Tour Detail
3 Nights, 4 Days
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01.DAY ISTANBUL – VENICE: ENTERING LA SERENISSIMA BY SEA – SAN MARCO – RIALTO
Meeting at the Departures Gate of Istanbul Airport International Terminal at the time specified by our guide. After baggage drop-off, passport control and check-in procedures, we depart for Venice at 06:50 on Turkish Airlines flight TK1867. Arrival at Venice Marco Polo Airport at 08:20 local time. We take our private bus to Tronchetto and from there board our private boat to Venice, entering by sea as Grand Tour travelers once did. As we proceed along the Giudecca Canal, the lagoon itself explains why the city needed no walls for centuries. Upon arrival at St. Mark's Square, we visit the interior of St. Mark's Basilica (entrance ticket included in the package). Built in 828 to house the relics of St. Mark brought from Alexandria, this Byzantine-plan structure, with its gold-ground mosaics covering over 8,000 m² and the story of the bronze horses brought from Constantinople in 1204 (those on the facade are copies), allows us to read the Republic's faith, diplomacy and trade network under one roof. In front of the Doge's Palace facade and the Bridge of Sighs, we discuss the 19th-century Romantic image of Venice born from the verses of Lord Byron. Following the historic Mercerie axis, which connects San Marco's political center to Rialto's commercial heart, we reach the stone Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591. Around Rialto, understanding Venice sometimes happens not in palaces but at a bacaro counter: as Venetians exchange quick words over a standing drink, we enjoy cicchetti with an ombra tasting, along with a Spritz, or a non-alcoholic option for those who prefer. While we're here, we honor this wonderful tradition. After lunch and free time for personal exploration, we regroup and transfer to our hotel. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso area.
02.DAY DOLOMITES: TITIAN'S VALLEY OR THE PEAKS OF TRE CIME
Early in the morning, we head to the high mountain region of the Dolomites. Via Auronzo di Cadore and Misurina, we reach Rifugio Auronzo at 2,320 meters altitude. From here we take an easy, flat panoramic walk of approximately 45–60 minutes along the southern walls of Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Along the walk, we discuss the 1791 observations of French geologist Déodat de Dolomieu, after whom the rock is named; how the layers deposited in the shallow tropical seas of the Triassic period became walls approaching 3,000 meters; Paul Grohmann's first ascent of Cima Grande in 1869; and the Italian – Austro-Hungarian front line that ran across these ridges during 1915–1917. After the walk, we enjoy our included Alpine lunch at Rifugio Auronzo. Following a panoramic stop at Lake Misurina, we continue to Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Olympic town, where we take a short walk through the center and enjoy a tasting of strudel and coffee. Return to the hotel at the end of the tour. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso area.
Access to Tre Cime depends on weather, road, park and local authority regulations; when necessary, a safe alternative Dolomites route is applied.
03.DAY FROM LAKE GARDA TO VERONA: FROM CATULLUS TO SHAKESPEARE – SIRMIONE – VERONA
After breakfast, we set off for Garda, Italy's largest lake. Our first stop is Sirmione, on the narrow peninsula extending into the water from the lake's southern shore. We enter the town over the bridge of the Rocca Scaligera, built in the 13th century by the Della Scala (Scaliger) family and considered one of the best-preserved lakeside castles in Europe, with its own water harbor. Called the "eye of peninsulas and islands" by the Roman poet Catullus, Sirmione contains, at the tip of the peninsula, the remains of the largest Roman villa in Northern Italy. The Victorian poet Alfred Tennyson also came here in 1880 following Catullus's footsteps and dedicated a poem to Sirmione. After a guided walk and free time for lunch on the lakeside, we head to Verona. Starting from the Arena and Piazza Bra, dating from the 1st century AD, we pass through the Porta Borsari, one of the gates of the Roman city, to reach Piazza delle Erbe, built on the site of the ancient forum. In Piazza dei Signori, we see the era of Cangrande della Scala, who hosted the exiled Dante, and the Gothic tombs of the Scaliger dynasty, the Arche Scaligere, and read the city's political history up to its transfer to Venetian rule in 1405. Casa di Giulietta serves as a brief reference to how fiction became a place of memory in a city Shakespeare never saw; the famous balcony was added in the 20th century. We conclude our walk with the aperitivo experience, the Veneto's evening ritual, for guests who wish to join. Return to the hotel at the end of the tour. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso area.
04.DAY TREVISO: THE DAILY ELEGANCE OF VENETO – NOVENTA OUTLET – ISTANBUL
After breakfast, we complete our check-out procedures and head to Treviso. Woven with the arms and canals of the Sile River, this city represents the measured, everyday elegance of Veneto in contrast to Venice's splendor. Treviso became part of the Venetian Republic's mainland territories in 1339, and its walls, renewed at the beginning of the 16th century, also reflect the Republic's defensive architecture. Starting from Piazza dei Signori, where the medieval municipal building Palazzo dei Trecento rises, we walk along the Buranelli canal, named after merchants from Burano, and reach the historic fish market Pescheria, situated on a small island in the middle of the Cagnan canal. We discover tiramisu, celebrated as Treviso's gift to world gastronomy, in the town where it is believed to have originated, through our included special tasting. We then travel to the Noventa di Piave Designer Outlet and allow approximately 3 hours of free shopping time. At the designated time, transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport. After baggage and passport procedures, depart for Istanbul at 20:00 on Turkish Airlines flight TK1870. Arrival in Istanbul at 23:35 local time, marking the end of our tour.
What's Included
- Istanbul – Venice – Istanbul economy class flight tickets and airport taxes with Turkish Airlines.
- Accommodation in 4* hotel category with room and breakfast for 3 nights.
- All private bus transfers included in the program.
- Group-exclusive boat experience in Venice in the direction of Tronchetto – San Marco.
- Interior visit to St. Mark's Basilica (subject to reservation / operational conditions).
- In Venice, a tasting experience of 2 cicchetti + ombra / Spritz / non-alcoholic beverage.
- Day 2: Alpine lunch at Rifugio Auronzo
- Strudel dessert + coffee tasting in Cortina.
- Tiramisu tasting and coffee treat in Treviso
- Tours of Venice, the Dolomites, Lake Garda, Sirmione, Verona and Treviso as specified in the program.
- Experienced Turkish-speaking tour leadership / guiding service.
- Mandatory travel insurance (this is professional liability insurance).
Not Included
- Personal expenses and hotel extras.
- Verona aperitivo experience
- International departure tax.
- Lunches and dinners not explicitly stated as included in the program.
- City taxes collected by hotels.
- Domestic connecting flights.
- Schengen visa fee.
- Travel insurance package / cancellation insurance package.
