(Options: Art Retreats, Hilltown Tours)
Umbria, Italy - 6 nights
Available year round

If you want to experiences the tastes of Italy then this is the culinary holiday for you! Sample traditional Italian food and great wines, learn to prepare typical dishes through hands-on cooking classes with an Umbrian chef, tour a wine museum, travel to delightful Umbrian and Tuscan hill towns, and enjoy "la dolce vita"– the sweet life. In this seven day travel adventure you will experience firsthand the delicious cuisine of Umbria and be treated to breathtaking vistas and charming medieval hill towns. You will stay in a charming hotel with wonderful owners that will treat you like family.

Umbria is an enchanting place of great beauty, a region nicknamed by Italians "The Green Heart of Italy". During your stay, you will experience life in a small Italian hill town, visiting with friendly local residents, exploring fresh air markets and dining at the various local restaurants. You will come to know the true emotion and passion of the Umbrian people in a way which could not be done without your hosts. You will come to know and appreciate the Umbrian chefs, vintners and artisans you will meet along your journey. 

Here are just a few highlights of your adventure:

*Daily excursions to various hill towns such as Gubbio, Montone and Umbertide

*A tour of a local factory where the famed truffles are fabricated into various gourmet delicacies

*A trip to Cortona, the Tuscan hill town made famous in "Under the Tuscan Sun"

*A farewell banquet at your accommodation for the week, prepared by the Chef, which will feature local cuisine, cheeses, meats and wines.

ITINERARY

Day One - SUNDAY

Arrival to Rome Fiumicino Airport.

You will be met by your hosts. From Rome, you will be driven to your village for the week but first, from the airport, you will be driven a short drive to an 18th century farmhouse that has been beautifully restored into a bed and breakfast. There you will meet the owner, who, over lunch, will share her tips for cooking authentic Italian cuisine with modern techniques and equipment.

Following lunch, we will drive to the charming 16th century country house which will be your home for the week. Once you are settled into your rooms, you will meet in the dining room for a welcome dinner. Following dinner, you will have time on your own to stroll the medieval streets, stop for a cup of coffee or glass of a local liqueuer at a sidewalk café, and visit a 10th century church. Village life centers around the piazza which is just a 5 minute walk from your hotel. It is quite likely that an Italian postman, or policewoman, or a clerk from an office will join you and your hosts for a drink and conversation.

Day Two - MONDAY

You will have breakfast at the hotel where you will be treated to an assortment of homemade breads and breakfast pastries, traditional of the region, fresh fruits, juices, yogurt, cereal and your choice of beverage. Following breakfast, you will have your first hands-on cooking class in the hotel kitchen with a guest chef. We will all enjoy your morning efforts when we have lunch.

Dinner will be in the village at a restaurant located in a palazzo.

Day Three - TUESDAY

Following breakfast, we will drive to Cortona, the city made famous in "Under the Tuscan Sun". A museum of Etruscan ruins, lunch above the piazza, great shopping and beautiful medieval vistas will keep you enthralled all day. Our drive back from Cortona will take us through the Nicone Valley.

Along our route, you will see enchanting ruins and the Umbrian castles that date back over a thousand years. You will also have time to explore the city of Umbertide, where you will have dinner. Then it is back to your hotel with perhaps a stop in the village for a cone of the world-famous gelato.

Day Four - WEDNESDAY

After breakfast, you will travel to Montone, the most beautiful hill town in Umbria. There you will join your guest chef and shop for produce in the local market. Then it is into the kitchen where you will prepare a new menu of traditional fare.

Dinner will be at a local trattoria.

Day Five - THURSDAY

Following breakfast, you will travel the short distance to Gubbio, a medieval hill town where time seems to have stood still. There you will walk through the ruins of a Roman amphitheater, visit studios of bookbinders and ceramists, and shop for local food products and crafts.

Lunch will be at Il Picchio Verde, the Green Woodpecker, where you can have the best lasagna on the planet–no idle boast in Italy. Following your day in Gubbio, your hosts will welcome you to their 200 year old Italian farmhouse where you will have dinner in the garden.

Day Six - FRIDAY

Following breakfast, you will say goodbye to your new friends at the hotel. You will be driven the short distance back to the bed and breakfast, where you will have an entire morning of hands-on cooking classes with the owner. After lunch you will visit a local cantina tasting the various wines produced in the region and enjoying a dinner of local meats and cheeses.

You will spend the night at the bed and breakfast and we will relive your time in Umbria.

DAY SEVEN - SATURDAY

Today you will get an early start for your short drive to the Rome airport. We will bid you arriverderci, which does not mean a final good-bye but rather that we will meet again.

GROUP SIZE

A minimum of 5 participants is required to run this tour and the tour is limited to a maximum of 10 participants.

HOW TO ARRIVE

Closest Airport: Rome Fiumicino

BOOKING INFORMATION

For further inquiries or to register, click here.

Click here to return to top of page. 

CANCELLATION POLICY

Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is highly recommended.

CLIENT REMARKS

Furnished upon request.
 

Click here to return to top of page. 

MAP

This exciting region is depicted below. You can also access Google MapsTM by clicking HERE. 

*In some cases mapping may give clients a general sense of location due to changes in venue. Please inquire about specific location.

Click here to return to top of page.