Out of the ordinary

For travellers looking for an alternative to visiting Italy during the peak summer holiday season, Great Rail Journeys, the UK’s market leader for escorted holidays by rail have the answer. A selection of May and June departures offer a pleasant, relaxing experience avoiding the heat of the main summer months and the bustling crowds of high season.

The early season departures also offer the chance for gardeners to leave home safe in the knowledge that they will not be faced on their return with any horticultural nightmares caused by summer temperatures.

Great Rail Journeys 10 itineraries to the land of style and romance offer a wide range of opportunities to explore this great country from the comfort of rail travel. Ranging from 9 to 14-days in duration, the tours take in a broad variety of the country’s beautiful and unspoilt areas.

Visit Roman ruins, gaze at Renaissance masterpieces and sample Mediterranean cuisine in fantastic cities like Milan, Florence, Venice and Rome. Take in varied landscapes and an array of architecture that spans the ages. Whether you are admiring the majesty of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, sampling world-class wines in Naples or floating through Venice’s romantic network of canals, you are sure to enjoy the romantic rail journeys of Italy.

For example, the 14-day Grand Tour of Italy captures the essence of Italy, contrasting the ‘Eternal City’ of Rome, Renaissance Florence and romantic Venice with Castelgandolfo and rural Tuscany.

Highlights include a guided tour of ancient Rome where we visit the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Trevi Fountain. In Florence we take a tour of the sights including the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo – the fourth largest cathedral in the world – and the Piazza della Signoria. A guided walking tour of Venice taking in St Mark’s Square, the Basilica San Marco and the Doge’s Palace gives a real feel of the remarkable city.

Departures are available on 2, 9 & 30 May and 6, 13 & 20 June. Prices start from £2,350 per person, twin-share, inclusive of First Class return rail travel from St Pancras International, coach travel, 12 nights’ hotel accommodation (four at the 4 star Massimo D’Azeglio in Rome, four at the 4 star Anglo American Hotel in Florence three at the 4 star Hungaria Palace Hotel in Venice and one at the Hotel Continental in Lausanne), 1 lunch, 8 dinners, a Travel Pass in Venice, transfers, excursions as per the itinerary and the services of a Tour Manager throughout.

Alternatively, on the 10-day Italian Riviera tour, explore the lesser-known Italian coast off the Gulf of Genoa. From our base in Rapallo we enjoy a boat tour of the beautiful resort town of Portofino, explore Genoa, take a trip to the five villages perched on the rocky coastline collectively known as the ‘Cinque Terre’ and take a rail journey into picturesque northern Tuscany to the magnificent walled city of Lucca.

Departures are available on 12 & 19 May and 2 & 16 June at a cost of £1,575 per person, twin-share, inclusive of return First Class and Standard Class rail travel from St Pancras International, 8 nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast each day in superior sea view rooms, 1 night on the Nachtzug sleeper train, 4 lunches, 3 dinners, transfers, excursions as per the itinerary and the services of a Tour Manager throughout.

The 11-day Ischia & the Amalfi Coast itinerary provides the opportunity to explore the fishing villages and towns around the Bay of Naples. Highlights include a guided tour of Rome, an excursion around the green island of Ischia, and time in beautiful Sorrento. We take a journey along ‘Amalfi Drive’ - the breathtaking coastal road to Positano and Amalfi, a tour of the gardens of La Mortella and a boat trip to see the stalagmites of the Emerald Grotto.

Departures are available on 19 May and 2 & 9 June at a cost of £1,825 per person, twin-share, inclusive of return First Class and Standard Class rail travel from St Pancras International, 10 nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast each day, 1 night on the Nachtzug sleeper train, 2 lunches, 6 dinners, transfers, excursions as per the itinerary and the services of a Tour Manager throughout.

The 11-day, two-centre Tuscany & Umbria holiday will allow you to discover the true colours of these picturesque regions. Based in the medieval Tuscan town of Siena and Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, highlights include tours of Florence and charming Siena. We take a journey on the historic Nature Train through Val d’Orcia, one of the most beautiful valleys in Tuscany, and visit Assisi and the Basilica of St Francis when we arrive in Umbria.

Departures are available on 15 May and 12 & 19 June at a cost of £1,770 per person, twin-share, inclusive of return First Class rail travel from St Pancras International, 9 nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast each day, 1 night on the Nachtzug sleeper train, 2 lunches, 9 dinners, transfers, excursions as per the itinerary and the services of a Tour Manager throughout.

Other itineraries to Italy;

• The Romance of Italy (Milan & Venice)
• Stresa & Lake Maggiore
• Beside Lake Como
• Lake Garda & the Dolomites
• On the Shores of Lake Garda
• Sicily & the Bay of Naples

For more information and reservations, visit GreatRail.com.