- Begin your journey Board your flight and begin your journey to Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, France & Italy
Explore the best of Europe — from vibrant Barcelona and Provence’s historic gems to the coastal allure of the Côte d’Azur. Experience the grandeur of ancient Rome and the treasures of Vatican City, with the option to extend your journey to Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri. A harmonious blend of culture, history, and breathtaking landscapes awaits!
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https://worldstrides.com.au/itineraries/barcelona-france-italy
Barcelona, France & Italy
Explore the best of Europe — from vibrant Barcelona and Provence’s historic gems to the coastal allure of the Côte d’Azur. Experience the grandeur of ancient Rome and the treasures of Vatican City, with the option to extend your journey to Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri. A harmonious blend of culture, history, and breathtaking landscapes awaits!
Request Info Request Quote10-12 days
Destinations
France: Côte d'Azur, ProvenceItaly: Rome, Sorrento, FlorenceSpain: Barcelona
Your Adventure
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Barcelona guided sightseeing tour
Plaza de Espana, Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia, Montjuïc Hill, Park Güell visit
See brilliant Barcelona, a city of graceful Gothic churches, wrought-iron balconies and grand avenues filled with outdoor cafés. Throughout the city, daringly innovative buildings sit side-by-side with the medieval past. A licensed, local guide will show you some of the high points of this architectural showcase. First stop, the pointy spires of the La Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family), a half-finished church complex that became the obsession of Barcelona's famously eccentric architectural genius, Antoni Gaudí. At the top of Güell Park, another of Gaudí's masterpieces, is a terraced area where you get a fantastic view of the park and Barcelona City. The vibrant colours of the tiles are breathtaking. Then step back to the past with a journey up to Montjuïc (Hill of the Jews), a fortress built atop an ancient Jewish cemetery. This was the site of numerous battles to control Barcelona, and also the location of the 1992 Olympics. - Paella dinner Paella is a Valencian rice dish with ancient roots that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain.
- Travel to Provence
- Pont du Gard visit A true masterpiece of ancient architecture, the Pont du Gard aqueduct is one of the most beautiful Roman constructions in the region. Discover more about this startling monument as you follow the course of its history through the ages.
- Nîmes amphitheatre visit
- Avignon
- Les Baux de Provence
- Travel to Côte d’Azur
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Nice tour director-led sightseeing
Vieux Nice, Promenade des Anglais
The Côte d'Azur's largest city spills down the hillsides to pebble beaches that line the shore. Your Tour Director will show you around the narrow pedestrian streets and tiny squares of "Le Vieux Nice" (Old Town), which is sprinkled with old palaces and mansions. Stroll down the Promenade des Anglais, which runs parallel to the water. Backed by Nice's grand hotels, the Promenade was built in the 19th century for the British who flocked here en masse.
- Monaco & Èze tour director-led sightseeing Prince’s Palace, Parfumerie visit in Èze
- Travel to Florence
- Traditional Italian pizza dinner
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Florence guided walking sightseeing tour
Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Chiesa di Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, Leather Workshop, Gates of Paradise, Giotto’s Bell Tower, Dante's House
Immerse yourself in the charms of old-world Firenze. The birthplace and focal point of the Italian Renaissance, Florence still has the masterpieces to prove it. Brunelleschi’s monumental cuploa (dome) atop the city's renowned Duomo dominates the skyline. Your local licensed guide will take you to Giotto's Bell Tower and the aptly named Gates of Paradise, the bronze east doors of the Baptistery that spurred the burgeoning Renaissance. Don’t overlook the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli at the Chiesa di Santa Croce, or Florence’s amazing leather goods. You can check them out when you visit one of the area’s famed workshops! -
Pisa guided excursion
Baptistery visit, Leaning Tower
Stop in Pisa to see the famous leaning bell tower. It was already partly finished when builders realized that -- surprise! -- the ground beneath was too soft to support it. They tried to correct the tilt by putting a slight bend in the structure, but the extra weight just made it tilt more. Famous as it is, the leaning tower is just one component of Pisa’s Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). Rising from an immaculate green lawn, the baptistery, duomo, and tower are fine examples of Pisan Romanesque architecture. All three are clad in intricately carved black and white marble, and on bright summer days their brilliance can be blinding.
- Travel to Rome
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Ancient Rome guided walking sightseeing tour
Colosseum visit, Forum Romanum visit, Piazza Venezia
The ultimate symbol of Ancient Rome, the Colosseum still dominates the modern city. Tour the amphitheatre with your local licensed guide. Built by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72, the structure held almost 50,000 spectators but was so well organized that the entire place could be emptied within 15 minutes. Inside, the spectacles varied from gladiator battles to immense naval contests to wild beast shows, in which thousands of exotic animals like giraffes and ostriches were popped into the stadium through trap doors and left to fight Roman hunters. See the system beneath the floor that operated the trap doors and housed the animals, then continue on to the relative calm of the Forum. Ancient Rome’s commercial, religious and political center, the Forum held markets, temples and the Senate House. Near the Rostra, or speaker’s platform, you can still see game boards scratched into the marble by bored politicians--anyone up for a game of tic tac toe?
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Vatican City guided walking sightseeing tour
Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel visit, St. Peter’s Basilica visit
Visit St. Peter’s Basilica where from the outside, the church has four rows of columns that radiate out like welcoming arms; inside, the church seems enormous enough to embrace the entire world. The dome, partially designed by Michelangelo, rises 452 feet above the ground. Michelangelo’s mark is everywhere here, from the costumes worn by the Swiss Guards to his exquisite “Pietà” sculpture (the only sculpture he ever signed) to the amazing frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Because he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter, Michelangelo hated working on these paintings, now considered masterpieces. -
Rome city walk
Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona
Take a walk past Rome's most beautiful and unusual Baroque fountains. At the foot of the Spanish Steps, elegant cafes surround the central fountain. The water pressure here was so low that the artist had to sink the fountain into the ground to get any water going through it, so he went ahead and designed the fountain to look like a sinking ship. There's no shortage of water pressure at the nearby Trevi Fountain, a Baroque extravagance designed by master sculptor Bernini. - Authentic trattoria dinner
- Depart Italy/Travel to Sorrento
- Cameo demonstration Cameos, oval in shape and consisting of a portrait in profile carved in relief on a background of a different color, are often worn as jewelry. Stone cameos of great artistry were made in Greece dating back as far as the 3rd century BC, the oldest being the Hellenistic piece the Farnese Tazza. They were very popular in Ancient Rome, especially in the family circle of Augustus. Stop by a modern-day cameo studio and watch artisans carve them up close.
- Pompeii guided excursion Stop to see the city where time stood still, literally. Once an important Roman city with 20,000 residents, Pompeii was frozen in time nearly 2000 years ago, when Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city under 30 feet of mud and volcanic ash. Forgotten for centuries after the eruption, Pompeii was discovered in the 1600’s and is now completely excavated. On your tour you will learn how Romans of all classes lived their lives - not only from large public structures, but from details like political graffiti, bars, and street signs.
- Capri & Blue Grotto excursion From the Bay of Naples the island of Capri is less than an hour away by boat. Weather permitting, you will take a boat to the Blue Grotto, where sunlight reflected from beneath the water bathes the cave in a silver-blue light.
- Travel to Rome
