-Day 1 Overnight Flight to Italy
Day 2 Ciao Rome
Authentic trattoria dinner
Details: Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. You’ll also have a private coach and driver while touring .
Details: Rome city walk
Take a walk past Rome's most beautiful and unusual Baroque fountains. At the foot of the Spanish Steps, elegant cafes surround the central fountain. The water pressure here was so low that the artist had to sink the fountain into the ground to get any water going through it, so he went ahead and designed the fountain to look like a sinking ship. There's no shortage of water pressure at the nearby Trevi Fountain, a Baroque extravagance designed by master sculptor Bernini.
Details: Trevi Fountain
View the Trevi Fountain, where it is traditional to toss a coin into the fountain to ensure a safe return to the Eternal City.
Details: Piazza Navona
We will spend some time in the Piazza Navona area. Built on the foundations of Domitian's Circus, this magnificent square was designed by Borromini in 17th century. It is full of life and is highlighted by one of Rome's most spectacular fountains, the Four Rivers designed by Bernini. The square is often filled with local artists. The surrounding neighborhood is also one of the best places in Rome to get a tasty tartufo or gelato ice cream
Day 3 Rome landmarks
Details: Ancient Rome guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
The ultimate symbol of Ancient Rome, the Colosseum still dominates the modern city. Tour the amphitheater with your local licensed guide. Built by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72, the structure held almost 50,000 spectators but was so well organized that the entire place could be emptied within 15 minutes. Inside, the spectacles varied from gladiator battles to immense naval contests to wild beast shows, in which thousands of exotic animals like giraffes and ostriches were popped into the stadium through trap doors and left to fight Roman hunters. See the system beneath the floor that operated the trap doors and housed the animals, then continue on to the relative calm of the Forum. Ancient Rome’s commercial, religious and political center, the Forum held markets, temples and the Senate House. Near the Rostra, or speaker’s platform, you can still see game boards scratched into the marble by bored politicians--anyone up for a game of tic tac toe?
Details: Forum Romanum visit
Tour the ruins and excavations of the Roman Forum, which features the remains of magnificent temples, basilicas, and triumphal arches that once formed the heart of the Empire.
Day 4 Rome--Venice
Travel to Venice on the Frecciarossa (Italy's fastest train)
Details: Vatican City guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
Visit St. Peter’s Basilica where from the outside, the church has four rows of columns that radiate out like welcoming arms; inside, the church seems enormous enough to embrace the entire world. The dome, partially designed by Michelangelo, rises 452 feet above the ground. Michelangelo’s mark is everywhere here, from the costumes worn by the Swiss Guards to his exquisite “Pietà” sculpture (the only sculpture he ever signed) to the amazing frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Because he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter, Michelangelo hated working on these paintings, now considered masterpieces.
Day 5 Venice landmarks
Details: Venice guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
Bubbling up on more than 100 islands in a lagoon off the Adriatic, Venice is an absolutely unique and unquestionably beautiful city. Step into Piazza San Marco, an airy expanse of arches, sunlight, and pigeons. The multi-domed Basilica on one end, completed in 1094 but decorated for centuries afterward, is the final resting place of the apostle St. Mark, Venice’s patron saint. The mosaics beneath the basilica’s outside arches depict the arrival of St. Mark’s body, stolen from Egypt in 828 by Venetian traders. The frothy Venetian Gothic Doge’s Palace stands next door. Continue on to a glass-blowing demonstration. Venetian glass has long been considered the best in the world, and its production was such a state secret that during the Middle Ages, any Venetian glassblower who attempted to ply his trade outside the city was immediately arrested.
Details: St. Mark’s Square
Stroll through St. Mark's Square. Bordered by Venice's greatest historic buildings, St. Mark's Square is the center of both the city and its water transportation system, as well as a popular tourist attraction.
Details: Doge's Palace guided visit
Enjoy a visit to the Doge's’ Palace, residence of the rulers of the Serenissima Republic. We will explore the ornate and grandiose rooms of the palace, including a walk across thefamous Bridge of Sighs to the cells, where Casanova was once imprisoned, as well as the Grand Council chamber, featuring Tintoretto's Paradise, said to be the world's largest oil painting.
Day 6 Venice--Florence
Travel to Florence on the Frecciarossa (Italy's fastest train)
Details: Florence guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
Immerse yourself in the charms of old-world Firenze. The birthplace and focal point of the Italian Renaissance, Florence still has the masterpieces to prove it. Brunelleschi’s monumental cuploa (dome) atop the city's renowned Duomo dominates the skyline. Your local licensed guide will take you to Giotto's Bell Tower and the aptly named Gates of Paradise, the bronze east doors of the Baptistery that spurred the burgeoning Renaissance. Don’t overlook the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli at the Chiesa di Santa Croce, or Florence’s amazing leather goods. You can check them out when you visit one of the area’s famed workshops!
Details: Piazza della Signoria
Spend time in the Piazza della Signoria, the political stage of Renaissance Florence and an open-air museum of sculpture.
Details: Ponte Vecchio
Stroll along the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of Florence's six bridges and one of the best-loved sites of Florence. Lined with numerous shops, visitors often do not realize they are on a bridge until the reach the center arches that look out over the Arno.
Day 7 Tuscany highlights
Details: Volterra & San Gimignano excursion
Take a Walking Tour and view the Piazza della Cisterna, the Piazza del Duomo, and the People'’s Palace. Both spaces are guarded by the tall medieval towers that have made San Gimignano, "city of the beautiful towers," Enjoy a walking tour of Volterre. We will be sure to see many sights including the Duomo and Amphitheater.
Day 8 Florence--Rome
Travel to Rome via Siena
Details: Siena guided excursion
Stroll across red brick piazzas. Pause in black-and-white striped churches. Gaze up at bell towers stretching high into the sky. Proud Siena is a glimpse into Italy’s medieval past, when Florence, Pisa, and Siena were all fierce rivals for European trade, money, and glory. As international students bask in the sunny Piazza del Campo, you’ll see the surrounding Palazzo Pubblico, home of the civic museum, and the Torre del Mangia, Siena’s bell tower. The tower was named after an extremely stout bell-ringer, whose name, Mangiaguadagni (“eats profits”) reflected his love of the local cuisine.
Details: Piazza del Campo
Stroll through the narrow and winding streets of Siena to the Piazza del Campo, a vast and
lively square in the heart of the city.
Day 9 Flight home from Italy (Rome)
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 7 overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional tour director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Guided sightseeing tours with high-tech headset as per itinerary
- High-speed Freccia Rossa train to Venice
- High-speed Freccia Rossa train to Florence
- Tour Diary™
- Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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