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.
Things to Know:
Duration: 8.75 hours
Type of Service: From Naples - Pompeii and Vesuvius Tour with Lunch and Wine Tasting
The Complete Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius Experience - Meet up with your expert local guide in the center of the fascinating city of Naples and hop aboard a comfortable private coach to head straight for the archaeological area of Pompeii. Your guide will prepare you for everything that’s in store on our Pompeii tours from Naples, sharing the captivating stories and history behind the fateful day in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius exploded in one of the most catastrophic eruptions ever, covering the area in a thick layer of ash and rubble.
Absorbing Explanations and Descriptions - Once we get to Pompeii you’ll benefit from skip-the-line, pre-booked entry and the expertise of an official local guide, as you walk this former port town’s main streets just as the ancient Romans did on stones that are still worn with tracks from the carts that tread them nearly 2,000 years ago. We’ll visit the forum, the center of Pompeii’s political and social life, the startling plaster death casts of the victims of the violent eruption that destroyed the city, as well as take a look inside intact dwelling complete with their porticoes, mosaics, and frescoes. The city’s baths and gymnasiums will also impress as you look across the millennia at a moment frozen in time forever.
An Epicurean Lunch with Local Food and Wine - After Pompeii, head up the lush slopes of Mt. Vesuvius itself to meet its most famous wine producer for a tasting of 6 fantastic native varieties produced from the volcanic soil right under your feet. Enjoy an inviting 3-course lunch of some of the region’s most delectable culinary delights, including cheeses, cured meats, pasta with local ‘piennolo’ heirloom tomatoes and a mouthwatering ‘pastiera napoletana’ pastry dessert with ricotta cheese and fruit. Admire sweeping views from the terrace over the surrounding countryside, and visit the vineyards and cellar with a careful explanation of the grape varietals and each step in the winemaking process from the family that owns them.
From here we’ll finish our ascent to the edge of Mt. Vesuvius’s crater. Take the chance to look an active volcano in the face on the 20-minute hike where you’ll get to look inside the caldera and take in the most breathtaking panoramas of the day. You’ll see Naples, the bay and the island of Capri from a height of over 4,200 feet, as well as bask in the pristine nature that surrounds you.
Things to Know:
Duration: 12 hours
Type Of Service: VIP Small-Group Cinque Terre Discovery & Vineyards Escapes Tour with Seafood Lunch
There is nothing better than the VIP Cinque Terre Discovery & Vineyards Escapes to explore a real Italian coastal paradise with the exclusivity of a small-group tour. This is the most complete experience and the only one-day tour to Cinque Terre that will allow you to discover the beauty of the villages while breathing the true relaxed essence of this paradise. A small-group adventure. The personalized attention of a knowledgeable guide. Exclusive escapes from the crowds that will reveal hidden, no touristy, gems. Relaxed savoring of two of the treasures of this region: its cuisine made of ancient traditional recipes and its local unique wines.
Departure from meeting point in the morning, transfer to the North West Riviera with a comfortable air-conditioned minivan.
During the day the guide will introduce guests to this spectacular corner of Italy, famous for its panorama, its wine, its food, beautiful sea and hiking opportunities.
Our comprehensive exploration will include the visit of some of the most beautiful villages and landscapes of Cinque Terre National Park (a world-heritage protected by UNESCO since 1997) which are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, the villages clinging to a remote stretch of the Riviera coastline. You will enjoy the five-mile-long rocky coast lined by thousands of dry walls built on terraces cultivated with vineyards, and the small medieval fishing villages built on rock… add to this the incredible color of the sea and the sky, and you may understand what paradise the Cinque Terre really is. Enjoy the most astonishing views either from land and sea, as we stroll along the national park by boat, train, and walking/hiking on the fabulous trails on the cliff (including famous Via dell’Amore - see notes -) in a perfect mix for a memorable experience.
