Extend your experience and enjoy 3 days and 2 nights on beautiful Lake Como - based in Bellagio - The Pearl of the Lake!

This package includes: 

• Arrival Transfer from Milan to Bellagio

• Journey Tour Director to greet you and orient you to beautiful Bellagio

• Journey Welcome Dinner: With one of the Top 10 Italian Chefs!

• 2 Nights accommodation with breakfast and all city/tourist taxes included. 

• Boat ride, Admission Tickets with time at Villa Carlotta and gardens.
• Onward transport to Venice Hotel

Deluxe: $1779 per person

Classic: $1179 per person

Econo: $639 per person - Sightseeing and dining is optional with Journey's econo plan.

Luxury: Grand Villa Serbelloni - $2639/person

DAY 1: WELCOME TO BEAUTIFUL VENICE

Upon arrival you are transported via private water taxi to our hotel on San Marco along with your fellow travelers and your Journey Tour Director. Check-in, drop luggage and then relax until our Discovery Walk.

Later this afternoon you will enjoy a get-to-know-Venice Discovery Walk — a hallmark of the Journey style of traveling and exploring new destinations.

Your Journey Tour Director welcomes you to Venice with a toast for your arrival.

Discovery Walk: Venice

You will enjoy a get-to-know-Venice Discovery Walk — a hallmark of the Journey style of traveling and exploring new destinations hosted by your Journey Tour Director. We will take in the beautiful sights of Piazza San Marco, the "Campanile" or clock tower, the Grand Canal and more.

Enjoy some time at leisure before meeting tonight for a special 'Welcome to Venice' evening from one of our exclusive perspectives to see Venice.

Welcome to Venice Dinner

We then make our way to our favorite restaurant in Venice where we will be delighted with cuisine from several regions throughout Italy including the Veneto, Lazio and Campania (all paired with delicious wines and premium beverages - and all included with Journey).

Accommodation in Venice, 2 Nights with breakfast

Deluxe: Hotel Saturnia & International

Classic: Hotel Bonvecchiati or Similar

Special sightseeing today includes:

• Doge's Palace: Skip-the-Line Entrance to the Doge's Palace (meaning Duke or Governor's Palace), the seat of the Republic of Venice's historic power.
• Venice's Old Prison: The Prisons of Venice: Found inside the Doge's Palace, are the older and new prisons.
• Bridge of Sighs: The bridge made famous for its window and last view of blue sky and freedom as prisoners are marched to their sentence.
• Basilica San Marco: Enjoy the beautiful mosaics and how they reflect and dance in the light. Your Tour Captain "paints the picture" of the history and opulence that is the Basilica San Marco prior to entering. Once inside, enjoy 'silence' as you observe its beauty encased in Byzantine architecture.
• Piazza San Marco: and our "Secret Treasures of Venice:"
• Walking Delights: Learn about the Clock Tower (Campanile), Caffé Florian, Napoleon and the Winged Lion
• Enjoy included admission/entrance to Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana at your leisure.

Special Adventure: Venetian Gondola Experience

Later today, just before sunset enjoy our included Gondola ride through the canals of Venice with our professional musicians to make the ambiance perfect. On occasion inclement weather will prevent the gondola ride. In this scenario an alternate activity will be substituted later in the tour.

Enjoy the balance of the afternoon and evening at your leisure.

Journey is Different: Your Journey Tour Director will invite you to an optional dinner after the Gondola ride, and they can also help you with dining reservations if you choose to explore lovely Venice on your own. 

DAY 3: ONWARD TO FLORENCE
This morning enjoy a leisurely start with breakfast and then join your Journey Tour Director as we transfer by boat to the Venezia Santa Lucia Train Station for the included Fast-train passage to Florence. Your bags are portaged separately so you can enjoy the ride.

We zip along the Italian countryside and arrive in Florence at the Santa Maria Novella Train Station where we deboard the train for our short walk to our hotels in the very heart of Florence.

After some time to freshen up, we begin our chapter in Florence.

Discovery Walk: Florence

On the Discovery Walk we will orient you to the very heart of historic Florence. In addition to seeing many of the major sites including Giotto's Campanile (Bell Tower) and the Baptistery, the Florence Cathedral, also known as the Duomo, we will enjoy entrance to Orsanmichele church and the church of Via Santa Margherita which was the parish of many Florentine families, such as Cerchi, Donati, Adimari and Portinari.

Enjoy the balance of the afternoon at leisure until our welcome dinner tonight.

Welcome to Florence Dinner

Your Journey Tour Director hosts an amazing welcome dinner in Florence with authentic Tuscan cuisine served by Fiorentini who love what they do. Florence welcomes us with a variety of regional culinary tastes, premium beverages, and ample portions of fine local wines from Toscana and Chianti.

Accommodation in Florence, 2 Nights with breakfast

Deluxe: Hotel Bernini Palace or Similar
Classic: Rosso 23 or Similar

DAY 4: EXPLORING FLORENCE

Today's Adventure: Florence Secrets & Treasures

Journey's Florence Secrets & Treasures tour boasts a variety of fine sights to see including Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery's Bronze "Gate of Paradise," Giotto's Bell Tower, Signoria Square, and the Galleria dell'Accademia, where Michelangelo's David is housed.

We will take our time walking through the Piazza della Repubblica, the famous Piazza Signoria with her old palace, Palazzo Vecchio, and make our way through the portico of the Uffizi complex before arriving at the Arno River and a visit to the "old bridge," or Ponte Vecchio. This was the only bridge in Florence to survive the World War II bombing raids.

Special Sightseeing Includes:

• Galleria dell'Accademia: Skip-the-Line admission to experience Michelangelo's David in the Academy Gallery.
• Galleria dell'Accademia: The first art school of Europe.
• Our tour includes the historic city center which is a World Heritage site that comprises the Baptistery, Campanile, and the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore – also known as the Duomo. The 14th-century dome was created by Brunelleschi.
• See the magnificent Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery, so called by Michelangelo. Our Local Guide will comment on these impressive doors to the Baptistery created by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Until the 19th century, most Catholic Florentines were baptized here. The Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile whose perspective we enjoy from ground level are all part of the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiori complex.
• Entrance and tour of Orsanmichele: This church was originally built as a grain market in 1337 by Francesco Talenti, Neri di Fioravante, and Benci di Cione. Then converted into a church between 1380 and 1404.
• Walking Delights: We explore Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), the only bridge to survive World War II bombing.

Following our Secrets & Treasures adventure the balance of the day is at your leisure.

Interested in checking out the leather market? What about a climb of the Duomo? We can arrange visits, admissions and more for you in advance. Consider a visit to the Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) or just explore at your leisure. This Basilica is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile, Rossini, and Marconi, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

Enjoy the balance of the afternoon and evening at your leisure.

Journey is Different: Your Journey Tour Director will invite you to an optional dinner tonight or you can explore Florence at leisure.

DAY 5: GOOD MORNING TUSCANY

Today's Adventure: Tuscan Glory

It's a great day to explore further into the Tuscan countryside.

Our first stop is the hilltop village of San Gimignano. One of San Gimignano's most impressive sights is the medieval skyline made up of 13 remaining towers dating back from the 11th century. San Gimignano rises on a hill dominating the Elsa Valley. The town increased in wealth and developed greatly during the Middle Ages thanks to the "Via Francigena", the trading and pilgrim's route that crossed it. Once in San Gimignano, we enjoy free time to explore the city of towers. San Gimignano also has several distractions for shopping - so dig in and enjoy!

We'll toast our arrival into the countryside of Tuscany with a unique perspective and our first taste of Vernaccia, a white wine that hails from San Gimignano.