DAY 1
Guests arrive in Milan.
As guests are arriving at different times we ask that you make your way to the hotel. Included bus transportation will start tomorrow.
Relax, have a leisurely dinner and get acquainted with your new time zone!
DAY 2
7:00 - 7:45 Breakfast
8:00 Meet our tour guide Fortini Eleonora in the hotel lobby
8:30 Bus Pick up
Breakfast is included at your hotel..
Today you meet your first Italian guide that will be showing you around Milan. The city-guided tour is expected to be 1 hour and 30 minutes. An earphone rental is included in your package price for the Milan Cathedral. You will definitely have time to explore the fashion district! Remember...this is day one of 13! Don't spend all your money on a handbag!
Lunch not included but... hoping to eat along the Naviglio Grande aka Milan canals
DAY 3
Breakfast is included at your hotel
7:15 - 8:00 Breakfast
8:15 Be in the lobby ready to go! We have to walk down the street with luggage and the bus MUST depart at 8:30 am to keep our schedule.
Drive time is 1 1/2 hours
On the bus and away we go! First stop is Sirmione. This is a very popular spot in Northern Italy as it has a beautiful medieval village with old walls and cobbled streets. Our guided tour is roughly 2 1/2 hours and a portion of our tour takes place on a boat as the pristine waters of Lake Garda with the rugged mountains in the background are not only swimmable... but you can swim by the ruins of a 2000-year-old Roman villa and an Italian castle from the middle ages! Sounds like a great photo opportunity!
At Garda Lake we will have a food tasting event of Typical Italian products and Dinner is at your leisure.
DAY 4
Breakfast is included at your hotel
7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast
8:30 Bus departs for Verona
Our hotel only a hop-skip-and jump away from Verona! Verona is the setting for Romeo and Juliet but also hosts several historic and contemporary attractions. We will have a guided tour of Verona for approximately 2 1/2 hours which will include meeting in Piazza Bra at the statue of Victor Emmanuel II then visit of the Arena (entrance fee), Castelvecchio can be seen from the river and Porta Corsari (Roman gate of the first century AD). Heading to the historic squares Piazza Erbe and dei Signori, we will visit the Scaliger tombs (XVI century), the remains of the roman theater and Ponte Pietra (stone bridge). On the way back we will visit Romeo ad Juliet's house from the outside ending up with the Court of the house of Juliet.
If the group wants to extend the tour to 3 hours we can visit Castelvecchio to admire its imposing size and the bridge, getting to Corso Cavour with Gavi Arch of Roman and street lined with beautiful Venetian Palaces.
We will have lunch at leisure in Verona then it's a 1 hour and 15 minute drive to PADUA one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Northern Italy. Here we will have a guided tour and our entrance to Scrovegni Chapel is included.
After our tour in Padua we jump on the bus for 38 km and take a boat to VENICE!
We will arrive just in time for dinner on the canal!
DAY 5
Breakfast at the hotel is included.
7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast
8:30 Bus departs for boat transfer to San Marco Square
Our 2 hour guided tour starts from the magnificent Piazza San Marco, one of the most beautiful squares in the world and the center of Venetian life. On the north side of the square stands the Clock Tower and the Procuratie Vecchie (once the seat of the highest courts of the ancient Republic), on the west there is the Napoleonic wing and on the south, the Procuratie Nuove.
The Basilica of San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale - the symbolic monuments of the republic - stand on the background of the square. The church was built to house the body of St. Marc, transported from Alexandria in 828; in the inside of the church we can admire the beautiful decorations and the magnificent Byzantine mosaics.
We will continue by walking the Rialto Bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges and symbols of the town.
Schedule: historical-artistic illustration in Piazzo San Marco - San Marco Basilica - Ducal Palace - Ponte dei Sospiri - Prisions
Dinner at Leisure
DAY 6
Breakfast is included at your hotel.
7:00 - 7:455 Breakfast
8:00 Bus departs for Bologna
We take a boat off Venice and Bus ride to Bologna. Bus ride will be approximately 1 hour and 45 mins. Bolonga will not disappoint! Hailed the gastronomic capital of the whole country with delicious dishes inspired by local farms and old traditions. If you love pasta this is the mecca!
We will have a 3-hour tour here...Starting at Piazza Malpigni, where passengers can hop on and hop off buses. Heading to Piazza Maggiore, once witness to very significant events, we will visit Palazzo del Podesta and Palazzo d'Accursio, which, even after being generously restored, still preserve a medieval charm. From Saint Petronius Basilica, the most important church in Bologna, and its uncompleted facade, it is possible to admire "Virgin and Child" made by Jacopo Della Quercia. The basilica contains at the inside several artworks belonging to Giovanni da Modena, Lorenzo Costa, Francesco Francia, Parmigianino etc and a 17th century meridian. After this, we will proceed to the Neptune's fountain, a work of Giambologna and Tommaso Laureti, dominating Piazza Nettuno (Neptune Square), which was erected during the papacy of Pius IV and represents the symbol of the papal power of Bologna. Towards the ancient streets adjacent to the square, we will reach Palazzo della Mercanzia, which hosted the Court of the Merchants, seat of Chamber of Commerce and of the excise duty, and Piazza di Porta Ravegnana (Square of the Gate of Ravenna) in which the two towers, that of the Asinelli, and that of Garisenda, stand out. Walking through Strada Maggiore you will reach the Benedictine Complex of Saint Stephen, known as "the Bolognese Jerusalem", a great place of great virtue and devotion. The tour ends with the visit of the Archiginnasio, the former prestigious seat of University, in which the suggestive Anatomical Theatre lessons about the dissection of corpses were once held is well worth visiting.
