Le Marche Tour: Pesaro, Gradara, Urbino, Acqualagna, Jesi, Morro d’Alba, wine and food  tasting and relax on the beach. The influential travel guide Lonely Planet listed Le Marche among the “best destinations, journeys and sustainable travel experiences”.

Our Signature

Small group of 25 or less
Private bus transportation
English-speaking tour guide as per programme
Entrance fees as per programme
Wine tasting
Truffle tasting

Le Marche Region

One of Italy’s lesser-travelled regions, Le Marche is the perfect place to enjoy the quintessential Italian lifestyle. Stretching for around 100 miles along the Adriatic coast, it’s inland where Le Marche really shines with hilltowns to rival those of Tuscany and Umbria, and much of them remains unspoilt by the ravages of mass tourism.

Le Marche boasts, perhaps more than anywhere else in central Italy,  an almost unique blend of stunning hillside towns and vast swathes of natural land to explore, places where time really has stood still. Compared to Tuscany and Umbria, here culture comes in more easily digestible proportions but quality is often of the very best. Whether you want to admire masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture, trek across wild uncharted mountains or hunt out the best of the catch in a Mediterranean fishing port, Le Marche has enough to keep you busy for years

Urbino, Raphael’s hometown, presents a smorgasbord of Renaissance art and history up and down its vertical streets. Pale but lovely Ascoli Piceno has beauty and history in bounds. Equally walkable is Macerata, with a famous open-air opera theatre and festival. And Jesi and Fermo with thies charming historic centre. List may continue with plenty of small villages peppered all around the regions.

Food and wines are genuine, traditional and tasty,  from truffle in Acqualagna to cheeses to red and white wines.

Le Marche Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Rome Fiumicino airport – Pesaro

Meet and greet with your fellow travelers and our representative at Rome Fiumicino. Transfer by private bus to Pesaro. Room check-in and time for leisure before dinner. (D)

Day 2: Pesaro and Urbino

After breakfast, you will meet the English-speaking tour guide for an amazing day. Pesaro is a charming town on the coast nestled against a backdrop of hills dotted with ancient towns and castles. The town of Pesaro has a little bit of everything that the region has to offer. On the one hand there is the ancient city with its prestigious historical center, on the other it is one of the most famous seaside resort of the Adriatic. Preserved to this day the ancient Roman structure of the city is divided, according to the traditional Roman technique, into four equal parts by the intersection of the “Cardo” and “Decumanus” Maximi.

You will explore the town and its treasures and see the old centre with its Ducal Palace, Piazza del Popolo, the Cathedral and lovely churches before visiting the house of the famous composer Gioachino Rossini, noted for his operas: The Barber of Seville (1816), Cinderella (1817), and Semiramide (1823) which are among the best known. Pesaro is the hometown of the great composer Gioacchino Rossini and is full of artifacts and places dedicated to the composer. Here, every year, the Rossini Opera Festival celebrates the talented artist. For this reason, Pesaro is one of the UNESCO’s heritage of Creative Cities for music.

After lunch, not included, a 30-minutes bus ride will take you to Gradara, listed among the “Most Beautiful Villages in Italy”. A medieval fortress towers over Gradara, on the border between Marche and Romagna: a castle where love and death entangled for centuries. The castle’s 30-meter-tall keep and crenellated walls were the scene of much intrigue, many fatal romances, as well as political events: it is where the most prominent aristocratic families of the region decided to fight the Papacy during the Middle Ages. Legend has it that the castle was the scene of the famous and tragic love story of Paolo and Francesca, caught in each other’s arms and killed by Gianciotto, Francesca’s husband. This love story was immortalized by Dante in his Divine Comedy.

