Total meals included: 8 breakfasts, 3 dinners
ARRIVE IN ROME, ITALY
DAY
1
Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this ancient capital. This evening, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers.
ROME
DAY
2
The “Eternal City” is steeped in history, vibrantly alive and exciting, and absolutely unique! Included sightseeing with a Local Guide starts with St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. Other highlights are the iconic Colosseum, the largest amphitheater ever built, and Circus Maximus. An optional visit is available to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s impressive fresco of The Last Judgment.
Meals included: Breakfast
ROME–ORVIETO–SIENA.
DAY
3
Journey to charming Orvieto in the Umbria region to visit its black basalt and travertine CATHEDRAL, an excellent example of Italian Gothic architecture. Reach Siena, with time to visit this Tuscan jewel. Sit in one of the cafés surrounding the Piazza del Campo and admire one of Italy’s most unique squares, famed all over the world for its medieval-style Palio horse race.
Today’s Distance: 174 mi/ 280 km
Meals included: Breakfast Dinner
SIENA–SAN GIMIGNANO–GREVE–MONTECATINI.
DAY
4
Arrive in San Gimignano and discover one of Tuscany’s greatest attractions. Its medieval squares, town walls, streets, alleyways, and 14 towers are truly unique. Next, head into the very heart of the Chianti vineyards, where Chianti Classico wines are produced. Stop in Greve for WINE TASTING at a local wine estate. Arrive in Montecatini in time to join the optional Tuscan farm dinner.
Today’s Distance: 93 mi/ 150 km
Meals included: Breakfast
MONTECATINI. EXCURSION TO FLORENCE.
DAY
5
This Renaissance gem and city of the Medicis will keep you enthralled the entire day. Wander at leisure and admire the city’s timeless beauty. Don’t miss out on the included walking tour with a Local Guide, which features special city highlights. You will see Piazza Santa Croce; beautiful Piazza Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio and its courtyard; Loggia dei Lanzi; and, to top it all, Piazza del Duomo and its cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Doors of the Baptistry, known as the “Gates of Paradise".
Today’s Distance: 81 mi/ 130 km
Meals included: Breakfast Dinner
MONTECATINI–PISA–VENICE AREA.
DAY
6
This morning, drive to Pisa and enjoy a mini-train ride to see its SQUARE OF MIRACLES and the amazing Leaning Tower—180 feet high and approximately 4 degrees out of the perpendicular. Head across the wooded Apennine hills into the farmlands of the Po Valley to the Venice area.
Today’s Distance: 261 mi/ 420 km
Meals included: Breakfast
VENICE AREA
DAY
7
Venice is more like a marvelous film set than a real-life city, with its crisscrossing canals, gondolas and water buses, arched bridges, palaces, and piazzas. Your included orientation starts with a BOAT RIDE to St. Mark’s Square and is followed by time at leisure and a chance to watch Venetian GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate works of art as they did centuries ago. Don’t miss out on the optional gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to serenade you.
Meals included: Breakfast Dinner
VENICE AREA–ASSISI–ROME.
DAY
8
Travel across the Po Delta, then into the green Apennines to Umbria. Stop in medieval Assisi, where St. Francis was born in 1182. Visit the town and the world-famous BASILICA with a Local Guide, then head for Rome.
Today’s Distance: 332 mi/ 535 km
Meals included: Breakfast
ROME.
DAY
9
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.
Meals included: Breakfast
Things to note
Special Departures:
21 December 2020 departure – Christmas lunch in Florence
30 December 2020 departure – New Year’s Eve in Rome, including festive dinner