Graubunden, Switzerland Vineyards, Italy
DAY 9 • Lake Iseo • Montisola • Optional Brescia tour Most of the day is yours to explore on your own. You may join our optional tour to the village of Brescia to visit an artisanal market and Roman ruins. Later this afternoon, you’ ll have the option to visit Montisola, a small town in the Franciacorta hills. Meals: B | Hotel Villa Kinzika or similar
DAY 10 • Transfer to Trento • Visit Garda Lake • Olive oil tasting & lunch Head to Trento, with a stop along the way in Garda. Covering more than 140 square miles, Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes— so large it straddles the border of three distinct regions: Lombardy, Trentino Alto-Adige, and Veneto. The shores of the lake are dotted with quaint, postcard-perfect towns like the one we’ ll explore today, Desenzano. Following our discovery walk of the town, we’ ll then visit a local farm for an olive oil tasting and lunch. Afterwards, we continue our transfer to Trento. Meals: B, L, D | Hotel America Trento or similar
DAY 11 • Trento • Optional Levico Terme cooking class Set off on a walking tour of Trento. The city is noted in history as the locale of the Council of Trent, which began the Counter Reformation and brought half of Europe back to Roman Catholicism in the mid-16th century. Afterwards, you’ ll have the option to explore Trento on your own, or join an optional tour to the spa town of Levico Terme, where you’ ll enjoy a cooking class with a chef at a family-owned restaurant. Meals: B | Hotel America Trento or similar
DAY 12 • Val di Funes • Bressanone( Brixen) We’ ll start our day with a hike through the Val di Funes, a beloved valley known for its steep peaks and pastoral alpine scenes. After visiting an 18th-century chapel in a nearby hamlet, we’ ll continue on to Bressanone( also known as Brixen), the oldest city in the Alto Adige region. Meals: B, L | Hotel Krone or similar
DAY 13 • Bolzano • Conversation about Tyrolean cultural identity • Optional Plose Mountain tour • Optional Novacella Monastery Winery tour Depart by train for Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol. After a walking tour, we’ ll stop at the civic museum to discuss Tyrolean cultural identity, then visit an archaeological museum featuring Otzi, a 5,300-year-old ice mummy. Later, you can join an optional tour to Plose, a scenic mountain near Bressanone noted for its panoramic views of the Dolomites; or another optional tour to the 900-year-old Novacella Monastery Winery for a tour and wine tasting. Meals: B, D | Hotel Krone or similar
DAY 14 • Ladin Valleys • Nature hike • Bressanone Visit Val Gardena, a valley nestled in the heart of the UNESCO-designated Dolomites where a trio of languages is spoken: German, Italian, and Ladin. The terrain here makes for a hiker’ s haven
and skier’ s Shangri-La. To explore it, we’ ll meet a Ladin-speaking local who will hike with us through the Dolomites. Afterwards, enjoy lunch at a scenic mountain chalet. Meals: B, L | Hotel Krone or similar
DAY 15 • Valsugana • Apple orchard • Venetian countryside Leave the Alps for the hills of the Veneto region. Along the way, visit an apple orchard to meet with the farmer, learn about local apple cultivation, and enjoy a homemade lunch. Afterward, gather for a Farewell Drink and Dinner at our lodgings, an ancient Venetian villa.
Meals: B, L, D | Relais Villa Corner della Regina or similar
DAY 16 • Return to U. S. Transfer to the airport for your flight home. Or, begin your Classic Venice: Murano & Burano post-trip extension.
Meals: B
Want to know more? Find the full itinerary and dates & pricing at www. oattravel. com / itr
134 Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites & Lombardy