Timeless Venice

Welcome to Venice! 

This morning we depart Milan by private transfer. Arrive at Venice’s Tronchetto, Venice's logistics hub, for a private boat transfer to the nearest mooring point to our hotel. We will be transferring to our hotel by boat and there will be enough room for 1 piece of luggage per person. Please think ahead and be sure your luggage is manageable for this part of the journey. 

Venice is a dream shimmering on the waters, a city of painted palaces and serene churches. This unique urban masterpiece has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses, and ornate bridges instead of subways. A trip to Venice offers an unforgettable glimpse of life’s defining moments played out on watery avenues: weddings, funerals, carnivals and regattas. This afternoon, we will enjoy the company of a local expert guide for an orientation walking tour. 
You will then enjoy time for dinner and evening at leisure in Venice.

After breakfast we meet our local guide once again and, via the major canals, today we will get round the best of Venice. Our ACTV Daily Pass will allow us unlimited travel on the city’s waterbuses known as vaporettos.
On St Mark’s Square we will visit the Doge’s Palace, an impressive structure composed of layers of building elements and ornamentation, It's original foundations were begun in the 14th Century and it was developed significantly during the Renaissance era. 

Around the corner from the Doge’s Palace we will see Venice's famous Bridge of Sighs. Spanning the Rio di Palazzo (Palace River), the bridge was intended to connect the Old Prison and interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to the New Prison, which was situated directly across the river. Hence the sighing of the people who walked across it, from sentence to the execution of their punishment. 
We will explore St Mark’s Basilica, consecrated in 1094. This building symbolized the Venetian republic's historical power and wealth. Considered one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture in the world, the Basilica di San Marco is known for its opulent design and gilded interior mosaics, and nicknamed Chiesa d'Oro, or "Church of Gold".

We will enjoy lunch together in a characteristic Venetian trattoria before travelling again on the Grand Canal in our chosen vaporetto to see the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge is the most famous of the bridges that cross the Grand Canal and was constructed under the supervision of Antonio da Ponte, between 1588 and 1591. The bridge is famously built with shops at both sides of the structure. 

In the late afternoon light we will enjoy a 30 minute ride on a gondola seeing Venice up close via narrower calmer canals before an evening and dinner at leisure.

This morning we’re out on the water again, in a private motor boat to explore Venice’s nearby islands of Murano and Burano on foot.

The people of Venice have been making crystal and glass since the 10th century, when Venetian merchants brought the secrets of production back from the East. It was in 1291 when glass production was transferred to Murano from Venice city centre because of the fear of fire from the kilns. The trip to Murano takes a matter of minutes during which we will pass San Michele island, which is Venice’s cemetery and where famous people such as Stravinsky and Diaghilev are buried or interred.

We will enjoy a visit to a Murano glassworks where we will see master glass blowers create colourful ornate pieces shaped into works of art. Lunch will be taken at leisure before our boat takes us to the island of Burano. Burano is one of the prettiest islands in the lagoon: it is a miniature Venice where all the houses are painted in bright pastel colours. Burano is famous for its lacework, a skill that has been carried out here since the sixteenth century and for which it has a worldwide reputation.

As soon as we disembark, we walk along Via Marcello and then turn right into the Fondamenta di San Mauro, after which Via Baldassare Galuppi, that opens onto the square with the same name. Here we will find the Lace Museum where you can see antique pieces of lace and can watch the various stages of work carried out by the experts. In the square there is also the Church of San Marino, which houses the “Crocefissione” (crucifixion) painting by Tiepolo and also the Palazzo del Podestà.

This evening we will enjoy a fine Venetian Farewell Dinner together to raise a toast to our fianl evening together in Italy.

Sadly, it's time to say goodbye.  You will be transferred to the airport for onward travel.