• 5 Dinner (D)
• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• 4 & 5-star stays
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants

• Rome: Savor dinner at a uniquely Roman restaurant, offering a perfect exploration of Lazio’s typical flavors.
• Tuscany: Savor fantastic regional favorites as you relax over a leisurely dinner paired with local wine. Expect welcoming, countryside cooking that lets the fresh ingredients do the talking.
• Rome: Enjoy a dinner of delicious Italian cuisine and wine, accompanied by the rich tremolo of some of Italy’s best-loved songs.

• Vatican City: Visit the Vatican Museums and witness the genius of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

• Florence: Join your Travel Director on a short walk to a local spot loved by residents. Sample a classic Italian treat and hear how it became a staple of the area. It’s a chance to experience the flavors locals grow up with and return to time and again.
• Florence: Stand beside Michelangelo’s monumental statue, ‘David’, in the Accademia Gallery, and admire the exquisite technique and absorbing history behind the world’s most famous sculpture.

Discover the heart of the Holy See as you join a guided visit through the Vatican’s treasure-filled galleries to the Sistine Chapel. Gaze up at Michelangelo’s frescoes—from the Creation scenes to the Last Judgement—before stepping into the vastness of St Peter’s Basilica, a pinnacle of Renaissance devotion and artistry.

Hear stories of papal patrons and master painters while admiring marble corridors and luminous mosaics. The basilica’s grandeur, from Bernini’s bronze canopy to the soaring dome, sets a contemplative mood amid centuries of faith and power. On rare occasions of restricted access, an equivalent visit to the Capitoline Museums may be provided.

Explore Rome’s imperial heart on a panoramic orientation, taking in the Circus Maximus, the triumphal Arch of Constantine, and storied Palatine Hill. Continue inside the amphitheatre that defined an empire as you step inside the Colosseum, where stone tiers once thundered with gladiatorial spectacle.

Trace the city’s rise through triumphs, rituals, and civic drama while your guide layers legend and archaeology. Weathered travertine, echoing corridors, and views across the Forum reveal how power, performance, and public life converged here at the epicenter of Roman civilization.

Walk the streets of Renaissance Florence, pausing beneath the patterned facades of the Duomo and Giotto’s Campanile and amidst the statuary of Piazza della Signoria. In artisan workshops, observe an artisan leather and gold demonstration that connects modern craftsmanship with centuries of Florentine skill.

Hear how Medici patronage powered new ideas in art, science, and banking as you admire marble inlays and city palazzi. The scent of worked leather and the gleam of hand-finished metal reveal the city’s enduring dedication to beautiful, finely made objects.

Stand face to face with genius at the Accademia Gallery, home to Michelangelo’s David. Study the marble’s living surface, the sinewed arm, and the alert gaze; appreciate the statue’s contrapposto stance and the technical daring that transformed raw stone into enduring marble perfection.

This is part of a Florence choice experience at no additional cost, allowing you to focus your time on masterworks that redefined Renaissance ideals of beauty, civic pride, and the heroic human form.

Follow your Travel Director on a short neighborhood stroll to join a short walk and sample a classic Florentine treat in a spot cherished by residents. Savor simple, balanced flavors that locals return to over generations in a neighborhood spot loved by locals.

Hear how seasonal ingredients and artisan methods shaped Florence’s food culture. This is part of a Florence choice experience at no additional cost—an intimate way to taste traditions that anchor daily life in the Renaissance city.

Visit the UNESCO-listed Piazza dei Miracoli, where bright Tuscan light washes over the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the grand Romanesque cathedral, and the acoustically famed baptistery. Your orientation highlights the harmony of white marble and sweeping lawns beneath an open sky.

Learn how soft subsoil caused the bell tower’s tilt and why medieval sculptors and architects turned this field into a statement of civic pride and sacred devotion in the maritime republic’s golden age.

Cruise the Giudecca Canal by private boat to see waterfront palazzi reflected in the lagoon’s shifting light. Glide past the lacework Gothic of the Doge’s Palace and arrive at expansive St Mark’s Square, Venice’s ceremonial stage framed by domes, arcades, and campanile.

