Final-year school trip to Tuscany and Umbria: Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Perugia, Assisi and Orvieto (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 Florence

• Departure after breakfast and drive to Italy through the Gotthard tunnel and via Milan (about 530 km, 6½ hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival in Florence in the late afternoon and up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for the view over the city at sunset.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or near Florence for three nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: 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 4: San Gimignano and Siena

• Drive to San Gimignano (about 55 km, 1 hour) and walk through the “Manhattan of the Middle Ages” and its medieval towers.
• Drive to Siena (about 40 km, 45 minutes) and free lunch.
• The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run, and the Palazzo Pubblico (outside view).
• Visit to Siena Cathedral and its marble floor (on request).
• Return to Florence (about 75 km, 1¼ hours), dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Cortona and arrival in Perugia

• Check-out after breakfast and drive to Cortona (about 115 km, 1½ hours), an Etruscan town perched above the Val di Chiana.
• Walk through the historic centre and the Piazza della Repubblica, then free lunch.
• Drive to Perugia (about 60 km, 50 minutes) and up to the centre by the escalators running through the Rocca Paolina.
• Corso Vannucci, the Fontana Maggiore and the Palazzo dei Priori (outside view).
• Check-in at the accommodation in Perugia, Assisi or the surrounding area for four nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: Assisi, the town of St Francis

• Drive to Assisi (about 25 km, 30 minutes).
• The Basilica of St Francis and Giotto’s frescoes (free entry, visit in silence).
• Free lunch, then the Piazza del Comune, the Temple of Minerva and the Basilica of St Clare (free entry).
• Up to the Rocca Maggiore for the view over the Umbrian plain (on request).
• Back to the accommodation, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio

• Drive to Orvieto (about 80 km, 1¼ hours) and funicular ride up to the upper town, set on its tuff rock.
• Visit to Orvieto Cathedral and the San Brizio Chapel painted by Signorelli (on request).
• Visit to Underground Orvieto, its maze of caves and wells dug into the tuff (on request), then free lunch.
• Drive to Civita di Bagnoregio (about 20 km) and access to the hilltop village over its footbridge (on request).
• Back to the accommodation (about 1½ hours), dinner and supervised evening.

Day 8: Lake Trasimeno and Perugia’s chocolate

• Drive to Passignano sul Trasimeno (about 30 km, 30 minutes), on the shore of Italy’s fourth-largest lake.
• Boat crossing to Isola Maggiore and walk through its fishing village (on request).
• Free lunch by the lake.
• Visit to the Casa del Cioccolato Perugina, home of the famous Baci (on request).
• Dinner and last supervised evening in Umbria.

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 560 km, 6½ 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.