|
|
11 Days priced from
$1,349
us
Admire
Rome's treasures and the Renaissance splendor
of Florence, taste Chianti wine in Tuscany, cruise the
canals of Venice,
and enjoy St. Francis' Basilica in Assisi
|
Included Features
|
|
|
ROME Sightseeing with
local guide including headsets, visit St. Peter's Square
and Basilica,Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, Colosseum
and Roman Forum
|
|
VERONA Orientation
including picture stops at Juliet's Balcony and the Arena
|
|
OSTIA ANTICA Guided
visit of the excavations
|
|
VENICE Private
boat-ride,glass blowers' demonstration, sightseeing with
local guide including headsets, visit St. Mark's Square and
Basilica, Doges' Palace
|
|
PISA Picture stop at
the Leaning Tower, visit Cathedral Square
|
|
RAVENNA Visit the St.
Apollinaris in Classe Basilica
|
|
SAN GIMIGNANO Orientation
|
|
ASSISI Sightseeing
with local guide and visit St. Francis' Basilica
|
|
SIENA Orientation
including Piazza del Campo
|
|
ORVIETO Ride a
funicular through the ramparts and visit the Orvieto
Cathedral
|
|
CHIANTI COUNTRY Wine
tasting in Verazzano Castle
|
|
SCENIC HIGHLIGHTS:
Tyrrhenian
Coast,Tuscany, Chianti wine area, Apennine Mountains, Po
Plain, Adriatic Coast
|
|
FLORENCE Sightseeing
with local guide including headsets, visit the Cathedral
and Michelangelo's David
|
|
INCLUDED MEALS:
9 buffet breakfasts
(BB);4 three-course dinners (D), including a special welcome
dinner with wine
|
Return to top
Day 1
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in Rome, Italy. Welcome to a sunny,
history-steeped land, home of exuberant, friendly,
hospitable people who take art as seriously as the pursuit
of ever more refined culinary pleasures. At 6 p.m. meet your
tour director and traveling companions and leave the hotel
for a special welcome dinner with wine in one of Rome's fine
restaurants. [D]
Day 3 Rome. Sightseeing with your local guide starts
with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL
(arranged next morning if closed today), world famous for
Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement.
Continue to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA.
Proceed across the Tiber for a stroll along the Via Sacra in
the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph, and
finally visit the COLOSSEUM and hear about gladiatorial
combats. Then time for independent activities and exciting
optional excursion possibilities.[BB]
Day 4 Rome-Pisa. Expertly guided morning visit to
OSTIA ANTICA at the mouth of the Tiber, home port for
ancient Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean. Hear about
surprisingly sophisticated urban living more than 2,000
years before our time as you visit a trading mall, an
inviting tavern and the luxurious Forum Baths. Afterwards
head north along the Tyrrhenian coastline through an area
where many a town was founded at the very beginning of
recorded history by the mysterious, highly civilized
Etruscans. Mid-afternoon arrival in Pisa, and plenty of time
to wander around dazzling CATHEDRAL SQUARE. Built during the
12th and 13th centuries when the maritime republic was at
its apex of wealth and power, the cathedral is considered
the cradle of medieval Italian art. Take your pictures of
its elegant but precariously leaning belfry, I8O feet high
and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. [BB,D]
Day 5 Pisa-Florence. Look forward to an unforgettable
journey through Tuscany's landscape of gently rolling,
vine-clad hills. Morning visit to hilltop San Gimignano, the
most picturesque of Italy's perfectly preserved medieval
towns. On to Siena for a leisurely lunchtime break. Follow
your tour director on a 30-minute walk through ancient
narrow lanes to beautiful Piazza del Campo, theater of the
biannual Palio, Siena's spectacular medieval-style
horse race. In the afternoon, a particularly scenic ride
along the Chianti Road leading from Siena due north to
Florence. On the way call at splendid VERRAZZANO CASTLE to
hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to
obtain the famous Chianti Classico. Taste the wine as the
local connoisseurs do, accompanied by local specialties.
[BB,D]
Day 6 Florence. A full day to savor the Renaissance
splendor of the Tuscan capital. Guided sightseeing includes
the magnificent CATHEDRAL, Giotto's Bell Tower, the
Baptistry's heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and
scripture studded Signoria Square. To top it off, admire
Michelangelo's celebrated David in the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS.
Afternoon free for independent sightseeing and browsing
through the shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold by
the ounce are attractive buys. Try the culinary delights of
a fine Florentine restaurant tonight. [BB]
Day 7 Florence-Verona-Venice. A scenic drive through
the Apennine mountain range and the fertile Po Plain brings
you to Verona, setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
See Juliet's Balcony and stroll around the lovely market
square. Take your pictures of the Arena, an incredible
well-preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater. Built in the
1st century A.D., it is now the magical venue for
world-famous opera performances. Tonight you are in Venice,
a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around
the globe. [BB]
Day 8 Venice. Start morning sightseeing in style as
you glide by private boat along the Giudecca canal to meet
your resident expert. Highlights of your walking tour are
ST. MARK'S SQUARE and the BYZANTINE BASILICA, lavish
DOGES' PALACE, and the Bridge of Sighs. Also watch VENETIAN
GLASS BLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old
traditional manner. Then enjoy Venice at your own pace or
join an optional gondola ride. Tonight is your chance to
sample the city's fine restaurants. [BB]
Day 9
Venice-Ravenna-Assisi. Along the coastline of the Adriatic
Sea to Ravenna. Here see the famous mosaics in the
6th-century Basilica of ST APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. In the
afternoon arrive in Assisi. From St. Clare's church enjoy a
pleasant walk with your local guide, via pretty Piazza del
Comune
down to ST. FRANCIS' BASILICA, the hub of a religious order
devoted to the ideals of humility, forgiveness, simplicity,
and love for all God's creatures. Hear about monastic life,
and view the priceless frescoes adorning the walls of the
church. [BB,D]
Day
10 Assisi-Rome. After a scenic drive along 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 for lunch, browsing through
tempting shops in the lanes off Piazza del Duomo, and
finding the right angle for a picture of the fabulous Gothic
facade of ORVIETO CATHEDRAL. In the late afternoon return to
Rome. Tonight your tour director will suggest an optional
festive dinner at one of Rome's fine restaurants to bid
farewell to the companions of a memorable Italian vacation.
[BB]
Day 11 Your homebound
flight arrives the same day [BB]
Return to top
QUALITY HOTELS
ROME
Cicerone
PISA Grand Hotel Duomo or Jolly Cavalieri
FLORENCE Sheraton Firenze
VENICE All'Angelo
ASSISI San Francesco or Windsor Savoia or Giotto
ROME Holiday Inn Rome West or Villa Pamphili or
Crowne Plaza St. Peter's
Return
to top
DEPARTURE DATES &
PRICES
Leaves almost
weekly throughout the year. Contact The Travel
Center/Unique Journeys for exact dates & prices.
|
|
Airfares are based on
departure from New York
|
|
|
Departure/arrival taxes and
fares from other cities will be advised at the time of
booking.
|
|
|
Extra nights in Rome can be
arranged.
|
Return
to top
|
