Call to book01904 734 939
Tour Search
#Favourites
Southern Europe & The Mediterranean

Italian Explorer

Save
4.1 stars(22 reviews)
Gallery

Discover the historic beauty of Italy

You are viewing the 2022 itinerary. Select your departure year
20222023
10 days From £1,599 per person

2022 Tour code: 22ITS

About the tour

Explore the heart of classical Italy, discover the ancient imperial relics of Rome, the artistic treasures of Florence and the striking Leaning Tower of Pisa, as well as the Floating City of Venice.

Highlights

View Dates & Pricing

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London & Lyon

You meet at London St Pancras where you board the Eurostar service to Paris. Change trains and continue to Lyon. Nestled on the banks of the Rhône and Saône, Lyon is France's second largest city, and you spend the night here in a local hotel.

Includes
  • Dinner
Day 2 - Padova

Leaving Lyon, you travel to Padova. Nestled on the banks of the River Bacchiglione in the Veneto region just to the west of Venice, Padova, or Padua, is one of the oldest cities in northern Italy. With its frescoed Scrovegni Chapel, 13th-century Basilica, Old Town filled with stylish cafés and university that was established in 1222 (making it the second oldest in Italy), Padova's streets are steeped in history. You check into your hotel for the next two nights.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Venice

Travel by train to the nearby 'Floating City' of Venice. Enjoy a tour of the elegant city's main sights, including vibrant St Mark's Square and the stunning Basilica. The rest of the day is free for you to explore Venice at your own pace. Perhaps take a gondola ride along the Grand Canal. Or, take a relaxed stroll exploring the narrow alleyways and grand squares, where local bars and restaurants offer 'cicchetti'. This Venetian form of tapas is the perfect snack to enjoy with a Bellini, a Prosecco and peach cocktail that originates from Venice.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 4 - Padova & Rome

Enjoy a little free time to discover Padova in the morning. You could up the city's impressive artistic and architectural heritage with a visit to the Scrovegni Chapel, where you can admire the famous frescoes by Giotto. Or, find a café to settle down in with a strong cup of Italian coffee. Later, you travel onwards to the 'eternal city' of Rome and check into your hotel for the next three nights.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - Rome

Discover the wonders of ancient Rome on a guided walking tour on Day 5, starting at the mighty Colosseum. The magnificent structure is an incredible sight to see up close, and still contains original pathways, corridors and passages used by gladiators to enter the arena. Continue to the Forum, a former civic centre of Roman public life. You also see the remarkable Trevi Fountain, a favourite among tourists and Romans alike, and the largest Baroque fountain in the world. Your tour ends at Piazza Navonna, and you spend the rest of the day getting to know the wonderful city on your own.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 6 - Rome

Make the most of a free day to continue discovering Rome. Perhaps visit the Pantheon, the world's largest reinforced concrete dome, which still holds this title 2,000 years after it was built. Alternatively, you could visit Vatican City, the smallest recognised independent state in the world and the home of the Pope. Breathe in magnificent St Paul's Square and admire the basilica. The serene Sistine Chapel isn't to be missed, home to Michelangelo's world-famous fresco. The Borgia apartments are also a highlight of any visit to the Vatican. Designed for Pope Alexander VI, the rooms are exquisitely decorated and fascinating to stroll through.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 7 - Florence

Travel by train to Florence. Narrow streets and squares are only part of the city's charm - venture indoors and you'll find one fifth of the world's Renaissance art, which is kept and displayed in museums, galleries and churches around the city. Enjoy a walking tour, seeing the 14th-century Ponte Vecchio Bridge, and the magnificent Duomo with its red-tiled dome. Later, transfer to Montecatini Terme and check into your hotel for two nights.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - Lucca & Pisa

You take the train to the delightful walled city of Lucca, where you'll discover a range of ancient ruins and pretty medieval buildings, all encircled by incredibly preserved city walls. Lucca's compact area means that it is a joy to explore on foot and atop the 17th-century walls, a footpath forms a circuit which provides views of the city's many highlights. In the afternoon, continue to Pisa. Here, you visit the world-famous Leaning Tower, which began to tilt as soon as it was built and was used by Galileo to study gravity. Enjoy time to admire the iconic sight, as well as the marvellous white marble Duomo. The cathedral is a superb example of Romanesque architecture, often overlooked by tourists who flock to see the tower.

