Essential Europe Travel

Venice for 3 nights

• Meet & greet private transfer from Venice train station to hotel by boat
• 1 double room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Colombina****

This cosy hotel is positioned in the historical centre of Venice, only 150 metres from San Marco Square, overlooking a canal with a splendid view onto the famous Bridge of Sighs. The hotel entrance is located in the small Calle del Remedio, a small little street just off the main tourist route to San Marco Square and to all the hustle and bustle of the heart of the city. The closest waterbus stop is San Zaccaria, just three minutes walking distance to the hotel.
Rooms are beautifully furnished in traditional Venetian style, all different in size but all have the same comforts. Floor is carpeted and the furniture is very elegant in cherry wood giving a superb elegance and excellent quality. The white marble bathrooms are very elegant too.

Hotel provides only breakfast in a small breakfast area near the bar. Even if little, this room is very nice, green pastel coloured in Venetian style. A charming little bar area serves lovely cocktails and snacks till late.

The reception area is small but very nice. There is a big Venetian chandelier, white marble floor, and an antique desk. After two steps, a lounge with American bar is at guests' disposal. Here there is a red marble floor, typical Venetian ceiling in antique wood, and comfortable sofas. Guests can read newspaper, meet friends, and drink good cocktails in a very relaxing atmosphere.

There are a few suites with the typical Altana which is a wood terrace overlooking the Venetian roofs.

Florence for 3 nights

• 1st class train from Venice to Florence with seat reservations
• Departure at 10:43 am, arrival at 1:22 pm
• 1 double room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Monna Lisa****

The hotel is located in the historic centre of town.
Rooms are medium-sized and beautifully decorated with wooden furnishings. All are equipped with all the modern comforts: air conditioning, satellite TV, direct dial, mini-bar and safety box.

The hotel has only an elegant breakfast room with columns and arcs, surrounded by plants and flowers and offers a delicious buffet breakfast.
This is an elegant Renaissance palace furnished with fine antique furniture surrounded by a private garden.
Medium in size, well refined and leads to a large and elegant sitting area surrounded by columns and plants. It is furnished with old oil paintings, art treasures and neoclassical drawings and statues.
Surrounded by history and beautiful antiques, this hotel has a homey, warm and inviting atmosphere, which inevitably makes one feel at ease and at home.

Monterosso al Mare for 3 nights

• 1st class train from Florence to Monterosso al Mare
• Departure at 10:27 am, arrival at 12:55 pm
• 1 double room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Porto Roca with sea view****

If you are looking for deluxe accommodations along the popular Cinque Terre, the Hotel Porto Roca comes closest to filling the bill. A narrow lane leads up the wooded hillside from Monterosso al Mare to the hotel, which is splendidly located on a cliff overlooking the sea. Only taxis are allowed up this road but the hotel will pay the fare from and back to the public car park. The lobby is one very large, all-purpose room with the reception desk as you enter, the guest lounge in the middle, and a bar at the far end. The room has almost a medieval look with dark furniture, large oil paintings, one wall of stone, ornately upholstered sofas and chairs, and, to top it all off, two regal knights standing in suits of armor. The dining room is one level up and has a wall of windows overlooking the sea.

However, when the weather is warm, meals are served outside where white wrought-iron tables are set on a delightful terrace overlooking Monterosso al Mare and the sea. Throughout the spacious property there are many secluded nooks where guests can relax, but the most popular place is a terrace perched above the cliffs where lounge chairs are arranged to capture the view.

Rome for 3 nights

• 1st class train from Monterosso to Rome
• Departure at 9:03 am, arrival at 2:14 pm
• 1 double room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Piranesi****

Right off the Piazza del Popolo is one of Rome's most select boutique hotels -- it could easily become your favorite address in Rome. It's more affordable than the Hotel de Russie, which fronts it. The street on which Piranesi sits is the major artery for antiques and art galleries in Rome. If you stay here, you'll be following in the footsteps of Goethe, Salvator Rosa, Trilussa, Poussin, and Giuseppe Valadier, among other well-known poets, writers, and artists. All around the hotel are historical churches and monuments.

Bedrooms are tranquil and decorated in a somewhat minimalist style, evocative of the Directoire style of the 18th century. The bare pine floors are a graceful note, as are the cherry wood furniture and the immaculate bathrooms with new showers. The most dramatic aspect is the panoramic rooftop terrace, taking in views of the Villa Borghese, Piazza del Popolo, and Michelangelo's dome at St. Peter's.