Italian Intermezzo
8 Day Tour of Florence, Venice & Vatican City | Operated by InsightVacations
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8 Days
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2 Countries
Italy, Vatican City -
8 Cities
Lake Maggiore, Italian Lakes, Venice, Pisa, Florence, Orvieto, Rome, Vatican -
10 Meals
3 Dinner with Wines, 7 Breakfasts -
Pace: Comfortable
Mainly 2–3-night stays in each location. Comfortable travel days with numerous stops. Requires 1-3 miles of walking per day that might involve some uneven surfaces, such as cobblestones and stairs.
Trip Itinerary
Welcome to Italy. Greet your Travel Director at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. Later, join your Travel Director and head to an elegant restaurant known for serving delicious fresh produce. Your Welcome Dinner provides the opportunity to mingle and get to know your fellow travelers over a pleasant evening.
Journey through the beautiful Italian lake district, past Lakes Iseo and Garda to the floating city of Venice, Queen of the Adriatic. Your hotel offers authentic Venetian charm, as it reflects the history and culture of the surrounding area. As night falls, why not savor the magic of St. Mark’s square with its orchestras and al-fresco cafes?
Wake up ready to embrace this romantic city. What better way to see Venice than from a private boat, sailing 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 awe. While here, join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience during a visit to a traditional arts center, where you can see how beautiful handcrafted glass is made by expert glassblowers, safeguarding traditional skills. Spend the afternoon and evening as you wish or join an Optional Experience to the island of Burano. Leave the hustle of St Mark's Square behind on a delightful private cruise around the islands of the Venetian lagoon. Alight at the island of Burano, famous for its candy colored houses, artisan lace makers and leaning bell tower that would give Pisa a good run for its money. Enjoy a superb meal sampling the local specialties with wine included.
Explore Florence with Insight Choice. Choose to visit the Accademia Museum and see Michelangelo’s David. After, continue on foot to admire the multi-colored marble cathedral, bell tower and baptistery, where Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise have been recreated in all their glory. Continue into the Piazza della Signoria, still the political heart of Florence and an open-air gallery of Renaissance masterpieces. Spend time gazing at statues such as Neptune, Hercules and Cacus along the front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Alternatively, take a stroll with your Travel Director to Piazza Santa Croce to enjoy a typical Italian treat in a local café, where you will be in the perfect spot to admire the basilica and indulge in people-watching the elegant Florentines.
Learn the 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. Choose to take an excursion to Tuscany's most famous hill-top town, San Gimignano. Soak up the atmosphere of this ancient gem which has remained intact since the 14th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the evening, enjoy the best of Tuscan cuisine served with local wine, including of course, Chianti from the vineyards of Tuscany.
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. Join an optional experience, Piazzas & Fountains. With your Local Expert, take a "passeggiata" (stroll) to enjoy the backstreets and secrets of pedestrian Rome. Be amazed at sights such as the fascinating Pantheon and the beauty of 17th-Century fountains and beautiful Piazzas. 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 City with your Local Expert. Cross the Tiber river to enjoy ancient Rome. See the incredible Circus Maximus famous for its chariot races, and the iconic Colosseum. Enjoy fast-tracked entry into the Vatican Museums with a Local Expert. Admire the Papal art collection, before entering the Sistine Chapel to marvel at Michelangelo’s masterpiece on its ceiling. Dine on Lazio's culinary specialties at Ristorante Di Rienzo, located beside the Pantheon, an architectural masterpiece and symbol of Italy.
Bid farewell to the glories of Italy. Departure transfers arrive at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
Price Includes
Dining Summary- - 3 Dinner with Wines (DW)
- - 7 Breakfasts (B)
- Enjoy a special Welcome Dinner with wine, as you get to know your fellow travelers.
- During dinner, meet a sommelier who will talk you through a tasting of some of Tuscan's finest wines.
- Experience a special Celebration Dinner inside the Vatican's Anima Mundi Museum.
- With your Travel Director cruise to St. Mark's Square and see the Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sighs and St. Mark's Basilica.
- Delight in the magic of this charming city as you are serenaded, traveling through the atmospheric canals by gondola.
- Your Local Expert will show you the baptistery bristling with marble spines, the colonnaded bell tower lurching behind the 11th century cathedral and of course, the famous Leaning Tower in the Square of Miracles.
- Take a stroll with your Travel Director to Piazza Santa Croce and immerse yourself in the essence of la dolce vita of Florence while you enjoy a typical Italian treat in a local café.
