Fantasia 11

Benvenuti a Roma! After you touch down at the airport, make your own way to your hotel. Check in and then enjoy the city at your leisure before spending your first night in Italy.

Departing at 7:15am by a deluxe coach, you will arrive in Assisi, where you can explore this tiny town, surrounded by walls built in the middle ages, at your own leisure. Make time to visit the basilica of St. Francis, where you will see masterpieces by Giotto and Ciambue, and to have lunch (not included). Board the bus for Siena, a medieval town surrounded by ancient walls that is known for the Palio, an annual summertime horse race around the shell-shaped town square, Piazza del Campo. Next, you will continue on to Florence, where you will check in to your hotel before enjoying dinner and a well-earned night of rest.

After breakfast, you will spend the day venturing around beautiful Florence, the “cradle of renaissance, where, with the help of Michelangelo, italian art reached its pinnacle. Based on etruscan-roman origins, the city flourished in the middle ages as a free “comune” and was further refined by the renaissance. You will be fascinated by its numerous monuments, churches, and buildings, as Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly referred to as the Duomo. On your visit, you will be amazed by its magnificent dome built by Filippo Brunelleschi. Cross a small piazza to see the campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the baptistery, with its bronze doors that Michelangelo dubbed the “gates of paradise.” In the heart of the city, you will see Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio), and the basilica of Santa Croce. Lunch in a typical Tuscany restaurant in Santa Croce square. Spend the afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets of Florence on your own or take a short trip to Pisa (optional), one of the four main historical marine republics of Italy. There, you will tour the square of miracles, which houses the Duomo, the leaning tower, and the baptistery. Overnight stay.

Depart for Bologna after breakfast in Florence. There, you will wander through the city’s 38 kilometers worth of elegant arcades (or porticos), for which Bologna is famous. From Piazza Malpighi, we will walk to Piazza del Nettuno and Piazza Maggiore (Neptune square and Major square) in the heart of the city, where you will find Neptune fountain; King Renzo Palace; Podestà Palace; and the basilica of San Petronio, one of the biggest in the world. In the afternoon, continue toward Padova, with its original Sant’Antonio basilica. Later, you will arrive in Venice, world-renowned for its classic gondola boats and its elegant, refined art. Check in to your hotel and enjoy your first venetian dinner and overnight stay.

Hit the water after breakfast as you board a private water bus to enjoy St. Mark’s square, interior visit of the splendid cathedral, the Dogi palace, a symbol of the glory and authority of Venice as it housed the seat of the government and the court of justice. Nearby you will see the legendary bridge of sight. Spend the afternoon roaming along Venice’s canals at your leisure and then return to the hotel for dinner and relaxation.

Once you eat breakfast, depart from Piazzale Roma to Tuscany, known for its romantic churches and castles and its infamous wines. You will proceed to val di chiana with a stop in Montepulciano, a medieval town rich with history and art. Known for its “nobile” wine, which can be purchased in wine houses in town, Montepulciano is also the host of an annual jazz and wine festival every July. Spend the afternoon getting to know Montepulciano at your own pace. Free wine tasting in many shops and free time for shopping. That evening, you will check in to your new hotel in Rome.

Between 7:45 – 8:00 am, after breakfast depart from the hotel and Take the tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters’s Basilica and jump the queue! No stress to reach the area: upon arrival, your guide will lead you into the museums where you’ll visit one of the most important art collection of the world. Admire the beautiful spiral stairway, the gallery of tapestries and geographical maps, before arriving at the famous Sistine Chapel. The tour includes the visit of St. Peters’s Basilica (the visit ends in the city centre).Explore the rest of the city at your own leisure until you decide that you can’t do any more walking. Return to the hotel to give your feet some rest.

After breakfast at your hotel, a coach bus will depart at 7:00am, taking the highway “of the sun”through the regions of Lazio and Campania, where you will see a picturesque view of the abbey of Montecassino. Upon arriving in Naples, you will go on a short panoramic walking tour, seeing sites such as the Mergellina neighborhood, castel dell’ovo, Plebiscito square, the Royal palace, Maschio Angioino, and the port. Have lunch in a restaurant en route to Pompeii and then visit the excavations of the famous roman city, destroyed by the eruption of mount Vesuvius in 79 a.D. Leaving Pompeii, you will drive along the Sorrentine coast, arriving in Sorrento for dinner and an overnight in your new hotel.

Board a boat for the island of Capri after breakfast. Depending on weather and sea conditions, you will enter the infamous blue grotta in a small rowboat. After, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then roam the island at your own pace. Return to the mainland for dinner and your last overnight in Sorrento.

Spend a leisurely morning eating breakfast at your hotel and then exploring Sorrento. That afternoon, depart for Rome, where you will check in to your hotel and spend the night.

Enjoy one final breakfast before the tour comes to an end.

• TRANSFER SERVICE: in and out are not included only.
• Venice. Difference of category between 1st and 2nd refers to the location of the hotel and not necessary connected with hotel stars rating.
• 1st category hotel are located in Venice island, Tourist Sup category are located in Venezia Mestre
• City tax will be paid directly from clients at the reception hotel desk at the arrival or at the check out according to the local city board procedure. We remind you that tax will change according to hotel category.
• ENGLISH ONLY SPEAKING – PORTUGUESE / SPANISH SPOKEN WITH HEADSET: Fantasia Tours are available only in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Even if the group is multilingual the clients are provided with headsets in order not to be disturbed by speakers of other languages.