8-Day Italy Rail Circle Tour (8R05)

DAY 1

Depending on your arrival time in Rome, you may have free time for sightseeing in Rome City Center, where your hotel is located. From there many of the major sights in the City are within walking distance. Visit the Spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna, the Piazza Navona with its many baroque attractions by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, the Trevi Fountain and many more.

Day 2 – Rome

Today you will go on a three-hour English-speaking walking tour which includes a visit to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The tour will give you an overall impression of the most significant sights of Ancient Rome. The tour starts with the Colosseum and an in-depth discussion on the history of the Amphitheater. After a short break at the Arch of Constantine, you arrive at Palatine Hill, one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Walk on the Via Sacra (Sacred Way) to the Roman Forum and see the Temple which houses the altar where Julius Caesar was cremated. The tour ends at the Arch of Septimus Severus (within the Roman Forum).

After the tour you may want to have lunch at the Piazza Navona, a beautiful piazza with three fountains. Here you will find many restaurants with outside tables – a very nice place for lunch. After lunch you may want to take a short walk towards the Tiber. On the other side, you find Saint Peter´s Square within the Vatican.

DAY 3

Take the rail from Rome directly to Venice. Your hotel is in walking distance from the rail station. You have all afternoon and evening to see many of the highlights: the Rialto Bridge which is the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal in Venice, St. Mark´s Square the principal public square of Venice, the Doge´s Palace one of the main landmarks of Venice… and many more!

DAY 4

One of the best ways to see the highly pedestrianized city of Venice is by foot, where most of the top attractions are easily within walking distance. You may want to join a free English-speaking Venice walking tour  (information on how to reserve this tour will be provided). You’ll be escorted through the city’s most famous landmarks: St. Mark’s Square, Marco Polo’s House, the Cannareggio District and much more. Skip the line at St. Mark’s Basilica and uncover hidden Venice with your local, English-speaking tour guide. You’ll walk through history – from the city’s beginnings as a maritime power to the modern day sightseeing mecca Venice has become.

Palazzo Vecchio Florence, Vine Yards, Dumo and Leaning Tower Pisa © Fototeca ENIT Vito Arcomano; Gino Cianci; Paola Ghirotto;

After breakfast you take the Speed train from Venice directly to Florence, a Renaissance city in the heart of Tuscany, and home of Michelangelo, Botticelli and many more. Visit the Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio, Il Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) where you can climb up the 463 steps to its top to have a marvelous view of Florence. Take a walk over the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) which is still lined with shops selling gold and silver jewelry. From the bridge you’ll have a great view along the Arno River.

 Day 6 – San Gimignano and Siena

In the morning you will travel by escorted coach through the delightful hills of the Chianti countryside for a visit of Siena and San Gimignano. Widely considered to be one of Europe’s best preserved medieval towns, Siena is situated in the heart of Tuscany. The prime tourist attraction in Siena is the Piazza del Campo, the city’s main square which houses the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena’s town hall and the adjoining Torre del Mangia. After your visit in Siena you take a ride through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to the city of San Gimignano. Here you can visit the Collegiate Church with its lavish Frescoes, or the Church of Saint Augustine, where you can see works by

Renaissance artists. These are just two of the major tourist attractions of San Gimignano. You will be back in Florence in the evening, right in time to enjoy an Italian Dinner!

Today you take an escorted coach tour to Pisa. A local guide will escort you on a walking tour of the “Square of Miracles”. The city’s most famous attraction, the leaning tower of Pisa needs no introduction. The Cathedral, another major tourist attraction, which also stands on the same Piazza, is one of the world’s greatest examples of Pisan-Romanesque architecture. The Cathedral is famous for the works of art that adorn its interiors such as the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano. In the afternoon the bus will take you back to Florence where your hotel is located. You will still have some more time for sightseeing in Florence in the late afternoon/evening that day.

After breakfast you take the high-speed train back to Rome where your tour ends. If you would like to extend your stay in Rome please let us know. We will be happy to arrange post-tour accommodation in Rome for you.