Artists of France and Italy

Day 1:

Overnight Flight to Paris

Day 2:

Welcome to France!

• Meet your Tour Director at the airport
  
• Explore Paris on foot with your Tour Director, walking the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter, crossing onto Île de la Cité, and pausing by the flying buttresses of Notre-Dame Cathedral

Day 3:

Explore Paris

• Guided by a local expert, follow the thread of revolution and elegance through Paris’s grand boulevards. From the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde, experience a city that lives and breathes its joie de vivre
• Guided by an expert, visit the Louvre, the world’s most famous museum. See the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo as you explore a palace filled with centuries of global art
  
• Explore Montmartre on foot with your Tour Director, wandering past cafés, artists' corners, and steep cobbled lanes that once inspired Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec
  

Day 4:

Paris

• Visit the Musée d’Orsay, home to the world’s finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art inside a grand Beaux-Arts train station
  
• Free time or Optional Guided excursion to Versailles
• Opt to take a guided excursion to Versailles. Explore the Hall of Mirrors, State Apartments, and sprawling gardens once home to the Sun King
• Enjoy a Seine River cruise in Paris, gliding past bridges and landmarks as city lights shimmer on the water
  

Day 5:

Paris - Florence

• Fly to Florence area
  
• Visit a Tuscan village excursion en route to Florence, stopping to explore cobblestone streets, rustic piazzas, and timeless countryside views that capture the heart of rural Italy
  

Day 6:

Explore Florence

• Guided by a local expert, explore Florence where art, politics, and genius shaped the world. Cross the Ponte Vecchio, stand beneath Brunelleschi’s soaring dome, and see Santa Croce and the Baptistery’s Gates of Paradise
• Visit the Accademia Gallery to stand before Michelangelo’s David and explore works that shaped the Renaissance and Western art
  

Day 7:

Florence - Rome

• Visit the Uffizi Gallery to walk among Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Da Vinci in one of the most iconic art collections in the world
  
• Travel to Rome
  
• Explore Rome on foot with your Tour Director, walking from Piazza Navona to the Pantheon, tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain, and climbing the Spanish Steps with views over the Eternal City

Day 8:

Explore Rome

• Guided by a local expert, explore Vatican City, the world’s smallest country and a sanctuary of Renaissance genius.
• Visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo’s ceiling continues to awe.
  
• Step into St. Peter’s Basilica to see masterpieces like the Pietà and Bernini’s towering Baldachin.
  
• Free time or Optional Catacombs and Gladiator center excursion
• Opt to visit the Roman Catacombs and Gladiator Training Center. Explore an early Christian burial site beneath the city, then learn how Rome’s arena fighters trained, fought, and lived at a dedicated exhibition space

Day 9:

Explore Ancient Rome

• Guided by a local expert, explore Ancient Rome, exploring the epicenter of a vast empire where emperors ruled, gladiators fought, and temples anchored everyday life
• Visit the Colosseum, stepping into the arena where thousands once gathered to witness gladiator battles and Roman spectacle on a monumental scale
  
• Visit the Roman Forum, walking pathways once traveled by Julius Caesar and Cicero, surrounded by the remains of temples, basilicas, and the heart of public life in ancient Rome
  
• Visit the Borghese Gallery to see masterpieces by Bernini and Caravaggio inside a lavish 17th-century villa surrounded by parkland
  
• Enjoy a special farewell dinner to celebrate your journey and share a final meal with your group
  

Day 10:

Depart for home