Includes
  • Breakfast
Day 9 - Turin

Leaving Montecatini Terme behind, you travel by rail to Turin for an overnight stay in a local hotel.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 10 - London

Bid a fond farewell to the glories of Italy, beginning your journey home by rail to Paris and on to London St Pancras by Eurostar.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour features the same excursions, they may not necessarily be in the order listed above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We will write to you around 10 weeks before your departure date with the precise meeting times for your tour group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotels

Grand Hotel Francia & Quirinale, Montecatini Terme

Grand Hotel Francia & Quirinale, Montecatini Terme

View hotel

The Cross Hotel, Rome

The Cross Hotel, Rome

View hotel

Hotel NH Padova, Padova

Hotel NH Padova, Padova

View hotel

Trains

Eurostar
The TGV

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Extend your European holiday
Eurostar Upgrade
UK rail connections
London hotels

Reviews

4.1 stars4.1 / 5 · 22 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (8)
  2. 4 stars
    (10)
  3. 3 stars
    (2)
  4. 2 stars
    (2)
  5. 1 star
    (0)

Malcolm Reeves

3 stars

Submitted 26/Sep

Overall well organised, tour manager very helpful. Perhaps not enough time to explore or maybe to many places visited? The hotels were very good as was food generally.

Collected by Trustpilot

S Gaunt

4 stars

Submitted 25/Sep

Excellent for the right age group but you need to be fit to enjoy this experience

Collected by Trustpilot

keith orchard

5 stars

Submitted 20/Sep

Excellent leader. Lovely places to visit. Well organised. Altogether a superb holiday.

Collected by Trustpilot

keith orchard
View Gallery

Anne

5 stars

Submitted 20/Sep

Fantastic tour, visiting great towns and cities in Italy. A guided tour of the larger cities followed by time to explore on your own. Tour manager was absolutely wonderful, we didn’t have to worry about a thing. A fair amount of walking involved with suitcases and much more round the towns and cities. Definitely a tour not a holiday but great if you want to be taken places, shown around and then left to your own devices. Wonderful as you also get to know the other people on the tour and make friends. Thoroughly recommend it but not for those who are slow walkers or don’t like walking!

Collected by Trustpilot

Anne
View Gallery

G Hudson

2 stars

Submitted 31/May

Badly organised by people who do not have knowledge on the ground in Italy e.g. three quarters of a mile walk between station and hotel with cases and bags. Hotels too far away from Venice and Florence. Date of holiday changed 10 days before departure leading to excess cost involved to rebook hotels in London. Guides in Rome and Florence useless. In Florence walked for one hour, with cases, and ended up back where we started. Original hotel in centre of Venice changed to Padova 25 miles away. Allowing a single traveller with COPD on holiday put a burden on other travellers - having to stop and wait and carrying her case and bags. If it hadn't been for a brilliant tour manager the trip would have been a disaster e.g. train cancelled and platform change at last minute.

Collected by Trustpilot

A Kerr

4 stars

Submitted 31/May

Great holiday and saw some lovely sites. A good vafiety of places to see. Walking tours were long in the heat of the day with 3 hours of walking. Not a restful holiday as lots of walking and dragging suitcases. You need to be fit and mobile. Not for the elderly. Having said all that we were well looked after and enjoyed seeing the different attractions. Especially Venice and The Colosseum in Rome.

Collected by Trustpilot

Show 6 more reviews
Italian Explorer

Discover the historic beauty of Italy

Call

Enquire
Lynne Broadley
Lynne
Luke Simpson
Luke
Rhianna Coote
Rhianna
Related inspiration from our journey blog