A delicious full lunch with wine tasting in a typical restaurant on the sea is included, thus you will be able to enjoy incredible fresh seafood cooked the Ligurian way, accompanied by some great white wines typical of this region.
An amazing boat ride (weather and sea conditions permitting) will be an additional memorable perspective on the Riviera, to take back home with you the most incredible pictures of this day.
This experience is a unique opportunity to explore Cinque Terre in a day, also enjoying a few enchanting escapes from the crowds of the villages. You will have the chance to admire the astonishing coastal panorama from a high vantage point, with a very light hike on an almost levelled trail through seaside vineyards. Natural amphitheaters of luxuriant vineyards will disclose to your eyes and senses, facing the sea and the open horizon, and you will learn about the unique peculiarities of grape harvesting (that often include incredible steep mono-rails through the vineyards) and wine production of this region.
Get the best out of a day out, join this small group adventure!
Things to Know:
Duration: 10.5 hours
Type Of Service: Daytrip from Milan - Full Day Two Countries: Lake Como Tours with Bellagio and Lugano Switzerland - small group tour
Leave The City for a Day -Trying to decide which beautiful sights of Northern Italy to see and how much time you need to see them? We’ll make it easy for you. Our new day trips from Milan take you to three of the most beautiful and most popular destinations - Lake Como and Bellagio in Italy and Lake Lugano in Switzerland – in just one day!
And Bask in Lake Como's Beauty - Our one-day tours from Milan leave from a central, easy-to-reach location in the city. Your air-conditioned private coach will head straight from Milan to Lake Como, just an hour but a world away. Along the way, your expert, English-speaking guide will make sure you don’t miss any interesting sights and will entertain you with stories about them. We take care of all the details of your trip – including roundtrip transportation from Milan and tickets for a boat tour of Lake Como – all you have to do is show up and relax!
Nestled in the mountains with beautiful scenery that changes with each season, picturesque Lake Como has been Italy’s leading vacation destination for hundreds of years. During our boat tour, you’ll see the beautiful lakeside villas once owned by La Scala’s opera singers and now by headlining celebrities such as George Clooney, Richard Branson and Matthew Bellamy of Muse. You might even recognize villas from the Star Wars and James Bond blockbuster films.
Once in the beautiful city of Bellagio you will have free time explore on your own. Shop from local artisans, enjoy local food in nostalgic restaurants or step in for a quick drink in an ages-old bar, it is entirely up you. Take as many photos as you please in this picturesque town before we board our motor coach once again and continue our journey across the Italian border to Lugano.
We now take a scenic drive through the Alps and across the Swiss border to Lake Lugano. It’s easy to see why this city is one of Switzerland’s most popular vacation destinations. Lugano boasts a beautiful, large lake surrounded by huge and often snow-capped mountains.*
You can spend your afternoon in Lugano as you like with suggestions and directions from your guide. Culture aficionados should visit the church of Santa Maria degli Angioli home to Switzerland’s most important Renaissance painting - the beautiful ‘Passion and Crucifixion’ by Bernardino Luini, whose paintings have been compared to those of Leonardo da Vinci. You be the judge!
Lugano Like A Local - Feel like shopping? In Lugano’s downtown shopping district you’ll find plenty of choices - from luxury goods to, of course, delicious Swiss chocolate. We’ll give you lots of time to explore Lugano before you board the coach and return to Milan in time for dinner.
Combining visits to two countries and three of the area’s most beautiful locations in just one day, our day trips from Milan offer the perfect getaway from the hectic city life of Milan. We’ve taken care of the details, so you can just relax and enjoy the scenery…and so much more.
Sites Visited
Things to Know:
Duration: 3 Hours
Type of Service: Last Supper and the Best of Milan Walking Tour – small group tour
Milan is one of the world's top fashion capitals, but there is much more to this hip, urban metropolis – it is also home to an incredible patrimony of art and culture which includes Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest masterpiece, the 'Last Supper'.
