DAY 1 ISTANBUL – VENICE: ENTERING LA SERENISSIMA FROM THE SEA – SAN MARCO – RIALTO
Meeting at Istanbul Airport International Departures Terminal at the time specified by our guide. After baggage drop, passport, and check-in procedures, departure for Venice with Turkish Airlines flight TK1867 at 06:50. Arrival at Venice Marco Polo Airport at 08:20 local time. We proceed to Tronchetto by our private bus and from there we enter Venice from the sea with our private boat for the group, just like the Grand Tour travelers did. As we proceed along the Giudecca Canal, the lagoon itself explains why the city did not need city walls for centuries. Following our arrival at St. Mark's Square, we visit St. Mark's Basilica from the inside (entrance ticket included in the package). Built for the relics of Saint Mark brought from Alexandria in 828, this Byzantine-planned structure allows us to read the faith, diplomacy, and trade network of the Republic under the same roof with its golden-background mosaics exceeding 8,000 m² and the story of the bronze horses brought from Constantinople in 1204 (those on the facade are copies). In front of the Doge's Palace facade and the Bridge of Sighs, we discuss the 19th-century romantic image of Venice born with Lord Byron's verses. Following the historical Mercerie axis connecting the political center of San Marco to the commercial heart of Rialto, we reach the stone Rialto Bridge completed in 1591. Around Rialto, the way to understand Venice sometimes passes through a bacaro counter rather than palaces; while chatting on the go like Venetians, we taste two cicchetti along with an ombra, a Spritz, or another sip for those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks. We make the most of this beautiful tradition while we are here. After free time for lunch and personal explorations, we meet and transfer to our hotel. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso region.
DAY 2 DOLOMITES: TITIAN'S VALLEY OR THE PEAKS OF TRE CIME
April • May • October — Culture Route
After breakfast, we depart for the Cadore region following the Piave valley. Our first stop is Pieve di Cadore, where Tiziano Vecellio, the greatest master of Venetian Renaissance painting, was born around 1490. We visit Casa Natale di Tiziano, the painter's birthplace. We continue through the Church of Santa Maria Nascente, which houses a Madonna painting attributed to Titian, the square where the master's statue rises, and the historical city route. Art historians still look for the Cadore silhouette in the blue mountain backgrounds of Titian's paintings; seeing this on-site is the true privilege of this stop. Afterwards, we have our typical lunch introducing Cadore cuisine. In the afternoon, we move on to Cortina d'Ampezzo. As we walk along Corso Italia in the town that hosted the 1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics, we discuss the Ladin culture, the Habsburg rule that lasted until 1918, and the legacy of British alpinists and travelers who introduced the Dolomites to Europe in the 19th century. After local strudel and coffee tasting, we give short free time at Lake Misurina at an altitude of 1,754 meters and return to our hotel at the end of the tour. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso region.
Casa Natale di Tiziano house is not always open. We enter on the dates it is open.
DAY 3 FROM GARDA TO VERONA: FROM CATULLUS TO SHAKESPEARE – SIRMIONE – VERONA
After breakfast, we depart for Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake. Our first stop is Sirmione, situated on a narrow peninsula extending into the water from the southern shore of the lake. We enter the town via the bridge of Rocca Scaligera, built by the Della Scala (Scaliger) family in the 13th century and considered one of Europe's best-preserved lake castles with its own water harbor. Sirmione, which the Roman poet Catullus addressed as the "jewel of peninsulas and islands," houses the remains of Northern Italy's largest Roman villa at the tip of the peninsula. Victorian poet Alfred Tennyson also came here in 1880 following in Catullus's footsteps and dedicated a poem to Sirmione. After our guided walking tour and free time for lunch by the lake, we depart for Verona. Starting our walk from the Arena dating back to the 1st century AD and Piazza Bra, we pass through Porta Borsari, one of the gates of the Roman city, to reach Piazza delle Erbe, established on the site of the ancient forum. In Piazza dei Signori, we read the political history of the city leading up to its transition to Venetian rule in 1405, by viewing the period of Cangrande della Scala, who hosted Dante in exile, and the Scaliger dynasty's Gothic funerary monuments, Arche Scaligere. Juliet's House is seen as a brief reference to how fiction turned into a place of memory in this city, which Shakespeare is believed to have never seen; the famous balcony was added in the 20th century. We conclude our walk with the aperitivo experience, the late afternoon ritual of Veneto, with our guests who wish to join. Return to our hotel at the end of the tour. Accommodation in the Venice / Mestre / Treviso region.
DAY 4 TREVISO: THE EVERYDAY ELEGANCE OF VENETO – NOVENTA OUTLET – ISTANBUL
After breakfast, we complete our hotel check-out procedures and depart for Treviso. Woven with the branches of the Sile river and canals, this city represents the restrained, everyday elegance of Veneto in contrast to Venice's splendor. Treviso, which joined the mainland territories of the Republic of Venice starting in 1339, also showcases the Republic's defense architecture with its walls renewed in the early 16th century. Starting our walk from Piazza dei Signori, where the medieval municipal building Palazzo dei Trecento rises, we proceed along the Buranelli canal, named after merchants from Burano, and reach Pescheria, the historical fish market built on an islet in the middle of the Cagnan canal. We discover tiramisu, cited as Treviso's gift to world gastronomy, in the city where it is accepted to have been born, with our special tasting included in the program. Afterwards, we depart for Noventa di Piave Designer Outlet and give approximately 3 hours of free shopping time. Transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport at the specified time. After baggage and passport procedures, departure for Istanbul with Turkish Airlines flight TK1870 at 20:00. Arrival in Istanbul at 23:35 local time and end of our tour.
