What’s your travel style and what kind of experience are you seeking in Italy?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
TYPES OF JOURNEYS:
GRAND TOUR, DISCOVERY, Active, COUPLES, FAMILIES, WELLNESS, culinary
The Grand Tour
Rome, Florence & Venice- The Grand tour is Grand for visitors, artists, and curious types for a very good reason: each city holds a fascino not to be found anywhere in the world. Enjoy the museums, restaurants, and cityscapes of these cultural gems.
Discovery
What is your interest or passion? Let us know! Unique off-the-beaten-path experiences. Dive deep into any aspect of the culture that intrigues you. Maybe it’s Michelangelo or the Etruscans or WWII or making amazing ravioli Soak in the lush mineral waters of Veneto hot springs (in use since Roman times) while pondering what you learned about Galileo’s discoveries on your morning tour of Padua, home to the second oldest university in the world. Rough it through graffiti-lined streets in Rome’s residential neighborhoods as you search for the best plate of carbonara on earth. Whatever your style may be, there are discoveries here for you.
Adventure/ Active
Climb to the top of a mountain peak with your family and enjoy a wholesome meal at a cozy rifugio with breathtaking views. Or bust out the backpack and lace up the boots for a rifugio-to-rifugio mountain journey with your best friend. A bike tour of the mountains or countryside may suit you. Try a Via Ferrata or a farmhouse stay. Stop in Venice on your way back home.
Wellness
Wellness, personal care, yoga, and meditation are all practices that are alive and well in Italy. There are natural spas and gentle hikes. The food is directly connected to land traditions and local customs. There is a healing quality just to the rhythm of daily life here. Make this part of your journey.
Couples
Newlyweds or couples who want to float around Venice, maybe the most romantic place in the world, drink prosecco from the Valdobbiadene Hills while you admire the ornate palazzos along the Grand Canal. Follow the path to fair Verona for a concert at the ancient Arena mini-coliseum, then stop in Florence to see Boticelli paintings. Luxury spas and countryside vineyards and bike rides. We can arrange a couples tour just for you.
Families
Italy can be so fun for children and teenagers! Let us know the ages of your children and we will work to give them an unforgettable trip. Castles, art workshops, adventure parks, pasta with ragu, hikes and beaches, balloon rides, gelato. Multi-generational trips can also be arranged.
Culinary
Take cooking lessons in your favorite regions. Explore Italian grape varietals, connect with chefs and wine makers. Sample the dishes of each region and get a dose of history while you’re at it.
A combination of all of the above and more is available.
THREE POSSIBLE ITINERARIES
ROME -TUSCANY -FLORENCE -VENICE
Fly into Rome, the Eternal City and visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and a handful of hidden gems throughout the city. Take a speed train to Florence, see the Uffizi with Boticelli’s Venus and Primavera, Stop at the Accademia to see David and soak up all the Renaissance works all around you. Cross the PonteVecchio and climb the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo and for a hilltop view of the entire city. Try Pici and ribollita and artisan gelato. Next, head to the countryside to the artfully built Tuscan hilltop towns, wander into wine cantinas, taste the local wines and olive oils, and stroll atop layers of history: Etruscan, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance. Onto Venice where you float through the grand canal gazing at the haunting and ornate Palazzi. Let Piazza San Marco work its magic before finding quieter craftsman neighborhoods and cozy restaurants.
VENICE-VERONA-DOLOMITES
Fly into Venice and do a tour the Grand canal and islands of the glassmakers and artisans, see the Peggy Guggenheim collection, treat yourself to an aperitif along the canal and over cicchetti, or crostini, that seem almost as ornate as the Palazzos themselves. Head to the town of fair Verona, a truly beautiful city, to see an opera in the Arena of Verona, a smaller version of Rome’s coliseum that still hosts live concerts, taste the wines of the varied micro-climates of the Valpolicella and coast of Lago di Garda before wandering to the Dolomites for hiking, biking, and exploring castles, medieval churches, ravines, and mountain top lodges with local cuisine and spas and a unique kind of Austro-Italian experience.
TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE & HILLTOP TOWNS, SIENA, FLORENCE
Fly into Florence and spend two days with the Renaissance masters before discovering the countryside. Travel through Tuscany by car and the winding streets of Siena and explorre its ornate cathedral and taste Cinta Senese pasta or a plate of Pecorino cheeses from the Val d’Orcia or warm ricciarelli almond cookies as you check out the Medieval neighborhoods. Take a cooking class, get a tour of Pienza and Montepulciano by a local guide. Head to the countryside Taste olive oil from a local producer, sip wine atop the hill in Montalcino before visiting the hushed Sant’Antimo abbey. Soak up the thermal waters in the natural hot springs of Bagno Vignoni or Saturnia, in use at least since Roman times.
