Italy has bewitched travelers for centuries, but two cities stand apart from all the others—not merely beautiful, but genuinely transformative. Florence, the city that bankrolled the Renaissance and still carries that genius in its very stones, and Venice, the impossible city—built on water, defying both logic and gravity for over a thousand years. 

We’re bringing you both—done the NextTribe way. That means traveling with Shannon Faseler, our artist-guide and Italian art historian, who moves through these cities the way a local does: through the back streets of the Oltrarno, past the ateliers where bookbinders and goldsmiths still practice their crafts, and into corners that don’t appear in any guidebook. We’ve set this 9-day journey in March deliberately—when the crowds thin, the light softens, and both cities exhale. You can stand before Michelangelo’s David without jostling for position, cross the Rialto Bridge before the tour buses arrive, and actually hear the water lapping against ancient stone.

March in Florence means space to breathe in the Galleria dell’Accademia—a rare gift when you’re standing in front of the David, that astonishing 17-foot block of Carrara marble that Michelangelo transformed over four years into something almost unbearably alive. In Venice, it means golden afternoon light on the Byzantine mosaics of St. Mark’s Basilica, and the leisure to watch the lace-makers of Burano work their intricate patterns on the steps of pastel-painted houses. And it means time to try your own hand at skills that have been passed down through generations here—gilding and the ancient art of fresco. 

The itinerary covers everything worth seeing—the Uffizi, the Doge’s Palace, a Vivaldi concert in a candlelit church—but it never feels like a forced march through the highlights. There are aperitivo hours watching the Arno glow at dusk, mornings at the Mercato Centrale where Florentines actually shop for dinner, and a long, unhurried lunch beside the Rialto fish market, eating fritto misto while the vendors shout and haggle around you. 

Shannon’s dual expertise—working artist and Italian art historian—means you’ll see Florence and Venice the way they were meant to be seen: not as postcard cities to be checked off, but as living, breathing arguments for beauty that have been winning people over for centuries. Come see why.