About the trip
Tuscany, with its rich landscape, intriguing history and laidback atmosphere is one of Italy’s best places to visit, and during this holiday we’ll be able to explore many of the cities, towns and villages in this part of Italy. We’ll be based at the Grand Hotel Plaza, from which we’ll get to enjoy a range of included and optional excursions.
Our first included excursion will be to the towns of Pisa and Lucca, where we’ll find a collection of splendid attractions to keep us busy. Pisa is famous for its leaning tower, but there’s much more to this city besides this. In Lucca, we’ll discover ancient city walls and lots of interesting museums.
We’ll also enjoy a full day excursion by train to Florence, so we can admire the scenery and enjoy a relaxing journey to the birthplace of the renaissance, where we’ll find stunning architecture and magical cityscapes.
Our tour is complete with a visit to the Cinque Terre, a coastline running through five villages on the Italian Riviera and, interspersed between all of this, a range of optional excursions we’ll be able to go on to enjoy even more of this amazing region.
Trip highlights
- Relax in stunning Montecatini, one of Italy’s finest spa towns
- Discover ancient Pisa and Lucca, boasting incredible historical sights
- Uncover Florence’s magnificent cultural attractions
- Admire the Cinque Terre’s colourful fishing villages
- Settle in to your hotel with a complimentary welcome drink
Full Day: Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre is an incredible stretch of coastline on the Italian Riviera, known for being one of the most beautiful in this part of the world. It encompasses five villages in total - Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Admire the colourful harbours and houses along the coastline, unique to the Italian Riviera, and find out more about this picturesque landscape with insight from our experienced tour guid
Full Day: Florence by Train
We’ll make the journey to Florence by train, which will provide us with an opportunity to admire the beautiful Italian scenery as we travel. We’ll then arrive in Florence and will have time to explore the area at leisure, with many different sights awaiting us.
For example, we’ll be able to look forward to seeing such landmarks as Florence Cathedral, the Piazza della Repubblica, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and the Palazzo della Signoria. This city is known for be the home of the renaissance movement, and so we can expect much in the way of beautiful architecture and amazing artwork, as well as lots of history to be found in its many museums.
Full Day: Pisa and Lucca
The city of Pisa is now synonymous with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and while this majestic bell tower is a sight for sore eyes, there are also many other things to do and sights to see in Pisa. For example, the city is filled with beautiful churches featuring stunning gothic and Romanesque architecture, such as the Church of St. Sixtus, the Church of San Frediano, the Church of San Nicola and the Church of Santa Maria della Spina. In addition to this, there are also many museums, with the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo both being well worth a look.
Following our time in Pisa, we’ll travel onwards to the small town of Lucca, which is known for its superbly preserved renaissance walls. They entirely surround the town and are one of the only examples of such walls to be perfectly intact. Here, too, we’ll find lovely churches with old architecture, such as St Martin's Cathedral, San Michele in Foro and the Basilica di San Frediano, as well as an ancient Roman amphitheatre and the National Museum of Villa Guinigi.
Day 1: UK to Northern France
Relax aboard your Grand Tourer coach as we cross to Calais then head on to Northern France for an overnight stay.
Day 2: Northern France to Lyon
Today we’ll continue to the outskirts of Lyon for dinner and an overnight stay. (B,D)
Day 3: Lyon to Montecatini
Today we will continue our travels to Montecatini, where we’ll settle into the comfortable Grand Hotel Plaza. (B,D)
Days 4 to 9: Montecatini
Relax in Montecatini, enjoying three included excursions and exploring this beautiful town at leisure. We’ll make our way to Pisa and Lucca, along with taking the train to Florence, and enjoying a scenic tour of the stunning Cinque Terre. (B,D)
Day 10: Montecatini to Lyon
We’ll say goodbye to Montecatini today, as we travel northwards for dinner and an overnight stay in the city of Lyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (B,D)
Day 11: Lyon to Northern France
Continuing our journey, we’ll travel through France to reach our hotel for dinner and an overnight stay. (B,D)
Day 12: Northern France to UK
Today we head to Calais, enjoy our voyage across to Dover, and then continue home. (B)
Agent for Shearings , ABTA protected tour operator, ABTA V6468. Prices are from prices, per person based on 2 adults sharing a twin room on the 12 day Florence, Pisa & Cinq Terre coach tour on a half board basis (meals included as shown). Price includes coach travel departing on 25 August 2019 from the UK. Details are correct at the time of print and are subject to change and limited availability. Price shown includes all advertised savings and the inclusions as shown. Operator terms & conditions apply. Holiday code EGIYNAT