From the crisp Chianti Classico wine and the fresh tasting extra-virgin olive oil to the organic pasta we learn to make, our culinary tour takes us to estate wine dinners, local restaurants, and one of the oldest gelato boutiques in all of Italy. Our trip is complete with two nights in Florence — the birthplace of the Renaissance and the world capital of art in the 15th century.
April 29–May 7, 2025
Package Includes:
- Round-trip airfare from Raleigh-Durham International Airport or Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Air departure taxes, fuel, and fees
- Seven nights in first-class hotel accommodations
- 14 meals: seven breakfasts, three lunches, and four dinners
- Our State host
- Wine and beer reception
- Professional tour director
- Motor coach transportation
- Admissions and sightseeing per itinerary
- Baggage handling at the hotels — one checked bag per person.
Accommodations:
- Five nights in Tuscany: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar
- Two nights in Florence: Hotel Villa Neroli or similar
Hotels are subject to change. On some dates alternative hotels may be used.
Itinerary Highlights:
- Two-night stay in Florence
- Five-night stay in Tuscany
- Tuscan estate dinner
- Pasta-making class
- Wine tasting
- Sienna walking tour
- Dinner at Tuscan farmhouse and winery
- San Gimignano
- Gelato tasting
- Lunch at a local farmhouse
- Lake Trasimeno boat excursion
- Island Maggiore with lunch and wine
- Florence guided walking tour
- Academy Gallery and the Statue of David
- Full-day optional tour to Lucca and Pisa
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1: Depart from the U.S.
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Board your overnight flight to Europe.
Day 2: Arrive in Florence • Tuscany
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Arrive in Florence, meet your tour director, and transfer to your hotel in Tuscany for a five-night stay. The Chianti and Umbria regions of Tuscany are filled with picturesque landscapes, rolling hills, olive groves, beautiful vineyards, and charming Tuscan hilltop towns. Enjoy a wine and beer reception followed by a welcome dinner with your fellow Our State travelers this evening.
Meals: Dinner
Overnight: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar in Tuscany
Day 3: Organic Cooking Class • Olive Oil Experience
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Today, enjoy an organic cooking and pasta-making class and lunch. Enjoy a welcome drink while the chef discusses the class, recipe, and food to be made. The restaurant staff will assist you with putting on your aprons, and the cooking fun begins! 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 olive oil producing farm to learn how olive oil is produced. Sample some organic extra-virgin olive oil, along with vinegar and Chianti Classico wine. Dinner is included this evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar in Tuscany
Day 4: Volterra • San Gimignano
Friday, May 2, 2025
Today, we travel to Volterra, another ancient and beautiful hilltop Italian city. Enjoy some free time in Volterra, then continue to a family-run farmhouse that specializes in saffron production for lunch. This afternoon we visit San Gimignano, the epitome of a Tuscan hill town, where nobles built 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, which produces unique flavors of gelato that are famous worldwide. Later, visit a local Tuscan farmhouse and enjoy dinner featuring typical Tuscan dishes paired with local wine.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar in Tuscany
Day 5: Lake Trasimeno • Island Maggiore
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Begin your morning with 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. Next, enjoy a boat cruise to the Island Maggiore, where we will have lunch at a traditional restaurant located on the lake. Return to your hotel with the evening at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar in Tuscany
Day 6: Tuscany Day at Leisure • Optional Tour to Pisa and Lucca
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Today is a full day at leisure to explore on your own or join the full-day optional tour to Pisa and Lucca. See the remarkable Leaning Tower of Pisa and more of Pisa’s Field of Miracles, such as the Duomo and the Baptistery. Visit Lucca and explore the Old Town, filled with quaint shops and Gothic palaces. Lucca’s great era was in the Gothic time just before the Renaissance, and the city contains stunning architecture from that period.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna, or similar in Tuscany
Day 7: Siena • Tuscan Estate Dinner FLORENCE
Monday, May 5, 2025
This morning, travel to Siena, the heart of Tuscany, where a local guide awaits you for a walking tour in the Old Town. The highlight is the Piazza del Campo, the seashell-shaped square on which the famous horse race, the Palio, takes place each year. Enjoy lunch on your own. Later this afternoon, travel to a lovely Tuscan estate. Learn about truffles and enjoy delicious tastings of oil and truffle butter bruschetta, salami, pecorino cheese, and wines from the estate, with dinner to follow. Later, travel to Florence and check into your hotel for a two-night stay.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight: Hotel Villa Neroli or similar in Florence
Day 8: Florence
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Today, enjoy a Florence city tour, featuring a visit to the Academy Gallery to see Michelangelo’s original statue of David, an incredible sight. View the cathedral to see Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery of San Giovanni 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 the Basilica di Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. The evening is at leisure for dinner on your own.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Hotel Villa Neroli or similar in Florence
Day 9: Departure
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Ciao! Transfer to the Florence airport for your flight home with wonderful memories of Tuscany and Florence.
Tour Rates:
Booking discount*: $4,999 per person (based on double occupancy)
Regular rate: $5,099 per person (based on double occupancy)
Single supplement: $950
*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 Reservations & More Information:
Premier World Discovery
Melissa Grant
(877) 953-8687, ext. 238 (Pacific Time)
mgrant@premierworlddiscovery.com
Online booking option: Save time and postage and secure your seat for this group departure. Click here and use the booking number 188977 to make your deposit online in just a few minutes.
For more information on physical requirements and what to expect on an Our State trip, click here.
