Itinerary

This tour starts in Rome on September 22, 2012 at 4:00PM.

Day 1: If combining this tour with the Classic Tuscany Tour, you'll arrive in Rome from Tuscany. If you are just joining us, you will be met by a chauffeur on your arrival at the Rome Fiumicino Airport for a private transfer to our upscale hotel in the center of Rome. In the afternoon, we'll meet for an introductory walk of the city: Rome of the Artists, and in the evening, we'll celebrate the Roman way of life and la dolce vita with the welcome dinner.
Meals included: D

Day 2: After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, you'll join a private, historian led walking tour of ancient Rome, featuring the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. You'll get fascinating insights into Rome's millennia of history, as you stroll from the Colle Oppio with a panoramic view of the Eternal City to the Colosseum where you'll listen to tales of gladiators, mock sea-battles and executions, by the Arch of Constantine, through the Palatine Hill overlooking Nero's Circus Maximus, where chariot races were held, to Via Sacra (the Sacred Way), the main path through the Roman Forum that was used for triumphal processions. After this introduction to the ancient Rome, you'll enjoy an elegant cafe lunch, and your afternoon will be free to explore Rome at your leisure.
Meals included: B, L

Day 3: After all the history and art, today, you'll get a chance to escape Rome and journey to the ancient city of Tivoli to visit Hadrian's Villa, an outstanding Roman site, with impressive ruins of Emperor Hadrian's favorite residence. You'll tour the monumental Marine Theatre, walk past the ruins of great libraries, the Heliocaminus thermal baths, and the Golden Square with its gardens and Hadrian's reproduction of a sacred site in the Egyptian city of Canopus. A short drive will take you to Villa d'Este, the magnificent Renaissance villa with beautifully frescoed rooms and the spectacular park with countless fountains, imaginative landscaping and centuries old olive trees lining the paths. You'll stop for lunch at a restaurant attached to a former acropolis of Tivoli, which offers great food as well as spectacular views over the town and the cascading Aniene River waterfall. Before leaving Tivoli, there will be time to stroll through the town's picturesque street market with colorful stalls and local products.
Meals included: B, L

Day 4: After breakfast, you'll travel to Vatican City to tour the Vatican Museums, which house over 9 miles of the most extensive collection of art in the world. Experience Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel and the School of Athens in Raphael's Rooms. Be humbled by the imposing beauty of St. Peter's Basilica, where you'll encounter another Michelangelo's masterpiece, La Pietà. Admire the magnificent St. Peter's Square, with Bernini's ingenious use of optical illusion. In the evening, you'll relax over a low-key dinner at a traditional Roman pizzeria.
Meals included: B, D

Day 5: Today, you'll visit Villa and Galleria Borghese, on a tour that is a great journey into the history of art to discover and appreciate the absolute masterpieces from several epochs, as well as the opportunity to know the artists and the powerful patrons that contributed to their fame. In the splendid setting of Villa Borghese, an architectural masterpiece in itself, you'll get acquainted with the life of Pope Paul V, his princely court and his nephew, Scipione, who played a fundamental role in the gallery's creation. Obviously, the works of art by Bernini will play a central role. In the villa you'll admire his splendid sculptures of Aeneas and Anchises, Truth, Apollo and Daphne, and experience the visions, stories and legends behind them. There are beautiful works by Caravaggio, such as Saint Jerome and a self-portrait in the guise of Bacchus that will help shed light on the great master of chiaroscuro, his adventurous life - to say the least, the murder he committed, and his great artistic talent.
Meals included: B, D

Day 6: After breakfast at the hotel, you will have time to enjoy other aspects of Rome before your private transfer to the airport according to your flight departure time. If you are joining us for the Amalfi Coast Tour, we'll be leaving for Naples in the morning.
Meals included: B

This tour ends after breakfast on September 27, 2012.

More information from Sights and Soul Travels - Tours and Vacations for Women:

• Company profile, experience, and history
• View all of their trips