16 days incl. air, or 15 days Rome/Athens (ZAGJ)

Itinerary

Day 1

Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2Arrival in Rome

Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (D)

Day 3Rome

Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. Then time for independent activities and exciting optional excursions. (BB)

Day 4At Leisure in Rome

Another day to savor la dolce vita. If you feel like traveling, you may want to join an optional excursion to Pompeii, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by a volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. Tonight, why not join an optional dinner with local specialties and wine? (BB)

Day 5Rome–Pisa

Follow the Aurelian Way along the Tyrrhenian coast to Pisa. Here take your pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then on to Florence, the splendid capital of Tuscany and the birthplace of the Renaissance. (BB,D)

Day 6Florence

Follow your Local Guide to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s David and the magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Afternoon free to relax or to find out more about Florence’s artistic wealth. An optional dinner at a typical Tuscan restaurant can be arranged. (BB)

Day 7Florence–Padua–Venice

A beautiful drive across the wooded Etruscan Apennine Mountains into the lush plains of the Po River will bring you to Padua, city of St. Anthony, for a visit to the majestic six-domed BASILICA. Time for lunch and independent exploration before continuing to Venice. (BB)

Day 8Venice

Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then enjoy Venice at your own pace or join an optional gondola ride. (BB,D)

Day 9Venice–Assisi

A comfortable drive to peaceful Assisi. Your Local Guide will show you the main sights. From St. Clare’s Church enjoy a pleasant walk via pretty Piazza del Comune down to ST. FRANCIS’ BASILICA, the hub of a religious order devoted to ideals of humility, forgiveness, simplicity, and love for God’s creatures. Hear about monastic life and view the priceless frescoes adorning the walls of the church. Then drive on to the capital of Umbria, Perugia, for an orientation and overnight stay. (BB,D)

Day 10Perugia–Ancona–Overnight Cruise to Patras, Greece

Depart for Ancona where you will board your high-speed FERRY for your overnight cruise to Greece. (BB,D)

Day 11Patras–Olympia

Dock at Patras and continue by coach to Olympia. (BB,D)

Day 12Olympia–Delphi

Focus on Olympia, where the athletes of antiquity performed in honor of the King of Deities. Learn about the history of those original Olympic Games as you walk with your Local Guide among the impressive remains of the GYMNASIUM and the Temples of Hera and Zeus. Visit the MUSEUM, which displays a magnificent statue of Hermes. In the afternoon return to Patras and proceed through the picturesque fishing villages along the southern coast to mythical Delphi. (BB,D)

Day 13Delphi–Athens

Morning visit with a Local Guide to the ancient sanctuary of the god Apollo in its dramatic setting on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Hear about the Oracle and tour the EXCAVATIONS. Also visit the ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM to admire the Charioteer, an extraordinary 5th-century B.C. bronze statue. On your way to Athens your Tour Director will tell you about the history of Thebes, the setting of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Marathon, where in 490 B.C. 10,000 Athenians defeated more than twice that number of Persian invaders. Exciting possibilities for your first night in Athens include Plaka’s outdoor tavernas with their succulent local food and cool Retsina wines, and folk dancing reminiscent of Zorba the Greek! (BB)

Day 14Athens

Tour the capital’s classical sights with a Local Guide: the Parthenon’s crowning beauty atop the ACROPOLIS, the Erechtheum with its Porch of Maidens, the beautifully preserved Theseum, Roman Temple of Zeus, Theater of Dionysus, and the Agora where Socrates taught. Vistas of the Royal Palace, government buildings, and elegant homes in the modern city provide a striking contrast to the remains of a glorious past. Afternoon free for shopping and other independent activities. Later, you may wish to join an optional orientation drive and dinner at a fine restaurant overlooking the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus. (BB)

Day 15At Leisure in Athens

A full day at leisure. How about an optional day cruise to the islands of Aegina, Hydra, and Poros? (BB)

Day 16

Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)