For Expert Advice Call A unique occasion deserves a unique experience. 01722 744 695 https://www.weekendalacarte.co.uk/special-occasion-holidays/private-tours/europe/venice-romantic-break/ Romantic Private Venice Break Break available: March - November 3 nights Highlights Venice is the perfect location for celebrating a special occasion, and our trip will certainly make the most of that special person in ● Romantic Grand Canal Gondola Trip your life. With some unmissable tours, and the ability to ● Private Guided Highlights tour of St Mark's Basilica & the tailor-make this trip to you, we can suit this break exactly to your Doge's Palace requirements. For those who want to know more about the history ● Tour of Burano, Murano and Torcello Islands of Venice, our private guided highlighted tour will leave you well ● Michelin Star Chef Prepared Gourmet Tasting Menu Dinner informed, as you travel through the Doge's Palace; the seat of at the Met power in old Venice. Then explore the prison where Casanova ● 3 nights accommodation in 5 star Hotel Metropole, located was temporarily an inmate until his successful escape. Finish the within walking distance of St Mark's Square tour in St Mark's Basilica, where you can see some of the conquests of war including the marble horses taken from Constantinople. But this trip includes so much more! Day by Day Itinerary DAY 1 Fly to Venice, Private Watertaxi Transfer to your hotel and Romantic Gondola Ride page 1/8 Fly into Venice where your meet & greet private transfer awaits. Travel in style from the mainland to your 5 Star hotel, Hotel Metropole. This hotel is excellently located around a 5 mins walk from St Mark’s Square and the main hub of Venice. It is typically Venetian with gold styling, Venetian masks adorning the furniture and walls, and incense wafting through the rooms. With the hotel being located on the Grand Canal, why not treat yourself to a Deluxe Lagoon View room. Wake up each morning to the incredible views of San Giorgio Island opposite. See Optional Extra below for more information. This afternoon enjoy seeing Venice the only way this floating city can be viewed; by a romantic gondola ride along the back canals of Venice. Relax as you glide through the canals, passing stunning palazzos, under bridges and back to the Grand Canal. Evening at leisure. A la Carte Optional Extras Upgrade Hotel Metropole to a Deluxe Lagoon View Room Whilst Hotel Metropole has the fantastic location, why not opt for a Deluxe Lagoon view room, instead of a street view. The Deluxe Lagoon view rooms come with a stunning view of San Giorgio Island and are larger in size. Wake up each morning to a view like no other! Price Per Person: From £70 per person per night DAY 2 Private Guided Highlights Tour and Gourmet Tasting Dinner page 2/8 This morning your private guide will meet you at your hotel and walk with you over to the Doge’s Palace. Once the seat of the ruling Doge, the Doge’s Palace houses the history of the Venetian empire. The Room of Maps is a real highlight, as is the golden stairwell. Your guide will show you all of this along with much more. Once you have seen the palace, head below ground with your guide, to see the famous prison where Casanova famously escaped from. Pass over The Bridge of Sighs, named as it was the last view of the outside world that the prisoners received, all except Casanova of course! Finish your guided tour with a walk to St Mark’s Basilica, located next door to the palace. This church is an eclectic mix of East meets West with very Turkish outer design and typically Venetian gold motifs inside. Head to the roof for the views over St Mark’s Square and towards the campanile, directly opposite. Be sure to notice the horses on the roof. These are copies, the originals being just inside, and were trophies taken from the Turks during previous battles. They were temporarily removed from Venice when Napoleon ruled the city, however, after his departure, the Venetians successfully got the statues back. Your guide will leave you for some time to explore by yourselves. This evening you have a Gourmet Tasting Dinner prepared by the Michelin starred chef at The Met Restaurant, conveniently located within Hotel Metropole. Using local Venetian ingredients, the chef conjures up mouth watering meals, to keep even the most discerning palette happy. There are two menus; we recommend you try them both. DAY 3 Tour of the Nearby Venetian Islands This morning join the boat for your 4hr group tour to Murano, Burano and Torcello. Begin by sailing past the 16th century Benedictine church; San Giorgio Maggiore and Lido, before arriving at Murano. Murano