Rome, Florence & Venice
9 Days, 7 Nights

Day 1: International Flight
Board your overnight transatlantic flight. 

Day 2: Arrival in Rome
Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6 p.m. meet your tour director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a welcome dinner in one of Rome’s fine restaurants. (D)

Day 3: Rome
Sightseeing with your local guide starts with a visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (arranged next morning if closed today), world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings including The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. Proceed across the Tiber for a stroll along the Via Sacra at the Roman Forum, where Roman Legions marched in triumph, and finally visit the Colosseum and hear about gladiatorial combats. Then time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities: Tivoli, and an Italian feast at one of the fine restaurants. (B)

Day 4: Rome & Florence
Follow the Aurelian Way along the Tyrrhenian coast to Pisa. Here take your pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 16 feet out of the perpendicular. Then on to Florence, the splendid capital of Tuscany. (B,D)

Day 5: Florence
Guided sightseeing includes magnificent Santa Maria Del Fiore, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded Signoria Square. To top it off, admire Michelangelo’s celebrated David in the Gallery of Fine Arts. The afternoon is free for independent sightseeing and browsing through the shops in Piazza Santa Croce. Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. To give you a chance to dine at a fine Tuscan restaurant of your choice, we have not included dinner tonight. Ask your tour director for suggestions. (B)

Day 6: Florence & Venice
North through the fertile Lombardian plains to Verona, medieval setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. See Juliet’s Balcony and stroll around the picturesque market square. In the afternoon, another break on the way to Venice: visit the six-domed Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua. (B)

Day 7: Venice
Start morning sightseeing in style as you glide by private boat along the Giudecca canal to meet your resident expert. Highlights of your walking tour are St. Mark’s Square and the Byzantine splendor of St. Mark’s Basilica, lavish Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Also watch Venetian Glass Blowers fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Afterwards enjoy Venice at your own pace, or join an optional gondola ride. Tonight is your chance to sample the city’s fine restaurants. (B)

Day 8: Venice & Rome
A kaleidoscope of Italian landscapes parades past the coach windows on the way through the lush plains of the mighty River Po and across the wooded Etruscan Apennine mountain range. An exciting detour then takes you off the highway into the vine- and olive-clad Tuscan Hills which are the home of the popular Chianti wines. After a lunch break speed south along the Highway of the Sun. An optional festive dinner at one of Rome’s gourmet restaurants may be just the way to celebrate the success of your leisurely Italian vacation. (B) 

Day 9:Departure Home
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)

Trip Highlights:
Sightseeing with local guides: Rome, Florence, Venice 
Special Features: Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Michelangelo’s David, private transfer boat in Venice, Romeo & Juliet’s Verona, St. Anthony’s Padua, Chianti country.

Included: Scheduled transatlantic flights and airport transfers in Rome, services of a professional tour director, Hotels listed below or equivalent. Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, hotel taxes, service charges, and tips for baggage handling, 7 buffet breakfasts (B); 2 three-course dinners (D), including a special welcome dinner with wine in Rome, Private deluxe motorcoach featuring full air-conditioning, extra leg room, and emergency washroom.