Wonderfully Planned and Executed Central Europe Trip

Italy | Oct 13 - Oct 27, 2024

Great location for being close to all the action in Rome. Walk-able and easy to find. Clean, quiet and friendly hotel staff and a great breakfast made this an ideal location for a trip into Rome. Restaurants and cafes close by. Would definitely stay here again.

Amazing location for being close to all the action in Florence. Located right by the main Piazza and market so all of the main attractions are minutes away. Hotel staff was exceptional - friendly, hospitable and made for such an enjoyable stay. Walk-able and easy to find. Clean, quiet and friendly hotel staff and a great breakfast made this an ideal location for a trip into Florence. Breakfast was also exceptional with lots of good options and phenomenal service.

Fantastic location for being close to all the action in Milan. Located close to the main Square for shopping and of course the impressive Duomo! The Hotel staff were exceptional - friendly, attentive and the room was beautiful, spacious and clean. Walk-able and easy to find. Ideally located and close to many of the main attractions and had a great breakfast selection and impeccable service.

Fantastic location in the old city in Lyon. Hotel is quiet, clean and charming and the hotel staff were exceptional! The room was spacious and clean and easy to find. Breakfast was also very good with a good variety while also staying very French, including a variety of delicious pastries and bread. Staff were excellent on check-in and check-out.

Service here was excellent! From check-in to check-out the staff were attentive, knowledgeable and went above and beyond to serve including providing a snack and coffee while waiting to check-in. Room was charming, clean and very quiet. Halloween decorations were also a nice touch! Hotel is very close to the metro line making going to and from the hotel very easy. Plenty of great pubs and coffee shops in the area and a few blocks from the hotel as well. Would definitely recommend and will definitely stay here again.

Loved this hotel - the location was great and very close to the metro. Plenty of shops, fine dining and cafes in the area close to the hotel. The staff were excellent, friendly and more than willing to help offer suggestions for food choices in the area. The room was clean, quiet and easy to find. Was very charming.

Was a very interesting tour and certainly not something on the normal tourist track. Had some beautiful paintings and an excellent overview of the Capuchin Monks and why they created the crypts. Very informative and a good start to seeing the city of Rome.

What an experience and the guide was incredible. Was a nice small group (5 person) tour that gave us plenty of time in the Colosseum; plenty of history and understanding of what it was, what it wasn't and lots of interesting information along the way. The Forum was incredible as well and again, lots of great historic information one might not get if not using a guide. This was a definite highlight of Rome and it is a busy site with lots of people taking it in, but totally worth it to have a guided tour with a knowledgeable guide. Gives a very authentic and informative experience.

This was a one-on-one tour of Rome for 3 hours and it was fantastic. Marco was incredibly knowledgeable of the area (having grown up in Rome) and took me to places I never knew existed and provided a great history experience. This tour provided new insights and history of Rome that I was not aware of in addition to showcasing other gems of Rome that most tourists might miss. Another great thing about this tour was having someone local who also knew of the best place for pizza, the best place for espresso and of course, a hidden away bakery well away from the tourist areas - all of which were a nice added bonus as we walked the city and covered off Esoteric Rome. Very interesting and would highly recommend.

Pompeii was excellent. A bit of a long day as it is quite a ways from Rome but so worth it. It was a much bigger area than I had anticipated and could have easily spent an extra day there exploring the ruins and how vast they really are. Local guide was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of color and historical depth on the tour. We did move fairly quickly through the some of the areas but we had ample free time at the end to explore further. An afternoon is not nearly enough but an incredible place nonetheless. Tour through Naples was also very nice and had some stops along the way for photos and enjoying a bit of Naples.

This activity turned out to be a simple transfer from the airport directly to the hotel. Driver drove but did not say much and there wasn't really any sort of introductory tour or welcome to Rome.

Such an informative tour! Having a private walking tour around a city like Florence gives so much history, backstory, tales and stories that one likely won't get just walking around on their own. I learned stories about some of the artwork, the sculptors and the painters one would not receive just walking into a church to view the art and sculptures. It was a great way to get familiar with the city and the main sites and to learn about lesser known ones. My guide, Janella was informative, very knowledgeable and she provided me a lot of information about the works in the Academia and of course, the David, which was as phenomenal and breath-taking as she said it would be. Was a very good tour and an excellent way to explore the city and of course with a local who knows the ins and outs and some great places to eat like a true Florentine.

Going to these 3 places has been a dream of mine for years so to see them all in one day was absolutely incredible. And to end it off with a wine tour was perfect. The drive was beautiful and scenic on an air conditioned tour bus. We first stopped in Monteriggioni and it was magnificent to explore the town as it only takes 20 minutes as it is quite small and lovely. Walking along the wall was a definite highlight and I'd recommend that. Siena was a gem and absolutely stunning. A beautiful and walk-able city with plenty to see and do and quite an amazing step back in time. Easily could spend a whole day there as it is quite large and there are some great places to eat, drink coffee and of course find gelato. Worth taking time to walk and find yourself in some interesting places like the Porta Romana, which was fascinating and equally beautiful. San Gimignano was also incredible and I enjoyed the time we had there to walk the streets and check out the stunning views of Tuscany from the many, many vantage points that over look the area. Feels magical and historic but also quaint and quite a friendly city. The winery was also amazing and had some of the best wine I have had as well as really good Balsamic Vinegar they make as well. It was a wonderful way to cap off the day and was a definite highlight of the day.

