Arrive and settle in your accommodations in the early afternoon. Unpack and make yourself at home knowing you will not need to repack until your departure. Enjoy the nearby sights of our home for the week, stretch your legs in the nearby shops or grab your first Christmas treat. 

In the evening, we will meet for our first group activity. We will enjoy a welcome wine tasting and dinner with our fellow travelers and new friends. The week’s activities will be discussed during our welcome dinner. 

In 2015, a new initiative in Arezzo began focusing solely on Christmas. Called Arezzo: Citta Del Natale, the month long festival draws in well over a million visitors, all here to see, taste and experience this extraordinary city. Attractions include stalls selling handmade crafts, rides, ice skating and so much more. We will spend the entire day here, browsing the stalls and enjoying all this city has to offer, including delicious food! This is a once-in-a lifetime experience that is sure to leave an impression on your soul. No city compares to Arezzo at Christmastime.

The Val D’Orcia area in Tuscany is undoubtably one of the most beautiful and picturesque area in all of Italy. That beauty comes to live that much more at Christmastime. With more than 80 stalls, the now annual mercatino (open air market) offers handmade gifts to make shopping for even the pickiest person in your life a breeze! Great attention has been paid to the originality of the products sold at the market, with the involvement of the artisans associations and the presence of diversified products in categories such as wood, leather and artisanal foods.  Located in Piazza Grande and its vicinity, the market not only offers gifts for everyone, we will have plenty of opportunity to taste specialty foods along the way.

Always a group favorite, our journey today begins with a unique truffle hunt in the forest with trained dogs, and with our dear friend Luigi, a local truffle hunter. Luigi will tell us interesting legends and curiosities about this precious (and expensive) gift of nature. The experience will start in the fields and will end in the kitchen, where you will sit down to enjoy a full meal, sample the truffles, and finish with Tuscany’s best panna cotta.

In the afternoon, we walk off our hearty lunch in San Gimignano. Shop at the small, specialty shops for unique gifts such as Tuscan leather, shoes, handbags, or some delicious Tuscan wine to bring back and enjoy over your Christmas dinner.

Dinner tonight promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Meet our friend Lucrezia in her home for a magical dinner that will include not only amazing foods, but our own private opera concert!

Roll up your sleeves, grab your apron and let’s get cooking!

In the morning we will visit our dear friend Rosanna in her private home for a hands-on 3 course cooking class. Enjoy the preparation of seasonal dishes like pumpkin ravioli, herbed chicken and what would a delicious Tuscan meal be without dessert! Will it be chocolate salami, or perhaps panforte! Either way, you’re sure not to leave her house hungry!

After our cooking class, we will enjoy a visit to Siena for some guided time with our trusted guide, plus time on your own to shop around. Made famous for its horse-race known as the Palio, Siena is a not to be missed medieval city in central Tuscany. The shell-shaped Piazzo del Campo is perhaps its main attractions and where the Palio takes place, although today, we’re here to hit the markets in one of the biggest medieval squares in the world. Filled with many churches and cathedrals, the Duomo, the largest church in Siena, is adorned for the season. We will have ample time to walk about the square and pick up a few souvenirs. May we recommend some foodie gifts? Perhaps Ricciarelli, a typical Sienese biscuit made with almond paste, or the season Panforte, a fruit cake still made according to a Medieval recipe.

Our week together is winding down and by this point, you might be getting tired. So today you get to enjoy sleeping in and some time on your own in the beautiful city of Florence. Visit the Santa Croce Market, enjoy some street food and grab a few last minute gifts. Or perhaps high-end shopping is your thing? Not to worry. Head towards Via Tornabuoni for all your brandname gifts.

We will gather together again as a group for a full Tuscan dinner, with lots of wine, of course!

Our week of food, wine and shopping is winding down. The tour ends after breakfast at the hotel.