No-Wait Tour of Duomo - On this Skip the Line walking tour of the best of Milan – we’ll take to the city by foot starting with a visit inside the famous ‘Duomo’ located in the most central point of the city. Milan's impressive cathedral is often described as one of the most beautiful churches in the world, so much so, in fact, that American author Mark Twain dedicated a whole chapter to it in his book 'Innocents Abroad' – describing it as “…so grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful!”.
19th Century Shopping Arcade - Our next stop is the impressive Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II – a 19th century glass vaulted shopping arcade. Brimming with fashionable shops and cafés – it is often called the ‘salotto di Milano’ or ‘Milan’s drawing room’ for its importance as a common meeting point through the years for the Milanese.
Rich History: Brera District – Next, it’s through the Brera District. Rich in historic buildings and ‘literature cafés”, restaurants and fashionable bars – this area has long been home to artists and intellectuals. Brera's picturesque and winding streets lead us north to Castello Sforzesco. An imposing medieval castle and fortress, Sforzesco was once seat and residence of the family that ruled Milan and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections. Your guide will explain more about it from the outside.
The Last Supper - The final stop and culmination of this Milan tour is none other than Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper, hidden away at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. This enormous and complex 15th century mural captures the emotional moment in which Jesus announces that one of his 12 disciples will betray him. The painting had been severely damaged over the centuries and has only very recently undergone a painstaking 21-year restoration, revealing the original colors and details of this masterpiece. The delicate nature of this mural and its importance means that Last Supper tickets are strictly limited to those who have pre-booked – and only one group is allowed to stand with the painting at a time in air-conditioned room for 15 minutes.
Sites Visited:
Things to Know:
Duration: 2.5 hours
Type of Service: Hidden Venice Food Tour with Rialto Market, Cicchetti and Gondola Ride - small group tour
Are you looking for the best food tour in Venice? Embark on a foodie-led exploration of Venetian culture that takes you off the beaten path. With a friendly, English-speaking guide by your side, visit some of our favorite bacari wine bars to sample assorted cicchetti dishes. Get a taste of local Venice food culture and learn about the city as you fill your belly with the best regional wine and food. This 2.5-hour tour includes:
- English-speaking, local foodie guide
- Maximum of 10 people per group
- Gondola ride
- Prosecco, wine and cocktails
- Sit down pasta lunch
- Cicchetti and Bacari
There are two words that are very important to learn when visiting Venice: cicchetti and bacari. The word cicchetti comes from Venetian dialect, meaning "a small savory snack". They are served at various little ‘bacari’ (local wine bars) and come in many delicious varieties. The tradition of going to bacari goes back to at least the 1300's. As time went on and the city got bigger, the number of bacari multiplied as more and more people desired wine.
Your local Venetian guide will explain many of the traditions involving why people visited bacari during the day (even in the morning!). When Italians drink wine, they always have something to eat with it, to make sure that they don't get too tipsy. So over time, the bacari started offering cicchetti (small savory snacks). And a new tradition was born, drinking wine with cicchetti.
Prosecco for Breakfast - In a city known throughout the world for its many islands and canals, most people think that they have Venice figured out. What they don't know is that there is so much more to discover, especially gastronomically. The first stop on this Venice food tour introduces you to a tasty side of Venice that not many experiences, starting with some bubbly wine for breakfast. Don’t worry, you’ll have a bite to eat as well.
A Refreshing Gondola Ride - A trip to Venice wouldn't be complete without a ride on a gondola. Instead of taking the regular route and crossing Venice's Grand Canal by bridge, your local guide will take you across the water on a short, 2-minute gondola taxi ride! Get your cameras ready.
Mercato Rialto - The Rialto Market has been around for centuries. Early Venetian settlers used to come to this area to trade goods, and to this day, not much has changed. Today, Venetian vendors continue to gather here and offer locally-grown produce and fish.
