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Rome & Florence

See our educational approach to program design
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See our educational approach to program design
Connect with us

8 or 10 days

Rome, Florence, extension to Siena and San Gimignano

Program designed to: Explore how these two city states, epicenters of power for centuries, gave birth to political, religious, scientific and artistic movements that continue to influence Italian culture today. Curated visits to iconic sights chronicle the classical period through the Renaissance. There's also plenty of time to experience modern-day Rome and Florence, connecting with locals as you explore each city’s unique culture, customs and cuisine.

Highlight: Taste-test the four most beloved pasta dishes found on any good Roman trattoria menu: Carbonara, Amatriciana, Cacio e Pepe, and Gricia. Simple. Delicious!

🔹 Curated experiences: Every program is intentionally designed to feature guided learning, cultural engagement, and independent exploration experiences to drive global competency development, denoted on each itinerary with a blue diamond. Learn more about these experiences.Image displaying map describing the itinerary of the Rome & Florence tour

Day 1: Fly overnight to Italy

Day 2: Rome

Meet your Field Director at the destination airport

Enjoy a pizza dinner in Rome

Day 3: Rome

Take a guided tour of Vatican City, the headquarter of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope

With your expert local guide you will visit:

  • Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescoes
  • St. Peter’s Basilica, a site of religious and historical significance over which the Pope presides

🔹 Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Rome on your own

Day 4: Rome

Take a guided tour of Rome

With your expert local guide you will visit:

  • Roman Forum, marking the former heart of the Roman Empire where Julius Caesar gave many of his political speeches
  • The Colosseum, the world’s most famous arena used for gladiatorial combat

Take a self-guided walking tour of Rome

You will see:

  • Trevi Fountain, Rome's iconic landmark
  • Pantheon, built to honor all the gods of Rome
  • Piazza Navona, a lively square lined with restaurants and shops
  • Spanish Steps, Europe's widest staircase

Add this in-depth excursion:

🔹 Cultural engagement: Food walking tour

🔹 Cultural engagement: Food walking tour

Explore the culinary history of Italy on this food-focused walking tour of Rome. Pizza, pasta, and cold cuts give you a taste of traditional staples. Expand your knowledge (and taste buds) with suppli, a favorite fried snack made with rice & mozzarella before ending your day with Italian ice cream.

Day 5: Rome • Florence

Travel to Florence, the birthplace of the Italian language, opera, and the Renaissance 

🔹 Guided learning: Take a guided tour of Florence

With your expert local guide you will see:

  • Piazza della Signoria, which is lined with classic statues
  • Ponte Vecchio, a medieval bridge where many of Florence’s famed leather and gold artisans still keep shop 
  • Basilica of Santa Croce, where Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and others are buried 
  • Gates of Paradise, bronzed doors that depict scenes from the Old Testament and are considered an icon of the Renaissance 

Enjoy dinner in Florence

Day 6: Florence

Visit the Accademia to admire Michelangelo’s statue of David and explore the winding halls of busts

Add this in-depth excursion:

Pisa

Pisa

Journey to Pisa on this half-day excursion. Enjoy a guided tour of the city’s Field of Miracles, where you can snap a picture of the 12th-century Leaning Tower, aslant ever since the third floor was built. This is where Galileo was said to have developed his laws of gravity. Also, visit the adjacent cathedral and baptistery, which contain exquisite marble pulpits carved in the Gothic style by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. 

Day 7: Florence

Visit the Uffizi art museum to see Botticelli’s famous Birth of Venus painting up close and study the details of Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation

🔹 Cultural engagement: Attend a gelato-making demonstration and tasting

🔹 Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Florence on your own

Day 8: Depart for home

Add 2 more days

Day 8: Florence • Siena • San Gimignano

Visit the Siena Duomo and admire its 800 year-old architecture 

Take an excursion to the beloved Medieval cities of Siena and San Gimignano and learn about them alongside an expert local guide 

Day 9: Florence

Visit the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens, a 500 year-old park filled with sculptures from the 16th, 17th, and 18th century

Add this in-depth excursion:

Tuscan wine tasting

Tuscan wine tasting

Take an excursion to a Tuscan winery and sample the distinctive wines of the region.

Enjoy dinner in Florence

Day 10: Depart for home

Learning outcomes on this program

Confidence • Curiosity • Global perspective • Empathy • Adaptability • Relatability • Self-Awareness

Academic resources

With this program, you get access to our Global Learning Resources, which include:

  • Discussion questions

  • Sample assignments

  • Journal prompts

  • Webinars

  • EF's Global Competency Assessment, a pre- and post-program assessment to measure competency development

See the resources you get

Your experience includes

Transportation
Accommodations
Select meals
End-to-end support
EF Global Learning Toolkit
Field Director
Guided exploration
Field Visits

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