Product Description

Florence & Tuscan Experience
Top executive

8 days & 7 nights
– 4 Nights at 5 stars Hotel accommodation in Florence

– 3 Nights at 5 stars Hotel accommodation in Cortona
 

Options content:
– 1 Cooking experience with food tour and lunch in Florence
– 1 Lunch at typical restaurants in Florence
– 1 Dinner at Restaurant Wine Bar dei Frescobaldi
– 1 Dinner at Buca Lapi Restaurant
– 1 Dinner at Il Falconiere
– 1 Lunch in Cortona at selected restaurant
– 1 Lunch in Siena at selected restaurant
– 1 Dinner at Il Falconiere
– 1 Dinner at Il Falconiere with private tour of the cellar and welcome drink
– Private guided tour of Ferragamo and Gucci Museum in Florence
– 3 Hours guided tour: The Center of Florence
– 3 Hours guided tour: The Artisans, the laboratoires and Private access to the Silk Factory
– Private tour of the Restoration laboratories
– Guided tour of the Michelangelo’s David and Accademia Gallery (as an alternative private tour of a princely collection of a Florentine family)
– Private guided tour of Cortona Town and Etrurian Museum
– Private cheese making class at il Falconiere
– Private tour of a Brunello winery & its wine cellar tour hosted by a professional sommelier
– Private “wine making experience” learn how to create the perfect blend of wine
– Visit at the Saint Antimo Abbey in Montalcino
– Guided tour “the best of” Siena city center
– Private access to a Contrada headquarter famous for the Palio of Siena horse race
– Private tour at Sartoria de Rossi
– Private transportation during all the activities

Itinerary details:

DAY 1 – FLORENCE arrival day

DAY 2 – FLORENCE
FOOD & FASHION TOUR
Your day will start with the smells and the flavors of the market, where you will get Tuscan food samples -fresh bread, focaccia, salami, prosciutto, biscotti- during your private food tour and shopping followed up by a cooking class with your personal chef and lunch.
After lunch you will spend the rest of the day talking about fashion. Many fashion houses began in Florence. In 1927, Salvatore Ferragamo opened his flagship store, which still exists in the Palazzo Spini Feroni, where you will also find a shoe museum. Gucci handbags are some of the most famous in the world, and began in Florence.
Private guided tour of Florence with an English speaking guide and visit of the Gucci Museum and Ferragamo Museum.
Dinner at Ristorante Cammillo, one of the most classic Florentine restaurants run since 1945 by the same family (3/4 courses menu with paired wine).

DAY 3 – FLORENCE
HISTORY & ARTISANS
Three hours of unforgettable private guided tour of the Santa Maria del Fiore complex, the religious center of Florence, one of the undisputed masterpieces of all time. This tour leads the visitor into the Baptistery of Florence, with the dome mosaic that will leave you speechless, into the Cathedral with its Renaissance Dome in all its extent and beauty, with the Crypt of Santa Reparata, the previous cathedral of Florence. From there you will visit the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo with the original Gates of Paradise, recently restored, Maria Maddalena by Donatello and Michelangelo’s Pietà.
Lunch stop.
In the afternoon you will meet the artisan soul of Florence in search of craftsmanship. Focusing on some of the best artisan workshops you will have a private visit of an atelier of embroideries or a silversmith workshop or an artisanal perfumer or even a wood carver and a shoe maker and finally you will enter the «Antico Setificio Fiorentino» Florence’s last silk making factory, where the precious fabrics adorning Versailles and the Kremlin were woven.
Dinner at Restaurant Wine Bar Dei Frescobaldi, which offers a complete panorama of wines produced by the Frescobaldi family in Tuscany, all accompanied by the most classic Tuscan and Italian dishes as well as by special food items from different regional cuisine (3/4 courses menu with paired wines included).

DAY 4 – FLORENCE
ART & RESTORATION
Morning private tour to one of the most prestigious Institute of Restoration and conservation workshops in the world, in charge of the restoration of Florentine and Italian works of art. It has contributed to the beauty and the glory of operas such as Madonna del Cardellino by Raffaello in the Uffizi Gallery or Pala di San Zeno by Mantegna, just to quote two of the most recent Italian art masterpieces that have been studied, recuperated and brought to light by their over 45 restorers. The Opificio delle Pietre Dure and Laboratori di Restauro boasts of an important and composite tradition that goes back initially to the second half of the sixteenth century, when it was founded by Ferdinando I de’ Medici as an artistic laboratory specialising in the workmanship of gemstones. It is possible to access the Opificio only and exclusively through the guided tours by the restores who will introduce you to the wonders of the ancient techniques of painting and modern restoration.
Lunch stop.
In the afternoon you will admire the world’s most famous statue, Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery accompanied by your private guide.
As an alternative: if you like better exclusive experiences we can organize a private tour to a private princely collection of a Florentine noble family in their XVIII C palace guided by the princess or a family member.
Dinner at Restaurant Buca Lapi. The “Buca Lapi” is the oldest restaurant in Florence. It was founded in 1880 in the Palazzo Antinori cellars and still shows evidence of more than a century of history, thanks to a very careful restoration. They serve meals recall the genuine tastes of the old Tuscan cuisine. (3/4 courses menu with paired wines included).

