City Tours
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a walking tour of the main sites of this Renaissance city. The tour will begin at the Piazza della Repubblica with its Column of Abundance which marked the point where the Roman roads, the "cardus" and "decumanus maximi," met. At the cathedral complex in the Piazza del Duomo is the magnificent Gothic cathedral designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and inaugurated in 1436 when its first-of-its-kind dome designed by Fillippo...
Read moreArt and Museum Tours
Your guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Piazza della Signoria where you will admire some of the iconic artworks of Florence including a copy of Michelangelo’s David and sculptures by Cellini and Giambologna. Your guide will describe the rise of the Medici, originally modest wool merchants, to prominence, tremendous wealth and influence. The tour will continue at the adjacent Uffizi Gallery built in 1560 for Cosimo I de'Medici to accommodate the offices of the...
Read moreYour guide will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to the Accademia Gallery where you will marvel at the original sculpture of Davide by Michelangelo as well as his sculptures of St. Matthew and the Prisoners. The tour will continue in the nearby Museum dell’ Opera which contains sculptures from the Florence Cathedral, among which is Michelangelo’s Florence Pieta’ with a bearded figure assumed to be a self-portrait. The Museum also boasts the original panels of Ghiberti’s...
Read moreHistory Tours
The glory of the Medici family began in the first half of the fifteenth century under the leadership of Cosimo de' Medici. Despite being expelled from the city twice, the family returned each time more determined than before to leave legacies of their absolute power in the form of the visual image. The tour begins at the San Marco Monastery and Museum, housing the world's largest collection of the works of Fra Angelico, an early Renaissance painter whose talent Vasari described as "rare and...
Read moreFood and Wine
The San Lorenzo market is comprised of two separate markets, but your tour will concentrate on the Central Market ("mercato centrale"), a two-level indoor food market with fresh local produce on the ground floor and restaurants and gourmet shops upstairs. On the other side of town, the slightly smaller market of Sant' Ambrogio retains more of a local flavor. With both outdoor and indoor stalls, it is a colorful place to get a taste of Florentine life any time of year. At both markets, you will...
Read moreDay Excursions
This delightful, relaxing tour begins when your driver-guide picks you up at your hotel in Florence and takes the picturesque roads through the world-famous Chianti region, lying between Florence and Siena and bordered on the east by the Chianti Mountains and the west by the Elsa River. This wine region boasts delightful vistas framing vine-covered rolling hills and ever-present cypresses, along with an unhurried pace of life and charming villages. You’ll visit the celebrated Machiavelli winery...
Read moreYour private driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you to Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa where you will meet your guide. You’ll visit the splendid Cathedral complex comprised of the Duomo, completed in 1092, the marble Baptistery, a majestic circular-plan Romanesque building completed in 1153, and the Leaning Tower - one of the most beautiful and famous bell towers in the world. With a reserved ticket, you can reach the top of the tower for a truly memorable experience. Your...
Read moreYour private driver will pick you up at your accommodations and accompany you on a delightful day trip in the heart of Tuscany. You’ll meet your guide upon arrival in Siena and visit the Cathedral, completed in 1263 and among the most exquisite in Tuscany, flaunting a bold, ornate Romanesque style and housing an incredible inlaid marble mosaic floor crafted by more than 40 artists over a period of 200 years. On your way to the main square, Piazza del Campo, your guide will describe how Siena is...
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