How do you capture the essence of Italy in just one trip? With such an astonishing depth of history and culture set against mesmerising landscapes, a lifetime of visits wouldn’t be enough to cover it all. To save time, a well-planned guided tour can help you navigate the country’s vast riches and deepen your understanding. No matter how often you return, Italy always has more to reveal: from the storied cities of Rome, Florence and Venice to the rolling vineyards and hilltop villages of Tuscany.
Some of Italy’s most captivating experiences lie off the beaten path: the gastronomic heartlands of Parma, Modena and Bologna; the winding streets of Matera’s ancient Sassi districts; or the wilderness of Abruzzo where wolves still roam. Perhaps you’d prefer a journey through prosecco country, with downtime in the history-steeped villages of the Veneto? Whatever your passion, be it art, food, history or nature, there’s a tour designed to bring it to life. Here’s our pick of the best.
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1. Ravenna: Mosaics and Marble, Cox & Kings
££ | Group size 12-18
When King Charles and Queen Camilla toured Ravenna in April 2025, the trip included visits to the tomb of writer Dante Alighieri and the ornate mosaics of the Basilica di San Vitale, and a go at rolling out fresh pasta. Famous for its rich historical sites, this small city in Italy’s northern Emilia-Romagna region is an hour’s drive east of Bologna and was made capital of the Western Roman Empire in 402AD. On this four-day tour led by the art historians Sally Dormer and Rowena Loverance you’ll see the incredible mosaics of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and San Vitale. Alongside these treasures, you’ll follow in royal footsteps to Dante’s tomb, see contemporary mosaics in the city art museum, and have plenty of time to enjoy Ravenna’s historical piazzas and bars. The price includes flights and transfers, accommodation and some meals.
2. Walking the Amalfi Coast, Exodus
£ | Group size 4-16
This eight-day tour encompasses one of Italy’s most handsome stretches, the Amalfi coast. Come to be charmed by its medieval towns and villages, cutesy coves and rugged cliffs — and aim to see it all on foot. Tick off those postcard regulars of Positano, Ravello and Amalfi, wander the famous ruins of Pompeii, and embark on the Path of the Gods past shepherds’ huts and ancient stone houses, soaking up panoramic views of the curving coastline along the way. Price includes accommodation and transport, most meals (including packed lunches) and the services of a tour leader, but excludes flights.
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Times Holidays
3. Puglia, Lecce and Vieste — Undiscovered Italy, Riviera Travel
£ | Group size maximum of 36 (classic tour); or 25 (signature)
This is your chance to see one of Italy’s less-visited spots, Puglia, deep in the south of the country. The rural region, famed for its food and agriculture, has been coveted by rulers throughout history and has a fascinating range of cultural influences, from Spanish castles to Norman churches and Romanesque cathedrals. See the best of them on this seven-day holiday, during which you’ll soak up plenty of culture with escorted tours of Lecce’s medieval streets and the Unesco-listed troglodyte cave dwellings at Matera in neighbouring Basilicata. There’s also time to stroll around the town of Alberobello to see its intriguing dry-stone huts with their conical roofs. And you’ll get some downtime at Vieste, a timeless beach town where white-cube houses jostle for position on the cliffs. Tucking into top-quality food, and wine, comes as a given. The price includes flights and transfers, seven nights’ accommodation and some meals.
4. Florence and Tuscany, Riviera Travel
£ | Group size maximum of 36 (classic tour); or 25 (signature)
Tuscany is Italy’s heart-throb region, and this tour takes in some of its most soul-stirring spots — as well as smaller, more rustic corners. Start in Florence, with its fabulous cathedral and Uffizi Gallery holding masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael and many more. Next, look around the lovely walled city of Lucca, before squinting at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Explore the ancient art of alabaster carving at Volterra, then swing by San Gimignano, a gorgeous medieval town. Finally, head to Siena, whose central square hosts world-renowned horse races. String all this together with some classic Tuscan dishes and you’re sure to have a hard-to-forget holiday. Prices for this eight-day tour include return flights and transfers, some meals, and your accommodation.
