EXOTIC ESCAPES

Italy

Five cliffside villages, a gondola through the back canals, and the largest mosque in Europe.

9 Days / 8 NightsRome, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Milan

FROM$7,000per person

The trip

Five cliffside villages, a gondola through the back canals, and the largest mosque in Europe.

Italy end to end, from the ruins of the Roman Empire to Milan, with a mosque in Rome and an Islamic centre in Milan on the route. Two nights in Rome, two in Florence, two at Mestre on the Venice mainland and two in Milan, all four-star, all connected by private transport with an English-speaking guide and every entrance fee already paid. On the third morning you shop a Roman market and learn pasta from scratch: roll the dough, shape orecchiette, make cacio e pepe, eat what you made. The Grand Mosque of Rome, the largest in Europe, falls on the same day as the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Prayer and halal help run through all nine days.

The Grand Mosque of Rome is the largest in Europe, and it falls on the same day as the Roman Forum and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Day by day

Every day, already considered.

Prayer, dining, and where you rest, planned into each day, so you are never caught out.

01
DESTINATION
Landing, and the road into the centre
Your driver meets you at Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino, and within forty-five minutes you are stepping into a four-star hotel in the centre of Rome. Nothing else is scheduled. You rest tonight, with the hum of the city just outside the window, and the touring starts in the morning.
02
DESTINATION
The Colosseum, the Vatican, the mosque
The Colosseum first, where fifty thousand Romans once roared as gladiators fought below, then the Roman Forum, its temples and government halls laid out in the open. Vatican City follows: St Peter's Basilica, Michelangelo's Pietà, the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The day closes at the Grand Mosque of Rome, the largest in Europe.
03
DESTINATION
Orecchiette, then the road to Florence
The morning is the cooking class. You shop a local market, choose your ingredients, then work with a Roman chef: roll the dough, shape orecchiette, make cacio e pepe, and eat what you made. The afternoon is a drive through the Tuscan hills and cypress-lined roads to Florence, where the Duomo's terracotta dome dominates the skyline.
04
DESTINATION
The Uffizi, then five villages on cliffs
The Uffizi opens the day: Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation. Then the Duomo itself, Brunelleschi's dome and Giotto's bell tower beside it. The afternoon is spent on the coast at Cinque Terre, five villages built into the cliffs, pastel houses above turquoise water, focaccia by the sea.
05
DESTINATION
The tower that leans, then the lagoon
Morning in Pisa, where the Leaning Tower is more improbable in person, white marble tilting against physics, with the Cathedral and the Baptistery around it on the Piazza dei Miracoli. By the afternoon you reach Mestre, the mainland base for Venice, and that is where the next two nights are.
06
DESTINATION
Rowed through the narrow canals
You arrive by vaporetto, gliding past palaces on wooden stilts. St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs. Then a gondolier rows you through the narrow canals and under the arched bridges. The Rialto Market, bursting with life, is the loud part of the day.
07
DESTINATION
White spires and the Islamic Centre
You leave the lagoon for Milan, where the Duomo is Gothic perfection: white spires, and Alpine views from the rooftop. Then the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and after it the Islamic Centre of Milan, the second of the trip's two Muslim landmarks.
08
DESTINATION
The outlet, or a slow day in Milan
Today's excursion is optional. Serravalle Designer Outlet is one of the largest outlet villages in Europe, and it takes the whole day if you want it. Or skip it and stay in Milan at a slower pace: Sforza Castle, then the artsy streets of Brera. Your call, your pace.
09
DESTINATION
The road to Malpensa
Breakfast, then the transfer to Milan Malpensa. Behind you: the Colosseum and the Forum, pasta you shaped yourself, the Tuscan hills and the cliffside villages of Cinque Terre, a gondola through the back canals of Venice, and mosques in two cities you would not have expected them in.