Vacation to Three Iconic Cities in Italy
On this eight-night trip from Great Value Vacations, you’ll drive across Italy in a rental car and stay in three of the country’s most popular cities. The self-guided vacation also includes round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) to Rome (FCO) and from Venice (VCE) back to New York (JFK).
Days 1–2: Rome
With its ancient temples, monuments, and ruins, Rome is a living museum and a sightseer’s paradise. The opulent Trevi Fountain is one of the crown jewels of the city’s marble sculptures. It depicts a scene with Triton, the god of the sea, and it’s said that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you’re guaranteed to return to Rome. You can also see some of the world’s most iconic artworks at the Vatican Museums, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
Accommodations: Hotel Villa Vecchia, located just outside Rome in Frascati, a hilly town tucked amid the Roman Castles. The hotel features a surrounding park with a swimming pool and patio where you can dine outdoors.
Days 3–6: Tuscany
Rural Tuscany, with its lovely rolling hills, olive groves, and towering cypress trees, is best explored by car. Many visitors prefer the small medieval villages and wineries here to some of Tuscany’s more popular tourist destinations. But you’ll still want to spend some time in Florence, the capital, to see Renaissance artwork and in Pisa to snap a photo with the Leaning Tower.
Accommodations: Fattoria Degli Usignoli. This hotel sits in the heart of the Tuscan countryside on a farm with an onsite winery. All rooms here each have either a balcony or outdoor living area where you can take in the surrounding scenery.
Days 7–8: Venice
Venice is both a feat of technical engineering—a cityscape of floating stone palaces—and a bastion of artistic brilliance. Even the smallest buildings here have works by some of the grand old masters, such as Titian and Giorgione. The Gallerie dell’Accademia has a particularly great collection.
To see the city as it was meant to be seen, take a gondola tour through the canals that thread through the city. If you want to avoid some of the crowds, it’s worth it to take a trip on some of the back canals.
Accommodations: Park Hotel Bolognese. This restored ancient villa lies 20 minutes outside of Venice on expansive park grounds, replete with a bamboo grove. Your stay here includes breakfast.
Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.