The atmosphere of its superb past also remains intact, allowing us today to sense the essence of a tumultuous past in which the only real power was raw passion. Nowadays it is possible to stroll on the 300mt. panoramic walk, along the ancient Ramparts
Walk and enjoy, from one side the splendid panorama with the Marche pleasant hills, and on the other side goes the gaze to the Romagna coast until you lose yourself on the Adriatic Sea horizon.  Back to Pesaro for dinner in the hotel. (B,D)

Day  5: Day at leisure  in Pesaro

Enjoy a day at leisure. Enjoy a day on the beach. (B,D)

Day 6: Jesi – Morro d’Alba – light lunch with wine tasting

After breakfast, the tour guide will escort you to Jesi. Set in the tranquil countryside and hidden behind its ancient walls, Jesi is a beautiful city. The birthplace of Emperor Frederick II in 1194 Jesi is rich in Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Our visits will include the 13th century Duomo, the Biblioteca Planettiana, the Teatro Pergolese and the 18th century Palazzo Pianetti, home to the Pinacoteca Civica.

Jesi’s fame is also linked to its wine making traditions. A light lunch with wine tasting is reserved at one of the most charming winery near Jesi, in a modern and eco-friendly canteen. You will taste 4 different wines, a selection of Verdicchio and Lacrima, paired with regional food.

Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is a dry white-wine made from the ancient Verdicchio grape variety. Legend has it that when the troops of the king of the Visigoths, Alarich (370-410), marched on Rome, they drank barrels of Verdicchio to maintain their strength.

Lacrima di Morro d’Alba wines are aromatic and richly flavored, showing intense floral and spiced characters on the nose with a fresh, berry-dominated palate. The word “lacrima” means teardrop in Italian, and is probably reference to the fact that the berries have a tendency to split, dripping juice down the outside of the bunch.

Before coming back to Pesaro, youwill enjoy a tour in the medieval village of Morro d’Alba. The hilltop town has a long history . A walk aroun “Camminamento la Scarpa” will allow visitors to see one of the most beautiful Le Marche’s landscapes. Dinner in the hotel

Day 7: Pesaro – Roma

After breakfast and hotel check-out, transfer by private bus to Rome. Hotel check-in and time for leisure in Rome city centre. Dinner in the hotel. (B,D)

Day 8: Arrivederci Italia

After breakfast, transfer by private bus to Rome Fiumicno airport. End of our services. (B)

The Accommodation

Pesaro, 6 nights

The 4-star hotel is just a short distance away from the centre of Pesaro and welcomes guests into an elegant and comfortable environment. Set 20 m from Pesaro’s beach the hotel offers a panoramic sea-view terrace with sun loungers and umbrellas. The rooms have satellite TV, a small balcony, air conditioning and a private bathroom equipped with hairdryer.  Free Wi-Fi is provided. Pesaro’s historic centre is a 7-minute walk away. A breakfast buffet is served daily, and includes fresh fruit, cakes and biscuits. The restaurant serves regional dishes based on local food and wine.

Rome, 1 night

The hotel is located in the residential neighborhood of Prati. The chief virtue of hotel’s location is that despite being on a quiet residential street, it’s only a 10-minute stroll to the Piazza del Popolo, across the Ponte Cavour. A short stroll from the ancient grandeur of the Vatican, its enviable position also places Guests within easy walking distance of Sant’Angelo Bridge, Sant’Angelo Castle and close to Trastevere neighborhood. Piazza Navona is 10-minute  stroll across Ponte Sant’Angelo. The 161 rooms are bright, spacious and inviting. Each is arranged to create an air of harmony, with a modern minimalist style and warm, burnished hardwood floors. Guests will enjoy a perfect coffee anytime with a Lavazza machine in each room, rest easy with the your ideal choice from the pillow menu, stay connected with free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. A soundproof environment helps ensure a restful night.

Included:

Private RT airport transfer
Private bus transportation
Tour Leader from Rome Fiumicino airport to Pesaro hotel
English-speaking tour guide as per programme
7 nights accomodation, shared room
Half Board meal plan, ½  water and ¼ wine included
Light lunch on Day 6
Entrance fees as per programme (Casa Rossini in Pesaro, Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, Casa Raffaello in Urbino, Castello di Gradara, Fortezza Federico II in Jesi, Truffle Museum in Acqualagna)
Wine tasting
Truffle tasting
Insurance

Not included:
Hotel city tax
Extras, drinks and personal expenses
Gratuities and porterage