Day 1
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2 – Arrival in Rome, Italy.
Time to rest or start exploring the “Eternal City.” At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively 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 and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. Then, time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (B)

Day 4 – Rome–Pisa–Florence.
North to Pisa for pictures of its amazing Leaning Tower. Continue to Florence, the capital of Tuscany and home to Renaissance splendor. (B,D)

Day 5 – Florence.
Follow your Local Guide to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture–studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Afternoon free to relax or to find out more about Florence’s artistic wealth. Why not join an optional dinner at a Tuscan restaurant? (B)

Day 6 – Florence–Milan–Lugano, Switzerland–Lake Maggiore, Italy**.
Drive through the Apennine hills past Bologna, home of Europe’s oldest university, to dynamic Milan. Orientation features its gothic DUOMO, glass–domed GALLERIA, and famed La Scala Opera House. Then, continue to Lugano in the Italian–speaking part of Switzerland. A leisurely break to stroll along the lake, window–shop the refined Via Nassa, or sip an espresso on the Piazza Riforma. Next, a scenic drive along Lake Maggiore, one of Italy’s most beautiful areas. Spend two nights at your elegant resort. (B,D)

** Departures 1027–1222 overnight in Milan instead of Lake Maggiore. Dinner on day 6 and Lugano visit not included

Day 7 – At Leisure by Lake Maggiore**.
A restful day to sleep in or maybe join an optional excursion to the baroque palace and peacock gardens of enchanting Isola Bella (open Mar. 26–Oct. 23, subject to change). (B,D)

** Departures 1027–1222 overnight in Milan instead of Lake Maggiore. Dinner on day 6 and Lugano visit not included

Day 8 – Lake Maggiore**–Verona–Venice.
East to Verona, medieval setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, to see Juliet’s Balcony and the well–preserved Arena. Join the locals for lunch before continuing to Venice, deemed by some the most romantic city in the world. (B)

** Departures 1027–1222 overnight in Milan instead of Lake Maggiore. Dinner on day 6 and Lugano visit not included

Day 9 – Venice.
Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Then, watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in the age–old manner. Later, discover Venice at your own pace or take an optional gondola ride. (B,D)

Day 10 – Venice–Ravenna–Assisi.
Follow the sparkling Adriatic coast to Ravenna to see the mosaics in the 6th–century BASILICA OF ST. APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. Afternoon arrival in Assisi. Visit the CHURCH OF ST. CLARE with your Local Guide and enjoy a pleasant walk to the massive 13th–century lower BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS. Time to take in this peaceful town on your own. (B,D)

Day 11 – Assisi–Pompeii–Sorrento.
Today, visit POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Overnight in the charming, bayside resort of Sorrento. (B)

Day 12 – Sorrento. Excursion to Capri.
Speed across the bay by JETFOIL to the Isle of Capri. Ride the FUNICULAR to Capri village for a guided visit of this pretty town. Free time to explore the little shops on the Piazzetta before returning to Sorrento. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 13 – Sorrento–Rome.
A short drive back to Rome. Tonight, consider saying arrivederci to your traveling companions at an optional festive dinner in one of Rome’s fine restaurants. (B)

Day 14
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)