Final-year school trip to Italy: Venice, Murano, Burano, Florence, Siena, the Colosseum and the Vatican (10 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and overnight stop in Switzerland

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive via Luxembourg, Alsace and Basel (about 650 km from Brussels, 7 hours' driving excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night; two drivers take turns at the wheel.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Overnight stop in the Lucerne area, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: The Gotthard and arrival in the Veneto

• Departure after breakfast and drive to Italy through the Gotthard tunnel and via Milan and Verona (about 530 km, 6½ hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival on the Jesolo coast or in Mestre in the late afternoon.
• Check-in at the accommodation for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Venice, the Serenissima

• Into Venice by boat from Punta Sabbioni or by vaporetto from Tronchetto, depending on the accommodation.
• St Mark’s Square, the campanile and St Mark’s Basilica with its golden mosaics (on request).
• Visit to the Doge’s Palace and walk across the Bridge of Sighs (on request).
• Free lunch, then a walk through the alleys and campi to the Rialto Bridge.
• Down the Grand Canal by vaporetto in the late afternoon, back to the accommodation, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Murano, Burano and drive to Florence

• Check-out after breakfast and vaporetto crossing to Murano, the island of master glassmakers, with a glassblowing demonstration (on request).
• Burano and its multicoloured houses, then free lunch.
• Back to the coach in the early afternoon and drive to Florence via Padua and Bologna (about 300 km, 3½ hours excluding breaks).
• Up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for the view over the city at sunset.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Florence for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Florence, heart of the Renaissance

• Piazza del Duomo: the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (free entry), Giotto’s bell tower and the baptistery.
• Visit to the Accademia Gallery and Michelangelo’s David (on request).
• Free lunch at the Mercato Centrale, then the Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio (outside view).
• Visit to the Uffizi Gallery, from Botticelli to Leonardo da Vinci (on request).
• Walk across the Ponte Vecchio and through the Oltrarno, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: Siena and arrival in Rome

• Check-out after breakfast and drive to Siena (about 75 km, 1¼ hours).
• The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and the Palazzo Pubblico (outside view).
• Visit to Siena Cathedral and its marble floor (on request), then free lunch.
• Drive to Rome (about 230 km, 2¾ hours excluding breaks) and first evening walk to the Spanish Steps.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Rome for three nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: Ancient and Baroque Rome

• Visit to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill (on request).
• Up the Capitoline Hill to Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio, then free lunch.
• Visit to the Pantheon, an ancient temple whose dome has stood intact for almost 2,000 years (on request).
• Piazza Navona and its fountains, then the Trevi Fountain.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 8: The Vatican and Trastevere

• Visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel (on request).
• St Peter’s Square and St Peter’s Basilica, with Michelangelo’s Pietà (free entry).
• Free lunch, then a walk to Castel Sant’Angelo and across the Ponte Sant’Angelo.
• Late afternoon in the lanes of Trastevere.
• Dinner and last supervised evening in Rome.

Day 9: Drive to the overnight stop in Ticino

• Check-out after breakfast and departure around 8 am.
• Daytime drive via Florence, Bologna and Milan (about 680 km, 8 hours excluding breaks), with two drivers taking turns.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Overnight stop in Ticino, in the Bellinzona or Lugano area, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 10: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and daytime drive via the Gotthard, Basel and Alsace (about 850 km to Brussels, 9½ hours' driving excluding breaks), with regular breaks.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.