Italy

Day 1: Rome

Benvenuto a Roma! In the afternoon, after check-in at the Hotel, we will have an orientation walk through our neighbourhood and stroll through the historic heart of the city, lacing together the Piazza Navona, flanked by cafés and restaurants. It contains three baroque fountains including the colossal Fontana dei Quatro Fiume, one of Bernini's finest works - the best place to enjoy our dinner.

B/Rome

• Arrival, check-in at the Hotel
• Walking tour

Day 2: Rome

Visit the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica on this must-do Vatican walking tour. With some 12,000 rooms spanning nearly 4,000 years of history, the Vatican's magnificent museum complex can be overwhelming, so let an expert guide introduce you to its defining highlights on this 3-hour tour. Visit Raphael's Rooms, Gallery of the Maps and more, and then step inside the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo's fresco 'The Creation of Adam.' Finish with a St Peter's Basilica tour and hear the secrets of the holiest place in Christendom. You have the rest of the day free to wander through this immense Basilica; climb the dome or just have a coffee or a drink and enjoy Rome's dolce vita.

B/B/ Rome

• Guided walking Vatikan-tour
• Vatican Museum
• Sistine Chapel
• St. Peter's Basilica

Day 3: Rome

In the mind's eye, the mighty Colosseum conjures images of bloodshed and brutality, drawn from what we have read and perhaps seen on the silver screen. We enter the arena and learn about the games, the players, and the hard facts about life in ancient Rome. Understand how the rites of ancient Rome influenced tyrannical leaders such as Julius Gaius Caesar and Nero. Learn about the mysterious origins of Rome, and why the Roman Empire collapsed approximately 1,200 years later. This morning tour includes the Colosseum (visit inside) and Roman Forum. We continue our excursion in the ancient centre; the Capitoline Hill, the Palazzo Senatorio and the church Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which is famous for its very fine series of frescoes by Pinturicchio, dating back to the 1480s.

B/Rome

• Guided walking tour
• Colosseum
• Forum Romanum
• Capitoline Hill

Day 4: Rome

Today we are going to take the Hop-on Hop-off bus. We will stop at every place of interest and discover Rome. The Trevi Fountain- who would not think of the movie "La Dolce Vita", The Spanish Steps and Piazza Spagna, with its most exclusive shopping mile; the via Condotti. One has to have Coffee at the "Café Greco", it is an 18th century café once frequented by writers and musicians such as Keats, Goethe, Byron, Liszt and Wagner. We have to visit the Roman "temple of all gods", the Pantheon - Rome's best-preserved ancient building. It was built in the 1st century AD, probably to a design by Emperor Hadrian. We end off our Day with dinner.

B/B/ Rome

• Sightseeing tour by bus
• Trevi Fountain
• Piazza Spagna
• Pantheon

Day 5: Monte Agentario

We begin our journey North. The region of Tuscany spreads out over a rich area of hills and valleys, in which world renowned agricultural treats are cultivated, such as the prestigious wine from the Chianti hills. While recognised and renowned all over the world for its cities of art such as Florence, Siena, and Pisa, and for its unique landscapes, Tuscany also boasts the sublime Tyrrhenian coasts, a treat for those who prefer to enjoy their holiday relaxing on a beautiful beach. On our way to Talamone, we visit the medieval village Pitigliano. Pitigliano is spectacularly situated high above the cave-riddled cliffs of the Lente valley. Its maze of tiny medieval streets includes a small Jewish ghetto formed in the 17th century by Jews fleeing from Catholic persecution. We'll stay overnight in a picturesque hotel and enjoy a bit of a sea breeze.

B/B/Monte Agentario

• Pitigliano
• Talamone

Day 6: Val D'elsa

We are heading towards the heart of Tuscany. On our way to Masso Maritimo, we will visit a wine cellar owned by the Zonin family. They not only love for you to taste their wine, but they are also proud of their museum. A mere 3000 exhibits of the region from the 18th to the mid 20th century are displayed in this small museum. We'll continue our discovery-journey through Tuscany and visit the Cisternian abbey at San Galgano, which lies in a superb setting. We'll stay for four nights in Colle Val D'elsa. Val D'elsa is the valley of the river Elsa that runs in a South-North direction between low and roundhills, in an area with a strong human presence. The strategic importance of the Val D'elsa is all in its routes. Indeed, since ancient time this land represented an obligatory passage, for commerce and relations that determined the birth of the city, developed along the Via Francigena. The Via Francigena is the pilgrimage route that stretches from Canterbury to Rome and was one of the most important European trade routes in the medieval age. It spans through several localities of Tuscany, among which we remember Massa, Lucca, San Gimignano and Siena. Although it was a land of passage, the Val D'elsa has itself stayed apart from the main tourist routes. Therefore, nowadays it offers routes, between history, culture and nature.

