This North Italy road trip has an itinerary stretching from Milan to Rome and takes in Lake Como, Verona, Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence and of course Rome itself. Pick up your hire car in Milan and make your way on the trip of a lifetime.
Milan
- La Scala Theatre and Museum is home to one of the most impressive opera houses in the world. You can take a guided tour of the venues and discover the history here including such resident musical geniuses as Tascanini right through to Barenboim.
- A guided tour of the Milan Duomo will include its terraces, cathedral, museum and archaeological area, The stained glass windows are a wonder to behold and the architecture is at the top of its game.
- Leonardo3 – The World of Leonardo Museum allows you to explore the genius of Leonardo da Vinci and the Italian Renaissance, a real must-see stop off for your Milan itinerary.
Lake Como
- Discover the secrets behind how such exquisite wine is made and taste it along with local fayre. Be sure to have a dry driver and some kind of distraction for the kids (maybe they can have their mobiles). Try local flavours with a 4-course lunch, cheese and ice cream, a wine tasting, and the Lake Como specialty, risotto with perch fish.
Verona
- Take a walk in the centre with Arena di Verona the most famous and the largest amphitheatre of Italy
- Onto Piazza delle Erbe, one of the finest squares in Italy, where statues, palaces and architectural elements from different eras are superimposed like a crazy montage, creating an eclectic landscape.
Venice
- The world-renowned Penny Guggenheim Museum is a modern art gallery par excellence. Currently exhibiting is Surrealism and Magic: Enchanted Modernity, which is an examination of how Surrealist artists took inspiration from occult symbolism with the artist themselves transformed into the role of magician, seer and alchemist.
- Canal Grande is Venice’s main water thoroughfare, lined with great Renaissance palaces, it is a colourful and frenetic spectacle of gondolas and vaporetti water buses. A classic gondola tour will allow you to see such sights as Rialto Bridge, Campo Manin and other wonderful views of the city.
- Explore the wonders of St Mark’s Basilica learning of the famed mosaics on display and see the crypt below. Then onto Doge’s Palace, the former home of Venetian Republic’s government.
Cinque Terre
Now it is time to leave the car and walk some of the spectacular trails that connect the five towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Take in stunning architecture, vineyards, quaint harbours filled with fishing boats and indulge delicious seafood alongside the famous pesto sauce of Liguria.
Florence
- The Uffizi Gallery contains one of the world’s greatest collections of masterpieces, housing celebrated works from artists like Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Caravaggio.
- Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science is housed in an old palace that was restored in the mid-1800s, this science museum houses an impressive collection of scientific instruments dating from the 13th century.
- Piazza Santo Spirito is a unique Florentine piazza and is the center of the artisan quarter. Dominated by the last masterpiece of Brunelleschi, the Basilica of Santo Spirito, the square is home to little local markets and antique fairs. You may just feel like you could shop till you drop.
Rome
- The first must-see has to be the Pantheon, dedicated to the seven planetary divinities and featuring an interior of gorgeous marble, the Pantheon is one of the most impressive monuments of Augustan Rome.
- And not far behind it is the Colosseum, perhaps the best-preserved of the monuments of ancient Rome, this huge marble structure was built to hold more than 50,000 spectators to witness bloody contests of might and the slaughter of wild beasts.
- The Galleria Borghese in the beautiful setting of Villa Borghese in Rome preserves sculptures, reliefs and ancient mosaics, and paintings and sculptures from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. The collection preserves masterpieces of Antonello da Messina, Giovanni Bellini, Raffaello, Tiziano, Correggio, Caravaggio and beautiful sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Canova.
So it may be with a sense of sadness that you hand in your car keys for the rented hire car to take the flight back home, especially after such an exhilarating road trip that will take a while to absorb and take in the wonders beheld.