ITALY AT LEISURE - 2010

11 days incl. travel, or 10 days from Rome to Venice (LK)

Return to Italy Escorted Tours

Vacation Overview

This leisurely Globus Platinum Collection vacation features three nights each in Rome, Tuscany, and Venice. In Rome, guided sightseeing with a Local Guide includes the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter’s, Vatican Museums, and Sistine Chapel. Enjoy the wines and a special lunch at Verrazzano Castle in Chianti before arriving in Tuscany, where you will stay in pretty San Gimignano for three nights. Visit the Cathedral, sculpture-filled Signoria Square, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence to admire Michelangelo’s David. In Siena, a guided walking tour shows off the Piazza del Campo. Also enjoy your Globus Platinum Discovery—an olive oil tasting! Next up: St. Anthony’s Padua, then in Venice, enjoy a private boat-ride, visit St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, Doges’ Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and watch a glassblowing demonstration. Finally, Choose Your Experience when you select an included gondola ride or relax with a drink at the world-famous Café Florian on St. Mark’s Square—a perfect vacation!

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story La Piazza Della Signoria

"What’s the best vantage point to ponder the most illustrious town square in Florence, the Signoria? An outdoor table in the venerable Caffè Rivoire – preferably over a delicious, if not painfully expensive cioccolata con pane, a dark and mud-thick hot chocolate. Late at night, when the crowds have gone, you can search the long shadows and imagine that very little has changed here since the 1400s. The Signoria is the most elegant sculpture garden in Europe. Masterpieces include the splendid Neptune Fountain by Ammannati, Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli and a precise copy of Michelangelo’s David, all strategically poised in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. This grand public space has been the centerpiece of Florence since the 15th Century, the golden age when the city was established as the most beautiful in Europe. Eminent merchants in their ostentatious finery met here to discuss business in the midst of Florence’s raucous daily life."