Southern France & Italy Discovery with Wine Tastings & Local Dining

All that glitters is gold on this sun-soaked small-group tour of Catalonia, the brightest gems of the French Riviera and ever-romantic Italy. Taste the finest Chianti and Rhone Valley wines straight from the vine, then follow the masterworks of Michelangelo, from the statue of David in Florence to the humbling ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Make your pilgrimage to the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona – the unfinished, soaring masterpiece of Catalan modernist architect Antoni Gaudi. Climb Carcassonne’s World Heritage-listed citadel and unveil the secrets of perfume-making in a hands-on class on the Cote d’Azur. Revel in the flavours of the Mediterranean when you indulge in a Catalan-style welcome dinner and a mouth-watering meal at a traditional ristorante in Venice.

Travel in comfort with airport transfers and private luxury coach transport, and glean ever more with the help of your dedicated English-speaking tour director. Unspool the history of Nimes – the birthplace of denim – and stitch together the story of ‘alta moda’ clothing in the fashion capital of Milan. Get to know the ebb and flow of the Italian landscape as you glide across Lake Garda and drift along in a Venetian gondola. And enroll in educating tours of Italy’s beautiful university towns and uncover the diverse architectural wonders dotting throughout the Tuscan countryside.