The Spritz - After sampling some cicchetti and prosecco at your first stop, taste another popular drink in Venice at our second bacari stop. Whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer bitter drinks, there is a Spritz for everyone. The Campari Spritz has a higher alcohol content than an Aperol Spritz; it also tastes more bitter than sweet. If you’ve ever seen pictures of people drinking a bright orange cocktail from a stemmed glass in Italy, that’s an Aperol Spritz. Both drinks are made with prosecco.
Ombra and Lunch - An ombra in Venice is a small glass of wine; ombra means “shade” in Italian. Legend has it that in the old days, wine was sold near the bell tower of San Marco's square in the shade. So, the people would say "let's go drink in the shade by the bell tower”. Today it has been shortened to just one word - ombra. At the third stop, taste some of the local favorite ombra, as you sit down for a delicious lunch that includes some of the best pasta in Venice.
Gelato in Venice - No Italian foodie experience is complete without some gelato. On this guided tour of Venice, learn how to spot authentic gelato from the kind with additives in one of Venice's best "gelateria" (gelato shops).
You may feel like staying out in Venice exploring after the tour ends or you might need to take a rest after all the eating and drinking. If you're ready to head home, your guide will happily show you where to catch the nearest "vaporetto" (water taxi) so you can cruise back to your accommodations for an afternoon nap.
Things to Know:
Duration: 3 Hours, (includes one-hour visit to the interior of Doge's Palace)
Type of Service: Walking food tour of Venice
On this three-hour tour you’ll enjoy the authentic Venetian food and wine traditions at a local Osteria and be introduced to Venice’s famous landmarks, including the exterior of Doge’s Palace.
Your personal local guide will provide you a walking tour of the picturesque Venetian calli (streets) and ponti (bridges) of Venice, telling you the incredible history and secrets of this unique city. You’ll admire the center of the Venetian power during the Serenissima Republic of Venice: Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) and its fascinating buildings, such as the Basilica di San Marco and Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), which was the heart of the political life and public administration of the Venetian Republic. Follow some incredible off-the-beaten-track itineraries and discover Venice's best-kept secrets, then taste the authentic Venetian food and wine traditions in a typical “Osteria.” Mix up with the locals and enjoy a tasty Venetian aperitif with “cicchetti e un’ombra di vino” (finger food and a glass of wine), that will invigorate your spirit and make you look at Venice from the locals’ point of view!
Things to Know:
Duration: 5 hours
Type of Service: Half Day Venetian Islands: Murano Glassblowing and Burano Lacemaking - group tour
Most first-time visitors to Venice spend the majority of their time around its famous Saint Mark's Square. Those with a bit more time in Italy also fit in a visit to Murano, a nearby island. This is the place to go if you're interested in the famed Murano glass, where you can watch a demonstration of glass making and maybe buy a Venetian glass souvenir or two.
Burano has been occupied from the 6th century, but it only became important in the 16th century, when women on the island began making lace with needles and it became popular among the European elite. It’s a fine art form and takes an incredible amount of patience and time to create. So as you can imagine, it’s a luxury few can afford. Most of the lace that's for sale in souvenir shops are affordable, so it's not created by hand. Still, it's beautiful and the shops are worth visiting.
Venetian Islands Tour: Murano Glassblowing & Burano Lacemaking - No trip to Venice is complete without discovering the Venetian Lagoon's two most cherished islands. This half-day trip to Murano from Venice with Burano offers perks not usually found on other group tours, like transport by private water taxi and a dedicated guide throughout. Gain perspective on the ageless arts of glassblowing and lacemaking and the mastery of artisans, as well as delight in the unique charm of the tranquil canals and piazzas.
Take a Private Water Taxi to Murano - Once you reach the meeting point in central Venice, you'll be whisked off to Murano to see its world-famous blown glass. On the way, admire the 'City of Bridges' from the water with sweeping views and entertaining commentary from your guide as you get ready to witness the magic of Murano glass.
