CLASSIC NORTHERN ITALY BY TRAIN

All roads – and rails – lead to Rome, and Italy’s magnificent capital is where this trip begins. After making your way to your hotel and dropping your bags in your room, we’ll meet downstairs for a welcome drink – followed by a group dinner at the hotel. This is an opportunity to meet your fellow travellers and get excited for the experiences ahead!

After breakfast at your hotel, you’ll take the metro to the Spanish Steps where you’ll meet our Local Insider for a walking tour of Rome’s architectural big-hitters. We’ll spend the morning exploring the most ancient sites, from the Roman Forum to the Pantheon, before ticking off the city’s baroque beauties, such as the Trevi Fountain. After pausing for lunch at an authentic local restaurant, we’ll skip the line to enter the Colosseum – and experience this monument to bombastic entertainment up close. The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend however you like – perhaps time to sip a spritz in a sunny piazza – when in Rome!

After breakfast at your hotel, you’ll be taken via private transfer to Rome Termini station, where we’ll board a high-speed train to Florence. The epicentre of the Italian Renaissance, Florence is a visual banquet of art, fashion and architecture – and this morning, after dropping your bags at your new hotel, you’ll get to see it through the eyes of a Local Insider on a guided walking tour. Come lunchtime, you’re free to explore on your own – head to the Boboli Gardens for Medici-era landscaping, or just meander the shop-lined streets.

After breakfast, you’ll be picked up by a driver and whisked across the rolling Tuscan countryside to the terracotta-pink town of Siena. You’ll spend the morning here, exploring its medieval churches, piazzas and palazzos with our Local Insider, before finding your own spot for lunch. In the afternoon we’ll move on to the medieval hilltop town of San Gimignano, where you can explore the Unesco-listed city walls and narrow old lanes of this region’s most photogenic town. We’ll arrive back in Florence early in the evening, so you’ll still have some time to explore Firenze under the stars.

From Florence we’ll jump on the rapid Italo line and whizz further north, to Bologna – known in Italy as La Grassa, or ‘the Fat One’, for the richness of its food. And it’s the food that we’re here for, as we start our visit with a gourmet tasting tour, led by our Local Insider and most likely featuring the city’s proudest export, Bolognese. Appetites well and truly piqued, you’ll be free to follow your nose for some lunch (or just follow a recommendation from our Insider), before having the rest of the afternoon to yourself to take in the city’s architecture, parks and student-y buzz.

We’ve ticked off three of Northern Italy’s biggest cities, but there’s one left – Milan. This morning we’ll hop back aboard the train to the fashion capital of Italy, where you’ll be met by a private chauffeur and taken to your hotel. After lunch together in the fashion capital, our Local Insider will take you on a wander of the city’s most remarkable sights – from the Duomo (arguably the third-largest cathedral in the world) to the gorgeous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery. After the tour, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore – or relax – on your own.

From every angle, Lake Como is a knockout – as you’ll find out for yourself today. After breakfast, we’ll jump aboard a regional train to the village of Como, where our Local Insider will give you a personal tour of its prettiest places. Afterwards, we’ll take to the water with a ferry ride to the promontory commune of Bellagio, with its narrow cobbled lanes, gelaterias and clouds of bougainvillea. You’ll be free to stroll around and find somewhere for lunch, before we meet up to hop back on the train to Milan. As this is our last night in Italy, we’ll be heading out for a special farewell dinner at a Milanese restaurant – a perfect opportunity to toast an unforgettable Italian adventure.

After a final breakfast at your hotel, it’s sadly time to pack your bags and say your goodbyes. Make your way to Milan Malpensa airport (MXP) for your flight home, or continue your Italian odyssey solo!