• 4 Dinner (D)
• 9 Breakfast (B)

• Milan: A local historian brings Milan’s history to life, including the contributions of Leonardo da Vinci, during a guided walking tour.  See the impressive facade of the Milan Cathedral and the world-famous La Scala Theater.

Choose your dinner venue from a hand-picked selection of local restaurants in Baveno. This included Dine-Around evening lets you select the cuisine and ambience that appeal to you while dining near Lake Maggiore.

Each restaurant offers its own setting and approach to local food, making the choice part of the experience. It is a flexible way to enjoy an organised evening meal without everyone gathering around the same table or ordering from the same menu.

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Insight Vacations

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

Explore Milan with a local historian and discover stories from the city’s past, including Leonardo da Vinci’s influence. See the elaborate facade of Milan Cathedral and the exterior of La Scala, one of the world’s most celebrated opera houses.

Walk through the glass-vaulted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which links the cathedral square with La Scala. Its mosaics, ironwork and elegant shopfronts evoke the confidence of 19th-century Milan, while the surrounding streets reveal a city still shaped by design and commerce.

Share a welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant in Milan and meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers. The hosted meal offers a relaxed introduction to the group over Italian food rather than a formal gathering.

Milan’s dining culture pairs northern Italian traditions with the pace of a contemporary city. Settle in over conversation and a glass of wine, getting to know the people who will share your travels through the Dolomites, Venice and the Italian Lakes.

Choose a walking tour through Verona’s grand piazzas, seeing its remarkably preserved Roman Arena and a statue of Dante. The arena still hosts opera, giving this ancient monument an enduring place in the city’s cultural life.

Admire the Gothic tombs of the Scala family, whose rulers shaped medieval Verona. This is one of two included Verona walking experiences; choose it for a closer look at the city’s Roman heritage, civic squares and powerful medieval dynasty.

Choose a Shakespeare-themed walk through Verona and revisit the story of Romeo and Juliet amid the city’s streets and squares. Hear how Verona became the setting for one of literature’s best-known tragedies while taking in its historic architecture.

The walk leads to Piazza dei Signori, a square associated with the story on this tour. This is one of two included Verona walking experiences; choose it if you would rather explore the city through its literary reputation than its rulers and monuments.

Take in Trento’s historic streets, where stone architecture and contemporary buildings sit within a mountain-ringed city. Its compact centre offers a glimpse of northern Italy’s meeting point between Alpine and Italian cultures.

Trento’s grand squares and historic facades reflect centuries of trade and ecclesiastical power. Seeing the city’s streetscapes adds a distinctly urban perspective to a journey often defined by lakes and peaks, with the surrounding mountains never far from view.

Visit a winery near Conegliano to meet local producers and taste regional prosecco. Learn how growers and winemakers turn grapes from the Veneto’s hillside vineyards into the crisp, aromatic sparkling wine for which the area is known.

The Conegliano area lies within a landscape shaped by Alpine shelter and Adriatic breezes. Discover how prosecco’s production and character differ from Champagne, gaining an appreciation of a wine closely tied to its place of origin.

Watch expert artisans blow glass at a traditional Venetian workshop. See molten material shaped into delicate objects and learn about the heat, timing and practiced movements required to work it by hand.

Venetian glassmaking has been renowned for centuries, with techniques passed between generations of craftspeople. This workshop brings that heritage into view: rather than seeing only finished pieces, you can observe the skill behind their colour and form.

Cruise Venice by private boat as your Travel Director introduces the city from the water. Pass historic palazzi and churches along the Giudecca Canal, taking in the skyline around St Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.

Venice’s waterways served as its streets for centuries, making a boat a fitting way to understand the city. From the canal, facades once intended to impress arriving visitors reveal the wealth and maritime ambition of the Venetian Republic.

Glide through Venice’s canals by gondola, passing beneath old bridges and beside palace walls at water level. Listen to traditional songs as your gondolier steers through the narrower waterways.

The gondola was once an everyday means of travel in this city built on a lagoon. Its low vantage point offers a different view from the larger canals: worn stone steps, quiet reflections and architectural details easily missed from the pavement.

Discover Sirmione, a lakeside town set on a narrow peninsula extending into Lake Garda. Admire its castle and take in views across the water from this distinctive position between the lake’s shores.

The castle’s stone walls recall Sirmione’s medieval past, while the surrounding water gives the town its open, scenic character. The visit brings together a landmark and one of northern Italy’s most recognisable lake settings without losing sight of the town’s compact historic centre.

Stroll Baveno’s cobbled lanes and see its 16th-century square beside Lake Maggiore. The town’s streets offer an intimate view of lakeside life, with stone buildings and glimpses of the water close at hand.

Baveno sits on the western shore of a lake long favoured by travellers for its Alpine setting. Its small historic centre provides a quieter contrast to the grand villas and resort hotels found elsewhere around the Italian Lakes.

Explore Como on a town orientation, taking in its elegant streets, lakeside setting and views towards the Alpine foothills. Get a feel for a town where waterfront scenery and an active urban centre sit side by side.

Como has a longstanding silk-making tradition, part of the craftsmanship behind its reputation for style. Its position at the southern end of Lake Como also offers a clear sense of the landscape that has drawn visitors to these shores for generations.

Gather for a farm-to-table dinner by Lake Maggiore, accompanied by local Italian wines. Share a final evening with fellow travellers over dishes that celebrate regional ingredients, including the fresh fish highlighted for this lakeside meal.

The lake’s fishing communities and fertile surrounding countryside give the dinner its sense of place. With water and mountains defining the setting, the meal offers a relaxed opportunity to reflect on the landscapes and food traditions of northern Italy.

Explore more of Lake Como’s shoreline on an optional outing focused on its grand villas, aristocratic estates and lake views. The experience offers a closer look at the scenery beyond Como town.

For centuries, prominent families built retreats along these shores, drawn by the sheltered water and mountain backdrop. Specific villa entries are not stated in the tour details. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; ask your Travel Director what is available.

Cruise across Lake Maggiore towards the Borromean Islands on an optional excursion. From the water, enjoy views of the islands and the mountains rising beyond the lake.

The island group includes Isola Bella, known for its Borromeo palace and gardens. A cruise offers a different perspective on the lakeside landscape; island landings or palace entry are not specified in the tour details. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.