Start in Rome on this unforgettable vacation with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant and enjoy highlight visits like St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. In Orvieto, perched atop a volcanic rock, ride a funicular to the cathedral before continuing to your spa resort in Tuscany. Enjoy an excursion to Florence, where guided sightseeing includes visits to the Academy of Fine Arts to admire Michelangelo’s David, the cathedral, and Signoria Square. Stop in Pisa to marvel at the Leaning Tower, and arrive in Venice, where you will visit St. Mark’s Basilica and lavish Doges’ Palace with a Local Guide, watch Venetian glassblowers at work, and enjoy a traditional Prosecco aperitivo. Stay overnight in St. Francis’ Assisi. Next, visit the excavations of Pompeii with a Local Guide, drive through lively Naples and board your jetfoil to the charming Isle of Capri where you will stay for two nights. Guided sightseeing includes an open taxi drive to Anacapri to visit the Villa San Michele. Later, join a boat cruise around the island, followed by a special dinner with wine and sea view. Via Sorrento, return to Rome, where a farewell dinner at a local restaurant has been included.
Itinerary:
Day #1 Arrive in Rome, Italy. Welcome to Rome! At 5 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions, and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (D)
Day #2 Rome. Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. To make the most of your stay, join our optional Roman Highlights excursion, and see the sites and squares of medieval Rome made famous in the movie Angels and Demons. (B)
Day #3 Rome–Orvieto–Tuscany. Following the Tiber Valley, reach Orvieto, perched high atop a volcanic rock. Access, denied to many a would-be conqueror through the ages, is easy for you. Ride a modern FUNICULAR right through the forbidding ramparts. Time to browse through tempting shops in the lanes off Piazza del Duomo and to visit the gothic CATHEDRAL with its San Brizio Chapel. Next, drive through the Chianti wine area to the spa resort of Montecatini in Tuscany. (B)
Day #4 Tuscany. Excursion to Florence. All day dedicated to Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance.” Your guided walking tour includes a visit to Michelangelo’s David in the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS. Admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. The afternoon is free to shop for Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce, which are attractive buys, or to join an optional excursion to the magnificent Uffizi Gallery. (B,D)
Day #5 Tuscany–Pisa–Venice Island. A short drive to Pisa. Take the traditional picture pushing back the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Next, enjoy a comfortable drive north to Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the world. (B)
Day #6 Venice Island. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and its byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Enjoy a [LF] traditional PROSECCO APERITIVO, and tonight is your chance to join an optional excursion to the island of Burano. (B)
Day #7 Venice Island–Assisi. A scenic drive through the Apennine Mountains to peaceful Assisi, where your Local Guide will take you for a visit to ST. CLARE’S CHURCH and ST. FRANCIS’ BASILICA built above the Saint’s grave. (B,D)
Day #8 Assisi–Pompeii–Naples–Capri. Arrive at fascinating POMPEII. Meet your Local Guide and start your highlight visit of this Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. See a patrician home, public baths, and shops that give a striking picture of what day-to-day life was like in Rome at its apex of power. Next, drive to Naples, cross the blue bay by JETFOIL to the beautiful Isle of Capri for your two-night stay, and ride the FUNICULAR to Capri village. (B)
Day #9 Capri. This morning, enjoy sightseeing with a Local Guide. A highlight is your OPEN TAXI RIDE to Anacapri to [LF] visit famous VILLA SAN MICHELE in Anacapri. Afternoon at leisure with the chance to wander through the beautiful AUGUSTUS GARDENS. In the early evening, join a [LF] BOAT CRUISE around the island, followed by a special dinner with wine and seaview—the perfect ending of your Capri visit. (B,D)
Day #10 Capri–Sorrento–Rome. Speed across the glittering bay to the charming resort of Sorrento. Enjoy time to stroll around and check out the local shops before returning to Rome. This evening, enjoy a special farewell dinner with wine in a local restaurant to celebrate the success of your vacation. (B,D)
Day #11 Rome. Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
Hotels:
ROME Mediterraneo (F) or NH Villa Carpegna (F)
TUSCANY Settentrionale Esplanade (F) at Montecatini or Grand Hotel Tettuccio (F) at Montecatini
VENICE ISLAND Sant’Elena (F) or Gabrielli Sandwirth (F) or Boscolo Bellini (F)
ASSISI Windsor Savoia (F) or Giotto (F)
CAPRI La Residenza (F) or La Palma (F)
ROME Holiday Inn Rome Aurelia (F) or Villa Pamphili (SF)