Popular Tour of Italy

ARRIVE ROME AIRPORT, TRANSFER TO ROME HOTEL

Arrival at Rome International Airport, and transfer to your hotel in Rome. Check-in, and continue to explore the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.

Discover the vast complex of rooms, artwork and history of the Vatican. Skip all the entrance lines to explore halls such as the Gallery of the Maps and Raphael's Rooms; step inside the Sistine Chapel to admire “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo; and hear little-known tales about sacred St. Peter's Basilica.

ROME: FULL DAY CITY SIGHTSEEING WITH COLOSSEUM (SKIP-THE-LINE) ENTRY

After breakfast, full-day Rome city tour with a skip-the-line tour of the Colosseum. Visit famous Rome attractions such as Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and more.

Later visit the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, an oval amphitheatre in the centre of Rome. Built of travertine limestone, tuff and brick-faced concrete, it was the largest amphitheatre ever built at the time and held 50,000 spectators.

ROME TO FLORENCE BY TRAIN: DAY TRIP TO PISA AND LEANING TOWER OF PISA

After breakfast, transfer from Rome to Florence by train, 2nd class, and check in to your hotel in Florence. In the afternoon, visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of Italy's most popular attractions.

Explore the famous Renaissance city of Pisa. After a panoramic drive through the Tuscan countryside, you'll drive along the embankment lining the River Arno into Pisa. This masterpiece of Romanesque art is surrounded by the equally beautiful baptistery and cathedral.

FLORENCE TO MILAN BY TRAIN: FULL DAY MILAN CITY SIGHTSEEING

After breakfast, transfer from Florence to Milan. Check in to your hotel, and continue to explore Milan on a city sightseeing tour for the rest of the day.

Milan is the international capital of fashion and design, with an extraordinary historical and artistic heritage. Visit Santa Maria delle Grazie, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and admire da Vinci's exquisite “The Last Supper” mural. Explore Piazza Duomo with its famous cathedral, the Brera district with the Pinacoteca that houses great masterpieces of art history, the fashion district's boutiques, and the modern neighbourhood of Porta Nuova with its skyscrapers.

MILAN: DAY TRIP TO LAKE COMO AND BELLAGIO

After breakfast, a full-day trip to one of the most beautiful lakes of Italy. Visit Lake Como and Bellagio on a day trip from Milan. Lake Como, in Northern Italy's Lombardy region, is an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y, with three slender branches that meet at the resort town of Bellagio. Evening return to your hotel in Milan.

MILAN TO VENICE TRANSFER: VENICE CITY SIGHTSEEING GONDOLA RIDE

After breakfast, check out from your Milan hotel and transfer to Venice. On arrival, enjoy a serene Venetian gondola ride along the canals and explore the carnival, the masks, the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square — but it's surely the gondola (and gondolier) that has become the defining image of Venice.

VENICE: MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO SIGHTSEEING

After breakfast, explore Murano, Burano and Torcello, the most famous islands in the Venetian Lagoon, by motorboat. Admire master glass blowers at work at a factory on Murano, then continue to the Byzantine churches on Torcello — the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the Church of Santa Fosca. Later, see the painted houses of Burano.

VENICE TO NAPLES TRANSFER

Today after breakfast, transfer from Venice to Naples by train, 2nd class. Check in to your hotel and continue with a Naples city sightseeing tour. Discover the beautiful and evocative sites of Naples, a magical city rich in history, traditions, art and landscapes. Witness the grandeur of Largo Castello, Piazza del Gesù, the Museo Archeologico, Sanità, and more.

NAPLES: FULL DAY TRIP TO POMPEII AND MT. VESUVIUS

After breakfast at your hotel, enjoy a combined day tour to Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of the Roman town it destroyed in 79 AD at Pompeii. On arrival, your expert guide takes you on a 2-hour tour through the remains of this UNESCO World Heritage site, remarkably frozen in time for almost 2,000 years. One of the most popular destinations in the world, you will hear stories about the Forum, the Thermal Baths, the House of the Vettii and the Lupanare.

The only active volcano in continental Europe, Vesuvius has erupted many times, but it was the destruction of Pompeii and its surrounding towns that made it most famous. Climb to the top, walk around the crater, and take in the atmosphere of the smoking mountain, with stunning views over the Bay of Naples.

NAPLES – ROME AIRPORT TRANSFER

After breakfast, check out from your hotel and transfer to Rome Airport for your flight back home, or continue your stay in Europe at your own request. Tour ends.