ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival
Arrive at your hotel on the Venice mainland

Day 2: Verona
After breakfast travel to Verona where a guided tour reveals that this city is second only to Rome for its number of Roman ruins. Pastel villas, built from rosso di Verona, the local pink limestone, line the cobbled streets. See the famous balcony of Romeo & Juliet that inspired Shakespeare’s tale of love gone tragically wrong. Later return to Venice mainland.

Day 3: Venice
Take the tram from Mestre to Piazzale Roma before boarding a boat for the ride to St. Mark’s Square, where our guided tour in Venice begins. Visit St. Mark’s Basilica passing by the Doge’s Palace. Enjoy a Venice experience “must” – a ride in a genuine Venetian gondola. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure wandering through this exceptional city before returning to the mainland by boat and tram.

Day 4: Transfer to Lake Como with visit to Milan - hotel change
Depart after breakfast for Milan. Enjoy a Milan city tour and see the impressive Cathedral. This building took six centuries to complete and is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. Enjoy time at leisure to sip a cappuccino or stroll through the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery, one of the world’s oldest shopping malls, before travelling on to your hotel in the Como area for a 4-night stay.

Day 5: Lake Como tour
Today enjoy a scenic cruise to Bellagio, one of the most famous lakeside resorts in Italy. An impossibly beautiful lakeside setting frames the village characterized by centuries-old buildings, tiny streets and quaint cobbled stairways, with shops showcasing the finest Italian wares. Enjoy free time to explore Bellagio at your own pace before returning to the hotel.

Day 6: Day at leisure
Enjoy a day at leisure in the Lake Como area to explore your surroundings

Day 7: Lugano
Cross the border into Switzerland this morning to visit Lugano, a city with a distinctly Italian feel, set on the shores of a bejewelled lake with views of the not-too-distant Alps. Enjoy a guided tour with some free time afterwards to explore on your own. Take in the splendour of the peaks of the Bernese Oberland and the Valais from the top of Switzerland’s sunniest mountain following a ride on the Monte Brè cable car. Panoramic terraces offer a place to relax and take in the magnificent views down onto Lake Lugano below.

Day 8: Departure
Depart from your hotel in the Como area