This exclusive nine-day experience takes you through the most famous parts of Italy starting in the centre in Rome and progressively making your way to the north in Venice! With skip-the-line tickets and a private guide, your experience of Italy will be seamless as you float from attraction to attraction, gaining an insight into the depth, complexity and greatness of Italian architecture, design and art. This feeling will be truly complete when you enter Vatican City, the smallest in the world, and the astounding St. Mark's Basilica in an exclusive private after-hours tour.Over nine days, you'll discover the best of Italy on this Rome, Florence & Venice tour!
Upon arrival at the Rome airport, you will be welcomed to Italy by your local concierge at the arrivals hall and privately transferred to your hotel where you will run through your itinerary and answer any questions you may have. Today marks the beginning of your 9-day trip to Italy and the remainder of the day will be at leisure.
Day 2: Vatican City Private Tour
Your personal Vatican City guide will fill the tour with anecdotes and secrets of these museums – bringing them to life with amazing stories about this unique place in the world. Enter the Pinecone Courtyard, the Galleries of Tapestries and the maps of Italy painted in 1585. Afterwards, the tour will lead you inside the highest temple of Christendom: St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. End with a quick view of Saint Angel Castle and the secret wall connecting with the papal apartment.
Day 3: Ancient Rome Tour
You'll have skip-the-line access to the Palatine Hill and reach the Colosseum to be amazed by this monument that is the symbol of Rome. The amphitheatre was created to entertain ancient Roman's citizens and is now one of the most fascinating landmarks of the city. Continuing on your ancient Rome tour, you'll walk on the original path, the Via Sacra, and see the Temples of Vesta, Antonino and Faustina, the Basilica Julia and Aemilia, and dream about the glorious past of the Roman Empire.
Day 4: Rome to Florence
After a leisurely breakfast, leave the Eternal City with your private vehicle to go to Florence. You'll stop en-route in Orvieto where your guide will introduce you to this city on a two-hour visit. The underground town is made of 440 caves (out of 1200 in the system) and has been used for millennia by locals for various purposes, including WWII bomb shelters, refrigerators, wine storage, and wells. Your private guide will show you a couple of the caves and tell you the stories behind them.
Day 5: Uffizi and Accademia Galleries
After a delicious buffet breakfast, let your private chauffeur drive you to meet your expert local English-speaking guide to enjoy a four-hour walking tour of Florence. You'll visit the legendary Uffizi Gallery to admire some masterpieces like the Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Leonardo da Vinci annunciation followed by a private tour of the Accademia Galleria. Your guide will give you some recommendations that only locals know of for the afternoon.
Day 6: Insider Access to the Last Silk Factory
Begin with a "historic" pearl of Florence; the last remaining silk production laboratories in the world. Still to this day, the ancient silk factory produces its treasures using original 18th-century looms; the first machine was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It still works perfectly. Continue to Pitti Palace, located on the Oltrarno and one of the most complete examples of Renaissance architecture. Continue to the Boboli Gardens built for the Medicean court as a great open-air museum.
Day 7: Travel to Venice and Evening Gondola Ride
Today you will be privately transferred to the train station to take a fast train to Venice, the last stop on your Rome, Florence & Venice tour. Here, you will be shown your pre-reserved first-class tickets. Upon arrival in Venice, you will be greeted at the platform and privately transferred to your hotel by motorboat. In the early evening, enjoy a private romantic and fascinating 30-minute gondola ride through the narrow canals of the lagoon island.
Day 8: Walking Tour of Venice
Your guided tour of Venice starts at Doge's Palace, where you can see the secret itineraries of this spectacular palace. Visit the underground dungeon and step back in time to see what it was like to be a prisoner under the Doge’s rule. Your tour will take you down some of the lesser-known alleyways and narrow streets. You can admire the monuments that testify a long tradition of Venetian history and culture. In the evening comes the highlight of the trip; St. Mark's Basilica after hours!
Day 9: Departure from Venice
You'll have some free time in the morning before being transferred to the airport in time for your departing flight. You'll leave Italy with wonderful memories of your Rome, Florence and Venice tour!
Location
9-Day Italy Highlights: Rome, Florence & Venice Tour
