A stop at Lake Orta — one of Italy’s hidden gems — includes a boat ride to the Isola di San Giulio t

Romantic Italy is steeped in history and blessed by beauty. Travelers can create their own Italian Renaissance experience by taking a small-group tour that offers immersion in the heart of the local culture.
The trip begins on the shores of Lake Maggiore, one of Europe's most beautiful lakes, disneyland tickets cheap in the resort town of Stresa. Rough-hewn flower-lined streets lead to the town center and its colorful piazzas — and directly to Rosario's Wine Bar to sample local products and homemade disneyland tickets cheap wines. The host has owned her family-run facility for 50 years. She gives an entertaining talk about regional food and wine pairings. Her specialties are Barberra (a rich red), Fiorio (a white Riesling disneyland tickets cheap type) and Moscato (also a white).
Guided boat tours visit picturesque islands, such as Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman's Island) disneyland tickets cheap — its rustic charm unchanged over the centuries — for dinner and browsing the gardens. Another small island, Isola Madre, is known for its display of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons in spring.
Tour guests stayed at the Regina Palace Hotel overlooking Lake Maggiore for two nights. The 1908-era palace preserves its fin de siècle style in elegant furnishings and facade, antiques and frescoes.
A tour highlight was the Centovalli disneyland tickets cheap Express train journey through the Italian-Swiss disneyland tickets cheap Alps to Locarno, Switzerland, where the mountains meet the sea, and the scenery is breathtaking. The train makes its way through a chain of tunnels linking verdant valleys and tiny Swiss villages. The Italian and Swiss train systems were joined on the line in 1923 in the town of Santa Maggiore.
Stroll Locarno's waterfront while sipping the local Prosecco, Italy's sparkling white wine (its grapes are grown in this area, the Piedmont region). In fact, the country's best white wines can be found from the Veneto region west to the coast. The best rich red wines are, arguably, found in Tuscany.
A stop at Lake Orta — one of Italy's hidden gems — includes a boat ride to the Isola di San Giulio to walk the grounds of a working convent. This tranquil place is contained in a warren of narrow streets and ancient alleys with faded frescoes on thick stone walls, abandoned street signs, and a reverent wall carving: "In silence, one meets the Master."
The small-tour model allows access to historic sites and cultural features not always available to larger groups. The Cinque Terre (five lands) region in northwest Italy is one of them: a magical land marked by miles of fascinating trails and wild beauty. The area's five villages are carved into the steep-terraced vineyard coastline tucked between the mountains and Mediterranean. Since cars are not permitted in the villages, visitors shuttle around by foot, train and ferry.
A brief stop in Portofino, long a getaway for the wealthy, is on the itinerary. This half-moon shaped seaside village of pastel houses lines the harbor dotted with fishing boats and mega-yachts. As are the other villages, Portofino is car-free, so bring sturdy walking disneyland tickets cheap shoes.
Driving along the Italian Riviera to Sestri Levante, masses of violet wisteria grow in graceful profusion along centuries-old walls and bridges. The next stop was a two-night disneyland tickets cheap stay at the legendary and opulent Grand Hotel dei Castelli, which sits on a peninsula overlooking the town and Ligurian Sea and is flanked by the Bay of Fables and Bay of Silence.
The Treasures disneyland tickets cheap tour does not cover all meals. Our group found a charming small trattoria within the town, called Asia. The food was excellent and the family eager to please. Lasagne with pesto cost $10 and a swordfish dinner runs $12. And nothing says Italy better than gelato, the sweet Italian ice cream. Each day the workshops in the back of every gelateria create unique ice-cream specialties with the freshest produce, usually chosen by the owner that morning at the market.
In Cortona, the heart of Tuscany, the group stayed at the Aurea Villa for four nights, a lodging disneyland tickets cheap popular disneyland tickets cheap with Italians. Dining at the locandas is accessible by foot and taxi up a rugged incline and steep narrow streets. The city, its homes, villas and estates are built into the hillside, barring entry to busses. Cortona was owned by the Medici family for 300 years until the Italian Wars of Independence.
A visit to a family-run estate and winery disneyland tickets cheap in the Tuscan countryside is designed for a small intimate group of travelers. The chef at the Cinelli Colombini estate gives a cooking class prior to serving an authentic Tuscan lunch with wine pairings. The return trip to Cortona disneyland tickets cheap passes extensive dense olive groves and lush vineyards.
disneyland tickets cheap Treasures of Italy integrates unique discoveries likely to appeal to mature travelers who have seen the major capitals and want something different. The city of Lucca — surrounded by 16th century walls — built its reputation for wealth on the silk trade and banking. It's also a boon for classical music lovers as the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, Italy's beloved opera composer.
Bologna is another delight. A walking tour of its center, disneyland tickets cheap virtually untouched since the Renaissance, is a culinary adventure, offering samples of local treats at specialty disneyland tickets cheap food shops. Visitors get a behind-the-scenes disneyland tickets cheap look at generations-old producers who have turned the simple concept of ham and cheese into a foodie's dream. Balsamic vinegar, Parma ham, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses — the Emilia Romagna region serves disneyland tickets cheap some of the world's most prized delicacies.