DAY 5 – TUSCANY
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN IN CORTONA
Private transfer from Florence to Cortona one of the most charming and ancient towns of Tuscany. Cortona has become very popular in the past decade thanks to the book by Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun (and the movie with Diane Lane) which is set in Cortona.
You will be accommodated in the suites of Hotel IL FALCONIERE, a charming resort of the Realais and Chateaux located in an ancient Villa of the 17th century, a jewel of hospitality.
Today, 25 years after its inauguration, Il Falconiere, along with a Michelin star restaurant, a wine resort and exclusive SPA is a small world of charm suspended in time.
Lunch in Cortona.
Private guided tour of Cortona including the unique Etruscan Museum housing a wonderful collection of ancient items dating from the Etuscan and Roman times which will provide you an insight of the ancient origins of this town.
Back to the hotel you will have fun making cheese with the chef Silvia Regi Baracchi: you will learn how to make pecorino cheese and ricotta followed up by a cooking lesson, which include also a dinner with paired wines at Relais Il Falconiere.

DAY 6 – TUSCANY
THE KING OF TUSCAN WINES: BRUNELLO IN MONTALCINO
Accompanied by your private guide and a wine expert and sommelier you will spend the day in Montalcino having an exclusive wine tour an wine experience in one of the most prestigious wineries of Brunello, followed up by a wine tasting and lunch in the winery where you will be welcomed by the owner who will tell you he the family history and their passion in making wine since generations.
Would you like to prepare the blend of your very own wine? Come and enjoy a new wine experience.
The project is an absolute novelty and is called “let’s play winemakers”. Instead of being a game for kids though this is an activity for adults, wine lovers, who wish to experience making a great wine according to their own taste.
The program lasts about two hours and is great fun. The first step is a guided tour of the vineyards and the winery.
Obviously this passage is only the first step in the world of technical wine tastings, a dun way to try the difficult art of being a wine maker one of the jobs where you need much talent and many years of studying. It’s not possible to become a winemaker in a day!! What we propose is an important and unique experience for those who really love great wines and want to understand them well. The participants will take home, as well as their new knowledge a diploma, for fun but not totally, to hang in their own wine cellars.
After lunch you will visit the magnificent Sant’Antimo Abbey in Montalcino where the monks pray singing Gregorian chants, the town of Pienza considered the “Ideal Renaissance town” and back to Cortona.
Dinner in restaurant in Cortona
Thursday evening tradition: WINE, DINE and SHINE. It’s food, it’s entertainment, and it’s fun! Savor Cortona’s local gastronomy, paired with an array of fine vintages from famous wine regions throughout Italy. Participate in an exclusive jewelry tasting and receive true red-carpet treatment reserved only for those who join the Wine, Dine and Shine dinner. The evening begins at 4:00 pm with a complimentary wine tasting at Enoteca Molesini in Piazza Repubblica. Take a moment to speak with the guest wine maker or local expert and learn about the region’s winemaking tradition. In between your tastings you may visit Del Brenna Jewelry and choose your favorite handcrafted piece to borrow and wear for the evening. One of our designers will be present at the tasting to demonstrate his art and give you directions to our historic showroom just below Via Nazionale or our boutique just across the piazza. At 8:15 p.m. the dinner begins featuring seasonal culinary courses paired with hand-selected wines from the guest winery. The chef and winery will share culinary and wine information during the evening to enhance your enjoyment. This is a wonderful opportunity to share your food and wine passion with like-minded locals and welcome guests of Cortona. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual with a focus on meeting new friends and enjoying La Dolce Vita.

DAY 7 – TUSCANY
THE WONDERS OF SIENA & THE MADE IN ITALY
Morning private transfer to Siena. Accompanied by your private guide you will visit this magnificent medieval town so rich in art and history, visiting the stunning Duomo with its unique marble floor made by 40 different artists between the XIV and XVI C and the Piazza del Campo where world’s the most popular horse race is held twice a year. Special private admission to the headquartes of one of the 17 Contrada competing in the Palio horse race with a guided tour of the Contrada’s church and museum.
Lunch in Siena.
In the afternoon on the way back to Cortona you would have the chance of visiting a place of excellence of the Made in Italy, experiencing the art of tailoring at Sartoria de Rossi. The tour of the Sartoria Rossi premises is a unique experience during which you will be accompanied in the discovery of the true and only Made in Italy of men’s classic clothing, from the design to cutting and to the wonder of the finished product. You will discover how tradition, technique and style blend to create high quality sartorial products that dress contemporary men with a refined taste. An exclusive place where the elegance of the proposal comes with an impeccable service which guarantees the perfect fit.
Farewell Dinner at Restaurant Il Falconiere, the only one Michelin star restaurant in the Arezzo region.
The dinner experience is conceived with a prior wine tour of the Falconiere Wine Resort. You will visit the vineyards, the cellars, the champagnerie. Farewell drink in the cellars and a guided dinner of 3 courses with paired wines in the restaurant.

DAY 8 – TUSCANY
Departure day.