The northern Italy tour explores the region’s treasures including Stresa, Portofino, the Cinque Terre, the Italian Riviera, San Gimignano, Florence, Tuscany, and Venice.
This trip through northern Italy 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, the Italian Riviera 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.
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Highlights
Italian Riviera, Tuscany, Venice Tour Highlights:
Explore the Italian lakes region and taste artisanal cheeses and wines with a local family. Spend free time in Portofino and explore the rugged coast and fishing villages of the Cinque Terre. Spend four relaxing nights in a Tuscan villa. Enjoy a hands-on cooking lesson. Discover Florence on a walking tour, and visit a family-owned balsamic vinegar producer on the way to Venice.
- Lago Maggiore travel by boat to your welcome dinner on Isola dei Pescatori
- Spend free time in the famous Riviera village of Portofino
- Excursion to Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera
- Visit the Carrara Marble quarries
- Tour Florence highlights
- Excursion to Tuscany’s San Gimignano and a cooking lesson at a family-owned villa
- Emilia region visit a family-owned balsamic vinegar producer with a light lunch
- 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, 2 lunches, 6 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 – $79
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!
Truffle Hunting Adventure in the Tuscan Countryside – $199
Tuscany – Afternoon and evening
Join a local expert and trained dogs on a truffle hunt along unpaved country trails, then enjoy a truffle-themed dinner before returning to your villa.
Accommodations
Northern Italy Tour Luxury Hotels
2 nights Stresa – Regina Palace Hotel
2 nights Chiavari – Grand Hotel Torre Fara
4 nights Tuscany – Hotel Villa Lecchi
2 nights Venice – Ca dei Conti Hotel
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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.
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Daily Itinerary: Northern Italy Tour with Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera Tuscany, Venice
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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. There is no scheduled sightseeing today, so spend the day exploring on your own. This evening 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 in the mountains, a local family working to preserve its traditions shows you around and invites you to sample their very own artisanal cheeses, paired with the region’s best wines.
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.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
DAY 4: STRESA – PORTOFINO – ITALIAN RIVIERA
Depart the lake region for the Italian Riviera. Spend free time in the famous village of Portofino with its picturesque harbor. Early this evening arrive in Chiavari, a charming coastal town, for a two-night stay.
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, and stop to visit two of these fishing villages tucked between the mountains and the Mediterranean.
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.
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 AND A CHIANTI COOKING LESSON
This morning, take in Tuscany’s landscape of vineyards and groves en route to San Gimignano. Nicknamed the Manhattan of the Middle Ages, its 14 towers soar over the rolling hills.
Later, journey into the Chianti countryside, where a family-owned villa welcomes you. After a tour of the house and grounds, you’ll join a hands-on cooking lesson. Sit down to an authentic Tuscan dinner and toast your host with local Chianti wine.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
DAY 8: TUSCAN VILLA
Spend a relaxing day at your Tuscan villa. Stroll the surrounding countryside or take in the views from the garden. This afternoon you may join an optional truffle hunt with a truffle-themed dinner.
Meals: Breakfast
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 Piazza del Duomo and the famous Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery. 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 & Dinner
DAY 10: TUSCANY – EMILIA – VENICE
Depart for the Emilia region and visit a family-owned producer of balsamic vinegar. Tour the attic where the vinegar has aged for five generations, and enjoy a light lunch.
Then 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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