Italy: Rome, Florence and Venice

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1. Day1 Flight to Rome and a first strollAthens → Rome

   A scheduled flight to Rome and a transfer to your hotel in the centre. In the early evening you set off on foot for Piazza Navona, with Bernini's baroque Fountain of the Four Rivers and cafés all around. A welcome dinner in a local trattoria brings Roman classics such as pasta with pecorino and black pepper.

   • Flight
   • Dinner
2. Day2 Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine HillRome: Colosseum – Roman Forum – Palatine Hill

   A guided walk through the Rome of the emperors: the Colosseum with its arena and towering tiers, the Roman Forum along the Sacred Way to the Arch of Titus, and the Palatine Hill with its view over the ruins. The afternoon is free for the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain, where tradition asks for a coin tossed over your shoulder.

   • On foot
   • Breakfast
3. Day3 The Vatican and an evening in TrastevereRome: Vatican – Trastevere

   Morning in the Vatican Museums, from the Gallery of Maps and the Raphael Rooms to the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's ceiling. Then St Peter's Basilica, with the dome Michelangelo designed and Bernini's bronze baldachin. In the evening you cross to Trastevere: ivy-covered lanes and dinner in a trattoria.

   • On foot
   • Breakfast · Dinner
4. Day4 Siena, Chianti and arrival in FlorenceRome – Siena – Chianti – Florence

   You leave Rome by coach and enter Tuscany. In Siena the Piazza del Campo opens like a shell beneath the Torre del Mangia, and the cathedral stands out in its striped marble. Lunch with a wine tasting is at a Chianti winery among cypress-lined hills; in the late afternoon you reach Florence.

   • Coach
   • Breakfast · Lunch
5. Day5 Florence: the dome, the David and the Ponte VecchioFlorence

   In Cathedral Square you look up at Brunelleschi's red dome, the Baptistery and Giotto's bell tower. Next come Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio, its jewellers' shops hanging over the Arno. At the Accademia Gallery Michelangelo's David awaits. The afternoon is free; if you like, climb to Piazzale Michelangelo for the panorama.

   • On foot
   • Breakfast
6. Day6 By train to Venice and St Mark's SquareFlorence – Venice

   A high-speed train takes you to Venice, and the station opens straight onto the Grand Canal. After the hotel transfer you stroll to St Mark's Square, with the basilica and its golden mosaics, the bell tower and the Doge's Palace. The evening is free for wandering over bridges and along lamplit alleys.

   • Train
   • Breakfast
7. Day7 Venice: canals, Rialto and a farewell dinnerVenice: canals – Rialto

   An early walk with your coordinator through the quiet canals before the streets fill up, past gondolas moored beside old palaces. You continue to the Rialto market and bridge, then ride down the Grand Canal by vaporetto. The afternoon is free or spent on an optional trip to Murano and Burano. In the evening, a farewell dinner of lagoon dishes.

   • Boat
   • Breakfast · Dinner
8. Day8 Return to AthensVenice → Athens

   A last breakfast in Venice and some free time for a coffee or a piece of Murano glass. Transfer to the airport and a scheduled flight back to Athens, with a phone full of photographs from three cities.

   • Flight
   • Breakfast