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Private Tours in Italy

City Tours in Florence and Country Tours from Florence

1. Essential Florence, Part 1
3-Hour Walking Tour.

Renaissance Florence is laid before you. You begin at the world's third largest church, Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) to view Brunelleschi's magnificent Dome, Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) and Ghilberti's Baptistry Door, "Gate of Paradise".
The next stop is The Academy and Michelangelo's "David"; perhaps the greatest sculpture ever created. From here it is a short walk to the Medici Palace where the family constructed and ruled the Golden Age of Renaissance Florence. This area includes the family church (San Lorenzo), Medici tombs and the Laurentine Library, home to a grand stairway created by Florentine favorite son and master, Michelangelo.

Pre-booked tickets, special entrances and art overviews (all provided by your Lecture-Guide) make this first glimpse of Florence a comprehensive overview and an intense temptation to explore the bountiful treasures yet to be seen.

Tour highlights:

Bruneleschi's Dome, David by Michelangelo, Medici Palace, Medici's Tombs by Michelangelo, the Church of San Lorenzo

Participants information:

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2. Essential Florence, Part 2
3-Hour Walking Tour.

You walk past the homes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to the gothic church, Santa Croce. Here you visit the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli and marvel at the art works of Donatello and Giotto.
It is a short walk to the town hall at Piazza della Signoria. This is the center of Florentine politics and home to a captivating outdoor sculpture gallery.
Shopping, architecture and history collide in your mind as you stroll over the Ponte Vecchio.
The day culminates at the Uffizi Gallery, where you concentrate on selected masterpieces of Giotto, Botticelli, Raphael, da Vinci and Michelangelo. Your Lecture-Guide, with pre-booked tickets in hand, weaves you through the inspirational, impressive and intoxicating beauty of the Florentine Center.

Tour highlights:

Michelangelo's Tomb at Santa Croce, Botticelli , Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo at Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Donatello's David in Bargello

Participants information:

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3. Florence Revealed, Part 1
3-Hour Walking Tour.

Oltrarno (across the Arno) is one of the most fascinating districts of Florence. Here you see, hear and possibly speak with the artists and merchants while they deal with their creative daily routines.
At the Church of Santo Spirito you view paintings of Roselli, Ghirlandaio and Lippi. At Santa Maria del Carmine you see the recently restored frescoes of Masaccio. Then you visit a once lavish Medici Residence, now home to the Palatine Gallery.

The day ends at the Boboli Gardens with an opportunity to wander among the cyprus trees and gaze at spectacular Florentine vistas.
Your Lecture-Guide takes you on a slower pace, away from the crowds, recreating the worlds of Titian, Rubens and Perugino along with the already noted Michelangelo and Leonardo.

Tour highlights:

Masaccio Chapel, Girlandaio and Lippi frescoes, Artisan Shops, highlights of Pitti Gallery, Boboli Gardens

Participants information:

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4. Florence Revealed, Part 2
3- Hour Walking Tour

The true art-lover cherishes this day spent at three prestigious, yet somewhat secretive sights.

The Convent of San Marco is home to Fra Angelico's famous frescoes, highlighted by his "Annunciation".
The Convent also houses what many consider to be the world's first public library, designed by Michelozzo.

Important works are viewed at the gothic church, Santa Maria Novella, including the Strozzi Chapel of Lippi, Masaccios' "Trinity", and the frescoes of Andrea Orcagna. Florentine sculpture and works abound at the Bargello Gallery, highlighted by "Bacchus" of Michelangelo, "David" by Donatello and masterpieces of Cellini, Brunelleschi and Verrocchio.
The in-depth world of Renaissance Art is further revealed through the knowledgeable words of your Lecture-Guide .
 

Tour highlights:

Giotto and Fra Angelico frescoes, Convent of San Marco, Mary Magdalene by Donatello, Michelangelo's "private" pieta, original panels from Baptistry's Door of Paradise

Participants information:

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COUNTRY TOURS FROM FLORENCE

1. Tuscany Towns and Villages Part One
Siena , Monteriggioni and San Gimignano
Full Day Car and Walking Tour
 

Many consider Siena the most beautiful town in Tuscany. Your guide allows you to form your own opinion when you enter this hypnotic hill town. This is a city steeped in history and culture and boasts the monuments, churches and palazzos to prove it. Perhaps the most famous site is the Piazza del Campo where the great horserace "Palio" has been held since medieval times.
Your guide points out treasures and allows time for souvenir shopping prior to your picturesque lunchtime break.
Then, for a lunch stop on to Monteriggioni, the medieval fortress mentioned in Dante Alligieri's Inferno surrounded today by vines and olives. After a short stop you go to San Gimignano, a high-rise hamlet of the dark ages with more than a dozen stone towers. The narrow streets, charming churches and captivating shops and art galleries make this visit a mind-tattoo of memories.
You return to Florence with a new understanding of Tuscany, with its agricultural richness and cultural wealth.

Tour highlights:

the Cathedral of Siena, Il Campo and Palio race history, lunch at Monteriggioni, shopping in San Gimignano, Tuscan vistas

Participants information:

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2. Tuscany Towns and Villages Part Two
Montalcino, Pienza, San Giovanni D'Asso
Full Day Car and Walking Tour.

