INCLUDED FEATURES...

ROME: Welcome dinner; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum

SIENA: Orientation including Piazza del Campo

SAN GIMIGNANO: Orientation

FLORENCE: Guided sightseeing including headsets, visit Michelangelo's David, the cathedral, and Signoria Square

PISA: Picture stop at the Leaning Tower

VERRAZZANO CASTLE: Wine tasting and lunch

VENICE: Private boat ride; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit St. Mark's Square and Basilica, Doges' Palace and the Bridge of Sighs

MURANO AND BURANO: Lagoon cruise and island visits including glassblowers' demonstration in Murano and lunch in Burano

VERONA: Orientation including Juliet's Balcony and the Arena MILAN Orientation, visit the Galleria and the Duomo

SCENIC HIGHLIGHTS

Aurelian Way, Tuscany, Lombardian Plains, Apennine Mountains, Chianti wine region

MEALS

9 buffet breakfasts (BB); 2 lunches (L) including one with wine-tasting in Verrazzano Castle and one with wine in Burano; 2 three-course dinners (D), including a special welcome dinner with wine in Rome.

AIRPORT TRANSFERS

Airport transfers may be included when you make your flight arrangements with Globus. Call us toll free for more information.

INSIDE VISITS

Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges when applicable.

QUALITY HOTELS

ROME: Grand Hotel Beverly Hills (F)

FLORENCE: Starhotel Michelangelo (SF)

VENICE: Starhotel Splendid Suisse (SF)

MILAN: Starhotel Ritz (F)

Day 1: (THU.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2: ARRIVAL IN ROME, ITALY. (FRI.) Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine in one of Rome's lively restaurants. (D)

Day 3: ROME. (SAT.) Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. This afternoon time to explore the city on your own, relax, or join an optional walk to Trevi Fountain, Navona Square, the Roman Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps, and finish with a Roman dinner party. (BB)

Day 4: AT LEISURE IN ROME. (SUN.) Full day to savor la dolce vita and enjoy independent activities. If you feel like traveling, join an optional excursion to Pompeii, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by a volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. (BB)

Day 5: ROME - SIENA - SAN GIMIGNANO - FLORENCE. (MON.) First stop this morning is in Siena. Walk through ancient, narrow lanes to PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, site of the biannual Palio, Siena's spectacular medieval-style horse race. Then continue through unforgettable landscapes of gently rolling, vine-clad hills for a stop in hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of Italy's perfectly preserved medieval towns. Afterwards on to Florence, the splendid capital of Tuscany and birthplace of the Renaissance. (BB,D)

Day 6: FLORENCE. (TUE.) Follow your Local Guide and visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo's celebrated David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry's heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. The afternoon is free. Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. You may wish to join an optional dinner outing to a fine Tuscan restaurant. (BB)

Day 7: FLORENCE. EXCURSION TO PISA AND VERRAZZANO CASTLE. (WED.) A fast journey will bring you to Pisa. Here take your pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Today's highlight: hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti Classico at VERRAZZANO CASTLE; enjoy WINE TASTING and lunch before returning to Florence. (BB,L)

Day 8: FLORENCE - VENICE. (THU.) An easy morning drive through the wooded Apennine Hills to Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Enter its glittering maze of islands, canals, and bridges in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK'S SQUARE and BYZANTINE BASILICA, lavish DOGES' PALACE, and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Then enjoy Venice at your own pace, or join an optional gondola ride. (BB)

Day 9: VENICE. MURGANO AND BURANO ISLANDS EXCURSION. (FRI.) Enjoy an unforgettable Venetian LAGOON CRUISE to the islands of Murano and Burano. Glide past the islands of San Giorgio and Santa Elena, and along the banks of the famous Lido. In Murano watch GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then continue on to the picturesque fishing village of Burano, renowned for its bright pastel-colored houses and for its lace-making. Take pictures of traditional fishing boats and enjoy an included lunch. Return to Venice in the early afternoon. (BB,L)

Day 10: VENICE - VERONA - MILAN. (SAT.) Stop in Verona, medieval setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and see Juliet's Balcony and the Arena, an incredibly well-preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater. Built in the 1st century A.D., it is now the magical venue for world-famous opera performances. Then on to the dynamic city of Milan with its famous Scala Opera House, glass-domed GALLERIA, and magnificent GOTHIC DUOMO. An optional farewell dinner may be the perfect way to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation. (BB)

Day 11: (SUN.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)