B/B/Val D'elsa

• Massa
• San Galgano
• Maritimo

Day 7: Sienna

Once a capital to rival Florence, Siena is one of Italy's prettiest medieval towns. We start with the exploration of its historic centre in Piazza del Campo and the surrounding maze of medieval alleys. With a guide by your side, history and architecture will be explained. Siena is another city in Tuscany, famous above all, for the Palio, an ancient horse race in which the comrade, that is the districts of the city challenge each other. During the Palio, every contrada is represented by a horse and jockey. Sienna on this occasion is shaken by the enthusiasm and antagonistic spirit that inflames ancient rivalries. Should you be brave enough to climb the hundreds of spiral steps to the top of the bell tower of the Palazzo Comunale, the view is worth a thousand photos over the verdant rolling hills.

B/B/Val D'elsa

• Siena
• Guided walking tour

Day 8: San Gimignano - Voltera

San Gimignano rises, with the profile of its towers, on a hill that dominates the Val D'elsa. Among the cities of art in Tuscany, we must not forget the smaller towns, as San Gimignano and Cortona, or Volterra and Lucca, true jewels of architecture, characterized by small alleys, delicate views and a continuous feeling of walking within history. Volterra is known as the “city of alabaster”, and has a number of shops specialising in hand-carved alabaster items - Sabatini; and the atelier of sculptor Alessandro Mazetti. To watch alabaster being carved, head to Alab'Arte. Tuscany Countryside: soft hills, the chromatic effect of the fields, rural country houses and cypresses. In this way the image of Tuscany landscape has conquered the world.

B/B/Val D'elsa

• San Gimignano
• Volterra

Day 9: Chianti Region

The Hills of Chianti are an area of Tuscany between the province of Florence, Siena and Arezzo. To plunge into the green landscape of the Chianti means to find hills forged by the presence of men, but that are integrated with imposing castles, walls, ancient stones, medieval churches and villages. In the Chianti, this magic of the landscape is not only respected, but valued. In Castelnuovo Berardenga there is a Landscape Museum. Perhaps what rendered the zone of the Chianti famous is… the Chianti! In fact, from the geographic name, derives the name of this excellent red wine. It is often used, both as an ingredient for tasty meals, as well as to accompany the typical dishes with their extraordinary taste. Here you can taste delicious meats (beef, but also game, for example, wild boar, hare and pheasant) as well as cheeses, fruits and vegetables, and finally, extremely good sweets.

B/B/Val D'elsa

• Castellina in Chianti
• Gaiole in Chianti
• Greve
• Poggibonsi, Hills of Chianti
• Radda

Day 10: Pisa – Lucca - Florence

Today we'll venture into the heart of magical Tuscany, visiting Pisa, its Baptistery, Duomo and the Leaning Tower in Pisa's Campo Miracoli. These amazing buildings belong to Pisa's Golden Age- from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, when the city was one of the maritime powers of the Mediterranean. Exploring Lucca; the most graceful of Tuscany's provincial capitals, encircled by an imposing ring of Renaissance walls, fronted by gardens and huge bastions. Lucca's peaceful narrow lanes wind among the medieval buildings, opening suddenly to reveal churches, tiny piazzas, and many other reminders of the city's long history, including a Roman amphitheatre.

B/B/Florence

• Pisa Baptistery
• Duomo
• Leaning Tower
• Lucca
• Piazza Anfiteatro

Day 11: Florence

Florence lies in a spectacular location, in the center of a wide natural amphitheater, surrounded on three sides by the hills of Careggi (North), Fiesole (North-East) Settignano (East), Arcetri, Collina Imperiale and Bellosguardo (South). Florence is often mentioned as the cradle of the Renaissance: the city is characterized by the extraordinary literary, artistic and scientific development that took place in the 15th and 16th centuries. The historical centre of Florence, closed inside the tree-lined avenues on top of the old medieval walls, holds the most important cultural assets of Florence.

B/B/Florence

• The Uffizi Gallery
• Ponte Vecchio
• Walking Tour

Day 12: Venice

We'll go on a train for a 2 ½ hours from Florence to Venice. There we'll catch the vaporetto which brings us to our hotel. We'll start with a tour of the Accademia's treasure trove of great Venetian art and take a stroll along the canals, bridges and alleyways of this magical city. At the San Marcos Square we will stop to relax and enjoy a coffee at the "Floriani" while listening to beautiful music.

B/B/Florence

• Train Florence – Venice
• Visit Museum Accademia
• San Marcos Square

Day 13: Venice

In the morning, a local guide will join us for a historical walking tour. The "Sestiere" of San Marco comprises the heart of Venice, and encloses the city's symbol: St. Mark's Square. The fairly small size of the district (just 46 hectares) is crowded with ancient buildings, built around the most important squares and it stretches out into the great plaza that marks the city's enduring relationship with the sea and water. The Basin of St Mark's was, for centuries, the site of the harbour of the Republic of Venice. Venice's shopping street, "Mercerie" links St. Mark's with Rialto ever since the Middle Ages. Actually the area between St. Mark's Square and Rialto was the original core of the entire urban structure of Venice. One of the best ways to view the Grand Canal, as it winds through the heart of the city, is from a vaporetto. Several ferries travel the length of the canal. The palaces lining the waterway, were built over a period of five centuries, and they present an inclusive overview of the city's history.

B/B/Venice

• Guided City-tour
• Vaporetto-tour

Day 14: Venice

This morning we'll have to say goodbye to our fellow travellers. Activities depend on the departure time.