Join Our State as we embark on a culinary journey through Tuscany, and enjoy a one hotel stay in boutique-style lodging located in the medieval wine region of Chianti.
October 29-November 6, 2024
Package Includes:
- Round-trip airfare – Raleigh-Durham International Airport or Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Seven nights at one hotel
- 17 meals: seven breakfasts, three lunches, and six dinners
- Wine and beer reception
- Professional tour director
- Our State host
- Motor coach transportation
- Admissions per itinerary
- Comprehensive sightseeing
- Baggage handling at the hotel
- Hotel transfers
Trip Highlights:
- Seven-night stay at one hotel in Chianti
- Truffle demonstration and tasting at a Tuscan estate
- Dinner at a Tuscan farmhouse and winery
- Pasta-making cooking class
- Pecorino cheese tasting
- Music and wine experience with a local sommelier at a farmhouse in Montalcino
- Florence walking tour
- Academy Gallery and the Statue of David
- Siena walking tour
- San Gimignano
- Gelato tasting
- Lunch at a local farmhouse, famous for saffron
- Lake Trasimeno boat excursion
- Island Maggiore with lunch and wine
- Full day at leisure to relax or explore on your own
Detailed Itinerary:
October 29: DEPART USA – Board your overnight flight to Europe.
October 30: ARRIVAL FLORENCE – CHIANTI
Arrive in Florence, meet your tour director, and transfer to your hotel in Chianti for a seven-night stay. The Chianti region is filled with wonderful vineyards and charming hilltop towns. This evening, enjoy a Wine and Beer Reception prior to your Welcome Dinner of Tuscan favorites and locally produced wine with fellow Our State travelers.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: D
October 31: FLORENCE SIGHTSEEING & TUSCAN ESTATE DINNER
Today, enjoy a Florence City Tour featuring a visit to the Academy Gallery to see Michelangelo’s original Statue of David, a truly awesome sight. Then, visit Florence Cathedral and see Giotto’s Bell Tower and Baptistry with its impressive “Gates of Paradise.” These buildings demonstrate the traditions of Florentine art and architecture from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Also see the open-air museum of Piazza Della Signoria and Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. Later this afternoon, travel to a lovely Tuscan estate where you will be greeted with a welcome drink. Then enjoy a Truffle Demonstration with access to a protected area on the property, followed by delicious tastings of oil and truffle butter bruschetta, salami, pecorino, and wines from the estate. Next, enjoy a wonderful dinner before returning to your hotel in Chianti for the night.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B, D
November 1: ORGANIC COOKING CLASS – WINERY TOUR & TASTING
Today, enjoy an Organic Cooking and Pasta-Making Class and lunch in San Gimignano. You will be greeted with a welcome drink to enjoy while the chef discusses the class, the food you will make, and his recipes. The restaurant staff will assist you with putting on your aprons and chef hats and let the cooking fun begin! At the end of the cooking class, you will get to eat and enjoy what you have prepared for lunch. Later this afternoon, visit a local winery for a Winery Tour and Tasting experience. Sample organically farmed extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and Chianti Classico wine. Dinner is included this evening.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B, L, D
November 2: TUSCAN HILLS & MONTALCINO
Travel to the incredibly picturesque Val d’Orcia region filled with ancient villages, gorgeous farmhouses, isolated homesteads, roads lined with cypress trees, fabulous vineyards, and olive groves. Enjoy spectacular views of Tuscan hills enroute to visit a local cheese producer for a delicious Pecorino Cheese Tasting. Continue to a traditional farmhouse in Montalcino, where you will enjoy a multi-sensory experience of music and wine! Four wines will be matched with music tracks selected by a local sommelier. Later, just outside Siena, we will visit a local Tuscan farmhouse with an opportunity to meet the owner and enjoy dinner featuring typical Tuscan dishes paired with their local wines.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B, D
November 3: SIENA & SAN GIMIGNANO
This morning travel to Siena, the heart of Tuscany. Enjoy a Siena Walking Tour as you stroll the medieval streets to the dramatic Piazza del Campo, scene of the annual Palio horse race. Also see the town’s famous black and white striped cathedral and enjoy some time at leisure. Enjoy lunch at a family-run farmhouse that specializes in saffron production outside Siena. Later, we travel to San Gimignano, the epitome of a Tuscan hill town, where nobles built more splendid towers to outdo one another and indulge in their need for status. The medieval structures of this city have largely remained intact and San Gimignano, with its large number of art treasures, is truly considered an open-air museum. Next, enjoy a delicious gelato ice cream in one of the oldest gelaterias in Italy, famous world-wide for its unique flavors. Taste the saffron and pine nut flavored gelato, a registered trademark. Dinner is included this evening.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B, L, D
