Duration: 8 hours
Type of Service: Siena Foodie Tour with Charcuterie Lunch at Salumeria – private tour with one hour visit to the Siena Cathedral
You will be picked up from the Siena train station if coming from Florence or your accommodations in Siena. Private door to door service is also available from your Florence accommodations. The medieval town of Siena is located 1 hour, 20 minutes south of Florence.
This special foodie tour starts in the heart of the ancient hilltop town of Siena. We will visit a cafe for coffee, where the owners roast their own coffee beans as they have for 3 generations.
Then we will make the short walk to a family owned generation bakery to hear the history and sample many of the local Sienese desserts.
If this tour is booked on a Tuesday or Saturday, we can visit a local farmers market for a sampling of the Tuscan Pecorino cheeses, and honey, among other things.
Next, we make the short drive outside the walls of Siena, to a Salumeria for lunch. This is a historical delicatessen, which offers artesian quality products. The salamis are lovingly made by, the Norcino, using local recipes that are 300 years old. All made from local livestock without any use of colorants, preservatives, milk-based ingredients or gluten.
Following our lunch, we will make a short drive to visit a family winery for a wine and olive oil tasting. At the end of the tasting we will return to Siena or drop off at the Siena train station or transfer back to Florence.
Things to Know
Duration: 8 hours
Type of Service: Montalcino Brunello Wine Tour with Lunch
We start the day with a scenic drive through the Tuscan country side to our first winery, with incredible views of the valley and mountains around Montalcino. We’ll begin with a tour of the wine cellars before our first tasting of the famous Brunello wines.
Next, we’ll visit the ancient walled city of Montalcino where we’ll tour the fortress, and enjoy a relaxing walk around the town. After our walk through Montalcino, we will have lunch at a family restaurant that serves food harvested from their organic gardens. After lunch we will visit our second family winery, which includes a tour of their vineyards and an olive oil tasting.
Things to Know:
Duration: 6 hours
Type of Service: Tuscany Wine and Olive Oil Trail – small group tour
Carefully designed to offer an all-round immersive Chianti wine experience. Our signature Tuscany Wine and Olive Oil Trail Tour leads you down country roads and vineyards, through the cellars and straight under the labels and into the bottles of one of the world's most exceptional wines: Chianti!
Enjoy the exclusive privileges of exploring Chianti and Chianti Classico in a small group, aboard a minivan, with the expert guidance of a sommelier throughout your tour.
Renowned worldwide for its precious ruby-red blends the Chianti hillside is quite unique: a sea of softly rolling hills dotted by swaying cypresses, olive groves and golden farmhouses and a myriad of extensive vineyards. This is the land of the black rooster - il Gallo Nero - which you can see defiantly looking out of all the signs along the countryside roads and labels, the land where back in 1872 the ideal percentage of different grapes (Sangiovese, Canaiolo and others) used to make the area's namesake wine was discovered.
Explore the marvelous realm of wine in its very kingdom, learn about the history, the peculiar characteristics, the different tastes and aromas.
Your tour includes visiting two wineries and an ancient olive oil mill.
The mill boasts ancient architectural features and modern technology and produces delicious gourmet olive oil. Enjoy learning about the centuries-old olive oil tradition, the harvesting and pressing process, and finally savor the unique, full, flavor of the estate oil.
Experience the thrill of exploring the cellars lined with precious blends (both wineries are internationally renowned and acclaimed), learning about wine production in general and about the two different approaches and techniques, while savoring the very best of the estate blends.
At the end of the tour, you will savor a typical Tuscan lunch.
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Duration: 3.5 hours
Type of Service: Privileged Entrance Vatican Walking Tour with Sistine Chapel – small group tour
Our Privileged Entrance Vatican Tour starts at 7:30a.m. and we enter the Vatican Museums just after 8:00a.m. (an hour earlier than general public access). As a result, witness the jaw-dropping Sistine Chapel before the masses of people stream in. After visiting the Sistine Chapel, our professional English-speaking guide will take you back through the highlights of the Vatican Museums. Then pass back through the Sistine Chapel and head to St. Peter’s Basilica. One of our most popular Rome tours, this 3.5-hour Vatican tour includes:
First stop is a visit to the Sistine Chapel before it’s open to the general public. Since the Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museums, it’s included in your Vatican Museums ticket. When you enter the Sistine Chapel, you’ll realize our descriptions cannot do this incredible work justice. As well as being one of Michelangelo’s most prized masterpieces, the Sistine Chapel also serves as a gathering place for cardinals of the Catholic Church. This is also where new popes are elected - including Pope Francis! The Sistine Chapel is a place of worship, so speaking inside is forbidden. Don’t worry though, your guide will provide you with a map/handout for reference before you enter. *The Sistine Chapel is a sacred place, so both men and women must cover their knees and shoulders. Otherwise, you may be refused entry to a portion of your Vatican tour. We understand the summers in Rome are hot - a great alternative is to bring a shawl/sweater to wrap around you when necessary.