All glassmaking was moved to this tiny group of islands in the Middle Ages, and it was the only place where mirrors were made for centuries. Techniques were so secret that perpetrators risked execution for leaking them. Times have changed, but you'll behold exactly what has made Murano glass so sought after for nearly 750 years.
Learn More with our Expert Guides - Upon arrival, you'll dock at a specially chosen glassblowing workshop where you'll marvel as craftsmen shape molten glass into dazzling works of art. See these sparkling treasures come to life as you learn how colors and the most ambitious shapes come to be. You can also browse in the gallery, or shop with our discount. Afterward, explore Murano to enjoy its sleepy canals and San Donato church, a stunning example of Byzantine architecture, without being hurried.
Discover the Finest Handmade Lace at Burano - The next stop on your Venice cruise is Burano. Considered by many as one of the most colorful places in the world, this small fishing community with its brightly colored houses also has some of the finest handmade lace anywhere. Watch this cultural tradition in action as women stitch by hand, like countless generations before them. After the demonstration, you will have free time to visit the lace museum, stroll Burano's vibrant waterways, or shop for souvenirs.
Things to Know:
Duration: 1 hour
Type of Service: Grand Canal Boat Tour - small group tour
Small Group Venice boat tours of the Grand Canal & minor canals of Venice provide the ideal sightseeing tours of the city of Venice for first-time visitors. One of our most popular sightseeing tours in Venice because it offers our clients the opportunity to view the city from a completely different perspective. Escape the hordes of tourist to discover a relaxing and rewarding experience as you glide down the main street of Venice. You'll feel like a VIP on our small group boat tours of the Grand Canal
On all our Venice boat tours you'll travel in a luxurious motor-launch, limited to a maximum of 8/9 participants so that we should be able to guarantee that everyone sits outside to enjoy an intimate experience of the waterways of Venice while listening to the detailed commentary of your expert Venice tour guide.
In the first part of these small group Venice boat tours cruise down the Grand Canal at a relaxed pace with numerous photo opportunities as your friendly and knowledgeable guide ntroduce you to the splendid Palaces, Churches, Bridges and other Monumental buildings that line the main waterway of Venice. Learn the history and evolution of the main street of Venice, and be entertained by anecdotes about the famous and infamous people that once lived along this celebrated waterway.
In the second part of these marvellous sightseeing tours of Venice sit back and enjoy a delightful journey through the minor canals of Venice. In the hidden Venice, as you travel through four of the city districts of Venice you'll get a full overview of the city and enjoy picture postcard views of the most romantic parts of the city. These small group Venice boat tours start & finish at St. Marks square.
Things to know:
Duration: 3.5 hours
Type of Service: The Original Crypts and Catacombs Tour - small group tour
Your tour starts at one of the Roman Catacombs, the Eternal City’s underground burial chambers where long winding passages unfold millennia of history among tombs and inventive handmade memorials, taking you to a time when Christianity was considered a simple cult whose members were executed as pagans and buried as martyrs.
Then it’s on to Basilica San Clemente where the sound of running water drove one clergyman to dig his way through the floor tiles. What he discovered were 'wedding cake' layers of history piled on top of each other so that visitors today climb down to a 4th century church, the 2nd century remains of a Mithraic temple and finally ruins that date back to the Great Fire under the reign of Nero in 64 AD. You'll even see the working aqueduct that led to the excavations in the first place. With ruins reaching nearly 60 feet deep, it makes you wonder what lies beneath the rest of Rome.
Your journey through the centuries ends with a bang at perhaps the most memorable sites – the Capuchin Crypt and Museum. Here the remains of 4,000 Capuchin monks literally rest in pieces. Their remains have been used to decorate the underground crypt with vertebrae chandeliers, real-life skulls and cross-bones and robe-clad skeletons leering from the walls. Morbid fascination or respectful art? You’ll be the judge of that.
Much of what Rome has to offer is buried underground and through this tour – the only tour that takes you to crypts and catacombs from different historical eras in locations across the city – you can discover the true underside of Rome.
Things to Know:
Sites Visited