Lake Maggiore and Cinque Terre

  • 9 Days
  • Classic Trip

We're always ready to personalize
a tour to your unique needs

Lake Maggiore and Cinque Terre Get Started

Map & Route

Depart

Overnight Flight

1 1 Night

Lake Maggiore

2 2 Nights

Italian Riviera

2 2 Nights

Florence

3 3 Nights
Return
map Lake Maggiore and Cinque Terre

What's Included

Our itineraries reflect 40 years of experience in crafting exceptional educational tours. That means we know exactly how to make the best of your time abroad—incredible destinations, immersive activities, centrally located hotels, and smart, well-traveled tour managers who ensure your educational goals are met. Here are some of the exceptional features of this tour.

ACIS Guarantees

We have high standards, which is why we take care to include these features in every tour.

Round-Trip Flights

Leave the airlines to us.

3- or 4-Star Hotels

After a busy day, comfort is key.

Centrally Located Hotels

Save the commuting time, beat the morning crowds and keep right on exploring after dark when your hotel is in the heart of the city.

Daily Breakfast and Dinner (unless otherwise noted)

Delicious, authentic, multi-course dinners at local restaurants with meal times tailored to maximize your experience.

24-Hour Tour Manager

Part guide, part educator, part engineer, part mind-reader, part magician—ACIS Tour Managers are your travel partner.

Start Exploring

Never wait hours at the airport to share a transfer with other later groups.

Service Guarantee

We're so sure you're going to love your tour, we guarantee it!

Global Network

24/7 on the ground support whenever and wherever you need it.

All Local Transportation

Urban transportation is on us, allowing you to explore each destination with ease.

Personal Headsets Included Throughout Tour

Participants will have unlimited access to personal headsets so that local guides and ACIS Tour Managers can more easily communicate with the group along the way.

Exceptional Experiences

Our tours are designed to help you and your students be in the moment and experience everything the world has to offer.

Michelangelo's Marble in Carrara

Michelangelo's Marble in Carrara

Where does the most beautiful marble come from? Students will learn firsthand as they drive up 3,300 feet into the Apuan Alps. They’ll take in scenery of unparalleled beauty, dominated by the brightness of “white gold.” An expert guide will lead you to some of the oldest quarries in the world. Students will discover how the Etruscans, the Ancient Romans, Michelangelo, Canova and modern billionaires have come to this site for centuries to select marble for their projects.

Learn More

Where does the most beautiful marble come from? Students will learn firsthand as they drive up 3,300 feet into the Apuan Alps. They’ll take in scenery of unparalleled beauty, dominated by the brightness of “white gold.” An expert guide will lead you to some of the oldest quarries in the world. Students will discover how the Etruscans, the Ancient Romans, Michelangelo, Canova and modern billionaires have come to this site for centuries to select marble for their projects.

Tuscan Cooking Lesson

Tuscan Cooking Lesson

Unlock the secrets of Italy's culinary arts with a cooking lesson and demonstration held in one of Florence's most historic buildings, just steps from the Palazzo Pitti. Begin with an introduction to Italian cuisine, specifically local Tuscan cooking, and an explanation of what local ingredients are used and why they were selected. The chef will then demonstrate and teach participants how to make the dishes on the day's menu, with the students' assistance at various stages of preparation. Chefs are professionally qualified and currently employed in some of Florence's best restaurants and luxury hotels. Finish off the lesson by sampling the treats you created! Possible dishes include things like Crepes Florentine, Potato Tortelli, Aretina Chicken, stuffed tomatoes, Chocolate cake and Tiramisù.

Learn More

Unlock the secrets of Italy's culinary arts with a cooking lesson and demonstration held in one of Florence's most historic buildings, just steps from the Palazzo Pitti. Begin with an introduction to Italian cuisine, specifically local Tuscan cooking, and an explanation of what local ingredients are used and why they were selected. The chef will then demonstrate and teach participants how to make the dishes on the day's menu, with the students' assistance at various stages of preparation. Chefs are professionally qualified and currently employed in some of Florence's best restaurants and luxury hotels. Finish off the lesson by sampling the treats you created! Possible dishes include things like Crepes Florentine, Potato Tortelli, Aretina Chicken, stuffed tomatoes, Chocolate cake and Tiramisù.

