NORTHERN ITALY CULTURAL TOUR 2010
(This tour will be led by Scott Jercich)
Old world charm and history await you on this tour to Italy!
Northern Italy offers a huge cornucopia of history all wrapped up in one compact package. On this tour you will have the opportunity to visit some of the nicest cities in the north and get a feel for the vibrant culture of modern Italy with the country’s old world charm as a backdrop.
Date
October 3 through 18, 2010
14 nights!!
Tour Price*
$3,173.00 per person 
Tour Package Includes
- Round trip air from San Francisco or Atlanta
- All transfers and taxes
- Nice hotels with private bathroom
- Breakfast daily
- In-country transportation
- Group travel protection insurance
Tour Route Through Northern Italy
Hotel Accommodations / Roommates
All hotels have three star ratings (based upon the one through five star rating system). We have had good luck finding roommates on past trips for those not interested in paying the single hotel room supplement.
In-Country Transportation
In-country transportation from city to city will be by modern 50-passenger private, air conditioned charter bus.
Description of Major Destinations*
October 3, 2010 (Sunday) – Leave home for Milan
Today you leave home to hop the big pond, flying from San Francisco International Airport to begin your Italian adventure in Milan!
October 4 (Monday) – Enjoy 2 nights in Milan
Milan is the perfect example of contemporary Italy. This city, which lies between the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, is home to about two million people. It is the country’s center of fashion and home to exclusive labels such as Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Versace. It boasts a bustling economy filled with industry, banking, publishing and television. It is the seat of the Italian Stock Exchange and home of the major Italian corporations.
While in Milan, you will have the opportunity to visit many interesting sites, particularly in the center of the city, where there is always plenty to do. There are many excellent restaurants and bars within walking distance. Consider visiting the Milan cathedral, the third-largest church in Europe, and Piazza Duomo (cathedral square). Interested in some shopping? Take a stroll to the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele, Milan’s huge four-story-high glass-domed arcade. There are also dozens of high fashion boutiques offering a wide variety of clothing and accessories.
Milan has much to offer. So enjoy your first day here!
October 6 (Wednesday) – Bellagio on Lake Como – 2 nights
After a day in bustling Milan, the short trip to the town of Bellagio on Lake Como offers a wonderful opportunity to get away from it all, catch your breath, and realize that you are alive in Italy.
Lake Como, which lies at the base of the Italian Alps, is lined with elegant 19th-century villas with beautiful snow-capped mountains as their background. Bellagio, known as the "Pearl on the Lake" is a wonderful place to settle in to the picturesque surroundings of Lake Como. The town has steep lanes that rise from the harbor front and homes with flowering balconies and lace-curtained windows. Once you settle in to this Italian lakes get-away and enjoy the view over a hot cappuccino, you may decide to toss your itinerary and take a vacation from your vacation!
October 8 (Friday) - Venice - 2 Nights
Venice has an enticing, exotic beauty typified by the Byzantine architecture, enormous stained glass windows rising along the Grand Canal and Venetian Carnival masks with their wry, knowing smiles. This lagoon city, comprised of 117 islands, is a watery maze of canals. Venice contains over 400 bridges and the world's most famous sandbar, the Lido. While very walkable, many use the city's variety of transport boats -- the vaporetti or motoscafi – to get around. The famous traghetti (gondola) ride is an interesting and somewhat romantic interlude to consider with your significant other.
Although very old, Venice does not lack in modern pleasures. If you are an art lover, consider visiting the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. And the city's 70,000 inhabitants do much more than meditate upon the glories of Venice's past - you'll no doubt see them sitting beside you at the Cafe Florian, on San Marco Square, or selling leather goods, hand blown glass from the nearby Island of Murano and Armani ties at the city's many fashionable boutiques.
Venice is the place many first-timers to Italy envision when they think about Italy prior to the trip. So, be sure to take it all in, satisfy your imagination, and you will make some great memories.
