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DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
Day one : Arrive in Rome and transfer to your first hotel We include the 08.30 flight from London Heathrow that arrives in Rome Fiumicino at 12.00 hrs . You are met by a tour escort who welcomes you to the tour and then taken by small coach to your hotel in Orvieto . Time to unpack and rest before dinner . Dinner is not included but we will give you a list of recommended restaurants within walking distance of the hotel
Day two : Visit Villa Lante and Sacro Bosco at Bomarzo Depart from the hotel after breakfast to visit first of all Villa Lante ’ s garden , with abundant water features of cascades , fountains and grottoes , and superb stone carving . You enjoy a visit with a local guide of the gardens . Then you visit the bizarre collection of both eccentric and delightful stone ‘ beasts ’ and ‘ monsters ’, dating from the mid 16th Century . Enjoy this park in your own time before returning to the hotel . Own arrangements for dinner .
Day three : Visit Villa Farnese This is a half day excursion with your coach and driver to Villa Farnese , about 12 miles south of Viterbo . Hailed as a magnificent masterpiece , the garden here harmonises landscape , architecture and sculpture and bursts with a spectacular water feature , the Casino del Piacere , dating from about 1560 . The remainder of the day will be at leisure back at your hotel , with time to visit Orvieto . Own arrangements for dinner .
Day four : Travel to Frascati visiting Villa d ’ Este and Villa Adriana in Tivoli You leave your first hotel this morning and head south towards Rome for two incredible visits before reaching your hotel near Frascati , where you will be based for the next three nights . A packed lunch is provided . The first visit is to the Villa d ’ Este , now a UNESCO world heritage site and an impressive garden of man-made terraces , fountains , grottoes , nymphs , often considered a model for European gardens thereafter . Then you visit the nearby Villa Adriana , villa of the Emperor Hadrian and even in its ruined state is one of the most spectacular Roman gardens and an impressive monument to antiquity . The garden recreated a sacred landscape and a hydraulic system fed water to the main structures . Today it is still a magical site with wild flowers , meadows , tall cypresses , fishpond and pool remaining as features . You have time to settle in to your hotel near Frascati before dinner that is included at the hotel .
Day five : Visit the Giardini della Landriana The highlight today is a guided visit of the Giardini della Landriana . Occupying 25 acres and created since 1956 , this is a rarity in Italy due to the scale of the separate compartments and the combination of luxuriant English planting and formal Italian structure . The garden is a mass of colour from April to October . Whites , blues , olives , citrus , cottage-style mauves and yellows abound . Formal and informal ‘ rooms ’ open and close in speedy succession . The influence of Russell Page is evident . A break for lunch is taken at the end of the visit here before you continue to Frascati where you have some free time to explore the town on your own . You are then taken back to the hotel for time to relax before dinner , which is included at the hotel this evening .
Day six : Visit the Giardino di Ninfa The garden of Ninfa is an amazingly special place and perhaps the perfect garden . A guide here conducts the visit . You will witness the verdant location , fed by streams from the hillsides , the impact on the plants of temperatures that rarely fall below 10 degrees Centigrade , the dilapidated walls of the village buildings that provide a microclimate for rare plants to flourish , trees and walls flower-covered and there are scents of rose and jasmine . This is a fantastic collection of plants from all over the world that flourish in this idyllic site . Time for lunch after the visit at Ninfa and then in the afternoon you are taken to Villa Aldobrandini for a private visit of the gardens ( not guided ). Included dinner this evening at the hotel .
Day seven : Visit the Gardens of Castel Gandolfo and then return from Rome to London Today there is a final garden to visit ; that of the gardens of the papal residence Castel Gandolfo . This is not a private visit with a guide but entrance to the gardens . Please note : no shorts or sleeveless tops . There is some free time at the end of the visit before departing for Rome airport and the flight at 15.15 hrs for London Heathrow , arriving in at 16.35 hrs .
Dates and prices This tour departs on the following dates from London for these prices per person . 9 May 2024 £ 3,360 12 June 2024 £ 3,360
Prices are based on two people sharing a double or twin room . Single supplement for use of double : £ 490 per person . Deposit payment : £ 500 per person
We include
• Flights with British Airways London Heathrow to Rome in Eurotraveller
• Transportation on the mainland in a small coach with one piece of luggage per person .
• Services of English speaking tour escort throughout .
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Services of a local guide for Villa Lante , Villa Farnese , Villa d ’ Este , Villa Adriana , Landriana , Ninfa Aldobrandini .
• Entrance tickets to the gardens visited .
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Three nights ’ bed and breakfast in a standard double or twin room at the Palazzo Piccolomini in Orvieto .
• Three nights ’ dinner , bed and breakfast at the Villa Grazioli , Frascati in a classic double or twin room in the Paggeria wing of the hotel . .
Palazzo Piccolomini Orvieto This is a small , historic 4 star hotel with just 22 rooms in the centre of the hill-town of Orvieto , providing a charming and discreet location for your stay . The Palazzo is a renovated aristocratic town mansion dating from the end of the 16th Century and located within easy reach of the shopping area , the Cathedral and the lifts that operate from the parking areas below the town . There is a breakfast room and reading room . The hotel bedrooms are air-conditioned with digital TV . There is no restaurant at the hotel itself but many within easy walking distance .
Park Hotel Villa Grazioli Frascati The Park Hotel Villa Grazioli dates from the 16th Century . Once a Cardinal ’ s villa , it has been carefully restored as a 4 star hotel to combine its wealth of history and modern comforts for its guests . There are 62 rooms in the main Villa and two smaller villas , the Paggeria and the Limonaia . Rooms are elegant and restrained , and overlook the park , Frascati the Hill of Tuscolo or the direction of Rome . The Acquaviva Restaurant has an enchanting hanging garden with a view over Rome , and offers guests specialties of local and Mediterranean cuisine . There is an outdoor swimming pool . The classic rooms are located in the Paggeria wing of the hotel . Rooms can be upgraded on request at a supplement .
Different travel arrangements If you want us to arrange flights on other dates and from UK regional airports or to extend your holiday with a stay elsewhere in Italy , just let us know . If you are not arriving from the UK , then we can give you a price that excludes flights and perhaps with extra transfers included . We will adjust the details and the price accordingly .
The gardens at Ninfa
Phone 01392 441250 to make a reservation or to discuss your holiday plans 27