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Our Northern tour of Italy is a 22-day journey designed for the mature traveller.
This small group tour of Italy is set to draw you into one of the most fascinating regions of this country, including the Cinque Terre and northern Italy's lakes and alps. On this trip, we will teach you about the history of Northern Italy while giving you time to relax and take in the region's fabulous natural beauty.
The stunning lakes of Northern Italy have long attracted the world's rich and famous but there is still plenty for the senior or mature-aged couple or solo traveller to enjoy.
Our guided tour begins in the cosmopolitan city of Milan. Milan is the centre of Italy's world famous fashion industry, with luxury designers concentrated around the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. From Milan the tour ventures up into two of the most beautiful and famous Italian lakes - Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. On Lake Garda we take a boat ride around the lake and visit the well-preserved Roman Villa of Desenzano. We then travel into the Alps, including a visit to the ski town Cortina d'Ampezzo.
We then base ourselves for four nights in a hotel in the town of Cividale to explore Italy's north-east, which is defined by a multi-cultural mixture of Italian, Venetian, Austrian and Slovenian influences. We also take short day trips to Verona, a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its well-preserved medieval town, and to Venice by train, with a walking tour encompassing the city's must-see sights, including St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace.
We then head back west towards one of our highlights: the Italian Riviera, where we explore the five villages of the world famous Cinque Terre region. Finally, we drive north again for a two-night stop at Ispa.
This trip to Italy uncovers a wealth of natural beauty, castles, serene waters, snow-capped mountains, and breathtaking scenery. As we journey through Alto Adige, Friuli, Emilia Romagna, and Liguria, stories are told. We will enjoy short walking tours around many of these locations, learning about the lives of the locals who inhabit them.
Northern Italy, arguably, also has the planet's greatest concentration of Italian cuisine expertise. On our trip, we make sure to stop for either breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a local restaurant, to give you an authentic experience of Northern Italy's rich food culture. We also make a visit to a vineyard in the Collio Hills for a wine tasting and sampling of local delicacies.
Some of the highlights of our destinations include:
Enjoy the beauty and history of Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore.
Visit the archaeological museum of Cividale which features many precious finds from centuries past.
Explore the walking paths of the villages of Cinque Terre with their fabled views of mountain and sea.
Our guided Northern Italy tour is a 22-day program for senior travelers. It will appeal to all those who like time to explore on their own as well as enjoy all that our expert guides have to offer. There is also a short version of this tour for those who are pressed for time.
If you're more interested in visiting Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, or Southern Italy, you can explore our country profile of Italy, where all other tour departures are listed as well.
For more details about the Northern Italy tour, click the ‘Top 5’ or ‘Itinerary’ buttons above! If you’re keen to experience this tour offered by Odyssey Traveller, please call or send an email. Or, to book, simply fill in the form on the right hand side of this page.
The following list of articles published by Odyssey Traveller for mature aged and senior travellers to maximise their knowledge and enjoyment of Italy when visiting;
You can also browse all the articles published on Italy by Odyssey Traveller.
Venture further from Milan and explore the beautiful Lake Como and Lake Maggiore or visit Parma and learn more about their famous Parma ham and Parmesan cheese. Take advantage of Italy's great rail network and get to know the local nearby towns and people.
Florence or Firenze, article provides an overview of the history from inception from the Romans to Mussolini with plenty of the Renaissance covered. Includes a list of Museums and places to see in Tuscany. Background material for a small group package tour to Italy or long stay in Florence.