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5. Lake Como, St Moritz and the Bernina Express, Riviera Travel
£ | Group size maximum of 36 (classic tour); or 25 (signature)
Incorporating some of the choicest parts of northern Italy and Switzerland, this eight-day holiday pairs stop-in-your-tracks mountain scenery with charming old-world towns. This is classic territory, part of the itinerary for those young aristocrats taking the Grand Tour in the 18th century — and still as captivating today. You’ll be based on the shores of Lake Como, the perfect spot for boat trips to lakeside towns such as Bellagio. Daily excursions will whisk you to sophisticated St Moritz, the terraced gardens of Isola Bella, near Stresa, on Lake Maggiore, and unforgettable landscapes along the Bernina Express railway. The price includes flights and transfers, and accommodation (half-board for classic option).
6. Rome, Ninfa and Castel Gandolfo, Brightwater Holidays
£££ | Group size 10-25
There are plenty of Italian gardens worth having a peek around, but those at Ninfa and Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s summer residence, could top any list. Just south of Rome, the medieval ruins at Ninfa are festooned with curtains of flowers and allow for wonderfully scented walks beside the river. Castel Gandolfo is a sight you’ll want to snap a photo or three at — from perfect parterre to umbrella pines and cypresses. The itinerary also features the Renaissance gardens at Tivoli’s Villa d’Este, the “City of Popes” Viterbo, and Rome itself, with highlights such as the Colosseum, St Peter’s Square and the Trevi Fountain. Prices for this four-day tour exclude flights but include coach travel, accommodation and some meals.
7. Lucca and the Lucchese Hills, Kirker Holidays
£££ | Group size average 22
It’s hard not to be wooed by Lucca, a beautifully preserved Tuscan town that deserves more than a day trip to uncover its charms. On this four-night guided tour you’ll have plenty of time to explore a maze of medieval and Renaissance architecture — grazing the artisanal food stores along Via Fillungo, discovering the dazzling Duomo where four generations of Puccini’s family were organists, and strolling ramparts that surround the town for over two miles. The tour has an interesting excursion to nearby Pistoia, plus a stop at Pisa. The price includes flights and transfers, accommodation and some meals.
kirkerholidays.com
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8. Gastronomic Tour of Sicily, Peter Sommer Travels
£££ | Group size maximum 10
For a tastebud-tickler of a trip, head to eastern Sicily, where you’ll find dishes that reflect the flavours of the island’s history under Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Spanish rule. This week-long tour includes visits to olive, dairy and herb farms, a pasta-making class, a guided tasting of Modica chocolate, and island wines galore — including a stop at a winery on the slopes of Mount Etna. But it’s not only about eating and drinking. Your expert local guide will also take you to some of the region’s prettiest and most historic spots, such as an archaeological park at Syracuse and the lovely baroque town of Noto. Price includes airport transfers (but not flights), accommodation and most meals.
petersommer.com
9. Treasures of Sicily, Esplora Travel
££ | Group size maximum 12
Yes, this luxurious 12-day tour of Sicily features the main sights and cities, but what makes it sing are the visits to those off-the-beaten-track corners. Expect to see the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, Monreale Cathedral, the ruined temples of Agrigento, and Taormina with its ancient Greek theatre, as well as a winery visit and wander around the market in Ortygia. The price includes airport transfers, accommodation and most meals. Flights are excluded.
esplora.co.uk
10. Italy’s Prosecco Hills, Ramble Worldwide
££ | Group size average 12-14
How can you possibly improve a walk through the Italian landscape? With glasses of prosecco, of course. This seven-night tour with Ramble Worldwide focuses on the province of Treviso and a Unesco-listed area of medieval villages and terraced vineyards between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. After flying into nearby Venice, your base will be the hillside Conegliano, with its 12th-century castle and a long tradition of prosecco production. Follow a guided tour of its historic centre with a vineyard wine tasting — before striking out along the Prosecco Road, Italy’s very first wine road. Other highlights feature the romantic squares and alleys of Treviso, lip-smacking views from the ancient town of Asolo, and the 16th-century watermill of Molinetto della Croda. Prices include flights and transfers, accommodation and some meals (mainly breakfast and dinner).
