Italy 9-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Italy. Your driver meets you at Rome airport and takes you to your hotel in the historic center, where you can settle in and rest after the flight. If you feel like stretching your legs later, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are an easy evening walk away, and they are calmer once the day visitors have gone. Dinner can be as simple as pasta in a neighborhood trattoria. Your local team is a phone call away for anything you need, from restaurant tips to the plan for tomorrow.

Meet your guide in the morning and step into ancient Rome at the Colosseum, then walk the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, where emperors once lived above the city. Your guide brings the stones to life and keeps the pace comfortable. After lunch, wander through the old center to the Pantheon, still roofed by its great concrete dome after almost two thousand years, and on to Piazza Navona. The rest of the afternoon is yours, perhaps for a coffee in the square or a quiet hour at the hotel.

Today belongs to the Vatican. With your guide and pre-booked tickets, walk through the Vatican Museums, past ancient sculpture and the Raphael Rooms, to the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s ceiling. Finish in St Peter’s Basilica, where the scale of the nave is hard to take in at first sight. Shoulders and knees should be covered, and your guide plans the visit around closing days and religious events. The afternoon is free for Trastevere, a long lunch or a slow walk along the Tiber. In the evening, dinner is included in a classic Roman restaurant.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to the station for the fast train to Florence, about an hour and a half through the Umbrian and Tuscan hills. Your driver meets you on the platform and brings you to your hotel near the historic center. In the afternoon, with your guide, see Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery, then stroll past the cathedral and its marble bell tower to Piazza della Signoria. In the evening, cross the Ponte Vecchio as the lights come on along the Arno. Dinner tonight is included in a favorite Florentine restaurant.

A relaxed day in the Tuscan countryside with your private driver. Begin in San Gimignano, the hill town of medieval towers, and walk its quiet lanes before the day visitors arrive. Lunch is included, ideally at a country restaurant surrounded by olive groves. Continue to Siena, where the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and the striped cathedral are the highlights. The drive between towns is short and scenic, and you are back in Florence in time for an evening at your own pace. Wear comfortable shoes for the cobbles.

Spend an unhurried morning in the Uffizi Gallery with your guide, home to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and many of the great works of the Renaissance. After a light lunch, your driver takes you to Pisa, about an hour and a quarter away, for the Field of Miracles: the cathedral, the baptistery and the Leaning Tower, which looks even more improbable in person. Late afternoon is a lovely time to see the white marble glow. Return to Florence for a final evening in the city. Both galleries close on Mondays, so we arrange the order of these days around that.

A private transfer takes you to the station for the train to Venice, a little over two hours across the Apennines. Your private boat transfer then carries you down the Grand Canal or through quieter side canals to your hotel, the most memorable arrival in Italy. Settle in and spend the afternoon getting gently lost in the lanes, which is the best way to meet the city. A gondola ride at sunset can be arranged if you would like one. Your Venetian guide meets you tomorrow morning, so the evening is entirely yours.

Start early with your Venetian guide at St Mark’s Square, before the crowds, and visit the golden mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica. Continue to the Doge’s Palace, crossing the Bridge of Sighs from the inside on the way to the old prisons. Your guide then leads you away from the main routes to quieter squares and canals. The afternoon is free for the Rialto market, a plate of cicchetti, the small Venetian snacks, at a canal-side café, or the view from the top of the campanile. Dinner tonight is included in a Venetian restaurant close to your hotel.

Enjoy a final breakfast and, if your flight allows, one last walk along the water. Your private transfer, by boat or by car, takes you to Venice Marco Polo Airport at the right time for your flight, about thirty minutes from the city center, and your local team stays in touch until you leave. Extra nights in Venice, a few days on Lake Como or a stay in the Dolomites can easily be added before you fly home. If you are traveling on by train, we take you to the station instead.