Sunflower fields, rows of cyprus trees, stone farmhouses perched on top of hills bring in mind the secens from the celebrated film "Under the Tuscan Sun ". You will have the chance to experience this magic part of Tuscany during the excursion to what is considered THE most beautiful corner of Italy. Add to this the abandoned monastery featured in " the English Patient" or lunch in a country inn surrounded by the olive grove. You will not want to leave.
 

Tour highlights:

the Abbey of Monte Oliveto, Castello Banfi winery lunch stop, the valley of Orcia vistas, town of Pienza, back country drive to San Giovanni D'Asso

Participants information:

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3. Tuscan Countryside: A Chianti Day
Wandering the Vineyards, Farms and Country Homes of the Tuscan Locals
with Optional Extension: Cooking Class in a Private Village Home
Full Day Car and Walking Tour.

Some jokingly call this part of Tuscany Chianti-shire and for good reason. For the past century, visitors came to visit and decided to stay. It is easy to understand why. This is a region with great climate, the finest wines and olive oils plus glorious panoramas.

You have your own wine tasting experience, lunch in a Tuscan Trattoria and tour of the private homes of the country folk.

The Lecture-Guide-Driver explains the simple, yet precise lifestyle of this region and how the inhabitants nurse their agriculture with a religious fervor. You fully understand (in fact, you have a belly full) after sampling the fare. We only hope you don't forget to jot down the recipes and arrange to ship the ingredients home.

That won't be necessary, of course, if you decide to stay.

Tour highlights:

back roads of Tuscany, private wine cellar visit, lunch at a vinery, balsamic viniger tasting, towns of Greve and Panzano, Mona Lisa's home at Vignamaggio, vinsanto stop at remote village of Volpaia, Castello di Albola

Participants information:

Optional Extension: Cooking Class in a Private Village Home
 

This tour can be extended to include a private cooking class. We contact your host-teacher the day before your visit so she can purchase the ingredients for the dishes you select to prepare.

The next day, at the end of your lecture-tour, you arrive, prepare the chosen dishes and, of course, enjoy the dinner-fruits of your labor in the pastoral setting that is your teacher's home.

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4. A Short Chianti Day
Wandering the Vineyards, Farms and Country Homes of the Tuscan Locals
Half Day Car and Walking Tour.

The tour has been crafted for customers with limited budget who would not like to renounce the visit to spectacular Tuscan countryside.

Tour highlights:

back roads of Tuscany, wine cellar visit of Castello Verazzano, shopping town of Greve in Chianti

Participants information:

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5. Tuscany with a Sommelier
Excursion for Wine and Food Lovers to Chianti and the Land of Brunello
Full Day Car and Walking Tour.

The Tuscan wines had never been better. Chianti Riserva, Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello top the lists of the best reds on the Continent. Let us take you to the land of magic food and wine and divine vistas. Be educated by your private sommelier and learn how wine is made from planting the vines to uncorcing the bottle. Learn how Wine Spectator tasters score wine during their blind tasting tests and the how best chefs match wine and food. Learn the basics of professional wine evaluation and play the professional wine taster.

Tour highlights:

back roads of Tuscany, private Brunello winery visit, 4 star Michelin guide lunch stop in a winery, private Chianti winery visit, private short course of wine tasting in Greve wine shop.

Participants information:

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6. Pisa and the Leaning Tower
Optional afternoon extension to Tuscan beaches of the Mediterranean
Half Day Car and Walking Tour with pre-booked timed entrance.

Probably the most recognized symbol of Italy, the Leaning Tower remains one of the most frequently visited sites. After years of engineering to stop it from leaning even more andfrom falling, it has been now open to the limited number of visitors. With pre booked visit you will have the chance to marvel at Pisa's panorama. Complete your Pisa exploration with the visit of the Cathedral and Baptistry.
 

Tour highlights:

climbing the Leaning Tower, visit of the Baptistry and the Cathedral of Pisa

Participants information:

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7. Cinque Terre Adventure: The Five Towns by Car, Train, Boat and Foot.
Yes. It can be done. And you don't have to be an athlete to do it.
Full Day Excursion from Florence

Your Driver both take you to La Spezia where you meet your guide board a local train and wind through this section of the Italian Riviera. You arrive at Town 1, Riomaggiore and take a 30-minute stroll along the "Lovers Walk" to town 2, Manarola. Here you board a boat with the locals and cruise past town 3, Corneglia, and town 4, Volastra, then dock at town 5 Vernazza (the only Cinque Terre town with a port) for a seaside lunch.

After lunch, you are refreshed and ready for a casual 2-hour hike with your Lecture-Guide to the port city of Monterosso al Mare where your driver picks everyone up and heads home.

You return to Florence with a glow of accomplishment, ready for a well-deserved restful evening.

Tour highlights:

train ride from la Spezia, Lowers Walk from Riomaggiore, boat trip to Verazza, hike to Monterosa, lunch in a typical Ligurian trattora.

Participants information:

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8. Siena In Depth
Half day walking tour of Siena.

Few other towns in Italy can rival the fascinating history of Siena. Today, the wealthy community famous for its art and Palio race is the first choice stop for first time visitors to Tuscany. Learn more about Siena with the English speaking local guide who will share with you the beauty, the charm and the many secrets of this preferred destination.

Tour highlights:

the Duomo of Siena, the Palio history, the Campo. the frescoes of Duccio, off beaten track Siena, artisan shops

Participants information:

Email for prices - include your dates, number of people and preferred place of pickup (name of hotel, cruise ship, airport, train station)

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