Venice Trip Overview
Being an heir to the world’s greatest Empires, Italy is well blessed with historical and cultural riches. In fact, our small group tour to Italy guarantees dozens of life-lasting memories. You will explore the best of Venice, Florence and Rome in an intimate group size of 8 travelers. Enjoy amazing local guides and fantastic experiences. Stay in a top-notch boutique hotels located right in the heart of the cities.
Additional Info
Duration: 9 days
Starts: Venice, Italy
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Venice Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Venice, Veneto, Italy
Being an heir to the world’s greatest Empires, Italy is well blessed with historical and cultural riches. In fact, our small group tour to Italy guarantees dozens of life-lasting memories. You will explore the best of Venice, Florence and Rome in an intimate group size of 8 travelers. Enjoy amazing local guides and fantastic experiences. Stay in a top-notch boutique hotels located right in the heart of the cities.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Venice
Stop At: Venice, Venice, Veneto
Welcome to Venice – one of the most charming cities of Italy. Upon arrival you meet your driver at the airport arrival hall. Private vehicle and water-taxi transfer to the hotel for the check-in.
The rest of the day is at your own leisure to relax after the trip.
Duration: 1 hour
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Al Theatro Palace, Venice, 4-star boutique hotel
Day 2: Sightseeing in Venice
Stop At: Ponte di Rialto, Ruga degli Orefici (Rialto) San Polo, 30125 Venice Italy
After breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide in the lobby and enjoy a wonderful walking city tour of all the must-see places of Venice.
We’ve carefully chosen the stops on this tour to give you a real insight into the city. You see the Rialto Bridge (and Rialto fish market), walk past the quiet streets, peaceful canals and go beyond the areas that visitors usually see. This is where Venice is hiding its best architecture and secret stories – and that’s what we’re out to explore.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Saint Mark’s Basilica, P.za San Marco, 328, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Discover are the iconic St. Mark’s Basilica, where you see the astonishing Pala D’Oro altar. You go up to Loggia dei Cavalli to enjoy the best panoramic views of St. Mark’s Square.
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Al Theatro Palace, Venice, 4-star boutique hotel
Day 3: Free Day in Venice & Train to Florence
Stop At: Florence, Florence, Tuscany
In the afternoon you meet your private driver for a transfer to the railway station. In about 2 hours you reach your next destination, Florence. Upon arrival, you are met by your private driver at the train station, who transfers you to the hotel for the check-in. The rest of the evening is free for you to relax.
Duration: 2 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Cerretani Firenze MGallery by Sofitel, boutique 4 star
Day 4: Florence Sightseeing & Wine Tasting
Stop At: Duomo, Duomo, Florence, Tuscany
After breakfast in your hotel, meet with your private guide and go on a comprehensive walking tour of Florence’s highlights.
Today’s program includes exploration of the Piazza del Duomo with a visit to the Baptistery dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
Your ticket to the Grande Museo del Duomo allows you to visit the other magnificent monuments of Piazza del Duomo in your free time within 72 hours: the Cathedral itself, the famous Dome, the Bell Tower, and the Cathedral Museum with works by Michelangelo and Donatello.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Piazza della Signoria, 50122, Florence Italy
As you proceed to the main square of the city – Piazza della Signoria – you pass through the heart of the historical center with its landmark sites like Piazza della Repubblica and the Strozzi Palace. Stroll down via Tornabuoni, one of the most beautiful streets of the city, famous for its fine shops.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Galleria dell’Accademia, Via Ricasoli, 58/60, 50122, Florence Italy
During the tour, we also visit the Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s famous colossal statue of David, a must-see in Florence.
We will also cross over the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio to enter the Oltrarno district where you see numerous local craftsmen shops and the beautiful Santo Spirito Church and Convent, built for the Augustinians. In this very part of the city, you can find an early work of Michelangelo dating back to when he was just 17 years old.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner: Enjoy a tasting of 3 different wines selected by the sommelier and paired with snacks.
Accommodation included: Cerretani Firenze MGallery by Sofitel, boutique 4 star
Day 5: Day at Leisure in Florence
Pass By: Florence, Florence, Tuscany
Today is a free day for you to enjoy and explore Florence. We recommend visiting a Market Centrale to have a taste of local foods.
