The northern Italy tour explores the region’s treasures including Stresa, Lake Orta, Lucca, Siena, Bologna, Florence, the Italian Riviera, Tuscany, and Venice. This Northern Italy trip will please all your senses. Luxury accommodations, fabulous escorted tours of the destinations, breakfast daily and 6 delicious dinners with local regional wines are all included. Experience the romance of Northern Italy come to life. You’ll experience it all at a leisurely pace with 2 wonderful nights in Stresa, Cinque Terre and Venice and 4 nights experiencing authentic Tuscany in villa accommodation. These are Northern Italy’s treasures. This is the perfect tour to explore northern Italy’s sightseeing highlights. Click here for day by day vacation itinerary.
Highlights
Italian Riviera, Tuscany, Venice Tour Highlights:
Explore the Italian lakes region your way when you choose between a scenic boat ride on Lake Maggiore or a visit to a local farm for a cheese and wine tasting. Explore the rugged coast and remote fishing villages of the Cinque Terre. Spend four relaxing nights in a Tuscan villa. Discover the charming rose-hued town Siena. Experience medieval life at the Palazzo Davanzati. Enjoy a cooking class. Visit a winery in the countryside and learn the secrets of Tuscan cuisine. Wander the streets of Bologna and taste some of the area’s specialty foods.
- Lago Maggiore travel by boat to your welcome dinner on Isola dei Pescatori
- Explore Lake Orta, one of Italy’s hidden treasures, and take a boat to Isola di San Giulio
- Excursion to Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera
- Visit the Carrara Marble quarries
- Tour Florence highlights
- Excursion to Tuscany’s Siena
- Excursion to Tuscany’s San Gimignano
- Excursion to Bologna and local tasting
- Venice visit Murano island for glass-blowing demonstration
Escorted Northern Italy Tour Includes:
- Submit form or call 800-227-1577 for airfare from your city
- Italian city hotel taxes
- All transfers with land and air Northern Italy tour package
- 10 nights luxury accommodations
- 18 meals: 10 buffet breakfasts, 3 lunches, 5 Dinners with wine
- Sightseeing per itinerary in modern air-conditioned motor coach
- Services of English-speaking tour manager throughout
- Services of local guides in all major cities
- Entrance fees per itinerary
- Whisper technology enhanced touring
Optional Tours
Lake Maggiore Cruise – $99
Lago Maggiore – Duration: 2 Hours
Surround yourself in the beauty and grandeur found on the lakes of Northern Italy. Cruise along scenic Lago Maggiore passing the Borromean Islands sprinkled throughout this stunning lake. These petite but incredible islands are brimming with grand villas and exquisite, world-renowned gardens. Glide past Isola del Pescatore viewing the gulf of Baveno before making a stop at Isola Bella. Then we make our way along the cobblestone streets of the quaint town to the impressive, Baroque Borromean Palace and gardens. This famed palace is steeped in immeasurable wealth and regal pageantry. On your guided tour, surroundings will bring you back to the 17th century. Get a glimpse inside life as a royal as you stroll through the opulent halls superbly decorated with rare artwork and tapestries. Then, you’ll head outside to the perfectly manicured, tiered gardens that abut the lakeshore. Behold stunning views and the splendor of the gardens as we make our way through with an expert. Return to the boat for a cruise back to Stresa.
Venetian Serenaded Gondola Cruise – $75
Venice – Duration: 1 Hour
Experience the romance that can only be found in Venice – La Serenìssima – while traveling on its famous waterways, when you partake in one of Venice’s most famous pastimes – a gondola cruise. Take a pleasant stroll toward the Grand Canal to board your gondola. As you relax in your elegant watercraft, your gondolier navigates the Grand Canal as well as smaller side canals. Admire the scenery as you listen to the melodic voice serenading you in true Italian style – just like in those romantic Italian movies!
Accommodations
Northern Italy Tour Luxury Hotels
2 nights Stresa – Regina Palace Hotel
2 nights Sestri Levante – Grand Hotel dei Castelli
4 nights Tuscany – Hotel Villa Lecchi
2 nights Venice – Ca dei Conti Hotel
Click here for day by day vacation itinerary.
12-Day Northern Italy Tour Lakes, Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera, Tuscany, Venice
Price published is land only. For price of the northern Italy tour with airfare enter airport closest to your home. Check the box next to the Italian Riviera, Tuscany, Venice tour you would like to join. Submit form to receive air itinerary and airfare from your preferred airport.
Daily Itinerary: Northern Italy Tour with Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera Tuscany, Venice
Click here for tour itinerary map.
DAY 1: OVERNIGHT FLIGHT
Set out on your overnight flight to Italy!
