Special Deals, Cheap Holidays and Last Minute Holidays from GoHop.com

Itinerary

Day 1: Rome

Arrive in CIA airport. Approx. journey time to Rome city centre: 40 minutes.
Once in the city, you will check into the hotel selected and have the rest of the day free to explore the Italian capital. The Antique Quarter, although extensive, is best visited on foot. And indeed, in general, the best manner to move about this vibrant city, with it's intermix of the new and ancient, is on foot or by public transportation. There are dozens of top quality museums, and a little investigation will quickly reveal those that are most likely to coincide with your tastes and interests. Monumental churches, Renaissance and Baroque palaces, enchanting fountains, one of a kind Roman ruins (such as the Coliseum and the Pantheon), Christian catacombs, gardens, and boulevards lined with luxury shops and restaurants to tempt your taste and pocketbook. With so many possibilities, you will be hard pressed to choose and thereby take best advantage of your visit to this mythic city. At night, all changes as skillfully placed lights transform the city's monuments, imbuing them with a special charm and aura of mystery. Overnight stay.

Day 2: Rome - Orvieto - Montepulciano - Siena 235k

Breakfast. After picking up your rental car from downtown Rome , you will head north. A little less than an hour drive will bring you to Orvieto, in the region of Umbria. This ancient Etruscan city, where Pope Clement VII took refuge while the Emperor Charles V's troops ransacked Rome, has a splendid transitional Romanesque-Gothic cathedral. You will certainly want to visit the world famous frescos of Luca Signorelli in the chapel of the Madonna di San Brizio, but you should not limit yourself to visiting churches and palaces because also found here is one of the most mysterious and unique places of all the region, the subterranean Orvieto. In these ancient bodegas and caves, which number over a thousand, you will be able to relive a medieval ambience in its entire splendor. Not far from Orvieto, but now in the heart of Tuscany, you will find the small city of Montepulciano. Before climbing to admire the city's Ancient Quarter, you will want to visit the Madonna di San Biagio church, a culminating work of Renaissance genius by Antonio da Sangallo. Afterwards, you will continue on to Siena. Overnight stay in the hotel selected.

Day 3: Siena - San Gimignano - Siena

Breakfast. Half an hour from Siena you will come upon, San Gimignano, one of the most photographed sites in all of Tuscany. This city is replete with medieval 'skyscrapers', ancient fortress towers built by noble families not only as a means of defense but also to manifest their wealth and power. Afterwards you will want to stroll about the city's steep streets, and enjoy the centuries old atmosphere that prevails. After this `appetizer`, you will return to Siena for the main course with visits to the important sites of this mystical city, birthplace of the Saints, Bernard and Catherine. Gothic palaces, patriarchal mansions, Romanesque churches, all mute testimony to the splendor of the 13th and 14th centuries when the city was an independent republic. All seems to revolve around the Piazza del Campo, the neurological center of the city, and towards which all streets seem to converge. Overnight stay.

Day 4: Siena - Volterra - Pisa 145km

Breakfast. Following spectacular secondary road across the Tuscany countryside, you will arrive in Volterra in less than an hour. This antique city of Etruscan origin, came into predominance during the epoch of Imperial Rome, and consolidated itself as an important city in the Middle Ages. From all of these epochs, the city retains splendid remains, making a stroll about its delightful cobblestone streets a stimulating walk through over two thousand years of history. Continuing along the picturesque roads of Tuscany, you will soon arrive at the world famous city of Pisa. After checking into the hotel selected, you will have time to stroll its animated streets and dine in one of the innumerable quality restaurants within its Ancient Quarter. Overnight stay.

Day 5: Pisa - Lucca - Florence 82km

Breakfast. You will want to spend a couple of hours in visiting the Piazza dei Miracoli (Plaza of the Miracle). Undoubtedly, an appropriately named plaza as it houses the Baptistery, Cathedral and celebrated Leaning Tower, which is the belfry of this religious complex, one of the most photographed and recognized sites in the world. The complex was begun in the 11th and 12th centuries and in the purity of its Romanesque style has come to find a place in all books treating that style. Less than a half-hour drive will bring you to Lucca, still within Tuscany. This beautiful walled city, dominated by the Romans, had its most splendid epoch during the 12th to 14th centuries based on a vibrant local commerce and industry. Its lovely Cathedral, constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries competes in beauty with the San Michele Church in Foro. In addition to churches, Lucca has palaces and plazas that are truly a delight for visitor's eyes. We recommend a walk along its 16th century walls, where you will have magnificent views of the old quarter, before driving the 45 minutes or so that will bring you to Florence, the capital of Tuscany. A city of art and artists, music and gastronomy, Florence was for centuries one of the most important cities of the Western World. Today, while its economic, cultural and artistic light has dimmed somewhat, it continues to be a jewel that caresses the sensibilities and illuminates the souls of those who are fortunate enough to venture there. Check in to the hotel selected for overnight stay.

Day 6: Florence

Breakfast. Today you will have the full day free to stroll about this impressive city. Few places in the world have reunited over so many centuries, such important figures of art and culture, as has Florence. Writers such as Dante and Machiavelli; painters such as Giotto, Michelangelo, Botticelli; architects such as Alberti and Brunelleschi, all were born or lived in this city, and in their efforts to explore the possibilities of their art and knowledge, had an influence that permeates into every corner and plaza of the city. Monumental churches abound and in some, such as that of Santa Croce, are buried some of the genius previously cited. If you wish, you can wander the streets with the security that no matter where you go you will come upon innumerable treasures, but if you are an ardent art lover and hope to see, in situ, some of the works that are so often reproduced in art books, you will not want to miss the Galleria dell`accademia, the Medici`s Chapels and the Galleria degli Uffizi. In Florence, time is always at a premium, as not even a full week would suffice to reveal all its treasures. Perhaps more than in any other place, Florence demands a bit of preparation before arrival, so as to best take advantage of your time and get the most out of such a unique opportunity. Overnight stay.

Day 7: Florence - Arezzo - Assisi 168km

Breakfast. Less than an hour south of Florence, and still in Tuscany, you will find the small city of Arezzo. This city was an important Etruscan enclave, although it was under Imperial Rome that this city of the poet Petrarch transformed itself into one of the richest in the region. We recommend a stop here in order to see the magnificent frescos of Piero della Francesca in the Saint Frances church, originally built during the 14th century and remodeled in the 17th. Another hour's drive will bring you to the city of Assisi. After checking into the hotel selected, you will immediately want to explore this mystical city, birthplace of Saint Francis, and surely one of the most beautiful of the region of Umbria. The walled city appears to tenderly recline against the slopes of Mount Subasio. From whatever angle, the city seems to revolve around the solid presence of the Basilica of Saint Francis. This impressive and beautiful structure is composed, in reality, of two basilicas, an inferior and a superior. The former was consecrated in 1253, less than twenty years after the death of Saint Francis. The superior basilica contains the celebrated frescos of Giotto and his disciples, painted towards the end of the 13th century. For a lovely view of the city, the basilica, and the surrounding countryside, we recommend climbing to the Roca Maggiore, an almost perfect example of a 14th century medieval fortification. An evening stroll about the city?s cobblestone streets is a welcome balm for the body and soul. Overnight stay

Day 8: Assisi - Rome 196km

Breakfast. You will take the 4-lane highway south in direction to Rome with arrival around midday. You may break your journey along the way or go for some last minute shopping in Rome before driving to Rome Ciampino (CIA) airport with sufficient amount of time to drop off your car and check in for your flight home.

Holiday Details