This was an incredible day as I had a private car take me to Pisa and then onto Lucca and the day was perfect. Was a lovely beautiful drive and my driver was incredibly knowledgeable as she was local to Florence. She gave me some suggestions for walking Lucca; like an amazing local place to eat and provided me with some additional information on Pisa that was very helpful. Was a great solo day out and allowed me to venture out at my own pace and was very impressed with both cities and the overall tour.

This was a highlight of the trip as it has been something I have always wanted to do and it did not disappoint. They were right on time with letting us in and up and away we went. View was incredibly worth it - the top of the dome looking at the city and the inside of the dome on the way up as you stop to look at the massive paintings within the dome - incredible works of art and architecture. I personally did not find the climb hard but there were certainly some in my group who struggled through it as there are quite a few steps and some steep sections. Not for those who are claustrophobic for sure. Was a great way to see the city and you get about 15 minutes up there to take in the views and your photos - which is a healthy amount of time considering all the people at the top.

This was a fantastic evening! The food was delicious and really showcased Tuscan cuisine. The winery (Diadema) was lovely as well, including all of the staff we encountered. The event was a small group event and we were first given a tasting of their wine and locally produced olive oil. We're also fortunate enough to watch the olive oil press process as they had recently harvested and were making a fresh batch and that was a fun process to watch and enjoy the wonderful smell and sights of that. At one point we went into our own little part of the cellar to do a bit of a blind tasting and were given a complimentary bottle of wine to commemorate the evening. It was a mix we each got to create, so that was a really nice takeaway from the winery. Would highly recommend this tour as it was small and intimate and our local guide was really great. Loved this small wine tour.

This was another great local experience as I had one-on-one time with my two guides - Franceso and Alessandro as we walked the streets of Milan and ate some delicious food. They had arranged some great places to eat and drink to showcase the local cuisine in Milan. They also provided a lot of history about local food culture and how Milan differs from the other food culture of Italy and it was really informative. We stopped at some great little places along the way and it was fun enjoying the local history tour, additional aspects about Milan and Italian culture in general. Milan is a very walk-able city and again, walking around with locals and hearing some stories while stopping to eat some great food is such an enjoyable way to see the city more like a local. Would highly recommend this!

This was a great event and a lot of fun. The show itself was very well done and the champagne was a nice touch as well. Was a great evening and I chose to walk from my hotel to the Moulin Rouge (took about 45 minutes) so I could experience more of Paris and see what a typical Thursday evening looks like in that area. This was a classy act and a great way to experience some authentic cabaret culture in Paris. Would recommend this as an activity if you are visiting Paris!

Lake Como is stunning and did not disappoint. Our guide was amazing from start to finish and we had such beautiful weather. The area is breathtaking and taking the ferry up the lake allows for so many stunning photos and is a great way to see a large portion of the lake. Bellagio was a lovely town, but Varenna was definitely a highlight. It has a lot of beautiful flowers and fun walkways and stairs to explore and some great places to eat. Neither of these places felt 'touristy' or as busy as other major cities. Train on the way back was a great way to end the day and relax as well.

This was a great adventure. I did not realize that I would have a private car take me to Pisa and then Lucca so it was a wonderful way to see some of the country well also visit with my lovely driver and learn more about the culture and people in Florence and the Tuscan region. She dropped me very close to the tower of Pisa and I had ample time to explore that area, climb the tower and even get a bit of local food from a street vendor. Then off to Lucca, which was a very under-rated and beautiful city. I loved it there. She also provided me with a few places to see while roaming Lucca and made an excellent restaurant recommendation, which I took her up on and it did not disappoint. This was a great excursion and I loved the one-to-one aspect of having a private car and driver who were friendly and knowledgeable about the area. This was one of my favorite events.

Let me say this - a few hours is not enough time to fully explore everything this museum has to offer. I was very happy to have a ticket for the opening time as it allowed me to get in right away and beat the crowd to see the Mona Lisa. There were maybe 20 people in total there when it first opened and by the time I left, the line to see it was very large. Aside from that there is the Crown Jewels, many paintings, statues and other wonderful works to see - could easily spend a day or two there because there is so much to see. Navigation of the museum is easy and I would highly recommend adding the audio tour to your musuem tour as it does help navigate and provides a nice way to walk through and see everything. Also was impressive to see what the Royal Palace looked like and it is impressive for sure!.

This was simply the highlight of Paris for me. Seeing the catacombs, understanding why they were built is a very humbling experience and very spiritual. You are looking and walking among the dead - bones of real people and even though it is an attraction, the tour is carried out with dignity and respect for those whose bones lay there. It is an incredible place full of mystery and wonder and our guide was really great. He was knowledgeable and was very passionate about the history. I learned things I didn't know about Paris, the cemeteries and the catacombs. Would definitely recommend doing this especially in a tour group as we got access to 'Group' only areas that normal single tickets don't. Worth it!

This was a great way to finish off my full itinerary by walking through the streets of London with Adam, our guide, and getting some fun stories and then having a pint in each of the places we visited. It was a fun tour, light hearted but full of interesting facts and history and some embellished stories along the way. The pubs were very English and obviously have been there quite a while and was also fun to mingle with the locals in those pubs. Guide was great, fun, funny and had some great recommendations for choice of beverage at each place we stopped.