- 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.
- See the area around Santa Croce Basilica, famous for the quality of its luxury goods and witness a gold and leatherwork demonstration.
- During your orientation of this Umbrian hilltop town with your Travel Director, visit Piazza del Duomo to admire the cathedral.
- Discover ancient treasures of Rome with a passionate local. See Circus Maximus and the Ancient Forum, and stand beside the Colosseum, which bears witness to the limitless courage of the gladiators.
- Witness the ancient skill of glassblowing, now practised by precious few masters. Watch artisans create delicate works of art using rare traditional practices. The workshop's master craftsmen teach visitors about the traditional craft of glassblowing and its history which dates back to the 15th century. Every visit helps to support the workshop and the survival of this traditional craft. The workshop advances UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
- Gain fast-track access into the Vatican Museums, witness the genius of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel and view the splendid dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Optional Experiences
Optional Experiences are subject to change. Your Travel Director will supply you with a final list of Optional Experiences available on your trip. Optional Experiences cannot be booked online; they can be purchased during your trip through your Travel Director.
Isola Bella (Available on Day 1)The premier attraction of Lake Maggiore is the Borromean Islands. We'll take a private boat over to Isola Bella, the most famous island, renowned for its incredible palace and stunning Botanical Gardens. Our Local Expert will take us on a guided tour of this privately-owned palace, with free time to admire the gardens. A must!
Adult Price: €54 Magical Venice (Available on Day 2)Venice can be Europe's most romantic city in the evening, offering dramatic landscapes with buildings that dazzle as the sun sets and the lights go on. Sit back and take it all in as private water taxis take you to the center of it all, Piazza San Marco, where we have seats reserved outside a famous Venetian cafe, in front of a live orchestra and in view of those illuminated St Mark's sights. Our private water taxis will also take us the length of the Grand Canal, under the Rialto Bridge, seeing Venice at its most magical.
Adult Price: €61 Hidden Venice (Available on Day 3)To only experience Venice's big set pieces is to miss out on a hidden world full of surprises! Join a Local Expert for a fascinating walk through some of the lesser known quarters of Venice. The back lanes and ‘campi’, small squares, where tourists seldom tread are full of history and great places to sample local life.
Adult Price: €37 Burano Excursion & Meal (Available on Day 3)Leave the hustle of St Mark's Square behind on a delightful private cruise around the islands of the Venetian lagoon. Alight at the island of Burano, a photographer's paradise, famous for its candy colored houses, artisan lace makers and leaning bell tower that would give Pisa a good run for its money. Enjoy a superb meal sampling the local specialties with wine included. An excursion not to be missed!
Adult Price: €82 San Gimignano Excursion (Available on Day 5)A wonderful excursion with our Local Expert to Tuscany's most famous hill-top town! Visit San Gimignano, considered a medieval Manhattan, due to its towers which dominate the skyline. Soak up the unique atmosphere of this ancient gem which has remained intact since the 14th century and today is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Adult Price: €40 Tuscan Dinner at Villa Machiavelli (Available on Day 5)Through the Chianti hills, we'll drive past vineyards to a delightful hamlet. Our destination is the ancient stone house of Machiavelli, where the great political theorist wrote his immortal work, ‘The Prince'. After a welcome drink and a visit of the villa and its wine-cellars, we'll enjoy the best of Tuscan cuisine accompanied by great music and drinks, including of course, Chianti from the Villa's own vines.
Adult Price: €74 Tuscan Dinner & Cooking Demonstration (Available on Day 5)Florence and Tuscany are renowned for their rich gastronomic heritage. Tonight we'll travel into the hills near Florence to the northernmost part of the Chianti, where a local chef will introduce you to the dishes that make Tuscan cuisine famous throughout the world. This wonderful cooking demonstration, with superb food and wine, will provide warm and genuine Tuscan hospitality.
Adult Price: €76 Piazzas & Fountains (Available on Day 6)With our Local Expert, let's take a "passeggiata" (stroll) to enjoy the backstreets and secrets of pedestrian Rome. Be amazed at sights such as the fascinating Pantheon and the beauty of 17th-Century fountains and beautiful piazzas. Come and enjoy the Rome of the Romans.
Adult Price: €44 Roman Dinner Party (Available on Day 6)Enjoy an evening of delicious Roman cuisine with drinks and a great Italian ambiance.
Adult Price: €71