Join a guided walking tour of Pompeii, the Roman city sealed in ash by Vesuvius in 79 CE. Walk flagstone streets to the Forum and bathhouses, inspect frescoes and shopfronts, and see the poignant plaster casts of residents caught in time.

Your expert shares daily-life details—from bakeries to brothels—beneath the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; entry tickets and headsets are typically included with the guide.

• 9 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Dinner (D)

• London: A modular trip means fellow travellers will join and leave at various locations. There’ll be some goodbyes, sure, but there’ll also be plenty of hellos with new like-minded travellers.
• London: Your Trip Manager will advise you on who you’ll share your room with. On this trip, you’ll stay in a multi-share room with other travellers of the same sex.

• French Riviera: Glide through the winding coastal roads of the French Riviera with your Contiki crew.
• Monaco City: Walk in the footsteps of Grace Kelly at the Royal Palace and see the Monte Carlo Casino (where the car park looks like a Fast & Furious set).
• Nice: Your chance to learn the art of fragrance at a French perfume house. You know it makes scents! (soz).
• Cinque Terre National Park: We’ll take care of your rail pass, so you can just zip around the iconic clifftop villages and focus on the Insta stories. Wanna hike around too? You’re welcome to explore on foot along the way.
• Pisa: Your ultimate chance to ‘hold the tower up’ as you pose for that classic Insta snap. 
• Amalfi Coast: Definitely one for the bucket list. Your chance to view one of Europe’s active volcanoes from a distance. 
• Rome: Stroll around the Italian capital, ticking off some sights on your bucket list! 

Visit the UNESCO-listed Piazza dei Miracoli for that classic snap with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Walk the lawns to admire the Romanesque cathedral and baptistery, marble-striped and sculpted with medieval artistry.

Hear how soft subsoil tilted the campanile during construction and how modern engineering stabilized its famous lean. This open-air museum of Pisan power reveals marble trade wealth, maritime rivalry, and the city’s golden age in stone.

Explore Renaissance streets past Piazza del Duomo and the Florence Cathedral, continue to the goldsmith arcades of the Ponte Vecchio, and pick up local tips for trattorias and aperitivo spots. This guided stroll connects landmarks with the city’s artisan heart.

Step inside a workshop to watch a leather artisan demonstration, learning about vegetable-tanned hides and hand-finished details rooted in Santa Croce tradition. Stories of the Medici era bring Florence’s art, banking, and patronage to life as you take in frescoed courtyards and stone-paved lanes.

Follow the legendary Amalfi Drive (SS163), a ribbon of cliff-hugging bends above turquoise coves and lemon terraces. Roll into Amalfi to wander whitewashed lanes and the piazza facing the striped facade of the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea.

Learn how traders, shipwrights and mariners made this a medieval maritime republic. Step onto sea-sprayed promenades to pause for photos and reflection, with views that sweep from dramatic headlands to pastel villages stacked above the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Wander citrus-scented groves where Sorrento IGP lemons hang heavy over shaded paths. Meet local producers to understand pruning, grafting, and why this peninsula’s volcanic soils create such fragrant, oily peels ideal for infusion.

See how zest becomes golden liqueur as you learn the limoncello infusion process and sample a chilled taste in the grove. Notes of lemon blossom and sea air complete a quintessential Sorrentine moment rooted in slow, seasonal craft.

Stroll Sorrento’s lanes and terraces to soak in the Bay of Naples views from volcanic tufa cliffs. Navigate café-dotted piazzas and citrus courtyards before ambling down to the fishing quarter of Marina Grande with its brightly painted boats.

Discover wood-inlay heritage in narrow lanes lined with intarsia workshops and delicatessens stacked with candied peel and pasta. Local pointers for gnocchi alla Sorrentina and sunset viewpoints make this a relaxed, scene-setting introduction to the town.

Get your bearings in the Eternal City, ticking icons like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona. Hear essential city hacks for espresso bars, trattorie and late-night gelato as cobbles and Baroque fountains set the mood.

Continue to the ancient valley for a dramatic view of the Colosseum from outside, with the arches of the Imperial Forums nearby. Stories of emperors, gladiators and pilgrims frame Rome’s layered streets, ready for deeper exploration during your stay.

Pedal the seafront on a coast-hugging cycle along the Promenade des Anglais, feeling Mediterranean breezes as you trace bays, sculptures and Belle Époque facades. Depending on time and pace, roll toward Villefranche-sur-Mer for postcard views over its deep natural harbor.

Guides share local stories—from artists to aristocrats—while pointing out safe routes and photo stops. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; bicycles and helmets are provided for a smooth, scenic ride.

Visit the family-run La Sorgente mozzarella farm in the hills above Sorrento to meet cheesemakers and see how they stretch fresh fior di latte by hand. Stroll farm terraces scented with citrus before sitting down to a rustic farm-to-table dinner.

Taste creamy mozzarella, house olive oil, garden vegetables and a splash of golden limoncello as the sun dips behind lemon groves. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on pasta cooking class in Rome. Learn to roll fresh sfoglia and shape noodles before finishing sauces like cacio e pepe or amatriciana under a local chef’s guidance.

Sit down to a convivial shared dinner with local wine, swapping travel stories while tasting the dishes you created. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; dietary requests are usually accommodated with advance notice.

Discover scent craft at a traditional French perfume house in Nice, where experts reveal how blossoms become elegant eaux de parfum. Learn the language of top, heart and base notes, and sample Riviera essences of jasmine and neroli that have inspired noses for generations.

Trace the region’s fragrance heritage from flower fields to flacons, hearing stories of Grasse and the Côte d’Azur ateliers. A short learn-the-art-of-fragrance session showcases blending techniques and the meticulous sourcing that defines classic French perfumery.

Explore Monaco by night, strolling the rock to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco and the old lanes of Le Rocher before descending to the glow of Monte Carlo. Stand before the Belle Époque facade of the Casino de Monte-Carlo and admire slick superyachts in Port Hercule.

Soak up Riviera elegance where movie stars, motorsport and monarchy meet. Step inside the gaming rooms if you wish (entry and tables are personal expense) and feel the high-roller atmosphere that’s defined this city-state for over a century.

Zip between cliff-clinging villages with your included pass through Cinque Terre National Park. Ride coastal tracks and wander pastel harbors like Vernazza and Manarola, tasting focaccia, anchovies and local white wines with sea spray in the air.

When conditions allow, follow sections of the Sentiero Azzurro coastal paths for balcony-views of terraced vines and wave-cut coves. Trains connect you swiftly, so you can mix village strolls, scenic lookouts and gelato stops without worrying about logistics.

Contiki

Glide the coastline with your crew on a corniche drive above the sapphire Mediterranean, tracing palm-lined bays and ochre towns between Nice and Monaco. This is a chance to pause for photos and reflection as headlands drop to glittering marinas and the sea changes from teal to deep cobalt.

Absorb the Riviera’s Belle Époque glamour along the Promenade des Anglais and the Baie des Anges. Hear how artists and royals turned these shores into winter salons of sunshine, where grand villas and gardens still frame the glittering Côte d’Azur.