Essential Lake Garda

Your holiday begins at London St Pancras, where we meet the Tour Manager and travelling group before boarding the Eurostar service to Paris. From the French capital, we continue by rail across France, passing the Italian Alps as we travel to Turin. In the alpine foothills, this city is a modern centre of business and technology but boasts a history blending Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

Our overnight hotel is in a former Fiat factory, and on the roof is the former test track which has been repurposed into a beautiful urban garden boasting views across the Alps. After checking in to our hotel in the city's historic centre, we join our group for our first dinner together in the hotel restaurant.

Please note: If travelling by air, your holiday starts on Day 2 of the itinerary and ends on Day 9.

• Dinner

After breakfast, there's time at leisure to explore Turin. This dignified city is an important centre of business, finance and technology, and is also a showcase of Baroque, Renaissance and modern architecture. Fringed by the Italian Alps, the city's wide boulevards and grand public squares are lined with enticing cafés and bars. Just a short walk from our hotel is a pedestrianised shopping district.

In the afternoon, we transfer to Turin station and continue by rail to the lakeside town of Desenzano. From here, we transfer to our four-star hotel in charming Garda. This small town is set in a picturesque bay and is perfectly placed to visit the elegant lakeside towns and majestic mountains.

Centrally located and only a short distance from the lake, the hotel has a peaceful courtyard. A three-course dinner is served tonight and every night in the hotel.

Please note: if travelling by air, your holiday starts today at London Gatwick where you meet your Tour Manager and group before flying to Verona. In Verona, we transfer directly to our hotel in Garda.

• Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, we walk the short distance to Garda's ferry pier for a boat ride along Lake Garda's eastern shore to the medieval hamlet of Malcesine. As we approach the alpine foothills, the landscape becomes more dramatic. Rockier edge closer to the lake, and you can spot lakeside towns around the shore.

With free time in Malcesine, you could visit the impressive 14th-century castle which dominates the village. Colourful buildings line narrow cobbled streets down to the shorefront, where small piazzas look out across the lake.

The boat ferries us back to Garda in the late afternoon, with time to enjoy views across the lake before returning to the hotel for tonight's three-course dinner.

• Breakfast, Dinner

You're free to explore Garda at your own pace after breakfast today. With access to a swimming pool at a nearby sister hotel, you might like to unwind by the pool or soak up the scenery of the lake on a walk to the Rocca di Garda at the southern end of town. This outcrop of cliffs has breathtaking views across the lake and was once home to a 5th-century fortress until it was destroyed by the Venetians.

The historic centre of Garda is a pretty warren of narrow lanes with shops, cafés and restaurants, and a wide lakefront promenade overlooking a small marina and the shimmering water.

Alternatively, you could visit neighbouring Bardolino, a town famed for its full-bodied red wines and its wine harvest festival, held annually in October. You can reach Bardolino on the public boats that carry passengers between towns on Lake Garda - or you might prefer to stroll along the 'lungolago', a flat 1.5-mile lakeside walkway connecting Bardolino and Garda.

• Breakfast, Dinner

Today starts with a coach excursion to historic Verona, a UNESCO-listed city famed as the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. On a guided tour, we are introduced to the city's ancient history, taking in Roman ruins, medieval buildings and Juliet's balcony. We also visit the impressive Roman Arena, which is older than Rome's Colosseum and is now an open-air opera house.

With free time after the tour, you could visit Piazza delle Erbe, the city's oldest square. Once a Roman forum, the piazza now buzzes with cafés and is lined with ornately decorated buildings, some painted with frescoes. Other popular attractions in Verona are the Torre dei Lamberti, an 84-metre watchtower with panoramic views across the city, and the Castelvecchio bridge, a crenelated 14th-century brick and marble bridge crossing the winding Adige River.

We return to Garda in the late afternoon, with time to relax before dinner and drinks at the hotel.

• Breakfast, Dinner

With a full day at leisure today, enjoy a relaxed breakfast before heading out on your own.

From Peschiera del Garda, you could hop on a train and uncover more wonderful destinations in northern Italy. Brescia is about 20 minutes by rail from Peschiera and boasts some of the finest Roman remains outside the capital. It also has a sprawling medieval fortress and an expansive Old City, where you can find the old and new cathedrals beside each other.

Alternatively, visit the 'Floating City' of Venice. Explore hidden backstreets that open on to turquoise canals, visit the stunning Bridge of Sighs or unwind in St Mark's Square. You could also choose to take to the water on a gondola ride or hop aboard a vaporetto - water taxis that glide across the canals, taking passengers to a variety of sights, including the glass-making islands of Murano and Burano. v Wherever you choose to visit, you can return for dinner at our hotel this evening.

• Breakfast, Dinner

One of Europe's finest gardens is our destination after breakfast as we journey by coach to Sigurtà Garden Park.

Dating back to 1407, the parklands now spread over an incredible 60 hectares and feature a million tulips, 30,000 roses and a 400-year-old oak tree. This idyllic haven changes throughout the year, with tulips blooming in the spring and water lilies taking centre stage in the summer. Our visit includes a ride on the land train as we travel through the expansive grounds, enjoying floral vistas dotted by 18 ornamental lakes, follies and even a maze.

After, we continue to nearby Borghetto sul Mincio. This small village beside the Mincio River is regarded as one of the most beautiful places in Italy. There's free time to explore the medieval fortifications and ancient bridges, or to soak up views of the Scaligeri Castle. This evening, we return to Garda for dinner with drinks back at our hotel.

• Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, we take a short cruise to Sirmione, known as the 'Pearl of Lake Garda'. Set on a narrow peninsula which stretches into the lake, this medieval fortress town is a pleasure to explore on foot. You are free to discover Sirmione independently, over lunchtime and into the afternoon.

Among the Old Town's streets are beautifully restored buildings, including a 14th-century church. You could sip a coffee or Aperol spritz on an alfresco terrace overlooking the lake. At the entrance to the peninsula, you'll find the Scaligero Castle. From here, you can savour great views across the lake from the top of its fortified walls. You could also visit the extraordinary Grottoes of Catullus, the remains of one of the largest Roman villas in Italy, set on a small hill at the tip of the peninsula, with a museum and views from the top.

We sail the short distance back to Garda this afternoon before a final dinner and drinks at the hotel this evening.

• Breakfast, Dinner

If returning by air to London, your group will be transferred to Verona airport this morning before your flight to London Gatwick.

If returning home by rail, we leave Garda by coach this morning, transferring to Milan, where we board a train bound for France. Travelling through verdant valleys lined by huge, rocky mountain peaks, the route crosses from Italy to France through the Fréjus tunnel before following the route of the rushing Arc River, providing glimpses of great alpine scenery.

The town of Chambéry is nestled in the foothills of the Alps and is the former seat of the Dukes of Savoy - their impressive château still dominates the town's picturesque centre. Arriving this evening, we check in to our overnight hotel and have dinner.

• Breakfast, Dinner

This holiday to one of Italy's greatest lakes combined laid-back Lake Garda, blissful lakeside villages and a mountainous setting with excursions to Verona, Sirmione and the gardens at Sigurtà.

For departures by rail, we leave Chambéry this morning on a train to Paris. In the French capital, we board the Eurostar service to London St Pancras International, arriving in the early evening.

• Breakfast