12 Day Tuscany Tour

 

Tuscan has become one of our more popular tours and when you visit Venice, Florence, Siena

Cinque Terre and Cortona all on the one tour why wouldn’t it be?

 

Day # 1: depart from your local airport to fly into Venice, Italy

 

Day # 2: Today we enjoy the Venetian islands, Burano, Murano and Venice it’s self. We will tour the 

islands as the locals do on the Vaparetto (water bus). We will see St Marks square, the Doges Palace 

the Jewish Ghetto and numerous churches full of history and art work.

 

Day # 3: today we will sail out to see the islands of Burano, best known for its beautiful lace work, 

quaint painted houses and small canals. The island is very picturesque and of course there are 

numerous places to eat and eating is very much a part of the experience of being anywhere in Italy. 

In the afternoon we will take the Vaparetto over to Murano known for its glass blowing. A 

demonstration of the process of “Glass Blowing” will impress you at how the process is done. 

 

Day # 4: today we head west to the Mediterranean coast and the old seas side villages of Cinque 

Terre. The five villages are all connected by the local rail line or you can jump on the local ferry to get 

a great view of the hill side town from the water. This area also has some great hill side trails that 

allow you to walk from town to town. This can take some time so it should only be done if your use 

to walking. The journey over to Cinque Terre will take us approximately 3-4 hours depending on 

traffic but it well worth the trip.

 

Day # 5: today we relax and explore the some of the villages that make up Cinque Terre. They are 

very quaint and colourful and there are numerous cafes and pubs where you can site and enjoy a 

cool drink and people watch.

 

Day # 6: a walk over the hills today may be the order of the day or perhaps taking the ferry right to 

the last village of Monterosso which is the oldest village founded in 643 AD. Monterosso also has the 

best beach for swimming and of course there are some great shops for buying something special of 

for just enjoying my favourite, Gelato!

 

Day # 7: we are now going to head south to head down to Tuscan where we will be staying in the hill 

top town of Cortona. Cortona dates back to the Etruscan days, which is before the Roman times but 

it is also better known from the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”.  Cortona is one of the most scenic 

hill top towns in Tuscany and the view from our villa, is nothing short of stunning. To top things off 

our hosts Lapo and his wife Paola and their daughters prepare authentic Italian meals for us while 

we are there. They also serve us with their own wine, sheep’s milk cheese, olives and bread. This 

part of your holiday is a culinary experience you won’t forget!

 

Days # 8 to 13: are spent travelling to numerous towns and villages like, Florence.  Once the 

renaissance capital of Europe and together with a visit to the “Domo” you will not want to leave. 

Siena which is another great city to tour has many treasures to be explored during the day. 

Montepulciano and Penza are also hill top towns we will visit. All of these hill top towns have their 

own distinctive personality and character. As always you will find great shops and restaurants for 

eating and of course we can’t finish the day without, gelato. Saturnia, an ancient spa town is great 

place to visit as you can sit and enjoy the hot spring that flow freely down from the hills. Cortona 

also has many treasures to explore. It has numerous church and Cathedrals that should be viewed. 

The art work and sculptures are a must see and most of the churches are located is area with 

stunning views of the country side.  Saint Francis of Assisi also spent many years in Cortona in 

monastery that is located just outside of the town walls. The monastery is located in a gorge which is 

not only very picturesque but also offers stunning views across the valley below.

 

Day # 14: we are unfortunately going to be heading back to Venice for out last night in Italy. Our 

route north will take us to the independent republic of San Marino. San Marino is located high up on 

a volcanic mountain and offers stunning views over the Aegean Sea as well as being a duty free 

shopping area. We will have lunch here before continuing to Venice for our last Italian meal.

 

Day # 15: off to the airport to fly home

 

Note: some of the towns we visit may be changed depending on time restrictions