November 4: DAY AT LEISURE IN CHIANTI OR OPTIONAL EXCURSION
Today is at your leisure to relax at the hotel or explore on your own. An optional tour will be available today.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B
November 5: LAKE TRASIMENO BOAT EXCURSION & LUNCH ON ISLAND MAGGIORE
Begin your morning with a hearty breakfast and journey to Lake Trasimeno, located in the Umbria Region of Tuscany. The heart-shaped Lake Trasimeno is surrounded by rolling hills, olive groves, woods of oak and cypress trees, vineyards, and sunflower fields that frame castle topped medieval towns and villages. Enjoy free time to explore and walk around the medieval town of Tuoro, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Next, enjoy a boat cruise to the Island Maggiore, where we will have lunch at a traditional restaurant located on the lake. Tonight a special Farewell Dinner is planned.
Overnight: Chianti
Meals: B, L, D
November 6: CHIANTI – FLORENCE – HOME
Today, transfer to Florence for your flight home with wonderful memories of Tuscany.
Accommodations:
- Seven Nights – CDH Hotel Radda, Borgo Di Coretefreda or Tavarnelle Di Pesa, Chianti.
*On some dates alternative hotels may be used.
Tour Rates:
$4,899 per person with a booking discount* (based on double occupancy)
$4,999 per person regular rate (based on double occupancy)
Single supplement $700
*Booking discount applies when you pay your final payment by check. Save $100 per person.
Please ask about our no risk deposit. Book now and your deposit is risk free with no change fees until the final payment due date.
For more information or to make reservations:
Premier World Discovery
Melissa Grant
(877) 953-8687, ext. 238 (Pacific Time)
mgrant@premierworlddiscovery.com
Additional Information:
What to expect on an Our State trip:
Traveling with a group of Our State readers is an enriching, enjoyable, and safe way to experience new cultures, people, and places. In addition to the informative narration from the tour director and local guides, an Our State host will be available to assist in making your trip successful.
We usually fly to our destination, then travel by a comfortable motor coach with anywhere from 35 to 50 people who appreciate learning about new regions. Your entire trip will be guided, planned, and arranged for your upmost enjoyment. Many activities are things you can only do because you are traveling with Our State. There is some free time built in for you to explore on your own.
You can also choose not to attend an activity if you prefer something different. Please let your tour director know if you are not coming on a scheduled day.
Many meals are included. Where you have meals on your own, suggestions will be provided.
Most of the motor coaches have restrooms but every effort will be made to make regular rest stops.
One of the best parts of traveling with Our State is that you will meet new people, many of whom you will already have much in common with since most travelers read the magazine. Many guests often develop friendships that go on long after the tour is finished. Our State trips are generally filled with dynamic and friendly people.
Physical requirements:
Our tours are physically active but not meant to be strenuous.
Please be aware you will be on your feet, walking and standing for much of the day, indoors and outdoors, in all weather conditions and terrains. There will also be extended time on the motor coach when we travel from place to place. If there are any mobility issues you will need to have an able-bodied traveling companion to accompany and assist you.
Most days are moderately paced with approximately two to three total miles of walking, possibly including some hills and stairs.
We regret that we’re unable to provide individual assistance to guests with walking difficulties or other personal needs. The responsibility of the Trip Director who accompanies your trip is to ensure that the larger group enjoys a relaxing and informative journey, and he or she cannot be relied upon to provide ongoing individual assistance to any one guest. Guests requiring such individualized assistance must be accompanied by an able-bodied companion who can provide it.
If you have additional questions, please call Our State’s Travel Director Amy Wood Pasquini at 336-286-0600, or email apasquini@ourstate.com.