Absorb stories of merchants, doges, and explorers who steered a maritime republic across seas and centuries. From boat wake to marble facade, Venice reveals itself as a city shaped by water and pageantry.

Glide by gondola along narrow waterways where stone walls meet glimmering tides and arched bridges frame quiet vistas. Your gondolier steers through quiet back-canals, offering an intimate view of Venetian life behind facades and moorings.

Hear the echo of oar against water as centuries-old palazzi slip by at eye level. It’s a serene moment to soak in the city atmosphere, suspended between reflection and the gentle rhythm of the lagoon.

Step inside a working studio to watch master glassblowers turn glowing gathers of molten glass into delicate forms. Learn how centuries-old techniques, refined since the 15th century, still guide artisans in shaping, blowing, and finishing each piece within the Venetian tradition.

Feel the furnace’s heat, hear tools clink against the bench, and see color bloom as oxides meet flame. This living craft illuminates Venice’s blend of innovation, trade, and meticulous artistry.

With a Local Specialist, walk medieval lanes to the hilltop Basilica of St Francis, where Giotto’s frescoes trace the saint’s life in tender human scenes. Down on the plain, see St Mary of the Angels, sheltering the Porziuncola and the Chapel of the Transitus.

Encounter Umbrian stone glowing pink at dusk and a spiritual legacy that shaped European art and devotion. Assisi’s quiet streets and sacred spaces invite reflection amid extraordinary craftsmanship and faith.

Cruise by jetfoil across the Bay of Naples to Capri, where limestone cliffs plunge into cobalt water. In the hilltop lanes of Capri town, your Local Specialist leads a relaxed exploration of boutiques, cafes, and whitewashed lanes opening to sudden sea views.

Hear how emperors, poets, and film stars fell under the island’s spell. Between pine-scented slopes and sunlit squares, Capri pairs Mediterranean glamor with timeless geological drama.

Step into Roman daily life as you walk the cobbled streets of Pompeii with a Local Specialist. Stand in the Forum of Pompeii, peek into bakeries and thermopolia, and admire frescoed villas and shops preserved since the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius.

From rutted cart tracks to painted walls, each detail reveals a bustling city stilled in an instant. Archaeology here is immediate—human, architectural, and hauntingly vivid.

Meet the Barone family on the volcanic terraces on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius for a farm-to-table lunch. Learn about Piennolo tomatoes—an endangered local variety—while exploring sustainable fields where heritage crops are protected through sustainable cultivation and low-impact methods.

Discover how rich, mineral soils shape flavor as you taste sauces and preserves made steps from the vines. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER experience supports local biodiversity within the Vesuvius landscape.

Sit down with fellow travelers to meet your Travel Director over a convivial welcome dinner. Savor seasonal dishes from Roman cucina—perhaps artichokes, cacio e pepe, or amatriciana—paired with regional wine as introductions turn to lively conversation.

Absorb the city’s evening rhythm beyond the doorway: vespas, church bells, and animated streets. This shared table sets a warm tone for the journey and invites you to raise a glass to la dolce vita.

Settle in for a countryside-inspired feast celebrating Tuscan regional dinner traditions. Expect rustic antipasti, handmade pastas, grilled meats, and olive oil-laced vegetables complemented by local wine from nearby hills.

Hear how terrain and climate shape Sangiovese and classic recipes passed down through generations. The focus on seasonal countryside flavors and slow-cooked recipes captures Tuscany’s enduring balance of simplicity, quality, and convivial hospitality.

Conclude your Italian journey with a dinner with operatic performance in Rome. As courses arrive, singers fill the room with beloved arias and ensembles, bringing Verdi, Puccini, and Rossini to life in an intimate setting.

Between candlelight and applause, the melodies of Naples and the great opera houses echo through the evening. It’s a fitting celebration of music, cuisine, and the romance of a Roman evening.

Insight Vacations