October 10, 2010 (Sunday) – La Spezia and Cinque Terre – 2 Nights in La Spezia
La Spezia, a harbor city on the Ligurian Sea, lies in the Liguria region of northern Italy. Located at the head of the La Spezia Gulf, it is described as “a working man’s town.” Since the sites are sparse, the stay here provides a perfect opportunity to relax and get your land legs back after the gondola rides in Venice or take a 30 minute train ride into the nearby Cinque Terre (Five Lands), also known as “The Italian Riviera.”
Riomaggiore is the first and most southern of five charming towns that make up Cinque Terre. Once there, you have the choice of visiting the remainder of the towns by train, boat or on foot (a five hour hike takes you through all the towns). Cars do not travel between the towns because no roadways exist. So, while visiting the Cinque Terre, enjoy the lack of motor vehicle traffic and noise found elsewhere and take in what the Italian Riviera has to offer.
October 12 (Tuesday) – Florence -- 3 Nights
Florence, like no other European city, epitomizes the spirit of the Renaissance. What was considered "cutting edge" in the arts, science and architecture during the 14th to 16th centuries found its greatest expression here. The artists Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Botticelli, the political philosopher Machiavelli, the scientist Galileo and the writers Dante and Petrarch made Florence, at one time or another, their home.
From Botticelli's Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery to Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia to Giotto's Tower majestically ascending from the city's center, Florence's concentration of artistic and architectural masterpieces can make your head spin. Then there are the other delightful, less lofty joys: the antique flea markets at Piazza dei Ciompi, the jewelry shops along Ponte Vecchio, a leisurely espresso at a local cafe and accommodations steeped in historic ambience, no matter the category.
The fantastic city of Florence is worth two full days and three nights. We have arranged it so you can enjoy it!
October 15 (Friday) Rome – 3 Nights
Rome (Roma), the eternal city, is literally eternal. Having endured for over 2,700 years, it has an ambiance like no other. Embedded in centuries of history and culture, it is Italy's capital and largest city, offering much to see. In this city a phenomenal concentration of history, legend, and monuments co-exists with an equal concentration of people busily going about their everyday lives.
Throughout much of its long, noble history Rome was a city-state unto itself, developing and basking in its own grandeur and uniqueness. Built on seven hills, halfway between the country's fertile, industrious north and balmy, Mediterranean south, Rome has been at the center of Italy's empire building as well as her inspiring cultural and artistic expressions.
It is hard to believe that the Dark or Middle Ages ever existed in a city so steeped in light and littered with magnificent white marble ruins. The ancient Romans left us as a gift such famous monuments as the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, the Pantheon and the Forum. From the Renaissance came Vatican City, St. Peter's Square and Basilica and a priceless array of art treasures for you to behold.
Remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do -- stroll the Spanish Steps and along the shops and cafe culture of the Via Condotti and Via Veneto or simply toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain then have a gelato. Consider, as you are strolling through this remarkable city or perhaps along the Appian Way on the city’s outskirts, that you are walking in the footsteps of Julius Caesar, St. Peter, Charlemagne, the Catholic Popes, and Michelangelo!
October 18 (Monday) Leave on the Southern Italy Cultural Tour 2010 or Fly Home
After spending two glorious weeks in northern Italy, you won’t want to return home. So don’t! Join us for the Southern Italy Cultural Tour 2010 and let your adventure continue for another two weeks!!
Optional Side Excursions
Additional optional side excursions are being planned. More information will be available closer to the departure date!
Reservations
Reservations for the Northern Italy Cultural Tour 2010 are being accepted now on a first-come first-served basis until spaces are filled. The first 15 sign-ups will receive the “early bird” discount. Act now to secure your seat and save!
Additional Information
For a complete itinerary, trip Application, and additional information, please contact one of our group tour consultants today! Click here to e-mail us: Contact Us
* The price assumes double occupancy, a minimum of 30 trip participants, an exchange rate of $1.25 U.S dollars to 1.00 Euro, reflects the $100 early-bird discount offered to the first 30 sign-ups for this tour and considers the cost of airfare as of 6/1/2010. A single supplement of $398.00 applies to individual travelers. A $500.00 non-refundable deposit must be submitted to receive the early-bird discount. All deposits and payments are non-refundable after their due dates. Please request a trip Application for more details and the current tour price.