The main destination that I sell is Italy. A lot of clients come to me wanting to go and see all of the main sites. Many are first time travelers to Italy, and want to check a few things off of their bucket lists. With that in mind, I thought I would share one of my classic Italy itineraries, to give you some inspiration, and get you thinking about what you want to see on your next trip! Feel free to<a href="http://www.lindsaystravels.com/contact/"> contact me</a> for some help arranging it!
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>CLASSIC ITALY ITINERARY</strong></p>
<strong><u>VENICE</u></strong>

Upon arrival in the Venice Airport please collect your luggage and exit the baggage claim area where you'll find your assistant waiting with a porter for private transfer by boat to your Venice hotel.

<strong><em>Enjoy time to get settled into your hotel and have lunch, and then meet your guide in the lobby at 2:00 p.m. for a leisurely walking tour to get to know the fabulous city of Venice:</em></strong>

<strong>Venice Walking Tour</strong> <em>(3 hours)</em>

Your expert guide will meet you in the lobby and escort you on a walking tour of this romantic city that begins in San Marco Square with the magnificent Basilica of San Marco. One of the most unique cities in the world, Venice offers priceless art, stunning architecture and an element of mystery with its canals and winding alleyways.  Admire the church’s rich, detailed mosaics and the sculptures that adorn this enchanting structure. Next, learn about Venetian art and style with a tour of the gothic Doge’s Palace that dates to approximately 1309, and its trove of treasures. This visit concludes in the Rialto area where clients will stroll over the city’s oldest and best-known Rialto Bridge to end in the bustling Rialto Market for a glimpse of local life.

<strong>Grand Canal Cruise with Walking Tour </strong><em>(3 hours)</em>

What better way to visit this mysterious and ancient city than by private boat with expert guide? Depart from hotel with your expert guide for a walking tour of the Dorsoduro sestiere of authentic Venetian quarters, strolling along hidden streets where locals once built their world-famous gondolas. Visit the Church of San Sebastiano to tour the masterful frescoes by the pre-eminent late Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese and then enjoy a one-hour cruise along the Grand Canal by private boat to witness the splendor of the Venetian palazzi.

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<strong><u>FLORENCE</u></strong>

<strong>Train from Venice to Florence – First Class</strong>

Please meet your private assistant in the hotel lobby to transfer you via private boat to the Venice train station in time to catch your train.

<strong><em>Enjoy time to get settled into your hotel and have lunch, and then meet your guide in the lobby at 2:00 p.m. for a leisurely walking tour to get to know the beautiful city of Florence:</em></strong><strong>                                                 </strong>

<strong>Florence Walking Tour</strong> <em>(3 hours)</em>

Meet your guide in your hotel lobby for a tour of the intriguing city of Florence that boasts some of the best preserved Renaissance architectural monuments in Italy. Walk its winding cobblestone streets with your expert guide and visit Brunelleschi’s Duomo, Piazza Della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria, Santa Croce with its tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo and the Ponte Vecchio lined with centuries-old jewelry shops that is topped by the Medici families’ secret passageway.

<strong>Driver Service to Pisa </strong><em>(5 hours) from Florence</em>

Depart with driver from the hotel lobby through the Tuscan countryside and head towards the coast for a day of exploring Pisa on your own. Home of the famous Leaning Tower,

you can admire it from the Piazza dei Miracoli and visit with the resident staff of the tower for a short climb to the top

<strong>The Accademia and Medicis Tour </strong><em>(3 hours)</em>

Enter the Accademia Gallery with a reservation and visit the famous ‘David’, the statue that established Michelangelo as  the greatest sculptor of his time.  Learn about the making and history of this glorious sculpture, and tour Michelangelo’s other works in residence. Also on display at the Accademia are paintings from other notable Renaissance artists, such as Uccello, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, and Sarto. Proceed to the splendid Medici Chapels decorated with frescoes and inlaid stones, or visit the first residence of Cosimo di Medici, known as the Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

<strong><em>Enjoy your lunch before meeting again your guide at 1:00 p.m. for your afternoon tour:</em></strong>

<strong>Masterpieces of the Uffizi Tour</strong>         <em>(3 hours)</em>

The Uffizi Gallery, one of the most important galleries in the world, offers a collection of world-famous artistic masterpieces such as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Caravaggio’s Bacchus along with other works by Renaissance masters Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.  You will enter with reservations and tour the gallery’s treasures with an expert, English-speaking private guide. Tour will also include an overview of the Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio.

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<strong><u>ROME</u></strong>

<strong>Train from Florence to Rome – First Class</strong>

Enjoy the 1 hour 20 minute train ride from Florence to Rome.

<strong>Transfer Rome Termini Station</strong> <strong>to hotel</strong>

Upon your arrival at the Rome train station, please collect your luggage and disembark your train, and exit at the security gate, where you will find your driver at the exit bearing a sign with your last name.

<strong>Full Day Rome Tour with Driver and Guide </strong><em>(6 hours)</em>

Meet your private driver and guide in the hotel lobby at <strong>8:00 a.m. </strong>for a full day tour of Rome. Take a journey through time and discover Ancient Rome with your expert guide and driver. See the famous sites of the Roman gladiator fights at the <strong><em>Colosseum</em></strong>, learn the meaning of the ruins at the <strong><em>Forum</em></strong>, and visit <strong><em>Circo Massimo, the Arch of Constantine</em></strong> and <strong><em>Piazza Venezia. </em></strong>This delightful tour, full of historical anecdotes with a private expert guide will allow you to visit the main artistic and architectural monuments of Classic Rome. View Nicola Salvi’s theatrical design the <strong><em>Trevi Fountain</em></strong>, Bernini’s Baroque style in <strong><em>Piazza Navona</em></strong>, feel the charm of the <strong><em>Spanish Steps</em></strong> and witness the most extraordinary and best preserved ancient building in Rome, <strong><em>the Pantheon.</em></strong>

<strong>The Vatican Experience: St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel with Reserved Entrance <em>(4 hours)</em></strong>

Your private guide will meet you<strong>.</strong> in your hotel and you will proceed by taxi to the Vatican.  Enter with a reservation and tour the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica.

Enjoy an informative tour of the Vatican accompanied by an expert guide with pre-reserved entrance times to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.  Our special relationship with the Vatican enables us to reserve your entrance to avoid waiting in the immense lines that one finds most of the year. Transfer by taxi to the Vatican for this four hour in-depth tour where you will learn about the great artists who helped to embellish one of the most fascinating sovereign states in the world. Visit the Vatican museums which includes some of the world’s most precious artistic and religious treasures including the Galleries of Maps, Candelabras and Tapestries, the Raphael Rooms, and  Michelangelo’s stunning frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.  Afterwards, a visit to St Peter’s Basilica completes the tour with its splendid sculptures and mosaics of great historic and religious importance.

<strong>Transfer hotel to Rome FCO Airport </strong>

Meet your private driver in the lobby of your hotel, where you will be transferred to Rome FCO airport in time to catch  your flight home.

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