Tour Plan
Arrival at Venice airport. You will be met by your private English speaking assistant and driver with private water taxi for a direct transfer to your hotel: Hotel Ca’ Dei Conti 4**** located in the center of Venice. We will book: 1 Double classic room. Check in and the rest of the day will be at leisure.
Close your eyes and imagine a romantic and elegant 4-star hotel in the heart of Venice, just around the corner from St. Mark’s Square. You’re in the eighteenth century, in the middle of one of Europe’s most sophisticated cities, at the height of the Venetian Republic’s cultural expression: you’re coming out of a charming alleyway and cross a private bridge to an elegant historical residence, the Hotel Ca’ dei Conti. In the romantic intimacy that only certain secret corners of Venice can create, you settle down on the terrace, sip a drink and dreamily stare over the canal which, leisurely flowing like your imagination, reflects the mood of your private moment.
Day 2 – Venice: Walking Tour and Gondola Ride with Cicchetti tasting
After breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by your private English speaking guide for a tour of Venice starting from the most important site of the city: Saint Mark’s Square. The tour consists of an explanation of the Square and its main monuments: Basilica (inside), Doge’s Palace (from outside), Bridge of Sighs, Clock Tower and the Bell Tower. After this historical tour, your guide will accompany you to the meeting point with your gondolier: we will book a unique Gondola Ride with a food experience. The tour will start in Rio di San Polo and from there, you can explore the jewels of these undiscovered parts of town, with its numerous Palazzi and aristocratic homes built in diverse architectural styles. During this pleasant ride, you will have a quick stop in front of a typical “Bacaro” where you can savour some local appetizers and local wines, just like a Venetian. Enjoy the Venetian Cicchetti (classic Venetian appetizers) made with the best local ingredients accompanied by a bottle of Prosecco just for you. You can savour it all whilst sailing down the hidden canals of Venice and enjoy the magical views and perspectives which only a gondola can give you. After the tour, you will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 3 – Venice: Murano island
After breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by your private English-speaking water chauffeur and enjoy an exciting 2-hour boat excursion to Murano. As a guardian of the lagoon’s age-old traditions and manufacturing heritage, Murano plays an essential part in your Venice experience. Don’t miss the chance to discover the folklore, customs and secrets handed down from generations of this treasure island and plunge into its timeless, magical atmosphere. This unforgettable experience starts as you dock in Murano, the island that boasts a long and thriving tradition dating back to 1291, when glass artisans moved their furnaces from the old city center to the island, for fear of fires breaking out. You will have the unique opportunity of visiting a glass factory where one of the Masters will give you a glass blowing demonstration.This is your chance to observe close up the skill of artisans as they forge incredible objet d’art using techniques past down through generations. After a 2 hour tour, you will be accompanied back to your hotel and you will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 4 – Venice to Florence
After breakfast and check out from your hotel, you will reach, with your private English speaking assistant, driver and private water taxi for a direct transfer to the train station. Here you will get a fast train to Florence. Upon arrival, in Florence, you will reach, with a public taxi at your own expense, your hotel in: Hotel Laurus al Duomo 4****. We will book: 1 Double Room. Check in and the rest of the day will be at leisure.
Hotel Laurus al Duomo is located on the historic Via de’ Cerretani, just 70 meters from the Duomo and 150 meters from the Santa Maria Novella Central Station, within walking distance from the main Museums in Florence and the elegant streets of the historic city center. With a stunning rooftop terrace on the 6th floor, our guests can enjoy a private view of the Duomo of Florence from breakfast in the morning to sunset with cocktails and dinner. A rich menu of typical Tuscan products, along with a full wine list, and more, is available to our guests so that they may enjoy the city in all its splendor.
Day 5 – Florence: Walking tour & Uffizi Gallery
After breakfast, you will be met by your personal English speaking guide at your hotel, for your walking tour of the city including a visit at the Uffizi Gallery. The Gallery houses a superb collection of priceless art, originating as the Medici familys’ private collection, enriched over the centuries by endowments, exchanges and donations, amongst which an important group of religious art, an outcome from the suppression of the monasteries and convents between the XVIII and XIX centuries. Here, you will find the richest collection in the world with works from the Tuscan and Florentine schools, amongst which: Cimabue, Michelangelo, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello and Sandro Botticelli.
After the tour, you will have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 6 – Florence: Food tour
After breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by your private English speaking guide in the hotel lobby and start your food tour. Together with your guide, you will reach the nearby San Lorenzo Market, where you will have a taste of Tuscany’s “green gold”, its renowned olive oil, as well as a variety of cheeses, salami and prosciutto, truffle sauces and balsamic vinegar. You will also have wine tasting where you will enjoy some of the region’s finest wines. Still not enough? Next stop will be at a local “fiaschetteria” where you will taste some of the city’s traditional delicacies. The tour will end in grand style with one of the finest gelato parlors in town where you can pick your flavor made with genuine and fresh products. After this culinary experience, the rest of the day will be at leisure.
After breakfast and check out from your hotel, you will catch a public taxi, at your own expense, to Florence railway station, where you will take your direct fast train to Rome. Once in Rome please take a public taxi, at your own expense and reach your hotel: Hotel Trevi Collection 4****. We will book: 1 Double Superior Room. Check in and the rest of the day will be at leisure.
We are sure that elegance and hospitality are the true luxury, so we’ve thought of the “Trevi Collection”. Next to ancient monuments and palaces, this magnificent structure rises at only 200 mt from Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Barberini. The modern and refined style gives character to the living environments, the play of lights and colors are its personality. Rooms' design, furniture and well-advanced amenities, will make your stay unforgettable and unique.
Day 8 – Rome: Vatican Museums
Breakfast at your hotel. You will be met by your private English speaking guide at your hotel and together please take a public taxi, at your own expense, to the Vatican Museums. Once there, your specialist guide will introduce you to the masterpieces of such great painters as Raphael Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. This is one of the greatest art collections ever, a collection gathered through the centuries by the Popes. You will see the wonderful Cortile della Pigna ("Pinecone Courtyard"), followed by one of the finest collections of antique Greek and Roman statues in the world. Be enchanted by the stunning vision of the Sistine Chapel and also direct access into Saint Peter's Basilica; a sacred place designed and executed by some of the greatest architects of the XVI century, from Bramante to Michelangelo and from Raphael to Bernini.
After the visit, free time for lunch and the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 9 – Rome: Ancient Rome
After breakfast, you will be met by your private English speaking guide at the hotel and you can reach the Ancient part of the Eternal city independently (the hotel can call you a taxi if you wish, at your own expense): Colosseum and Roman Forum. with direct access to this remarkable landmark and no waiting in long lines, you will be awestruck even before entering by the size of this Roman amphitheater nearly 2000 years old. Once inside, your private guide will bring the ancient world to life, with the various emperors, aristocrats, gladiators and slaves and the wild beasts that once populated this building. You will then be accompanied to the nearby Roman Forum, known as the "heart" of Ancient Rome, and the commercial political and religious center.
After the visit, free time for lunch and the rest of the day at leisure.
After breakfast and check out from your hotel, you will meet your private English speaking driver and transfer to Rome Fiumicino airport for your flight back home.
3 nights at Hotel Ca’ Dei Conti 4**** or similar in Venice: 1 double classic room
All meals not mentioned in the program
A perfect holiday in Italy! - From the time we arrived in Naples until the time we left Sorrento a week later, everything was perfect! The driver that we had was wonderful ( his name... read more 
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Dennis D
Betty M
Jacob A