DAY 2: STRESA – TOUR BEGINS
Begin in Stresa, on the shore of Lago Maggiore. Visit a wine shop and enjoy a cocktail party, tasting some local products. A boat transports you to your welcome dinner on Isola dei Pescatori, the most picturesque of the Borromean Islands.
Meals: Dinner
DAY 3: STRESA – LAGO MAGGIORE – STRESA
In an ancient village nestled in the mountains, a local family welcomes you to sample their very own artisanal cheeses, paired with the region’s best wines.
During an Impact Moment, have lunch at a social enterprise giving ex-offenders a second chance through the dignity of work. This restaurant trains and employs those who have been through the justice system for a non-violent offense as cooks and servers.
The remainder of the day in Stresa is at your leisure. Explore the piazzas, flower-lined cobblestone streets, and lakeside promenades. Or enjoy your breathtaking surroundings during an optional cruise to Isola Bella, known as the “beautiful island.” Here an expert will guide you into the Borromeo Palace,** a lakeside Baroque beauty adorned with an exotic garden.
As the day draws to a close, visit a family-run wine shop and enjoy a cocktail party with some antipasto snacks.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
DAY 4: STRESA – ORTA – ITALIAN RIVIERA
Depart the lake region for Sestri Levante on the Ligurian coast. Along the way stop at Lake Orta and take a boat to Isola di San Giulio. Afterward, walk the grounds of this charming island with its working convent. Experience the outdoor cafes and shops of this lakeside resort. Then, continue on to the Italian Riviera!
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 5: ITALIAN RIVIERA – CINQUE TERRE
Travel by rail through the villages of the Cinque Terre. Traverse the rugged coastal area dotted with terraced vineyards. Arrive at this nearly inaccessible string of fishing villages tucked between the mountains and the Mediterranean. Spend an afternoon independently exploring this awe-inspiring landscape. Consider the ferry to take you between the villages.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 6: ITALIAN RIVIERA – CARRARA – TUSCAN VILLA
Today veer off the beaten path to visit one of Italy’s great natural wonders: the Carrara marble quarries. During an off-road drive in the Apuane Mountains, you’ll follow the roads the cavatori (quarrymen) carved into the mountains while extracting the precious stone.
Over the centuries, Carrara marble was used by artists such as Michelangelo to carve his Pietà in Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as his legendary Statue of David.
Enjoy some free time to explore Carrara’s old town on your own; view the town’s cathedral, the Duomo, built in white marble, or search for Michelangelo’s bust marking his former home.
Afterward, continue on through the rolling hills of Tuscany, ending the day in a historic Tuscan villa for a rejuvenating 4-night stay.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 7: SAN GIMIGNANO
This morning, journey into the heart of the Tuscan countryside, where a family-owned villa welcomes you. After a tour of the house and grounds, you’ll engage in a hands-on cooking lesson. Break bread during an authentic Tuscan lunch and toast to your host with local Chianti wine.
Later, take in Tuscany’s landscape, a spectrum of verdant vineyards and endless groves en route to San Gimignano. Nicknamed the Manhattan of the Middle Ages, San Gimignano’s 14 towers soar distinctively over the landscape making this iconic Tuscan hilltop village stand out against the rolling hills. Taste authentic Italian gelato from an award-winning ice cream parlor while you wander the cobbled streets and gaze up at the imposing towers during time at leisure in this Tuscan gem.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
DAY 8: SIENA
Travel to Siena for an expert-led walking tour through narrow medieval streets that include the dramatic cathedral. Return to your villa this afternoon to relax.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 9: FLORENCE
Welcome to Florence – the birthplace of the Renaissance and the beloved home of the Medici family, Galileo, Botticelli and da Vinci.
In Florence enjoy a walking tour of Florence’s treasures and monuments, including the glittering storefronts on the Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”), the only Florentine bridge. You’ll also wander past the Palazzo Vecchio, the Piazza della Signoria, and Santa Croce.
Afterward, enjoy time to explore Florence independently. Then return to your villa.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 10: TUSCANY – BOLOGNA – VENICE
Depart for Venice. Stop en route in Bologna. Take a guided walking tour of the center, virtually unchanged since the Renaissance. Sample local delicacies at specialty food shops.
The continue on to Venice for your two-night stay.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
DAY 11: VENICE
Enjoy a boat trip to Murano Island for a fascinating glass-blowing demonstration. After return to St. Mark’s Square for a locally-guided walking tour featuring the Clock Tower, St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. This evening you’re invited to partake in a celebratory farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 12: VENICE – TOUR ENDS
Wake up in Venice and depart for home.
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