Combine a journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express with visits to two beautiful Italian cities in one glorious holiday. Timeless Venice with its maze of winding streets, waterways and bustling piazzas, and art-filled Florence with its world-famous galleries, museums and majestic gardens.
The cultural heart of Italy, Florence is packed with a wealth of fine art, splendid architecture and magnificent Renaissance monuments all to be found within a compact city which can easily be discovered on foot.
Founded by the Romans in the first century B.C., Florence began its rebirth after the decadence of the barbaric ages, in the Carolingian period, and reached its highest pinnacles of civilization between the 11th and 15th centuries.
Florence contains an exceptional artistic patrimony, glorious testimony to its secular civilization. Florence's wealth of fascinating treasures includes delights such as Brunelleschi's Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace and the Uffizi Gallery. The works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, along with those of many generations of artists up to the masters of the present century, are gathered in the city's many museums.
In Florence, thanks to Dante, the Italian language was born; with Petrarch and Boccaccio literary studies were affirmed; with Humanism the philosophy and values of classical civilization were revived; with Machiavelli modern political science was born; with Guicciardini, historical prose; and with Galileo, modern experimental science.
The cultural and historical impact of Florence (or Firenze ) is overwhelming. Close up, however, the city is one of Italy's most atmospheric and pleasant, retaining a strong resemblance to the small late-medieval centre that contributed so much to the artistic and political development of Europe. Its striking buildings, formidable galleries and treasure-crammed churches attest to the Florentine love of display. Even long after it had set on the political and economic horizon, Florence upheld its elegant appearance: its skyline, all russet rooftops and lofty domes, is indeed picturesque.
Unique in every way, Venice is a city of superlatives; its grace and timeless beauty never fail to enchant even the most seasoned traveller. The beginning and end of the day are the best times to view the magnificent architecture of this great capital the Doges Palace, Rialto Bridge, the ancient basilica of St Mark's and the Bridge of Sighs.
And there's better way to visit these two enchanting cities than on board the most majestic and stylish of transports - the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
