Insight - Easy Pace Italy - Small Group, Winter (11/2022 - 04/2023) (SW803N17)

10 Days From Rome to Venice 
Tour Style: Easy Pace
Insight Brochure Price from $3,383.00
Brochures: Europe Winter 2022-2023, Europe Winter 2023-2024 v2
Visits: Italy, Vatican City

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Italy's top highlights await you on this 10-day guided tour. Stop by the Colosseum in Rome before heading to the Vatican Museums, where a VIP dinner awaits. In Florence, see Piazza della Signoria, an open-air art gallery where Renaissance masterpieces are housed. Join a Local Expert in Pisa for an informative tour of its infamous leaning tower, then stop at an organic farm in the Tuscan hills, where fields of vegetables give way to lines of olive trees, and you’ll feast on an authentic Italian meal. In Venice, board a private boat that will whisk you past the city’s ornate palaces and beneath its bridges to the marble arcades of Piazza San Marco.
Choice Highlights

• Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Florence: Wander through the market stalls and browse for local Italian souvenirs and leather goods on a guided shopping tour.

Well-being

• : Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.
• : Experience enhanced hygiene protocols to align with the latest guidance following COVID-19.All Travel Directors, Well-Being Directors and Drivers have completed training in enhanced well-being and hygiene protocols.
• : We only work with establishments we are confident will consistently adhere to our high well-being standards, which include hotels, restaurants and sight-seeing venues.
• : Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Travel Director

• : "Italians are very fashionable but their cooking is the opposite - simple, rustic and down to earth. A handful of quality vegetables, fresh herbs and beans are turned into a warm and comforting soup."
• : "Venice is so unique that anyone seeing it for the first time is never fully prepared for the magic, from seeing their first gondola to the facade of St. Mark’s Cathedral."
• : "At the Colosseum with our guests, I love watching their awe upon stepping back almost 2000 years into the world of the ancient Romans and imagining the sights and sounds of the arena."

Authentic Dining

• Rome: Food and family go hand-in-hand in Italy and are pillars of the Italian way of life. Experience it for yourself at a uniquely Roman Welcome Dinner with an invitation from your local host to join them for a truly Italian, home-cooked meal.
• Rome: Enjoy a Highlight Dinner of delicious Italian cuisine and wine, accompanied by the rich tremolo of some of Italy's best loved songs.
• Tuscany: Visit Il Poggio to learn about organic olive and grape farming. Then enjoy a tasting as you sit down to a fabulous dinner of Tuscan specialities, complimented by stunning views.
• : Savour flavours of the region over a delicious lunch with wine.
• Venice: Enjoy a special Venetian Celebration Dinner with wine at La Fenice, situated in the heart of this historic city.
• Dining Summary: 4 Dinner with Wine (DW), 9 Breakfast (B), and 1 Lunch with Wine (LW)

Insight Experiences

• Vatican: Gain priority access into the Vatican Museums and admire the famous Bramante Staircase. Witness the genius of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel and view the splendid dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

Top Rated Highlights

• Florence: Wander through the market stalls and browse for local Italian souvenirs and leather goods on a guided shopping tour.
• Florence: Enjoy panoramic views over of the city and see the Florence Cathedral. During your guided walking orientation, see the bell tower, Gates of Paradise on the baptistery and visit Piazza della Signoria.
• Pisa: Your Local Expert will show you the baptistery bristling with marble spines, the colonnaded bell tower lurching behind the 11th century cathedral and of course, the famous Leaning Tower in the Square of Miracles.
• Venice: With your Travel Director cruise to St. Mark's Square and see the Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sighs and St. Mark's Basilica.
• Venice: Delight in the magic of this charming city as you are serenaded, travelling through the atmospheric canals by gondola.

Make Travel Matter

• Venice: Witness the ancient skill of glassblowing, now practised by precious few masters. Watch artisans create delicate works of art using rare traditional practices. The workshop's master craftsmen teach visitors about the traditional craft of glassblowing and its history which dates back to the 15th century. Every visit helps to support the workshop and the survival of this traditional craft.  The workshop advances UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