is well known for its glass blowing, and you will see many examples of this in all the shops. We recommend you enjoy a glass blowing demonstration before moving onto to the second island; Burano. Burano is an archipelago of four islands, and well-known for its lace production. The island is also famous for its brightly coloured fishermen’s houses. After a short sail from Burano, finish the tour on Torcello, visiting the cathedral and church on this quieter island. Only the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with its fantastic mosaics and the church of Santa Fosca remain in their full glory. Please note this is a group tour and is not private. The tour can be upgraded to a semi private tour of Murano with glass blowing demonstration included, along with Burano Island. Please see Optional Extra below for more information. Transfer back to Venice, and rest of day at leisure. A la Carte Optional Extras Semi Private Tour of Murano & Burano The boat will collect you and take you onto both Murano and Burano with your guide. For no more than 8 people in total, this semi private tour, also includes a glass blowing demonstration on Murano. Price: From £170 per person for the small group (up to 8 people in total), to Burano and Murano with glass blowing introduction. Please note this is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only. page 3/8 Attend La Fenice Opera page 4/8 Why not add a night taking in an opera in the best seats in this beautiful opera house. La Fenice has a range of well known operas, along with more diverse lesser known operas, meaning there is something for everyone! Click on the first photo below for a short video. Please note there are very limited tickets for opera/ballet events prior to March. If there is a performance you would like to see in January and February, please let us know and we will check with our supplier. March: Le Baruffe (Battistelli) – 02, 04 April: I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (Verdi) – 01, 03, 05, 07, 09 Faust (Guonod) – 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 There are no performances in May and August. June: Peter Grimes (Britten) – 24, 26, 29 July: Peter Grimes (Britten) – 02, 05 September: Madame Butterfly (Puccini) – 10, 16, 18, 20, 22 Il Trovatore (Verdi) – 11, 15, 17, 21, 23 October: La Fille du Regiment (Donizetti) – 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 Price Per Person: From £22 per person. page 5/8 page 6/8 Attend Musica a Palazzo Opera Evening Whether you are a first timer to opera, introducing someone who has not been before, an opera lover wanting a new experience, or La Fenice doesn’t have any operas being performed whilst you are staying in Venice, Musica a Palazzo may well be the option for you. Witness well-known operas performed every day of the week in a stunning palace, but with a twist; there is no stage! The performance takes place right in front of you, making you feel like you are completely immersed in the opera. Operas on offer at Musica a Palazzo: La Traviata – Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays The Barber of Seville – Wednesdays & Sundays Rigoletto – Fridays Price per person: From £100. DAY 4 Private Transfer to the airport for your flight home At leisure until your private watertaxi transfer to the airport for your flight home. Alternatively, if you have more days at your disposal, why not sample our Italian Cities tour which takes in Venice, Verona, Florence and Rome. Where You'll Stay page 7/8 Hotel Metropole The rooms have an 18th century antique flavour, with oriental furniture and art deco style. The Met Restaurant, located within Hotel Metropole, is one of the finest restaurants in Venice and features a Michelin Star Chef to prepare the true Venetian delicacies. Reviews & Feedback We will definitely be going back to our now favourite city and I'm certain will use Weekend a la Carte again, a first class travel company who clearly know their destinations well. We can't thank you enough for another truly memorable break ... where to next I'm thinking!! Kathryn & Nigel We had a wonderful holiday in beautiful Venice. Our hotel the Metropole was ideally situated about 5 mins walk from St Mark’s square and very near to the vaporettos so that exploring was very easy. Our guide to the Basilica and St Mark’s square was charming, very knowledgeable and very good fun. She gave us a very good overview of the history and politics of both Venice and Italy and we felt able to launch forth on our own after her advice. La Fenice was wonderful, a stunning performance of Tosca which we thoroughly enjoyed with excellent seats.