Welcome to Italy!

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Fuel your full day of sightseeing with pastries, juice, authentic Italian espresso and more at your hotel’s included continental breakfast. Then board your deluxe motorcoach for the scenic drive to Assisi, with time at leisure to explore this medieval city. It is the birthplace of St. Francis and is still surrounded
by its ancient walls. Here, we suggest you visit the Basilica of Saint Francis with its early Renaissance masterpieces
by Giotto and Cimabue. Lunch is on your own. Proceed to Siena to take in views of the town square, Piazza del Campo, where the world-famous horse race, the Palio, takes place every year. Also see the elegant Palace and the Cathedral. Reach your hotel in glorious Florence, the capital of Tuscany, in time for an included, multi-course dinner featuring Italian specialties—an ideal time to get to know your fellow travelers.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Today’s sightseeing tour is dedicated to exploring Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. Visit the beautiful Piazza del Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery of St. John, the Academy of Fine Arts Gallery housing Michelangelo’s David, and Santa Croce, the 13th-century Franciscan church with Cimabue’s famous crucifix. Lunch is on your own; perhaps sit at an outdoor café for a typical Italian mid-day meal. Be sure to save room for some exquisite gelato! With your afternoon at leisure, you may want to check out the many shops and stalls at the Ponte Vecchio, where you can browse for Italian leather goods and other souvenirs. Meet back at your conveniently located hotel for an included dinner tonight.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
After breakfast, depart for the optional excursion to Pisa. Thousands of visitors flock here every year to see its renowned Leaning Tower, which is actually the bell tower for the town’s cathedral. It started leaning during construction way back in 1173—it’s amazing the tower still stands! Sightseeing here allows plenty of time for photographs of not only the tower, but the majestic cathedral and baptistery, too. Take some time to stroll around the Campo dei Miracoli (“Field of Miracles”) in the heart of town, where lunch is on your own. Then it’s on to Padua, for a short visit to St. Anthony’s Basilica; locals call this historic church simply “Il Santo.” St. Anthony’s remains are found in one of the basilica’s chapels, and people make pilgrimages here from all over the world. Continue on to Venice, with its romantic canals, in time for dinner at your hotel.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Glorious Venice, with its 177 islands, 150 canals and 400 bridges, is your playground this morning; sightseeing includes panoramic views of famous of St. Mark’s Square (watch out for pigeons!) and the ornate Doge’s Palace, once home to the aristocrats of Venice. Also stop at a shop that sells authentic, hand-blown Murano glass; centuries ago, the glassmakers who lived on the small island of Murano were known the world over for their art, even rising to Venice’s upper-class because of their extraordinary talents. With the afternoon at leisure, you may want to linger over lunch at a sidewalk café—be sure to try some gelato! Or perhaps take a ride in a traditional, hand-built gondola—after all, an authentic gondola ride on Venice’s canals just may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

+ Included: Breakfast
After another sumptuous hotel breakfast, depart for San Marino, the third smallest country in Europe after Monaco and Vatican City. This tiny nation has its own currency and stamps, and has preserved its political system over the past nine centuries. San Marino is nestled up against a peak called Monte Titano, so during lunch on your own, enjoy the scenic mountain view. In the late afternoon, arrive at your hotel in Rome, where dinner is on your own.
Italy

+ Included: Breakfast
Morning sightseeing begins at 8 a.m. this morning. Depart your hotel to see Rome’s most famous and photogenic sights: Fontana di Trevi, immortalized on film in the 1953 well-loved comedy, Roman Holiday; the Pantheon, an ancient archaeological site dating back to 125 A.D.; Castel Sant’Angelo, built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a tomb for himself and his family; and St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, which are actually located in Vatican City, the walled enclave within Rome. Spend the afternoon at leisure, either resting in your hotel, exploring Rome’s other ancient ruins, or strolling through an art museum. Dinner is also on your own tonight.

+ Included: Breakfast and dinner
Board your coach this morning as it whisks you south along the “sun route” motorway, driving through the regions of Lazio and Campania—you’ll have a great view of the Abbey of Montecassino along the way. Upon arrival in Naples, take a short panoramic tour of this city rich in history. You’ll see the fishing port of Mergellina; Castel dell’Ovo (“Egg Castle”), built in the 1st century; Piazza del Plebiscito, the main square in Naples; the 18th-century Royal Palace; and the Maschio Angioino, also known as the Castel Nuovo (“New Castle”), a 13th-century home for royalty. Stop for lunch on your way to Pompeii to visit the excavations of the Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in 79 A.D. It was covered in ash for hundreds of years until the ancient city was uncovered in 1748. Because the city was so well preserved, it gives archeologists—and visitors—an unusual peek into the daily life of Romans in the 1st century. Leave Pompeii and drive along the coast to arrive in Sorrento in time for dinner.

+ Included: Breakfast
After breakfast, board a ferryboat to the lovely resort island of Capri, where, weather and sea conditions permitting, you’ll visit the Blue Grotto in small rowing boats. This sea cave appears to be lit from the bottom of the ocean, and gives off a mystical fluorescent-blue hue. Eat lunch with the group, then it’s time to explore Capri on your own. You may want to visit San Michele’s gardens, for a bird’s-eye-view of the island. In the late afternoon, return to your lovely hotel in Rome.

+ Included: Breakfast
After breakfast, bid arrivederci to your fellow travelers. No matter what your travel plans, the experts at Italy 4 Real can help you with the arrangements.

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