rambleworldwide.co.uk
11. The Apennines: Italy’s Abruzzo National Park, Naturetrek
£ | Group size maximum 14
This tour is your ticket to explore the magical Abruzzo National Park in the central Apennines, a mountain chain coursing down the middle of the country from top to toe. You’ll join natural history guides on scenic walks and take in the region’s alpine and Mediterranean plants, birds, butterflies and mammals. Up on the mountain slopes you can spot red deer, chamois, golden eagles, wolves, red-billed choughs — and, best of all, endangered marsican brown bears. Walks will be broken for long lunches filled with local produce — think picnics with scenic views. The eight-day trip runs in May, which is an ideal time to view the bears, and the price includes flights and transfers, accommodation in a rural, family-run hotel and all meals.
naturetrek.co.uk
12. Calabria Tour, Esplora Travel
£££ | Group size 5-12
Calabria, tucked in the toe of southern Italy, tends to be overlooked by most. Don’t be so foolish: this seven-day itinerary includes visits to the Riace Bronzes (Greek warrior statues), medieval settlements in the Sila mountains, castles and monasteries plus seaside towns like Tropea and ancient spots along the Ionian coast. Round everything off with the fascinating Greek temples at Paestum over the border in Campania. You’ll learn all about the myths and history of the Magna Graecia corner of Italy, while immersing yourself in its timeless landscapes. The tour starts in Reggio Calabria and ends in Naples, with airport transfers, hotel accommodation and all meals included. Prices exclude flights.
esplora.co.uk
13. Treasures of Florence, Jules Verne
£ | Group size maximum 18
This five-night tour takes in some of the best art and architecture fabulous Florence has to offer. You’ll get priority entrance to top galleries like the Uffizi and Accademia (where you’ll see Michelangelo’s David), gaze at standout churches furnished with frescoes and mosaics (Santa Croce alone contains the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli), and roam grand buildings from the Palazzo Vecchio city hall to Palazzo Rucellai. There’s plenty of walking involved, with a tour of the less-crowded Oltrarno neighbourhood too, calling at the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens stretched out behind. The tour price includes flights and transfers, and hotel accommodation on a B&B basis.
vjv.com
14. Trulli & Sassi, Jules Verne
££ | Group size maximum 20
Get to know the regions of Puglia and Basilicata on a seven-night tour. You’ll make tracks for its historic ports, snap photos of baroque architecture and Norman castles, and explore the quirky trulli dwellings of Alberobello, famous for their conical roofs. In Basilicata, get to know Matera’s Sassi districts, ancient neighbourhoods built into the rock. You’ll even venture to Lecce where a Roman amphitheatre and basilica await, before you enjoy appetisers and an aperitif at a private palazzo with one of the owners, who will describe its history. The trip price includes flights and transfers, and hotels on a B&B basis in Bari, Lecce, Matera and Alberobello.
vjv.com
15. Flowers of Italy’s Gargano Peninsula, Naturetrek
£ | Group size maximum 14
Lace up your boots for a series of relaxing walks in the flower-filled Gargano Peninsula in southeast Italy, where the orchids are among the most striking in Europe. On the itinerary is the medieval town of Monte Sant’Angelo, its terraces dotted with enchanting asphodel and rockrose. After that it’s off to Peschici, a traditional fishing village that’s a great base for discovering the botany of the northern coast. Each walk with your expert guides is broken with lunchtime picnics, so you can get a taste of the lip-smacking local produce. Price includes flights and transfers, accommodation in family-run hotels, and all meals.
naturetrek.co.uk
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Additional reporting by Louise Roddon
