Essential Italy: Rome, Florence & Venice in Eight Days

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The perfect solution for travelers who want to tour on their own and let us organize lodgings and transportation.

Day One- Rome

Check into your double room with private bathroom at a four-star hotel in central Rome. You have the rest of the day on your own, to take your first exploratory walks through the world's most fascinating city. We suggest you start in the Baroque era: it's an easy stroll from the Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Afterwards, dinner on your own. Choose from a vast array of eateries near the beautiful piazza. Overnight at your hotel.

Day Two - Rome

Breakfast at the hotel. Today would be a perfect day to visit the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's. Ask us about booking a private or semi-private tour. Afterwards, enjoy lunch on your own, and then we suggest you do a little shopping in the neighborhood. There are literally hundreds of boutiques on Via Leone IV and Via Cola Di Rienzo, ranging from true bargain meccas to the most exclusive high-fashion ateliers. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day Three- Rome

Breakfast at the hotel. Now that you are familiar with Renaissance and Baroque Rome, it's time to travel back to ancient times, visiting The Coliseum, the Forum and the Palatine Hill. While in the area, you could also tour Nero's Golden House, as well as Trajan's Market, a fascinating museum that shows what the Forum would have looked like when all its shops were operational, two thousand years ago. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day Four - Rome& Florence

Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out and transfer on your own to Roma Termini station. Travel by Eurostar train through the scenic hillsides and valleys of Latium and Umbria and Tuscany, ending up only 90 minutes later in central Florence. Check into your double room with private bathroom at a four-star hotel in central Florence. After lunch on your own, meet your private guide for a two-hour walking tour, wending your way through ancient cobbled streets to Cathedral Square and Piazza della Signoria, culminating at Ponte Vecchio. Dinner reservations have been made at one of Florence's trendiest restaurants. Overnight at the hotel.

Day Five - Florence

Breakfast at the hotel. You have the whole day on your own to explore the medieval streets and Renaissance palaces of Florence. Visit the Uffizi Galleries, where you will be able to see the largest collection of Renaissance paintings in the world, without waiting in line. Or visit the Accademia Galleries to see Michelangelo's David, along with many other masterpieces by the genius sculptor. We will be happy to make advance reservations so that you can avoid the long lines. Lunch on your own and then, for a real treat, climb the hill up to the exquisite medieval church of San Miniato, then wander over to Piazzale Michelangelo to gaze at the exquisite city and surrounding hills at sunset. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day Six - Florence

Breakfast at the hotel. There are countless things you can do on your own today: try some shopping at the amazing San Lorenzo outdoor market where you'll find everything from trinkets to fine leather jackets; take a private or group day trip to the Chianti or Pisa or Siena & San Gimignano or the Cinque Terre, or rent bikes and venture off to the hills of Fiesole for an unforgettable mix of ancient archeology and Renaissance architecture topped off by a Tuscan picnic in the woods! Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day Seven - Florence & Venice

Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out and transfer on your own to Santa Maria Novella station. Travel north by Eurostar train. On the way you'll cross the spectacular Appennine Mountains, then swoop down onto the vast Po River Valley, home to the world's best parmesan cheese, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar. The farms you'll see here are totally different from those in Tuscany, but just as historical. Arrive in tiny Mestre, a town that looks exactly like Venice without the tourists and is only a few minutes from St. Mark's Square. Check into your double room with private bathroom at a four-star hotel. Architecture buffs will thrill to the glass ceiling that connects the hotel's two wings: it is the largest in Europe! After freshening up, hop on the train into Venice and treat yourselves to a slow panoramic ride on the Grand Canal waterbus. After a traditional Venetian dinner, perhaps in one of the eateries beloved of local fishermen, take the quick train ride back to Mestre. Overnight at the hotel.

Day Eight - Venice

Breakfast at the hotel. You have the whole day on your own. We suggest you head straight for St. Mark's, where you can visit the Basilica and the Doge's Palace. After lunch, take a waterbus out onto the lagoon and visit Murano, where you'll see the ancient glassblowing workshops, and Burano, where each house is painted a different pastel color. Dinner on your own and overnight at the hotel.

Day Nine - Venice

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check-out of the hotel.

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Included in the Price
Three nights in a standard double room at a central four-star hotel in Rome
Three nights in a standard double room at a central four-star hotel in Florence
Two nights in a standard double room at a central four-star hotel in Mestre
Eurostar tickets (2nd class) from Rome to Florence
Eurostar tickets (2nd class) from Florence to Mestre
Eight breakfasts
Two-hour private walking tour in Florence
Dinner reservations in Florence (cost of dinner not included)
Taxes and services

Minimum number of participants: 2

Tours operated by Geofirias Srl.