• 4 Dinner (D)
• 9 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Lunch (L)

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

Insight Vacations

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

Meet your Travel Director and fellow travellers over a welcome dinner with wine in Rome. Share a table and settle into the convivial rhythm of Italian dining.

In a city where meals are an important part of social life, the evening offers a relaxed introduction to your group. Conversation, regional flavours and a glass of wine set the tone for exploring the Eternal City together.

Explore Vatican City with a Local Expert and fast-track entry to the Vatican Museums. View works from the papal collections and look up at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, where scenes from Genesis unfold across the frescoes.

Continue to St Peter’s Basilica, a defining work of Renaissance architecture. Access to the basilica or museums may be restricted on some departures; if museum tickets are unavailable, the visit is replaced by the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

Discover ancient Rome with a visit to the Colosseum, the vast amphitheatre built for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Its surviving arches reveal the scale and engineering of the imperial capital.

See the Circus Maximus, where chariots once raced before enormous crowds, and take in the Arch of Constantine and Palatine Hill. Together, these landmarks trace Rome’s story from its legendary beginnings to the height of imperial power.

Walk through the historic centre of Florence to admire the marble-clad cathedral, bell tower and baptistery. See the recreated Gates of Paradise on the baptistery before entering Piazza della Signoria, the city’s enduring civic heart.

Pause beside the sculptures outside Palazzo Vecchio, including Neptune, Hercules and Cacus. Medieval streets and Renaissance monuments sit close together here, revealing the artistic ambition that made Florence a centre of European culture.

Choose to visit Florence’s Accademia Gallery and stand before Michelangelo’s David. View the sculpture at close range, from its poised stance to the detail carved into its marble surface.

Created in the early 16th century, David became a powerful symbol of the Florentine Republic. This included Insight Choice is an alternative to the Travel Director-led walk and Italian treat, allowing you to focus your Florence experience on Renaissance art.

Choose a short walk with your Travel Director to a local Florence spot favoured by residents. Sample a classic Italian treat and hear how it became part of everyday life in the area.

This included Insight Choice offers a more informal way to experience the city through its neighbourhood flavours and food traditions. It is an alternative to visiting the Accademia Gallery, so you can select the Florence activity that most appeals to you.

Discover Florence’s tradition of gold and leather craftsmanship near the historic Santa Croce neighbourhood. Watch local craftspeople at work and learn about the techniques behind two of the city’s long-established trades.

Florentine workshops have supplied finely made goods for generations, drawing on skills developed alongside the city’s artistic heritage. Seeing the work in progress gives a closer view of the hands and materials behind familiar Tuscan designs.

Gather for a local dinner in Florence featuring Tuscan flavours and wine. Enjoy a leisurely meal with fellow travellers in the heart of the city, where conversation is as much a part of the occasion as the food.

Tuscan cooking is known for making the most of regional ingredients and straightforward preparations. This hosted dining experience offers time to appreciate that tradition around the table rather than as a passing taste.

Explore Pisa’s Square of Miracles with a Local Expert and see its celebrated group of medieval monuments. Admire the cathedral, the richly detailed baptistery and the Leaning Tower, the cathedral’s famously tilted bell tower.

Set on an open expanse of grass, the pale marble buildings make Pisa’s former wealth and maritime importance visible at a glance. Expert commentary adds context to the architecture and the engineering story behind the tower’s unmistakable lean.

Visit Il Poggio organic farm in the Tuscan countryside for a guided walk among its olive and grape cultivation. Learn how the farm produces olive oil and wine, then taste its wines and olive oil with views across the rolling hills.

Sit down to a dinner of Tuscan specialities prepared with locally sourced ingredients. The combination of working farm, regional produce and shared meal connects the flavours on the table to the landscape around you.

Travel by private boat along Venice’s waterways as your Travel Director introduces the city from the water. Pass palazzi spanning several centuries and take in views of the Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs and St Mark’s Basilica.

Venice was built to be approached by boat, and its waterfront facades still express the wealth of the former maritime republic. This orientation offers a clear sense of the city’s layout and an unusually revealing perspective on its architecture.

Visit a traditional Venetian glassblowing workshop and watch skilled artisans shape molten glass into handcrafted pieces. Learn about the tools, heat and practiced movements involved in a craft that demands precise timing.

Glassmaking has been closely associated with Venice for centuries, particularly with the island of Murano. The demonstration brings that heritage into focus, showing how techniques passed between generations remain part of the lagoon’s living craft culture.

Glide through Venice on an included gondola serenade, passing beneath bridges and alongside historic palaces. From the low seat of the boat, notice carved doorways, waterside facades and the changing sounds of the canals.

Gondolas were once an everyday means of travelling through this city without roads. Today, the ride offers a distinctive view of Venice’s intimate waterways, away from the broader perspective of its main boat routes.

Enjoy a traditional Venetian dinner centred on regional dishes and seasonal produce. Share the table with fellow travellers and explore flavours shaped by the city’s lagoon setting.

Venetian cooking has long drawn on ingredients from both the water and the nearby mainland. This included meal gives you a dedicated opportunity to experience the city’s food culture in a relaxed dining setting, rather than simply admiring Venice from its canals and squares.

Explore Pompeii with a Local Expert on an optional excursion from Rome. Walk through streets and remains of a Roman town buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, with the volcano and Bay of Naples forming a striking backdrop.

The preserved site offers rare insight into daily life nearly two millennia ago. The journey also passes the historic Abbey of Montecassino. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover San Gimignano on an optional excursion into the Tuscan hills. Explore the medieval hilltop town and take in its distinctive towers rising above the surrounding countryside.

Wealthy families built these towers as symbols of status, leaving a skyline that still sets San Gimignano apart from other Tuscan towns. The visit offers a closer look at medieval life beyond Florence, framed by views of the region’s rolling green landscape. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.