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Cerretani Firenze MGallery by Sofitel, boutique 4 star
Day 6: High Speed Train & Highlights of Rome
Stop At: Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Rome Italy
Following breakfast in your Florence hotel, you check out and meet your driver for a transfer to the railway station. An hour and a half later you arrive in Rome. Your driver meets you and takes you to your downtown hotel where you meet with your guide and embark on a tour to discover the famous ancient treasures of the Eternal City.
You see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers, as well as witness the masterpieces by Bernini, Borromini, and many others.
After the tour, your guide takes you back to the hotel and you have the evening at leisure.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Rome Italy
The Pantheon in Rome is a true architectural wonder, explore it with your local guide.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, 00187 Rome Italy
The Spanish Steps are a set of steps dating from 1723, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinita dei Monti.
Duration: 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Hotel Dei Mellini, Rome, 4star hotel in a wonderful neighborhood
Day 7: Discovering Ancient Rome
Stop At: Roman Forum, Largo della Salara Vecchia 5/6, 00186 Rome Italy
In the morning after breakfast, you meet your guide to discover the famous ancient treasures of the Eternal City on a walking tour. Your first stop today is the iconic Roman Forum, situated on low ground between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. Dating back to the 3rd century A.D., the landmark served as the key political and ritual center of ancient Rome.
Today you can see columns and remains of ancient temples, arches, and buildings, such as the Temple of Caesar and the Arch of Septimius Severus, as well as the adjacent Palatine Hill, which was the site of the city’s first settlements.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Colosseum, Piazza del Colosseo, 00184 Rome Italy
The next place you discover today is Rome’s hallmark site – the Colosseum. Originally known by the name of Flavius amphitheater, it was the biggest and most imposing building of its kind in the Roman world, designed as an arena for the fights of Roman gladiators and could hold up to 70 thousand spectators.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Hotel Dei Mellini, Rome, 4star hotel in a wonderful neighborhood
Day 8: Vatican Sightseeing
Stop At: Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 00120 Vatican City Italy
In the morning after breakfast, you meet your guide and walk to a walled enclave and the world’s smallest independent state – Vatican*. When inside the Vatican, you visit private apartments of Julius II, Pinecone Courtyard, Gallery of the Maps, Gallery of the Tapestries and Gallery of Candelabra.
Next, you proceed to the Sistine Chapel, where you have enough time to admire Michelangelo’s famous frescoes and learn about the intense relationship between Pope Julius II and Michelangelo that drove the artist to create the greatest work of art the world has ever known.
The ending point of your tour is in St. Peter’s Square, where you can admire Michelangelo’s Dome and the gorgeous colonnades designed by Bernini.
After the tour of the Vatican, you enjoy a leisurely walk to the hotel with your guide and have a photo stop at the legendary Castel Sant’Angelo, built originally as a mausoleum, and then used by the popes as a fortress, refuge and a prison.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Sistine Chapel, Viale Vaticano, 00165 Vatican City Italy
Next, you proceed to the Sistine Chapel, where you have enough time to admire Michelangelo’s famous frescoes and learn about the intense relationship between Pope Julius II and Michelangelo that drove the artist to create the greatest work of art the world has ever known.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: St. Peter’s Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican City Italy
After a coffee break, your tour continues in the vast open spaces of St. Peter’s Basilica where you see a stunning Pieta – a world-famous work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo, and Bernini’s impressive Papal Canopy, a legacy left to the Basilica by the Barberini family.
The ending point of your tour is in St. Peter’s Square, where you can admire Michelangelo’s Dome and the gorgeous colonnades designed by Bernini.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Hotel Dei Mellini, Rome, 4star hotel in a wonderful neighborhood
Day 9: Departure from Rome
Stop At: Rome, Rome, Lazio
This is the last day of your amazing tour to Italy! After breakfast your driver meets you at the hotel lobby and takes you to the airport for your flight back home. We wish you a safe flight and hope to work on your future vacations!
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Hotel Dei Mellini, Rome, 4star hotel in a wonderful neighborhood