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Insight Tour Itinerary

Day 1	Welcome to the Eternal City of Rome
	Rome is one of the world’s most historic cities, filled with classic antiquities, medieval buildings, renaissance palaces and baroque churches. Transfers to your hotel depart Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport at 09:30, 12:30 and 15:30. Then this historic city is yours to discover. At 17:30, join your Travel Director for a uniquely Roman Welcome Dinner. Get to know your travelling companions over a relaxed evening of dinner and wine, as you join your local host for a truly Italian, home-cooked meal.
	Visits: Rome
	Meals: Dinner with Wine
	Accommodation: Veneto Palace Hotel, Rome.
Day 2	Exploring Vatican City
	A Local Expert introduces the grandeur of the city. Start off in the Vatican State, the richest community in the world. While others wait in line, you will be fast-tracked through the priority entrance into the Vatican Museums. Admire the collection of priceless art gathered by Popes over the ages. Your visit also includes behind-the-scenes access to parts of the Vatican denied to the general public - the famous Bramante Staircase. Then enter the sublime Sistine Chapel, to gaze up and admire Michelangelo's famous painted ceiling. Next door, in St Peter's Basilica, see one of Michelangelo's early works, the Pietà, and the splendid dome completed after his death. Enjoy an elegant dinner with local wine at a Roman restaurant, while you are serenaded with a private performance of some of Italy's best-loved operas.
	Visits: Rome, Vatican
	Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
	Accommodation: Veneto Palace Hotel, Rome.
Day 3	Rome at Leisure Relaxed Start
	Spend another day enjoying Rome at your own pace. Stroll to the boutiques of the Via del Corso and Via Nazionale or visit the elegant designer stores near the Spanish Steps. Perhaps take an Optional Experience south to the ill-fated town of Pompeii? As night falls, why not sip a glass of prosecco at a sidewalk cafe in Piazza Navona and enjoy life's pageantry pass by?
	Visits: Rome
	Meals: Breakfast
	Accommodation: Veneto Palace Hotel, Rome.
Day 4	On to Florence Relaxed Start
	Drive to the Chianti Hills and the city of Florence.
	Visits: Rome, Florence
	Meals: Breakfast
	Accommodation: Hotel Adler Cavalieri, Florence.
Day 5	Florence, Birthplace of the Renaissance Relaxed Start
	Explore Florence with Insight Choice. Choose to visit the Accademia Museum and see Michelangelo's David. Alternatively, wander through the market stalls on a shopping tour, enjoying all the Italian treats and finery on offer.  Walk on to the multi-coloured marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, where Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise have been recreated in all their glory. Visit Piazza della Signoria, still the political heart of Florence and an open-air gallery of Renaissance masterpieces. Spend time gazing at statues such as Neptune as well as Hercules and Cacus, along the front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Famous for the quality of its luxury goods like gold and leather, Piazza Santa Croce is also the perfect spot to see the basilica. Later, use your free time to shop or continue exploring at your leisure.
	Visits: Florence
	Meals: Breakfast
	Accommodation: Hotel Adler Cavalieri, Florence.
Day 6	Pisa and the Tuscan Countryside Relaxed Start
	After a leisurely morning in Florence, explore the nearby town of Pisa with a Local Expert. See the Leaning Tower, baptistery and the colonnaded bell tower, lurching out from behind the cathedral.Visit the organic farm il Poggio and join a guided walk, exploring olive oil and wine production. After taking in beautiful views of the rolling Tuscan hills, enjoy tasting the farm's fines wines and olive oil, in addition to an authentic Italian meal prepared with locally sourced ingredients.
	Visits: Florence, Pisa, Tuscany
	Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
	Accommodation: Hotel Adler Cavalieri, Florence.
Day 7	On to Venice
	Today we travel through the Emilia-Romagna region, and stop to sample the flavours of the region and learn about Italian food culture over a delicious lunch with wine. Take the autostrada east to Venice, Queen of the Adriatic. Your luxurious hotel gazes out over the Giudecca Canal and an unforgettably romantic city skyline.
	Visits: Florence, Bologna, Venice
	Meals: Breakfast, Lunch with Wine
	Accommodation: Splendid Venice - Starhotels Collezione.
Day 8	Venice and the Magic of ‘La Serenissima’ Relaxed Start
	Your private boat takes you past historic churches and 13th century palaces to St. Mark's Square. The first sight is the pink marble of the Doge's Palace, connected to the prisons by the Bridge of Sighs. It was from here that Casanova made his daring escape. Turn the corner, and the gilded facade of St. Mark's Basilica comes into view. Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience during a visit to a traditional arts centre. See how beautiful handcrafted glass is made by expert glassblowers, safeguarding traditional skills. This afternoon there is plenty of time to explore the museums, galleries and churches or browse through the shops on the Rialto Bridge. Perhaps cruise out to some of the other islands in the lagoon to experience the age-old lifestyle of Venetian fishermen and lace-makers.
	Visits: Venice
	Meals: Breakfast
	Accommodation: Splendid Venice - Starhotels Collezione.
Day 9	Venice at Leisure Relaxed Start
	Who could refuse another day to take in the unique atmosphere of this wonderful city? Lose yourself in the back lanes and quiet squares, where tourists seldom tread and the Venetians go about their daily lives. Maybe visit some of the 90 churches housing masterpieces of Venetian art or explore the modern artworks in the Guggenheim? Perhaps relax at a canal-side cafe sipping local wine or sample delicious lagoon-fresh fish?Later, board a traditional gondola for a serenade through the romantic canals.This evening, indulge in traditional Venetian dishes that are enriched with inspiration from seasonal produce.
	Visits: Venice
	Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
	Accommodation: Splendid Venice - Starhotels Collezione.
Day 10	Arrivederci Venice
	Alas, you must bid farewell to this enchanting city. Your departure transfer arrives at Venice Marco Polo Airport at 08:00 and 09:30.
	Visits: Venice
	Meals: Breakfast

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Available Room Types: Single, Triple, Twin, Twinshare
Child: ages 5 to 17