The Best Galleries at the Vatican - Led by our guide, visit our favorite galleries including the Borgia Apartments, Gallery of the Candelabra, Gallery of the Tapestries and the Gallery of the Maps. Predating a unified Italy by nearly 300 years and based on painted topographical maps of Italy, the Gallery of the Maps is one of the coolest places in the Vatican Museums. One of the frescoes contains the image of a sea monster - see if you can spot it!
Raphael Rooms - The term Renaissance literally means "rebirth" and refers to the period of European civilization that produced a great revival in art, literature and learning. Raphael was one of Rome's most famous Renaissance artists who encompassed all the ideals of a Renaissance man. He designed and frescoed multiple rooms connected to the Vatican Museums. Among other masterpieces, you’ll see one of Raphael’s most famous works of art, The School of Athens.
Skip the Line St. Peter’s Basilica - St. Peter's Basilica is the grand centerpiece of the Vatican. Imagine walking into the biggest church you've ever seen, filled with artwork from all the famous Italian artists you learned about in school. Skip the lines that wait outside in St Peter's Square as you access the basilica from the inside, through a special side entrance our guides can use. Once inside, admire masterpieces that include the Baldacchino, La Pieta, the statue of St. Peter and more. While it is free to enter, this guided tour helps you make the most of it, without suffering the long lines.
Things to Know
Duration: 8 hours
Type of Service: VIP Small-group Siena and San Gimignano day tour from Florence with dinner - small group tour
A fabulous and exclusive all-round Tuscan extravaganza!
Spend an enlightening afternoon visiting Siena and San Gimignano, two of Tuscany's "jewel cities", and top the day off with a sunset and dinner in a boutique winery in the rolling Chianti countryside.
Depart Florence for Siena in full comfort aboard our state-of-the-art minivan, with your dedicated English-speaking driver and tour escort, and reach Siena.
Set in a beautiful landscape, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, it is one of the most enchanting medieval cities in Italy.
Led by a specialized knowledgeable guide you will discover the town's most striking sights, admire the marvelous Piazza del Campo - where twice a year dashing horses compete in the heart-rendering Palio race. Explore quieter backstreets and learn everything about the Contrade (the 17 medieval city districts that compete against each other in the Palio) and enjoy a flavorful surprise, a tasting of a local specialty.
Then travel on to San Gimignano, UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most splendid examples of an ancient walled town. Renowned as “the city of beautiful towers” or "Tuscany's Manhattan" it boasts an exceptional skyline. It is certainly one of the most well-preserved towns in the whole of Italy and has, in fact, been used as a background in many movies. During your free time here, stroll the maze of quaint cobblestone streets at leisure, discovering the many tall towers, once homes, which characterize the town.
Breathe in the authentic atmosphere and then set off to admire the sun setting over the vineyard-clad Chianti hills and savor a genuine Tuscan dinner and wine tasting in the charming premises of a delightful boutique winery.
Enjoy the scrumptious flavors of an authentic typical meal splendidly paired with different excellent wines, as well as the privilege of a private visit to the estate's wine cellar.
Leaving you free to relax in the morning, and leading you into the heart of Tuscan beauty and heritage in the afternoon and evening, our VIP Small-Group Siena and San Gimignano with Dinner in a Chianti Winery provides a quintessential Dolce Vita Tuscan experience which you will never forget.
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Duration: 3 hours
Type of Service: Food Lover's Tour: Tasting at Florence’s Hidden Classics and Gems – small group tour
Florence is home to the some of the best foods and family run bottegas. On this food tour in Florence, we will have the bonus of strolling the historical center of town with a local expert while tasting the regions finest specialties on this fun, informative food lover's crawl. You’ll visit a mix of classic culinary institutions and hidden gems on the tiny streets off famous squares. You will visit artisan purveyors such as bakers, family-owned bottegas procuring goods from their own farms and local wines, a truffle cafe, institutional gelato parlors and more. You'll taste prized ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil, caliber vintage prosecco, aged balsamic vinegar, local cheeses (ewe's milk pecorino), artisan cured meats, and learn all about Florentine's food history while getting a sense of the city with this specialty gourmet walk. This tour is a must for true food lovers who want to get down to the grain of the local food culture while meeting the city's most cherished bottegas, with a touch of sightseeing and main square orientation.
