim with fine examples of Gothic architecture. It has one of the world's most unique central plazas – the Piazza del Campo. This shell-shaped "square" houses the Palazzo Pubblico, the Torre del Mangia, and many other architectural treasures. It is also world-renowned for hosting the Palio, the famous horse race, which is an important part of Sienese identity, history and culture.
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Day 3-4: Florence
Travelling on a mid-afternoon local bus, we head northwest to the capital of the region, the inimitable Firenze (or Florence as we know it). Florence personifies all that is beautiful in Italian civilization. It is the capital of the Tuscany region with a population of approximately half a million people. The fathers of Italian painting, Cimabue and Giotto lived here, along with many other prominent artists. It is the birthplace of the Italian language (Dante Alighieri) and Europe’s richest cultural period, The Italian Renaissance. Florence’s cultural and historical impact attracts thousands of international travellers each year.
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Day 5: Lucca
We take a local train to wind our way westwards to the beautiful little Tuscan town of Lucca. Here the day is free to get out and discover the city and its history. The best way to do this is to hire one of the hundreds of bikes for rent around the town and take to two wheels. Spin your way along the top of the stunning medieval city walls, zoom down into one of the many cobbled piazzas for an espresso and a revitalizing slice of pizza before setting off to take in some real culture at some of this little city's many palazzos, churches and towers. In the evening, you might choose to take in a classical music concert in one of the historic churches - don't forget that this is the birthplace of the maestro Puccini.
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Day 6-7: Cinque Terre
Today we head west again by local train, towards the famous Cinque Terre National Park, one of the most beautiful and famous areas of the Mediterranean. Human activity, in particular viticulture, has contributed to create a unique landscape, characterized by five charming villages perched on the rocky coast, the crystal clear Ligurian Sea lapping at their doorways, vineyards, olive groves and woodland towering up steeply from their backyards, and best of all, an extensive network of age-old footpaths and mule tracks awaiting your exploration. On our way to La Spezia on the edge of the National Park and our base for the next two nights, we'll stop off in Pisa. Leaving our bags at the train station we'll head into town to see that famous Leaning Tower. Don't miss the spectacular ornamental cemetery, baptistry and duomo (cathedral), which make up the religious complex of which the Tower is an integral part. We'll have a couple of hours to explore and take photos, have a panini or a slice of pizza for lunch, before we head back to the train station and on to La Spezia.
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Day 8: Asti
We head north by train to Asti, a city and comune in the Piemonte region in northwestern Italy, about 80km east of Turin. Asti is a medieval town and capital of the province of the same name. The region of Piemonte is world-famous for its cuisine and viniculture - don't miss your chance to sample some of its delights! Today is market day in Asti, so we'll try to arrive (Italian train schedules pending!) with some time to explore the local market before we jump on a short local train ride out to one of the region's famous wine makers for a tour and tasting session of some of their best vintages.
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Day 9-10: Como
We set out from Asti on a train journey with a few changes en route, passing through Milan and on to elegant Como, the head of Lake Como, on the border with Switzerland with its spectacular backdrop of the snowy-peaked Alps. Less than an hour from Milan, Lake Como is a jewel-like oasis of tranquility, a magical combination of lush Mediterranean foliage and snowy alpine peaks. One of the best vantage points for this breathtaking view is in Piazza Cavour, on the banks of the lake in the town of Como.
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Day 11-12: Venice
A final train ride east brings us to captivating Venice, one of the few cities in the world that can be truly described as unique. Over an extraordinarily long period, this "floating" city of water has been embellished with monuments of rare splendour that today make it a tourist attraction like none other in the world. Wonderful museums such as the Accademia or the Scuola di San Rocco give us the opportunity to enjoy great painters of the renaissance like Jacoppo Tintoretto, Vittore Carpacio or Tiziano. For a more contemporary take, why not visit the fabulous Peggy Guggenheim gallery, located inside her former home, right on the Grand Canal itself.
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Day 13: Depart Venice
Depart Venice at any time