DAY 1: FLIGHT TO BOLOGNA - TOUR - FLORENCE
Meeting at Macedonia airport, meeting our guide and getting ready for our flight to Bologna. We board the bus and head to the centre of Bologna. We will explore the picturesque squares and beautiful buildings, from the Two Towers that lean over the city, to the enticing smells and historic shops of the historic Quadrilatero market. The tour starts from Piazza del Nettuno, where you can admire Bologna's symbolic focal point, the Fountain of Neptune. Continuing through Piazza Maggiore, get ready to discover the imposing architecture of the Basilica of San Petronio, home to one of the largest sundials in the world. Your next stop is Bologna's Archiginario, one of the city's most important buildings dating back to the 16th century. Enjoy views of more historic basilicas from Piazza Santo Stefano. Late afternoon arrival and check-in at our hotel.
DAY 2: FLORENCE - CITY TOUR
Today, we offer you a unique tour of the city of Florence. Florence is a museum city with paintings, frescoes, and sculptures from the richest and most productive period of art and culture ever known. We will see the Church of the Holy Cross, Santa Croce, Florence's most impressive church and the burial place of 270 prominent Florentines, including Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. We will admire the Ponte Vecchio bridge, with its houses and shops that seem to float over the river, one of the most characteristic images of Florence. In Piazza de la Signoria we will see the Palazzo Vecchio, seat of the local government for seven hundred years, which today houses remarkable works of sculpture, and we will reach Piazza San Giovanni, home to the third largest cathedral in Europe, Santa Maria del Fiore, with its famous Brunelleschi dome, a trademark of the city. Free time to visit the San Lorenzo market. This is followed by free time in the city centre.
DAY 3: SIENA - SAN GIMIGNANO - TENUTA TORCIANO
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for the museum city, Siena. The city is divided into seventeen "Contrada" (neighborhoods) and each of them has the name of an animal or an object. This quaint provincial town has an aura of a bygone era not entirely due to its architecture which has been preserved intact! A big part of its atmosphere is its people, welcoming and in more "quiet" times they make you smile and relax in a truly fairy-tale place that feels like a knight will appear on its cobbled streets at any moment, looking for his princess! We will then head for the jewel of Tuscany, San Gimignano. San Gimignano is located in the Tuscan wine zone. This beautiful medieval village is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The medieval towers are the hallmark of San Gimignano. The town developed a lot from the Middle Ages onwards due to the fertile hills of the area. An important role was played by the fact that it was a stopover for Catholic pilgrims during their journey to Rome. We will then head to one of Tuscany's most famous wineries. We will have time for tasting local wine varieties, as the region is famous for their wine, as well as a lunch with local flavors. Finally, we return to our hotel.
DAY 4: PRATO - MONTENA - MILAN - CITY TOUR
Breakfast and our day includes an excursion to the magnificent Modena, a typical example of a medieval destination in the Italian north, which was a Roman outpost during the great heyday of the Roman Empire and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the same time, this small town of great interest has a coherent and truly beautiful historical centre that resembles a film set, full of picturesque squares, countless shops, churches that are rightly considered architectural masterpieces, museums and art galleries. This city with its vast history dating back to ancient times has, of course, a great cultural heritage and so the sights you will see in its cobbled, medieval streets will leave you amazed with their architectural interest and awesome beauty. You will also find countless excellent restaurants, and it is no coincidence that Modena is considered one of the most interesting and influential gastronomic destinations in Europe. We will then head to the capital of the province of Lombardy and the most important commercial centre of Italy, Milan. Get acquainted with Italy's 2nd largest city, synonymous with fashion, as it is here that new trends and design are created & some of the biggest Italian fashion houses are based. The grandeur of the buildings and the size of the Gothic Duomo Cathedral are imposing and will surely impress you. Just to the side of the cathedral is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, a shopping arcade decorated with mosaics, symbolism and a special glass roof that will immediately catch your attention, as will of course the elegant shops and cafes within it. We will walk the entire arcade and you will definitely feel its aura and grandeur. Generally throughout Milan, aesthetics are everywhere, in the buildings, in the shops, in the products, in the entertainment, in the food and of course in the fashion. Transfer to our hotel and overnight.
DAY 5: MILAN - BERGAMO - CITTA ALTA TOUR - RETURN FLIGHT
Breakfast, check out from the hotel and depart for Bergamo. There we will admire this beautiful city. The city is "split" in two. Citta Bassa (Lower Town) is flat and modern with everything you would expect to see in a city. Impressive historic buildings, squares, pedestrian streets, large main streets, interesting market and lots of bicycles! The other, the second one is the most interesting... It is the medieval Upper Town Citta Alta, on the hill "fortified" by the Venetian walls and has the most important sights. Well-preserved buildings that proudly bear witness to their history, hospitable and polite Italians, a large number of visitors, typical shops for food, coffee or dessert and local products as well as shopping (more touristic) that are mainly concentrated in the main Via Bartolomeo Colleoni that continues as Via Gombito and ends Via Porta Dipinta and many, many more small cobbled alleys, with imposing buildings on the right and left like another labyrinth... Reaching the edge, under the walls, the endless panoramic view is breathtaking. We then depart for the airport to catch our flight back home. Arrival in our city with the best impressions.
