Day 1
Rome Airport > Rome
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal: transfer-in only
Welcome to Rome! Upon arrival at Fiumicino Airport (FCO | Your Arrival by TBA ) please proceed through Passport Control and collect your luggage inside the customs area. Then meet your driver and transfer to Rome. The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 2
Half Day Rome Tour
CHOICE BETWEEN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TOURS:
Half Day Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Medium size (up to 30 people) group tour
Get ready to enter into the legend! Jump into Roman history and discover with an expert guide the “Anfiteatro Flavio”, the Colosseum: the largest amphitheater not only in the Eternal City, but in the world! get the most complete tour of the Colosseum , Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Access the Palatine hill with no line and discover the hill where Rome was founded at the beginning. Then reach the Colosseum and be amazed by this monument that is the symbol of Rome in the world.The Amphitheater created to entertain ancient Roman citizens with bloody shows of gladiators, animals and cruel games, is now one of the most fascinating landmark of the City. Then, walk on the original path of ancient Rome along the Via Sacra and see the Temples of Vesta, Antonino and Faustina, the ancient Basilica Julia and Aemilia and dream about the glorious past of the Roman Empire. Unforgettable!
OR
Half Day Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter Basilica
Medium size (up to 30 people) group tour
Take a tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, jumping the lines! No stress to reach the area: upon arrival, your guide will lead you into the museums, through our preferred entrance, hence you’ll visit one of the most important art collections of the world. Admire the Gallery of Tapestries, and the Geographical Maps before arriving at the famous Sistine Chapel and the unforgettable Basilica! After the Sistine Chapel you will be taken, through an exclusive access to St. Peter’s Basilica, skipping long lines.
The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 3
Rome > Florence
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal for transfer from Rome hotel to rail station
Non-stop train Rome – Florence included
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal for transfer from Florence rail station to hotel
Today pick up at your hotel and transfer to Rome rail station, where you catch the train to Florence (non-stop train tickets: included). At arrival, transfer to your hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 4
Florence walking tour: best of Florence, Accademia and Uffizi
Medium size (up to 25 people) group tour
Discover Florence as you pleasantly walk through it and then visit the main Florence museums with a professional English speaking guide: meet David, the greatest Michelangelo’s masterpiece, then enjoy a variety of artists (Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and many others) at the Uffizi Gallery; finally learn the history and the secrets about the Vasari Corridor, the Medici family's secret passageway.
Walk through the amazing center of Florence and discover its unique secular heritage and breathtaking beauty with an expert and fun tour guide. Our tour explores the historic and architectural evolution factors from the Roman foundation through medieval centuries and its Renaissance glorious period up to modern time Florence. Our guide will take you to some of the most important spots where the greatest minds and artists have stood and been inspired: Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo, the Baptistery, Santa Trinita and Orsanmichele Church, Pontevecchio Bridge, the secret Vasari Corridor and much much more. Then enter the Accademia Gallery museum with a fast-track priority entrance ticket and discover the original Michelangelo's masterpiece that has become the symbol of Renaissance splendor: The David. Admire it from every perspective, gaze in awe at David, that dominates the central gallery of the museum. The David was sculpted by a very young Michelangelo (in his twenties) entirely from a single block of local Carrara marble and it's 5.17 metres tall (17 ft). It represents the biblical hero David that killed Goliath and when it was unveiled, in 1504, it soon came to symbolize the defense of the civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic. Admire also Michelangelo's famously unfinished sculptures - Prigioni and San Matteo. The Accademia Gallery Florence houses also many other masterpieces, both paintings and sculptures, from the Middle Ages to Renaissance, by the greatest artists, like Botticelli, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Sarto and many more, which you will discover with your knowledgeable English-speaking guide. Then move toward Signoria Square and enter the beautiful Uffizi Gallery, where you will enjoy an approx. 2.5-hour guided tour of the main rooms of the Uffizi Gallery, skipping the usual long lines. You will thus be able to view the main masterpieces by artists like Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. Finally our professional English speaking guide will lead you on a discovery external walk along the Vasari Corridor, the secret Corridor built by Giorgio Vasari ad commissioned by the Grand Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de' Medici in 1564, with the aim to build a path that would allow him and the Medici family to move freely from their residence (Palazzo Pitti) to the government palace (Palazzo della Signoria, other side of the Arno river), passing above the famous Pontevecchio (the landmark of Florence). With a focus by our art expert, uncover the Vasari Corridor history and secrets (no entrance in the corridor - please see notes) : Hidden between city houses and even passing through a church, the Vasari Corridor has evolved as one of the most astounding architectural masterpieces of the Renaissance. There will be a break during the visit: take the time for a frothy cappuccino or coffee at the Uffizi Café located on the terrace above the ancient Loggia dei Lanzi, with a spectacular panorama on history.
Day 5
Florence > Venice
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal for transfer from Florence hotel to rail station
Non-stop train Florence - Venice included
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal for transfer from Venice rail station to hotel NOT included.
Today pick up at your hotel and transfer to Florence rail station, where you catch the train to Venice (non-stop train tickets: included). At arrival, indipendent transfer to your hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 6
Venice walking tour: St. Mark Square, the Basilica and the Doge’s Palace
Private vehicle and English speaking driver disposal: no
English local guide disposal for 2 hours walking tour
This is an introductory sightseeing tour of Venice visiting St. Mark’ s Square, the Basilica and the Doge’ s Palace. St. Mark's square was the political and religious centre of the Republic of Venice; since ancient times it has been a place extraordinarily rich in historical and artistic value. A tour of the sumptuous halls of power in the Doge’s Palace, once the seat of the Serenissima government, offers an insight of Venice efficient and fascinating political life. Admire the paintings extolling the Myth of Venice, its conquests and diplomatic successes. Relive the pomp and ceremony of one of Europe’s most prestigious capitals. The Basilica of Saint Mark, now the city’s cathedral, was once both the Ducal Chapel and a reflection of State magnificence. You’ll be dazzled by its golden mosaics and precious marbles, works of art that have turned the church into one of the most beautiful monuments in the world.
The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 7
Venice > Venice Airport
Private vehicle and Italian speaking driver disposal: none
Today independent transfer to Marco Polo Venice Airport (VCE) on time for your departure flight.