Family Trip to Italy

The capital of Italy is a vibrant, energetic and stylish city. While thoroughly modern in sensibility, Rome is also home to some of the world’s most important works of classic art and architecture. This city has been an epicenter for culture, politics and religion for more than 2,500 years. From the Spanish Steps to the Vatican, there are more than enough sights to keep even the most active tourists busy and even somewhere as popular as Rome you can find places just off the tourist trail and bustling with locals. But it’s also nice to slow down and enjoy Rome’s famous cafes and restaurants, which can be just as beguiling as the buildings. Lounge with an espresso on the Campo de Fiori and watch the changing light on the fountains and the facades. Visit the Vatican and explore some of the world’s most beautiful churches. Rome really comes alive at night, when restaurants and wine bars bring a renewed vitality to the city. You’ll also have opportunities for day trips to local vineyards, olive groves, and other places producing regional delicacies. No matter what your interests, or what kind of holiday you’re looking for, Rome will be an enjoyable destination.

To call Naples rough around the edges would be quite the understatement. Yet amidst the chaos and beneath the grime is one of Italy's true gems. It's the third-largest city in the country, home to over three million people. An important port city for all the civilizations that have existed there, Naples is the original melting pot. Founded as Neapolis (literally "new city") by the Greeks in the 7th century B.C., Naples has many layers of history for you to discover.

Lecce is the most important town on the Salentine peninsula, the very heel of Italy. The town's rich history, stretching back to the times of the ancient Greeks, is what makes it so interesting.. The centerpiece of the old town is a 2nd century Roman amphitheater which was only rediscovered in the early 1900s during construction work, and it is still half buried; however, the exposed part is now used for concerts. Much of Lecce's historical center's architecture dates from the Baroque period and has earned the city the nickname 'Florence of the South'. These beauties stand in stark contrast to some of the Fascist buildings erected during Mussolini's reign.

The heel of the Italy's boot, Puglia has long been off most foreign travelers' radar, but not so for the Italians. This is where they love to go on their own vacations, particularly in summer, because the food down here is just that good. In Puglia you'll find a distinctly Mediterranean approach to life, the clear blue waters of the Adriatic and some fantastic food and wine with cuisine changing almost every few miles. One of our favorite spots on the coast is the small town of Monopoli. The whitewashed and white stone buildings of the old town and the marble-smooth limestone paving have a relaxing effect. Monopoli is popular with Italian vacationers too, but the fact that almost everyone's speaking Italian adds to that "for-locals" feeling. All the bounty of the sea is on menus around the old town, but we'll share the best places with you. You're ideally placed here for day trips either along the coast or inland to some of Puglia's small hilltop towns, the trulli of Alberobello, or the caves of Castellana Grotte.