CHARMING HILLS OF TUSCANY

The arrival is scheduled in the morning at the Florence airport, where you will be welcomed by our representative who will be with you during your entire stay. Then, you will be transferred by coach to your preferred hotel in Florence.

In the afternoon, you will go for sightseeing tour of Florence where you will visit the precious Renaissance pearl is located between the banks of the river Arno and the Apennines mountain range. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. This city is internationally renowned for its handcrafted leather products and its haute couture and luxury brands which list Florence within the top fifty fashion capitals of the world.

You will be accompanied for a walk through the many breathtaking beauties of the historical center, such as: the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo, that was built by Filippo Brunelleschi, one of the most outstanding architects of the Italian Renaissance, the nearby Campanile (Bell Tower) that was projected by the Medieval artist Giotto, the Baptistery and its golden Gates of Paradise designed by Andrea Pisano, Piazza delle Signoria, which has been the social and political hearth of the city since the 14th century, Ponte Vecchio, which is a Medieval arch bridge famous for its high class jewellery stores, the Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, which is an amazing open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art, the Basilica di Santa Croce (the church of the Holy Cross), also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories, which is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italian geniuses such as: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini. In the evening, you will return to the hotel for overnight stay.

In the morning, after having breakfast at the hotel, you will be taken by coach on a sightseeing tour of Florence. Where you will visit the Uffizi Gallery, which is one of the oldest and most famous museums of paintings and sculpture in the world. The Uffizi collection presents some of the most impressive masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance such as: the Primavera and The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, the Madonna with Child and Two Angels and the Incoronation of the Virgin of Filippo Lippi, the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi of Leonardo da Vinci, the Tondo Doni of Michelangelo and the Madonna of the Goldfinch of Raphael.

After a short break for lunch, you will be headed to Fiesole, a small town located right in the heart of the Tuscan hills, about only 5 miles from Florence. The place is greatly renowned for its beautiful landscapes and its historical and cultural prestige. You will visit the archaeological excavations of the town which are dated back to the Etruscan and Roman period. The area is made up of: le Terme (the Spa), il Templio (the Temple), which is the perfect example of the combination between Etruscan and Roman style, il Teatro Romano (The Roman Theater) which houses the amazing festival of operas and concerts of the Estate Fiesolana every summer, and the archaeological museum. In the evening, you will return to the hotel for overnight stay.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will be taken for a lovely day excursion to two of the most interesting pearls of the Tuscan countryside: San Gimignano and Siena. Your first destination will be San Gimignano, a small and well preserved town enclosed by strong medieval walls, which is located on a high hill of the Val d’Elsa area, in the province of Siena. San Gimignano is also called the Manhattan of the middle ages because of its massive towers that greatly stand out of the town’s landscape. They used to be watching fortresses aimed to protect the town from external invasions. Since the 19th century, San Gimignano has always been a popular touristic sight both for its cultural and artistic value. It has also been the setting of many famous films like the 1972 Brother Sun, Sister Moon movie by Zeffirelli and novels like the 2005 John Grisham book The Broker. In 1990, it has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.

Then you will walk around the precious beauties of this quaint small center. Where you will see the Collegiata cathedral, Sant’Agostino church, which houses a wide collection of art works created by some of the major Italian artists of the Renaissance period, the Communal Palace, which has now been converted into an important art gallery that displays works by many Italian artists like: Pinturicchio, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Domenico di Michelino and Pier Francesco Fiorentino, and the four main squares of the historical part: Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza Duomo where the Collegiata cathedral is located, Piazza Pecori and Piazza delle Erbe.

After a short break for lunch you will be accompanied to your second destination, Siena, which is a small Medieval city renowned for: its cuisine, its fine art museums, its well preserved Gothic cathedral (the Duomo), the Monte dei Paschi, one of the oldest banks in Italy, which is now achieving excellence in the economic global market and the Palio, a colorful horse race which is held twice a year in Piazza del Campo, its main square. Its historical centre has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.

Siena is located in the heart of the Tuscan hills and it is characterized by its narrow streets and its cozy buildings whose colour is also known as Terra di Siena bruciata (Burnt Sienna), a warm mild brown colour typical of this particular Tuscany area. A local guide will take you visiting all the main sights of the city, from Piazza del Campo to the Duomo, renowned for with its inlaid marble mosaic floor and the stunning colourful frescos of the ceiling of the Piccolomini Library. In the evening, you will return to the hotel for overnight stay.

After breakfast, you will have the entire morning free to explore the city in every aspect. You will definitely fall in love with the splendour of this open-air art museum that is the city of Florence. You can go shopping in Mercato di San Lorenzo where you can bargain for some good genuine Italian leather goods, window shop at the high fashion boutiques of via de’ Tornabuoni or take a walk through the jewellery stores on Ponte Vecchio, go visit museums like: the Bargello Palace art collection, which displays masterpieces of Michelangelo and the famous Donatello’s David or the Accademia Gallery, which houses the original sculpture of the Michelangelo’s David placed in Piazza della Signoria, have a delicious meal in some typical osterias or a tasty gelato at one of the many cafés around the center, go to the lovely Giardini di Boboli (the Boboli gardens), one of the most beautiful parks of Florence which has a great collection of impressive sculptures, from Roman antiquities to statues dating from the 16th through the 18th centuries.

In the afternoon you will get back to the hotel and then transferred by coach to the Florence airport for your departure.