Lake Maggiore Boat Ride

Lake Maggiore Boat Ride

Centovalli Scenic Railway

Centovalli Scenic Railway

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Milan Duomo

Milan Duomo

Armani/Silos Museum

Armani/Silos Museum

Boat Ride along the Cinque Terre

Boat Ride along the Cinque Terre

Florence Tour with Guide

Florence Tour with Guide

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo)

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo)

Santa Croce

Santa Croce

Accademia with Guide and Reservation

Accademia with Guide and Reservation

Video

Italy

Featured in this video

Itinerary

This itinerary is the starting point for your tour, but it’s not set in stone. If there are days you would like to change, or specific places you’d like to go, we can work with you to create a personalized program that fits the needs of you and your students.

Day 1: Overnight Flight

Depart from the USA.

Day 2: Lake Maggiore

Welcome to Milan! Meet your ACIS Tour Manager and drive to Stresa, a city on the shore of breathtaking Lago Maggiore and a pivotal destination in Ernest Hemingway’s novel, A Farewell to Arms. In the afternoon, a private boat ride takes you to two of the famous Borromean Islands: Isola Bella, where you’ll tour the stunning terraced gardens and villa built by the House of Borromeo in the 1600s, and Isola dei Pescatori, home to a quaint fishing community.

Day 3: Lake Maggiore

The morning begins with a drive to Domodossola at the foot of the Italian Alps. From there, the Centovalli train takes you through the picturesque “hundred valleys” region to Locarno, a charming city on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore across the border into Switzerland. After some sightseeing, it’s time to drive back to Stresa, including a short ferry ride from Laveno to Intra, in time for dinner.

Day 4: Italian Riviera

Today your Tour Manager takes you on a visit to Milan, where you’ll visit the Galleria, with its classic arched glass-and-cast-iron roof, and tour the Duomo, a grand cathedral that took almost 600 years to build. Milan is Italy’s fashion capital, as you’ll see during a visit to the Armani Museum, dedicated to fashion icon Giorgio Armani. Then take a drive to the Italian Riviera, known for its rugged cliffs, and charming seaside villages.

Day 5: Italian Riviera

Begin the day with a visit to Portofino, a postcard-perfect fishing village where yachts in the harbor rub elbows with pastel-colored buildings. Then board a train for Monterosso, the northernmost of five villages comprising the world-renowned Cinque Terre. Explore your surroundings a bit before boarding a boat to take in fabulous views of these dramatic cliffside towns from the Golfo dei Poeti (Bay of Poets). The trip includes a stop at one more of the villages before arriving in Portovenere in time for dinner. After eating, head back to your hotel on the Riviera.

Day 6: Florence

Enjoy a unique experience this morning as you visit the fascinating quarry in Carrara, noted for its white and bluish-gray marble that’s been used in some of Europe’s best-known masterpieces, from Michelangelo’s David to the Pantheon and Trajan’s Column in Rome. Learn more about this famed stone during our Michelangelo’s Marble activity. Continue on to Pisa, home of the world-famous Leaning Tower, then savor a special Tuscan country dinner on your way to Florence.

Day 7: Florence

During today's sightseeing tour a local guide provides commentary while showing you Brunelleschi's splendid Duomo, Ghiberti's famous Baptistry Doors, Santa Croce (where many illustrious Italians, including Michelangelo and Galileo, have been buried) and the Piazza della Signoria—the political center of the Renaissance city. Also, breeze by the crowds with your own timed entrance to the Accademia, which houses Michelangelo's David. In the afternoon enjoy a Tuscan cooking lesson where an Italian chef will teach you how to prepare a three-course Tuscan meal. Participants will aid the chef in the preparation and then everyone will enjoy a tasting. Tonight perhaps see the statues of the Loggia dei Lanzi or sample gelato at Vivoli.

Day 8: Florence

Spend a fabulous final day in Italy exploring Florence at your own pace. Why not stroll across the Ponte Vecchio to visit the Pitti Palace and wander through the Boboli Gardens? Or take an optional full-day excursion to the Medieval walled villages of Siena and San Gimignano, including an authentic Tuscan lunch.

Day 9: Departure

Depart for the USA.



Optional Extensions and Extra Nights:

Enhance your European experience with a two-night extension that takes you from Florence to Rome via train and includes entrance to the Colosseum and Vatican Museums.

Price This Tour

Price This Tour

Optional Extras

Ultimate-Plus Protection Plan

Most Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $450

Add to Tour

Ultimate Protection Plan

Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $315

Add to Tour

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