WINTER TASTE OF ITALY - 2009

8 days incl. travel, or 7 days from Rome to Venice (XH)

Return to European Winter Vacations

Vacation Overview

Enjoy a week in Italy, visiting its highlight cities and covering all the notable features from St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and the Forum in Rome to Michelangelo's David in Florence and St. Mark's Basilica and the Doges' Palace in Venice. Local Guides in these cities will answer all your questions. Also included is a special welcome dinner with wine in a lively Roman restaurant, and an entire free day in Venice offers the opportunity to join an optional excursion to the charming island of Burano. Scenic rides will show you the flat Po area, the wooded Apennine mountain range, and Tuscany's Chianti wine country. In Venice, a private boat ride is included. Headsets for clear commentary provided throughout the tour.

Special Departure:
December 20 - Christmas Eve in Florence

Take A Break getaway

If you want to see and do it all but have limited time, Globus offers these fulfilling vacations that are one week or less. You can still get the best that your destination has to offer.

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story La Piazza Della Signoria

"What’s the best vantage point to ponder the most illustrious town square in Florence, the Signoria? An outdoor table in the venerable Caffè Rivoire – preferably over a delicious, if not painfully expensive cioccolata con pane, a dark and mud-thick hot chocolate. Late at night, when the crowds have gone, you can search the long shadows and imagine that very little has changed here since the 1400s. The Signoria is the most elegant sculpture garden in Europe. Masterpieces include the splendid Neptune Fountain by Ammannati, Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli and a precise copy of Michelangelo’s David, all strategically poised in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. This grand public space has been the centerpiece of Florence since the 15th Century, the golden age when the city was established as the most beautiful in Europe. Eminent merchants in their ostentatious finery met here to discuss business in the midst of Florence’s raucous daily life."