How to explore Italy like a local
20/06/2025 · By Tim Hall
Expert Great Rail Journeys Tour Manager and blogger Tim Hall discusses how to explore Italy with his top tips and advice about food, drink and culture.
Read moreSave £100pp on Europe & UK 2025 holidays, when you book by 25th August 2025.
2025 Tour code: DZL25
About the tour
The historic lakeside town of Desenzano, set on the southern shores of Lake Garda, is our charming base. With a peaceful harbour, a characterful old town and an efficient rail service, we are perfectly placed for exploring.
This delightful holiday includes a cruise to enchanting Isola del Garda to visit the opulent Villa Borghese-Cavazza and a short boat trip to the medieval lakeside town of Sirmione where we are at leisure to explore. Experience the magical ambience of wondrous Venice and discover the romantic city of Verona.
Unforgettable experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Our holiday begins at London St Pancras where we meet our Tour Manager and our group of co-travellers before boarding the Eurostar service to Paris. From the French capital, we continue by rail across France, passing the majestic Italian Alps as we travel to the stylish city of Turin, where we spend the night in a hotel in the heart of the city's historic centre.
After checking in to our hotel we join our group for our first dinner together in a traditional restaurant nearby.
Please Note - For departure 15th May we will now outbound via Lyon, staying at the Hotel Charlemagne on a Half Board basis.
Additional information
Hotel
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Reviews
4.2 / 5 · 308 reviews
A Sulieman
Submitted 13/Jul
Very well organised tour ably run by our Tour Manager Michael. Unfortunately extremely hot but I worked around that.
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Customer
Submitted 12/Jul
Wonderful holiday by train to Lake Garda via Paris and Turin. Hotels and food terrific, organisation spot on and great tour guide. I would recommend this holiday, just pack and go.
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Esther
Submitted 6/Jul
An excellent holiday. Everything was arranged for us including rail tickets from our home station. Our tour amanager, Julie, was friendly and efficient and gave us daily information on plans and timings. A coach was organised for one step of our outward journey. as there was a train strike, so we still got to the right place at the right time. All the hotel accommodation was good and the food excellent. There was a good balance between trips and free time and we travelled with a lovely group of people who joined the holiday from all over the country. We will certainly do another GRJ holiday.
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Paula Kirby
Submitted 23/Jun
Fabulous holiday with great company, thank you
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Mrs Hebberd
Submitted 12/Jun
Lake Garda is Fantastic and Desenzano is a wonderful place to holiday. We particularly enjoyed our stay in the Hotel Desenzano, immaculate hotel and all the staff we so kind and helpful and always cheerful, which made our stay even more memorable.
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Paul
Submitted 4/Jun
Gorgeous location, well organised tour and really interesting excursions. I'd definitely recommend Bardolino for a free day excursion.
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