Following our City tour it's back on the bus as our hotel tonight is based in La Spezia... get ready for some beautiful sunset views! Bus ride will be approx 2 hours and 15 mins.
DAY 7
Breakfast included at the hotel
Start times vary for Vespa nad walking tours. - Stay tuned
CINQUE TERRE! Today will be BEAUTIFUL! We will briefly explore what La Spezia has to offer and then we will take a 45-minute ferry to Monterosso,
LA SPEZIA is home to a major Italian naval base and considered a gateway to CINQUE TERRE, the famous chain of 5 picturesque seaside villages
We have our guide for 6 hours and part of our tour will be with earphones!
Say your prayers for good weather..., We are hoping for another sunset like no other!
Dinner is included tonight!
DINNER
DAY 8
Breakfast at the hotel is included
7:00 - 7:45 Breakfast
8:00 Bus departs for Pisa
Bus ride to PISA is roughly 1 hour and 15 mins
In PISA we have a 2 hour tour The tour starts from Piazza dei Miracoli , where the famous leaning tower and other wonderful monuments are located. It will continue through Piazza dei Cavalieri (famous for the Scuola Normale Superiore, where several Italian Nobel Prizes have graduated, and for the Tower of Ugolino della Gherardesca, mentioned in Dante's masterpiece 'The Divine Comedy'). Then walking along the Lungarni (the streets running along the river Arno) you will see the birthplace of Galileo, the house where the poet Leopardi wrote the poem "A Silvia" and the Palazzo della Sapienza (Wisdom Palace), where Galileo also taught.
Lunch in Pisa at your leisure
A mere 1 hour and 20 mins bus ride and we land in FLORENCE the capital of Italy's Tuscany region and home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. The guide will accompany the group according to the following 3 hour guided program:
We start from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, visit the Piazza del Duomo and its surroundings. The Piazza del Duomo forms the center of the city with the Piazza di San Giovanni. There are the most important religious monuments of Florence linked together by the lively polychromy of the typical covering of white, green and pink marbles with geometric designs: the Batistery (external), with its typical octagonal shape, in which the three portals that they have three bronze doors of considerable importance; the Duomo, in Florentine, Gothic style with the famous ribbed dome by Brunelleschi; Giotto's bell tower (outside), one of the most beautiful bell towers of Gothic architecture, begun by Giotto in 1334 and finished by Pisano and Talenti, the Duomo of Florence (inside) with its famous Dome, the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, symbol of the wealth and cultural hegemony of Florence. We will visit the whole Piazza Signoria with Palazzo Vecchio (external) and all the original statues of the square including Bellini's Perseus. Straw market with the famous lucky boar.
After a long day of touring enjoy a lovely dinner in Florence at your leisure.
DAY 9
Today is a day of leisure. We will not have access to a bus...
We wanted one day on our 2 week journey to be completely free to do what you like and toady is it!!
DAY 10
Breakfast at the hotel is included
7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast
Be in the lobby at 8:15 packed and ready to go!
8:30 Bus departs for Naples
Today is our longest drive time of 5 hours. BUT it will be worth it as we land in NAPLES!
We w will stop in San Gimignano enroute.
Then it's dinner at your leisure in NAPLES - How exciting!
DAY 11
7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast
8:30 Bus departs for Pier of Napoli
CAPRI by HYDROFOIL.....
Today's 8 hour guided tour includes a cable car ascend to Anacapri, the famous "piazzetta", the "gardens of Augustus" with a beautiful view on the "Faraglioni" and Marina Piccola.
For those that wish visit the Grotta Azzurra otherwise known as "BLUE GROTTO" a sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, southern Itlay. Sunlight passing through an underwater cavity shining through the seawater creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern.
Tour will take place on a minibus (not private)
DAY 12
7:30 - 8:15 Breakfast
8:30 Bus departs for Salerno
What a day you will have today! Today's itinerary consists of both the AMALFI COAST and POMPEII!
The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. The coastal road between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento winds past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves
Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore.
After your visit in Pompeii there will be a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Rome. This will be your final hotel. We will be arriving late around 7 pm so be sure to eat before boarding the bus!
DAY 13
7:00 - 7:45 Breakfast
We have a 3-hour guided tour with headphones of the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Palatin and Vatican City
ENJOY ROME!
DAY 14
Breakfast included at the hotel
Find your own way to airport and FLY HOME
