Final-year school trip to Rome and Assisi: the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Ostia Antica and the Basilica of St Francis (9 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 to Switzerland 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, Tuscany and arrival in Umbria

• Departure after breakfast, around 7 am, and drive to Italy through the Gotthard tunnel and via Milan and Florence (about 700 km, 8 hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival in the late afternoon in the Umbrian plain, at the foot of Assisi.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Assisi for one night, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Assisi, the city of St Francis, and arrival in Rome

• Visit to the Basilica of St Francis and its Giotto frescoes (free admission), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Walk through the medieval town: the Piazza del Comune, the Temple of Minerva and the Basilica of St Clare (free admission).
• Free lunch, then drive to Rome (about 180 km, 2¼ hours excluding breaks).
• First evening walk to the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Rome for five nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Ancient Rome

• Visit to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill (on request).
• Up to the Capitol and the Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo, with the view over the Forum.
• Free lunch, then the Circus Maximus and the Mouth of Truth.
• Late afternoon in the Monti district.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: 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 admission).
• Climb up the dome of St Peter’s (on request).
• Free lunch, then a walk to Castel Sant’Angelo and across the Ponte Sant’Angelo.
• Late afternoon in the lanes of Trastevere, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: Baroque Rome

• Visit to the Pantheon, an ancient temple whose dome has stood intact for almost 2,000 years (on request).
• Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, then the Campo de’ Fiori.
• Free lunch, then the Trevi Fountain and the Via del Corso.
• Walk through the Villa Borghese park to the Pincio terrace, above the Piazza del Popolo.
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: Ostia Antica and a last afternoon in Rome

• Coach trip to Ostia (about 30 km) and visit to the archaeological site of Ostia Antica, the port of imperial Rome (on request).
• Free lunch in Ostia.
• Return to Rome and supervised free time for some last-minute shopping.
• Dinner and last supervised evening in Rome.

Day 8: Drive to the overnight stop in Ticino

• Check-out after breakfast and departure around 7.30 am.
• Daytime drive via Florence, Bologna and Milan (about 700 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 9: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast and daytime drive via the Gotthard, Basel and Alsace (about 800 km to Brussels, 9 hours' driving excluding breaks), with regular breaks.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.