Departs from KLIA to Rome via Doha. Qatar Airways lands at Rome Fiumicino and the tour starts immediately. There is no easing in — Rome is the kind of city that makes demands from the first afternoon, and the itinerary works with that. The four main stops are within walking distance of each other in the historic centre; the guide covers the site context at each.

Colosseum (Anfiteatro Flavio) — The Flavian Amphitheatre, completed in 80 AD. At full capacity it held 50,000–80,000 spectators. The exterior and the context are the standard stop; interior entry is not included.

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) — Baroque fountain at the junction of three ancient aqueducts, completed in 1762. Allow 20 minutes.

Piazza Navona — A long oval piazza built on the site of a 1st-century stadium. The Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini sits at the centre.

Pantheon — A Roman temple completed around 125 AD, converted to a church in 609, and continuously used since. The unreinforced concrete dome — still the world's largest — has a central oculus 8.7 metres wide open to the sky. Entry fee applies and is not included in the tour.

A full driving day that covers the most ground on the itinerary: Rome to Pisa is four hours, Pisa to Florence another 90 minutes. It is worth knowing that in advance. Pisa is a focused stop — the Campo dei Miracoli is compact enough to cover properly in 60 minutes — and Florence is where you sleep for two nights.

Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa — The Piazza dei Miracoli contains four major medieval monuments on a single field: the Leaning Tower (Torre di Pisa), the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Camposanto. The tower leans at 3.97 degrees. Exterior visits included; tower entry requires a separate timed ticket not included in the tour.

Florence Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) — Brunelleschi’s dome defines the city skyline. The exterior and the piazza are the standard stop; interior and dome access require a separate ticket.

Ponte Vecchio — The medieval bridge over the Arno lined with goldsmiths’ shops. The only bridge in Florence not destroyed by the retreating German army in 1944.

Piazza della Signoria — The civic heart of Florence, flanked by the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi open-air sculpture hall.

Florence stays as the overnight base while the day heads west to the coast. La Spezia is the gateway to Cinque Terre — the five villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, each built into the cliff face above the Ligurian Sea and connected by a coastal trail and a regional train line. The train is the standard way to move between them; the itinerary includes the rail journey. On the way back, the Pierotucci leather workshop near Florence is the afternoon stop.

Cinque Terre by Train — UNESCO World Heritage coastline. The five villages are a 2–3 minute train ride apart on the Genoa–La Spezia line. Vernazza and Manarola are generally considered the most photogenic; your guide will advise on the day. Allow 3 hours in the region. Rail tickets included.

Pierotucci Leather Workshop — A Florentine leather workshop near Santa Croce, founded in 1972. Hand-crafting demonstration included; shopping opportunity follows. No purchase obligation.

The drive from Florence to Venice takes three hours. Venice is reached by waterbus from the mainland — the approach across the lagoon is the best introduction to the city.

Waterbus to Venice Island — Included. The approach from the water gives you the city’s scale in a way that arriving by coach never does.

St Mark’s Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) — The Byzantine cathedral on the east end of the Piazza, built to house the relics of St Mark and decorated with 8,000 square metres of gold mosaic. Exterior and piazza included; interior entry is free but has queues.

Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale) — The Gothic palace of the Venetian Republic’s ruling Doge, connected to the prison across the Bridge of Sighs. Photo stop from the embankment; interior entry is not included.

Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) — The oldest of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal. Market stalls along the top; the best view of the Grand Canal is from the bridge itself.

Optional: Gondola ride through the back canals (own expense, arranged independently).

Noventa di Piave Designer Outlet — An outlet mall on the return route to Mestre. Shopping stop included.

The day is built around two of the best outlet destinations in northern Italy, with the hotel in Milan at the end. Fidenza Village is a well-designed open-air outlet in the Emilia-Romagna flatlands with good mid-range and premium brand coverage. Serravalle, 90 minutes further west, is one of the largest luxury outlet complexes in Europe — 230-plus stores in a purpose-built village format at the foot of the Ligurian Alps.

Fidenza Village Outlet — Premium Italian and international brands at discount pricing: Diesel, Furla, Calvin Klein, Timberland, Levi’s and others. Open-air layout, approximately 100 stores. Allow 2–3 hours.

Serravalle Designer Outlet — One of Europe’s largest luxury outlet malls, located at the A26/A7 motorway junction near Genoa. Gucci, Prada, Versace, Burberry, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and over 230 other stores. Allow 2–3 hours.

Transfer to Milan — Approximately 50 minutes from Serravalle.

Lake Como sits 50 kilometres north of Milan at the base of the Alps — a 46-kilometre Y-shaped lake surrounded by mountains and 19th-century villas built by European aristocracy who understood what the light looked like at this latitude. Como town is the southern gateway: a small city with a lakeside promenade, a Romanesque cathedral, and the kind of pace that most of this tour has not had time for.

Como Town — The lake’s main town, accessible from Milan in about an hour by coach. The promenade along the waterfront takes 20–30 minutes at a slow walk. The cathedral (Duomo di Como) is worth a brief stop; the interior includes works commissioned from the 14th to 18th centuries. The lakeside is the reason to be here.

Lake Promenade — Independent time along the waterfront. Coffee by the lake is the activity most people prioritise, and correctly so.

Return to Milan — Afternoon return gives you free time in Milan for independent shopping or exploring the Brera or Navigli districts.

Milan closes the tour. The city centre orientation covers the three main sites in the historic core before the transfer to Malpensa for the Qatar Airways departure. Check-out is in the morning; the airport transfer follows the city visit.

Duomo di Milano — The Gothic cathedral begun in 1386 and not completed until 1965. The façade has 3,400 statues and the roofline is dense with pinnacles and spires. The exterior and the piazza are the standard stop; rooftop and interior access require a separate ticket.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — The 19th-century glass-and-iron arcade connecting the Duomo to La Scala, with a mosaic floor and high-end shops along both sides. One of the oldest covered shopping galleries in the world. Worth 20 minutes.

La Scala — The opera house built in 1778, still the reference point for opera in Italy. The exterior and the Piazza della Scala are the stop; the museum and auditorium require a separate ticket.

Malpensa Airport Transfer — Qatar Airways departs from Terminal 1 at Malpensa (MXP). Your guide will advise on departure timing.