Festive Travel - The Mediterranean Specialists Since 1994

Day 1

USA
Board your overnight TransAtlantic flight.

Day 2

ARRIVAL IN ROME, ITALY
Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6pm meet your tour director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a welcome dinner with wine in one of Rome's gourmet ristorantes.

Day 3

ROME
Sightseeing with your local guide features a stroll through the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and monumental St. Peter's Sqaure and Basilica. Afternoon for individual discovery and to savor Rome's unique atmosphere. Optional excursions include the Sistine Chapel (arranged for morning if closed today), a trip to nearby Tivoli, or an Italian feast at a local restaurant.

Day 4

ROME-FLORENCE
North to Pisa for pictures of its amazing Leaning Tower. Continue to Florence, the capital of Tuscanyand home to Renaissance splendor.

Day 5

FLORENCE
Guided sightseeing includes magnificent Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry's heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded Signoria Square. The highlight: Michelangelo's David in the Gallery of Fine Arts (closed on Mondays, visit Palazzo Vecchio instead). Afternoon free to relax or to find out more about Florence's artistic wealth. Optional dinner at a Tuscan restaurant.

Day 6

FLORENCE-LAKE MAGGIORE
First stop is the great port city of Genoa, to see Christopher Columbus' birthplace and the Flower Monument. Next is dynamic Milan with its Gothic Duomo, glass-domed Galleria, and famed Scala Opera House. On to Lake Maggiore, one of Italy's most beautiful areas. Spend two nights at your elegant resort.

Day 7

LAKE MAGGIORE
A restful day to sleep in, join the locals in a lakeside promenade, catch up on your postcards, or participate in an optional excursion to the Baroque palace and peacock gardens of enchanting Isola Bella (open March 27 - October 24).

Day 8

LAKE MAGGIORE-LUGANO, SWITZERLAND-VENICE, ITALY
Morning visit 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 main piazza. East to Verona, medeival setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, to see Juliet's Balcony and the picturesque market square. Tonight you reach Venice, deemed by some the most romantic city in the world.

Day 9

VENICE
Glide by private boat along the Giudecca canal to meet your resident expert. Highlights of your walking tour are St. Mark's Square and the Byzantine splendor of St. Mark's Basilica, lavish Doges' Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Then watch Venetian Glass Blowers fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Later, discover Venice at your own pace, or take an optional gondola ride.

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 to visit the massive 13th-century lower Basilica of St. Francis. Then time to take in this peaceful town on your own.

Day 11

ASSISI-POMPEII-SORRENTO
Today visit Pompeii, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Overnight in the charming, bayside resort of Sorrento.

Day 12

SORRENTO, EXCURSION TO CAPRI
Glide across the blue bay to the beautiful Isle of Capri. A local guide takes you to the shimmering Blue Grotto (weather permitting, otherwisevisit San Michele in Anacapri) and to pretty Capri village. Time to explore at your own pace before returning to Sorrento. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Day 13

SORRENTO-ROME
On your way to Rome, stop in Cassino for a visit to Abbey of Montecassino. Tonight consider saying "Arriverderci" to your traveling companionsat an optional festive dinner in one of Rome's fine restaurants.

Day 14

Your homebound flight arrives the same day.

OPERATING DATES
Many tours are offered each month.
Please contact festivetravel.com
for reservation information.