Italy Tours with Grand European Travel – AARP Senior Discounts

Welcome to Italy. After being greeted by your Travel Director at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, your transfer departs at 09:30 or 12:30. Join your Travel Director at 17:30 and head to L’antica Riva, an elegant restaurant on the shores of Lake Como, known for serving delicious fresh produce. Your Welcome Dinner provides the opportunity to mingle and get to know your fellow travellers over a pleasant evening.

Wake up ready to embrace this romantic city. While here, join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience during a visit to a traditional arts centre, where you can see how beautiful handcrafted glass is made by expert glassblowers, safeguarding traditional skills. What better way to see Venice than from a private boat, cruising past palazzos and churches to St. Mark’s Square? See the gilded basilica, the Doge’s Palace and Lord Byron’s Bridge of Sighs. No visit to Venice would be complete without a gondola serenade through the myriad of beautiful canals. Relax and enjoy the local traditional songs, as you drift along in romantic awe. Spend the afternoon as you wish. As night falls, why not savour the magic of St. Mark’s square with its orchestras and al-fresco cafes?

Follow the fertile valley of the River Po, into the peaceful landscapes of Tuscany. Continue to Pisa and see the Leaning Tower in the Square of Miracles. Later, visit the 11th century cathedral and baptistery. Venture on to beautiful Florence – a treasure house of the Renaissance. Explore Florence with Insight Choice. Choose to visit the Accademia Museum with and see Michelangelo’s David. Alternatively, wander through the market stalls on a shopping tour, enjoying all the Italian treats and finery on offer. With your Local Expert, admire the marble-clad Cathedral and Baptistery, and wander Piazza della Signoria, an open-air gallery filled with Renaissance sculptures. In the evening, dinner is served with a selection of Tuscany’s finest wines, presented by an expert sommelier who explains each of the wines being served.

Learn some secrets of traditional Florentine leatherwork when you visit a local workshop to admire the intricate work.The rest of the day is free for you to fully immerse yourself in the Tuscan capital. Perhaps shop for leather or gold goods around Santa Croce or relax and soak up the atmosphere in one of the many street cafés? Be sure not to miss the magnificent museums and galleries that house some of the most famous works of art in the world. In the evening, enjoy an opportunity to sample the true flavours of the region with a sumptuous optional Tuscan dinner, served with local wine.

Journey to Umbrian Orvieto, a hilltop village overlooking a vineyard-covered plain.Explore the town with your Travel Director and visit Piazza del Duomo to admire the cathedral, before continuing towards the Eternal City of Rome.In the evening, why not throw your coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to the city?

In the morning, enjoy the very best of the city’s highlights, including visiting the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Cross the Tiber river to enjoy ancient Rome. See the incredible Circus Maximus and the legendary Colosseum, site of memorable battles and a legacy to the courage of gladiators.In the afternoon, gain exclusive fast-tracked priority entry to the Vatican Museums with a Local Expert. Admire the Papal art collection and observe the stunning Museo Gregoriano Profano, which documents various moments and themes in classical art, from Ancient Greece through to the late Imperial Roman age. You’ll then enter the Sistine Chapel where you’ll marvel at Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece.This evening, indulge in a special Highlight Dinner hosted at the Vatican’s Cortile del Giardino Quadrato with spectacular views of St. Peter’s.

Bid farewell to the glories of Italy. Departure transfers arrive at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport at 07:00 and 09:30.

Ciao Roma! Explore this imperial city of emperors and senators, gods and goddesses, before joining your companions and Travel Director later for a Welcome Reception. Our introduction to the ‘Eternal City’ is an evening orientation drive to view some of the sights which await tomorrow.

The Holy See takes centre stage today as we join a Local Specialist for an included sightseeing tour in the Vatican Museums. Dive Into Culture and admire the Bramante Staircase, created for Pope Julius II in the early 16th century, and Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. See the marble masterpiece of the Pietà, housed in St. Peter’s Basilica before crossing the Tiber into Ancient Rome. Visit the famous Colosseum and see Circus Maximus, once the site of celebrated chariot races. This afternoon, enjoy free time to explore Rome. Indulge in an espresso in the Piazza Navona or clamber up the Spanish Steps.

We journey south to the well-preserved ruins of Pompeii. Here we join a Local Specialist who will share details of the devastation caused by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius as we wander through the ancient paved roads of a city that was frozen in time. Later, we arrive at our hotel in the clifftop town of Sorrento where we’ll dine tonight.

We cross the Bay of Naples today by ferry to the glamorous Isle of Capri to visit some of its landmark sights. Wander past the chic boutiques and pavement cafés in Capri town in the company of a Local Specialist before taking your time to soak up the sophistication of this lovely island. Later, we return to the mainland.

See the Benedictine Abbey of Cassino, which featured as the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, before heading north to the slopes of Mount Subasio. We arrive in the mystical town of Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, under whose protection this medieval city is said to remain. We join our Local Specialist for a visit of Basilica of St. Francis, before some free time to explore this fascinating hilltop town. Tonight, we’ll stay at one of Trafalgar’s Stays With Stories – a fully renovated old Franciscan monastery.

We journey through the glorious countryside of the Emilia Romagna region. This area is also renowned for its gastronomy and is credited with being the origin of tortellini, mortadella and parmesan cheese. Travel to Verona, the home of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, to admire the Roman arena and Juliet’s Balcony. Arrive later in Venice, the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’, where we’ll enjoy a Regional Dinner.

Cruise your way through Venice by private launch to soak up the sights and sounds of what was once one of the world’s greatest ports. Your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience with the master craftsmen of Venice follows and you’ll Dive Into Culture watching them share their centuries-old glassmaking traditions. Your visit helps to preserve this delicate craft for which Venice is justifiably famous and you’ll want to remember your visit by purchasing a souvenir or two to display at home. From there, continue past the Bridge of Sighs and the Doge’s Palace to St. Mark’s Square where we will view the impressive square and Basilica. Consider an Optional Experience to see the colourful fishermen’s houses on the Island of Burano or search for a cosy bacaro and indulge in some tasty Venetian treats, starting with that refreshing Venetian Spritz which is the local drink of choice.

Today we cross the lush green plains of Lombardy to sophisticated Milan, Italy’s capital of design and fashion. An orientation tour takes us past the intricate Gothic Duomo, La Scala Opera House and the famous Galleria. Later arrive at Lake Maggiore where we’ll enjoy dinner served tonight at our hotel.

Tuscany lures us across the forested Apennine Mountains, past the marble quarries of Carrara to the famous city of Pisa and its Square of Miracles where we will enjoy an opportunity to view the Leaning Tower. Our next stop is Florence, the ‘Cradle of the Renaissance’.

Delve into the extravagant history of the Medici family, whose legacy of art and architecture are explored in the company of a Local Specialist. We visit Piazza della Signoria with its exquisite statues and palazzi and enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the beautiful skyline of Florence, dominated by the elegant Duomo and the almost 700-year-old Ponte Vecchio, from Piazzale Michelangelo. Later, learn about the quality and workmanship of two of this city’s historic industries at demonstrations of Florentine leathercraft and 18-carat gold.

This morning we stop at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial. Continuing south, we visit the charming Tuscan hill-town of San Gimignano, where one finds extraordinary examples of medieval architecture and history. Venture to the centre of town to view its Piazza del Duomo, surrounded by medieval towers and the town’s 13th-century city walls. This evening in Rome we enjoy a Farewell Dinner spent in the company of newfound friends and our Travel Director.

Our discovery of the best of Italy has come to an end. Find out more about your free airport transfer at trafalgar.com/freetransfers.