This blog is part of a series on five influential Italian Renaissance families that shaped Italy, especially during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is based on both our Italian Renaissance Summer School course, and…
Hugged by mountains and long sandy beaches, beautiful Lake Garda is a favoured holiday location. The stunning scenery, relaxed atmosphere, year-round mild temperature, and richly cultured historic towns and villages all make Lake Garda a…
Matera, Italy The ancient town of Matera, Basilicata. The ancient city of Matera, in southern Italy, is among the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, a place of primordial beauty, where cave houses are carved directly…
Messina, Italy Messina cityscape. Only a few kilometres from the Italian mainland, the city of Messina has long been the gateway to Sicily, a fascinating historical centre with a Belle Epoque twist. The city of…
Noto, Italy Palazzo Ducezio and the Basilica Minore di San Nicolò, Noto. Long off the tourist trail, the city of Noto – capital of Sicilian baroque – is one of the most beautiful cities in…
Explore the sights and wonders of Rome, the eternal city. Heart of an ancient empire, and capital of the Italian Republic. Odyssey offers small group tours for mature and senior travellers couples and solo travelers to Rome and Italy.
Secret Venice: The Council of Ten and Medieval Espionage The city-state of Venice emerged on a lagoon from the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine empires in the 9th century and grew to become the greatest…
The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that de facto ruled the city of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
Article for senior couple and mature solo travellers joining a small group history tour visiting Venice and beyond to Italy, Greece, Turkey the Islands of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Northern shores of Egypt, Tunisia. Learn about the role of Venice as emerging point of trade and navies for hire in the middle ages through to the renaissance.
La Spezia, Portovenere and the Cinque Terre The eastern Ligurian Riviera between Cinque Terre and Portovenere is a cultural site of outstanding value, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 along with the…
Article about Milan, one of the great cities of Northern Italy for mature and senior travellers to explore on a small group tour for couples and solo travellers. Learn about Renaissance Italy, Rome, the Romans as well as Florence and the Pilgrims walks offered by Odyssey.
The History and Attractions of Padua By Marco Stojanovik Padua city is an intellectual, artistic, and economic centre in northern Italy, situated on the River Bacchiglione, west of Venice. The city has a long history…
Article for senior couple and mature solo travellers joining a small group history tour visiting Venice and beyond to Italy, Greece, Turkey the Islands of the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Northern shores of Egypt, Tunisia. Learn about the role of Venice as emerging point of trade and navies for hire in the middle ages through to the renaissance.
Venice a curiosity, Merchants, pilgrims, gondolas, stories of espionage, the power of maps for trade carnival and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. The stories fascinate, this article examines the history of the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Read and learn before joining as a senior couple of mature solo traveller a small group educational tour to Venice and Italy.
An article that takes you on a journey to Venice in the Middle Ages and beyond. The famous merchants of 'La Serenissima' who dominated this medieval powerhouse for hundreds of years. Learn before joining one of the small group tours for mature and senior travellers couples and solo travellers to Venice and many other destinations in Italy.
Venetian Maps and How they Ruled the World ‘Venice was always a frontier,’ Peter Ackroyd (2009) declares in Venice: Pure City. ‘When the empire was divided in the time of Charlemagne, the lagoons of Venice…
Explore the sights and wonders of Venice, 'La Serenissima'. A medieval powerhouse, with its stunning architecture, iconic canals, waterways and gondolas. Odyssey offers small group tours for mature and senior travellers couples and solo travelers to Venice and Italy.
For centuries Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica held the key to the Mediterranean. We explore ’s the Mediterranean natural beauty, its ancient Roman, and Imperial heritage, its World Heritage Sites, and world famous cities, all with some truly spectacular scenery along the way. This and more is all waiting to be explored on one of Odyssey’s small group tours of the Islands of Mediterranean, designed for the senior traveller, and led by experienced, and enthusiastic like-minded people. This escorted tour of western Mediterranean explores the geography, history, culture and peoples of these 4 islands.
This small group escorted tour explores the magnificent landscapes of Carpathian mountains in Romania, and takes in the vibrant culture and rich heritage of Romanian village life. Travel with like minded people, mature couples or solo travellers.
Taken as a whole, Italian Civilization (which includes, of course, the splendid inheritance of Ancient Rome) is absolutely foundational to Western culture. Music, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Literature, Philosophy, Law and Politics all derive from Italy or were adapted and transformed through the medium of Italy.
