7 Cities of Italy

All hotels used in Italy are good quality. All rooms are reserved with private bathrooms etc. and hotel features will include restaurant and bar facilities. Hotel meals will be served in accordance with your holiday itinerary.

‘Overnight’ hotels are family run or city style.

Day 1
Departure from selected local pick up points and travel to the channel port from where we take the short sea crossing to the Continent. We continue to make our way to Eastern France where overnight accommodation has been reserved on a bed and continental breakfast basis.

Day 2
After breakfast we continue to Italy and make our way to the Lake Garda area where accommodation has been reserved for the next 3 nights on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

Today we visit the charming city of Verona, on the banks of the River Adige. The Roman amphitheatre is the best preserved in Italy and famed the world over for its Opera Festival. The Piazza Bra is crowded with folk watching the world go by from a seat in one of the numerous pavement cafes whilst nearby the maze of 13th century streets has a sense of troubled history chronicled in Shakespeare’s tale of star crossed lovers which was set amongst Verona’s brooding alleyways and hidden gardens.

Our included excursion today takes us to incomparable Venice. On arrival you can join an optional tour of this breathtakingly beautiful place. There are some hundred or so islands linked by bridges or gondolas and water taxis ply their trades on the beautiful Grand Canal. The vast expanse of St Marks Square with its sumptuous cathedral, clock tower and the Doges Palace is one of the world’s great sights. Close by joining the Palace to the prison the famous ‘Bridge of Sighs’ afforded condemned men a last view of the beauty of Venice en route to the gallows. Away from St Marks and the grand cathedral a labyrinth of narrow streets awaits even more exploration. Venice walking tour - £31.00 per person

After breakfast we bid a fond farewell to Lake Garda and travel into The Province of Umbria. We take in fabled Assisi – the hilltop pilgrimage at the heart of which is the Basilica of St Francis – one of Italy’s great treasures. There is an outstanding art collection including the famous Giotto frescoes, (still undergoing restoration), matched by the timeless beauty of the works of Cavallini and Martini in the more sombre ‘lower church’. Later on we travel on to Chianciano Terme – our next holiday base. This popular spa resort lies some 550 metres above sea level. There is an excellent selection of shops and small bars, cafes and restaurants. Here accommodation has been reserved for the next 4 nights on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

Today we travel to Rome. Here over 2,000 years of history come alive in the streets and buildings monuments and ruins. On arrival you can join our optional guided tour which will take in the Colosseum and the Forum and the Baroque fountains into which many a coin has been thrown. See the Vatican City on the Tiber’s west bank – the great dome of St Peter’s looks over the vast square, or the nearby Sistine Chapel houses Michael Angelo’s fabled frescoes. Throughout the city there are elegant piazzas, delightful gardens and sophisticated shopping streets. Cost of Rome sightseeing tour - £19 per person – no admission charges included

We visit exquisite Florence today – Here you will have the opportunity to see for yourself the magnificent Florentine skyline dominated by the dome of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Don’t miss the famous art galleries.

Our final excursion is into the rolling Tuscan Hills. We take in the great city of Siena – one of the most perfectly preserved mediaeval cities in Europe. We then head into the hills to San Gimignano with its beautiful towers, mediaeval walls and cathedral.

After breakfast, sadly it is time to bid a fond farewell to Italy as we commence our journey home. We will make our way to our overnight hotel where accommodation is reserved on a bed and continental breakfast basis.

Day 10 -
After breakfast we will continue to make our way back to the channel port from where we take the short sea crossing to the UK and onwards back to your local area.

Return Coach travel by ‘First Class’ Harry Shaw Coach

Channel crossing either by ferry or Eurotunnel

2 nights bed and Continental breakfast accommodation in France / Germany – One night on outward and One night on return journey – city style or family run hotels.

3 nights dinner, bed and breakfast accommodation in The Lake Garda Area.

4 Nights dinner, bed and breakfast acommodation in the Chianciano Terme area.

Excursions as detailed in the Itinerary.

Not Included:

Personal expenditure, gratuities etc

Meals or drinks en route or during your stay other than stated

Single room supplement

Travel insurance

Any admission fees during excursions other than stated.

Optional Excursions