Florence's cobbled streets are replete with 15th- and 16th-century palaces, medieval chapels and fresco-decorated churches. World-class art museums are adorned with paintings and sculptures by the likes of Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Donatello.
Take time to explore this compact city that sits prettily on the banks of the Arno river in northeastern Tuscany. Over four days, this detailed art tour will visit some of the city's famous masterpieces alongside lesser-known artworks. The trip includes two full days of visits to museums, palaces, and churches, seeing where world masterpieces are displayed and uncovering their history and the captivating stories of the artists who created them.
Alongside experts within the museums and palaces themselves, your second full day of tours is accompanied by celebrated art writer, Andrew Graham-Dixon. Andrew can offer a depth of knowledge and opinion about the art of Florence. He will join the group on two evenings, sparking lively conversation over memorable dinners in this beautiful city.
You'll be based at the four-star Grand Hotel Adriatico in the heart of Florence. The hotel's Opera Restaurant serves authentic Tuscan cuisine with locally sourced ingredients and wines from Tuscan vineyards and hosts occasional operatic performances. Grand Hotel Adriatico also offers a range of wellness treatments, including massages to help you unwind after a day of exploring. Or, if you need to burn off some excess energy, you can make the most of the hotel's fitness room.
Andrew Graham-Dixon is a leading art critic, writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Andrew has a long history of public service in the field of the visual arts, having judged the Turner Prize, the BP National Portrait Prize, and the Annual British Animation Awards, among others.
* From price is FOR TELEGRAPH SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, per person, based on two people sharing a room, subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print but may be subject to change. Single supplement £170. Deposit 30%. Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted, and any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated. Travel insurance is not included but required for most of our overseas trips, and should be taken out at time of booking. Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of TS Travel Ltd (ATOL bonded) and Travel Editions Group Ltd, ABTA V3120. To redeem your exclusive subscriber offer, visit www. telegraph.co.uk/tt-extra. Calls are made at local rates. All tours featured are operated by the partner specified, a company wholly independent of Telegraph Media Group Ltd. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or telegraph.co.uk/privacypolicy.
* From price is FOR ALL OTHER TELEGRAPH READERS, per person, based on two people sharing a room, subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print but may be subject to change. Single supplement £170. Deposit 30%. Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted, and any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated. Travel insurance is not included but required for most of our overseas trips, and should be taken out at time of booking. Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of TS Travel Ltd (ATOL bonded) and Travel Editions Group Ltd, ABTA V3120. To redeem your exclusive subscriber offer, visit www. telegraph.co.uk/tt-extra. Calls are made at local rates. All tours featured are operated by the partner specified, a company wholly independent of Telegraph Media Group Ltd. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or telegraph.co.uk/privacypolicy.
A two-hour flight brings you to Bologna, where you'll transfer by coach to Florence on a journey of around 90 minutes. There's an afternoon orientation walking tour of the historic centre by a local guide to help you get your bearing ahead of two days of touring. Tonight, you'll enjoy dinner with your fellow travellers.
After breakfast at Grand Hotel Adriatico, a full-day tour of Florence lies ahead. Today, you'll visit some of the city's art and renaissance buildings, beginning with the Laurentian Medici Gallery, where a collection of antique books is considered one of the most prestigious in Italy.
At the Church complex of Sant'Apollonia, also known as the Last Supper Museum, you'll see the fresco Il Cenacolo by Andrea del Castagno from 1447, where the face of Judas is depicted as a satyr.
At the Museum of San Marco, you can explore the work of Fra' Angelico. Amid monastic cells, you'll discover some of Fra' Angelico's most famous works, including Annunciation, is found. A stroll around the cells reveals further religious reliefs by this Tuscan-born friar, who decorated the cells with frescoes to guide the meditation of his fellow friars.
A visit to Galleria dell'Accademia follows, where perhaps the Renaissance's most iconic masterpiece is found. Michelangelo's David, in its splendour and intrigue, is carved from a single block of marble and is Michelangelo's most famous work.
The day's final visit is to the splendid Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and Museum. In 1444, Cosimo the Elder asked Michelozzo to design the family's home, resulting in a palace that influenced the construction of future residences, including Palazzo Pitti and Palazzo Strozzi. On a tour around this fascinating palace, you'll spot detailed frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, a pupil of Fra' Angelico.
Andrew Graham-Dixon joins the group for a welcome drink and evening talk tonight.
Today, Andrew Graham-Dixon will join you. You'll start at the Basilica di San Lorenzo to learn about this unfinished basilica that was the Medici parish church. It was designed by Brunelleschi in 1425 and has a solemn interior where you'll see Brunelleschi's Sagrestia Vecchia and sculptural decoration by Donatello. Michelangelo was commissioned to design the facade in 1518, but his design was never executed, giving the building an unfinished appearance.
The Bargello Museum follows. This museum is Florence's earliest public building that houses a collection of Tuscan Renaissance sculptures, including some of Michelangelo's early works and several others by Donatello.
Next, within the Basilica di Santa Croce lie the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Ghiberti, which you'll have a moment to see before heading to the Church of Santa Felicità to view Brunelleschi's chapel adorned with frescoes by Jacopo Pontormo.
The final visit of the day is to Palazzo Pitti, which hosts several museums, including the Palatine Gallery, the Silver Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Costume Gallery, the Porcelain Museum and the Museum of Carriages.
Andrew Graham-Dixon joins the group for dinner tonight for more conversation about the art of Florence.
Andrew Graham-Dixon departs this morning, but you'll have the morning to explore Florence at your own pace, perhaps returning to sites that piqued your interest, before your transfer departs to the airport for your return flight home.
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* From price is FOR TELEGRAPH SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, per person, based on two people sharing a room, subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print but may be subject to change. Single supplement £170. Deposit 30%. Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted, and any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated. Travel insurance is not included but required for most of our overseas trips, and should be taken out at time of booking. Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of TS Travel Ltd (ATOL bonded) and Travel Editions Group Ltd, ABTA V3120. To redeem your exclusive subscriber offer, visit www. telegraph.co.uk/tt-extra. Calls are made at local rates. All tours featured are operated by the partner specified, a company wholly independent of Telegraph Media Group Ltd. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or telegraph.co.uk/privacypolicy.
* From price is FOR ALL OTHER TELEGRAPH READERS, per person, based on two people sharing a room, subject to availability. Price and itinerary correct at time of print but may be subject to change. Single supplement £170. Deposit 30%. Local charges such as tourist tax may apply. In the case of unforeseen circumstances, expert(s) may be substituted, and any expert-led events may be subject to change. Expert(s) will not join you for your full trip duration unless otherwise stated. Travel insurance is not included but required for most of our overseas trips, and should be taken out at time of booking. Images used may not reflect your actual tour experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of TS Travel Ltd (ATOL bonded) and Travel Editions Group Ltd, ABTA V3120. To redeem your exclusive subscriber offer, visit www. telegraph.co.uk/tt-extra. Calls are made at local rates. All tours featured are operated by the partner specified, a company wholly independent of Telegraph Media Group Ltd. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or telegraph.co.uk/privacypolicy.