-Day 1 Overnight Flight to Italy
Day 2 Ciao Rome
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
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: Rome guided walking sightseeing tour with Whisper headsets
Gods and gladiators, glory and gore. Ancient Rome lives on in its spectacular monuments, flavoring the frenetic present with tastes of the past. Don a space-age Whisper headset to get the inside scoop on the most spectacular, the Colosseum, a grisly battle arena that seated more than 45,000. An enormous retractable roof awning system kept spectators cool on sunny days. The nearby Forum provides a glimpse into everyday ancient life, with markets, meeting places, and temples all combined into one vast space. Move into Christian Rome at St. Peter’s Basilica, the triumphal Renaissance church flanked by rows of columns radiating outward like welcoming arms. Within the church Michelangelo’s masterpieces are on display, the “Pietà” in the main church and the recently restored ceiling frescoes and “Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel. Continue your trek through time at Piazza Venezia, site of the enormous monument to Victor Emmanuel II, Italy’s first king, and of the Palazzo Venezia, where Mussolini set up his headquarters and from whose porch his mother was said to eavesdrop on citizens below. (The Sistine Chapel is closed on most religious holidays and Sundays, except for the last Sunday in each month).
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--Alberobello
Travel to Alberobello
Details: Castel del Monte visit
Imagine the centuries of history at Castel del Monte, as it is believed to have been used as a hunting lodge, a citadel, a refuge during a plague, a prison, and many other things since it was erected in the 1240’s by the Emperor Frederick II, and dubbed his “most fascinating castle.” Castel del Monte’s octagonal shape makes it unique and unusual, unlike any other castle in the region.
Day 5 Alberobello
Details: Alberobello and Castellana Caves visit
Located in the heart of the “Trulli Valley,” this quaint and beautiful town of Alberobello is comprised of approximately 400 traditional dwellings with unique and distinctive conical stone roofs, known as trulli. Nearby, you will visit the most famous caves in Italy, The Caves of Castellana. Here, you will marvel at the spectacular multicoloured stalagmites, stalactites, lakes and underground caverns. You will never forget the impressive White Grotto, which consists exclusively of pure white crystals.
Day 6 Alberobello--Sorrento
Matera cave residence visit
Details: Travel to Sorrento via Matera
You will make a stop in the city of Matera for a walking tour of one of Italy’s best kept secrets. Since most tourists have yet to discover this most unusual cave-dwelling district, you will be one of the lucky few who get to enjoy the old world nuances of Matera’s picturesque streets overlooking impressive cave filled cliffs.
Day 7 Sorrento--Rome
Details: Capri & Blue Grotto excursion
From the Bay of Naples the island of Capri is less than an hour away by boat. Weather permitting, you will take a boat to the Blue Grotto, where sunlight reflected from beneath the water bathes the cave in a silver-blue light.
Details: Travel to Rome
Known to many as the "Eternal City," Rome is the capital of Italy, with an uninterrupted history spanning 2,500 years. As one of the founding cities of Western civilization, Rome is filled with incredible historical sites. It is a city with many faces, encompassing medieval, renaissance, and modern styles. To define Rome is an impossible task, but to enjoy Rome is a wondrous experience.
-Day 8 Flight home from Rome
-Day 8 Start extension to Florence
Travel to Florence
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 9 Florence--Milan
Travel to Milan via Bologna
Details: Milan city walk
Get a fascinating introduction into Italy’s second largest city and one of the fashion capitals of the world. Start with the gorgeous 18th-century opera house La Scala before continuing on to the Milan Cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece that took nearly 600 years to build. Finish off your walk with a visit to the country’s oldest shopping mall—a 19th-century arcade with a gorgeous roof made entirely of iron and glass—and take a gander at some of the luxury items that make the town famous.
Details: La Scala opera house
The Teatro alla Scala was founded under the auspices of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to replace the Royal Ducal Theatre, which was destroyed by fire on February 26, 1776, and had until then been the home of opera in Milan.
Details: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Stroll around the four-story covered double arcade of shops in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II; it was originally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877. The imposing street is covered over by an arching glass and cast iron roof, and the central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Galleria connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks, the Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 6 overnight stays (8 with extension) 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
- 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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