“2026 Summer Opera in Tuscany & Veneto”© July 23 – August 1, 2026 (10 days, 9 nights) Our 2026 “Summer Opera in Tuscany & Veneto"© is even more fabulous than our previous versions! We visit some of the most splendid locations in these regions, where music, art and architecture intertwine, and where the food, wine and settings are sublime. PART I – LUCCA, PISA & Western Tuscany The tour begins upon your arrival at the Galileo Galilee International Airport in Pisa, where you will be met by your licensed, Italian Tour Leader, who will remain with your group throughout the tour. Transfer via private, air-conditioned motor coach with Wi-Fi (used for all transfers throughout the tour) to a luxurious, private villa in the Tuscan countryside, a half hour outside of Lucca, for three nights. The remainder of the day is free to rest and roam this stunning estate until Aperitivo (Italian cocktail hour) when you will receive a tour briefing followed by a special Welcome Dinner in the Villa. On Day 2, following a bountiful breakfast buffet (provided daily), we depart for a guided tour of the Medieval/Renaissance city of Lucca. We visit the home of the great opera composer, Giacomo Puccini, and many of the beautiful sights of this walled city. After lunch together, and free time to shop, explore or walk atop the city walls, now an elevated park, we return to the villa. (On each performance day, we will return to the villa or hotel in the mid-afternoon to allow for R&R prior to the evening events, which all end at midnight.) In the early evening, we depart for Torre del Lago Puccini, a small town on the shores of Lake Massaciùccoli, to attend the annual Puccini Festival. Tonight we will dine lakeside and then enjoy Puccini’s magnificent “Turandot,” featuring the aria made notoriously famous by Lucciano Pavorotti, “Nessun Dorma.” Return to the villa.
Torre del Lago, Puccini Opera
On the morning of Day 3, we transfer to Pisa to see its iconic “Leaning Tower” in the Piazza dei Miracoli (Plaza of Miracles), one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. After a guided tour of Pisa’s famous Cathedral and its lavishly adorned Baptistry, we transfer to the seaside town of Viareggio, for relaxing sea views and lunch, then return to the Villa for the remainder of the afternoon.