Gastronomic Italy

London to Lyon and Bologna

Our holiday begins at our dedicated Departure Office in St Pancras International. After meeting your group and Tour Manager, we travel directly to Lyon on the Eurostar. We spend two nights in Lyon, enjoying our first group dinner at a 'bouchon' restaurant this evening.

On Day 2, we enjoy a guided tour of Old Lyon, then transfer to Les Halles food hall, visiting Bellecour Square on route. In Les Halles, we enjoy a light lunch of meats and cheeses. We travel to Bologna on Day 3, via Milan, where your afternoon is at leisure to settle in. This evening, we enjoy dinner in a local restaurant. On Day 4, we discover Bologna on a walking tour, seeing some of it's most beautiful sights, including the Basilica di San Petronio and the Piazza Maggiore.

Parma

We enjoy a sample of one of the regions' most famous cheeses today, Parmesan cheese. We take a tour around the factory, and delight in a cheese making demonstration, after which, we are invited to taste the product. We then continue to a Parma ham factory, where we embark on another guided tour to discover how this delicious meat is cured, as well as a tasting. After a guided tour of Parma's town centre, we continue to our final tasting of the day, at a balsamic vinegar estate in Modena. After a food filled day, we visit a local Agriturismo, where we enjoy a delicious meal made with local ingredients, as well as sampling local wines.

Cookery school

Discover how to make your own authentic Italian food today with a morning session at a cookery school. After, we enjoy our creations made during the class for lunch, then transfer back to Bologna for some time at leisure. Why not wander the beautiful streets, lined with historic buildings, or perhaps search out a café, enjoying a coffee as the world goes by. This evening, we gather together to eat a farewell meal, sampling a menu made up of traditional delicacies.

Homeward bound

After breakfast this morning, we transfer to the station for our rail journey to Milan, continuing by train to Basel. Our final journey today is to Strasbourg, where you may enjoy some time at leisure ahead of dinner this evening at a local restaurant. On Day 8, we transfer to the station to travel to Paris. From here, we catch the Eurostar back to London, where our tour ends on arrival.

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.

Departure Times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.