Highlights:
Our gourmet food tours in Florence are perfect for discerning food lovers, chefs, bakers, cooks, farm-to-table eaters and Italian culture enthusiasts. After your food tour, you will feel more confident to return to these shops and know what defines the traditional food landscape. Be prepared for genuine backdoor journey through these local-loved food shops.
Things to Know
Duration: 5 hours
Type of Service: Pizza and Gelato Cooking Class at a Farmhouse in Tuscany - small group class
Learn to make these Italian classics in an idyllic setting in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.
Under the guidance of a professional Italian chef you will be taken on a cultural journey learning the skills and inside tricks of making the best mouth-watering pizza and gelato right in the country where they were born.
The beautiful estate that offers stunning views over the surrounding hills just outside the center of Florence provides the perfect setting to roll up your sleeves and get hands on when learning the process from making and kneading the dough to choosing the perfect topping for your pizza. Some ingredients for your pizza are picked from our very own vegetable garden.
You will be able to relax and enjoy the delicious pizza cooked in our wood oven with a glass of Chianti wine or a cold beer before you get started on the gelato making. By the end of the class you will feel confident enough to re-produce the food at home impressing your lucky guests!
Being both a fun but instructive class this hands-on pizza and gelato making class will be one of the most memorable parts of your trip to Tuscany.
Highlights
Things to Know
Duration: 3 hours
Type of Service: Family Friendly Discover Florence Walking Tour - private tour
Explore the most important sites in Florence with your very own privately guided walking tour.
Meet your guide at your hotel accommodations in the center city to begin your fascinating and fun tour of Florence for families with children. Your kid-friendly guide will keep the younger minds engaged with interesting history and tidbits. Follow your guide through the historic center of Florence to see the ancient Ponte Vecchio, the most famous bridge that crosses the Arno River. See the sculptures in the open-air loggia on one side of the Piazza della Signoria. Admire the Palazzo Vecchio, where the Medici family once lived, and the exterior of the Uffizi Gallery, which was once the Florentine government offices. Visit an outdoor market and rub the nose of a boar statue for good luck – the Porcellino. See the Piazza della Repubblica and visit Florence's magnificent Duomo. Your tour will finish at the San Lorenzo Market, where you can shop, or check out the food stalls. Taking this tour early in your visit to Florence means you'll get great tips and information for the rest of your stay.
Things to know:
Type of Service: 1 Hour with David - Accademia Gallery Tour - small group walking tour
Duration: 1.5 hours
An exclusive cultural experience: easy, hassle-free priority entrance to Florence's Accademia Gallery, home to Michelangelo's awe-inspiring David!
Admired and acclaimed by experts and travelers worldwide. This amazing sculpture is not only one of the greatest works of art ever, it is also an icon of the Renaissance, one of the most revolutionary artistic periods of all times.
Carved from a single block of far-from-perfect Carrara marble when Michelangelo was only in his twenties the sculpture is truly impressive. Enjoy the chance to learn about this sculpture and much more from your experienced professional guide!
The massive statue - over 5.17 meters (17 ft) tall - represents the biblical David who killed Goliath with a stone from a slingshot. You will note how perfectly it depicts the young hero's limbs, muscles, veins, and find out that when it was finished, in 1504, it was placed at the entrance of Palazzo Vecchio to be admired by the people as an inspiring symbol of the strength and independence of the Florentines.
In addition to presenting the David your guide will explain how to appreciate Michelangelo's striking Prisoners and St. Matthew, as well as talk about many of the other remarkable works of art exhibited in the Accademia, including religious paintings, many with gold-background by major artists from the 13th to the 17th century, sculptures by 19th-century masters, and more.
Please note that entrance to the museum entails mandatory security check which may cause delays in access even with skip-the-line priority tickets.
Things to Know:
Duration: 2.5 hours
Type of Service: Wine and Food Tasting Dinner – small group tasting
Embark on a food pairing and wine tasting journey around Italy's regions at popular and famous wine bar in Rome. This wine tasting experience is fun and exciting in an intimate environment with delicious food.
This unique wine bar/restaurant focuses on the best and fresh artisan selections in wine and food from all over Italy. Their focus extends beyond just Wine Tastings and Dinners to Cooking Classes, Olive Oil Tastings, and more…their expertise sommeliers offer an unforgettable experience for the everyday wine drinkers to wine collectors.
Learn the origins, history and stories of Italy’s wines, regions and foods while you taste through the authentic flavors of the best artisan producers of Italy selected by expertise sommeliers in this group dinner (no boring lectures). An unforgettable night spent with people from all over the world with amazing food and wines.
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