A Rail of Three Cities…in Italy

After a short flight and transfer to Venice you will be met and transported to your hotel, where you can settle in with a drink at the bar, a massage or room service. The next four nights will see you getting under the skin of this beautiful city, seeing the sights but also getting off the well-worn track. We recommend stepping down intriguing side streets and wandering away from the main canals.

Of course, you will want to see Venice’s gorgeous highlights – like the Rialto Bridge and Bridge of Sighs plus St Mark’s Square with Doge’s Palace. When it comes to mealtimes, we can make reservations at some of Venice’s best restaurants, many of which overlook the canals. Art aficionados should visit the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, plus glimpse art in churches such as Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari with Titian’s Assumption and sculptures by Bellini and Donatello. Consider taking a vaporetto ride over to the Lido and hiring a bicycle or visiting the beach. Alternatively, visit the island of Murano and learn about the island’s thousand-year-old tradition of glassblowing.

Onwards to Rome. You’ll enjoy another relaxed few hours onboard the train as you journey south from Florence to Rome speeding through the scenic Italian countryside of Tuscany. With four nights in Rome, you will get to grips with this fascinating city whose history dates back more than two and a half thousand years. For your first day, why not let us organise a guided tour, so you can hear first-hand the history of the ancient sites. Explore the Forum and the Colosseum, as well as the Vatican City, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.

Once you’ve got your bearings you can start to enjoy Rome like a local, stopping for espresso at the bar or lingering in beautiful piazzas, watching daily life go by. Piazza Navona has the impressive Bernini Baroque Fountain of the Four Rivers and lively Campo dei Fiori has a packed daily market. Of course, art plays a large part to any visit to Florence – admire impressive art works by Raphael and Michelangelo at the Vatican, and enjoy visiting the Borghese Gallery which features important works by Bernini and Caravaggio among others. Enjoy your last day, soaking up the Italian dolce vita before beginning your journey home.