A week of cuisine, culture and history in Tuscany

Activities included

• overnight stay in a double room at Villa Michaela (7 nights)
• breakfasts
• all cooking workshops
• all visits and museum admissions as per itinerary
• transfers to and from the airport and to scheduled excursions
• all food and wine consumed at the Villa
• restaurant visits

Not included in the program

• anything not listed in "activities included"
• shopping

To be arranged with participants.

It is recommended to wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella.

€ 4.450 per person (min 2)

You will experience Tuscan culture in the luxurious setting of Villa Michaela, 5 km from the walled city of Lucca and 18 km from Pisa airport. You'll learn to cook Italian and Mediterranean dishes and enjoy food tours, stops at local restaurants and visits to wineries.

Located along the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrimage route, 15th-century Villa Michaela is ready to welcome you.

Itinerary
Day 1
Collection from Pisa or Florence airports or the train station in Lucca to Villa Michaela.
Welcome dinner at Villa Michaela in our beautiful frescoed dining room.

Day 2
Breakfast at Villa Michaela.
Guided tour of historic Lucca with an English speaking guide. Lunch at a restaurant in Lucca.
Cycle around the walls, shopping in the boutiques of Lucca and return to Villa.
Late afternoon cooking demonstration in our traditional Tuscan Limonaia kitchen with our chef.
8pm - Dinner in the dining room.

Day 3
After breakfast, you will leave for a private guided tour of Villa Torrigiani at Camigliano, a magnificent rococo Villa dating back to the 16th century and set in a beautiful park with a nymphaeum.
After the tour you will go to Tenuta di Valgiano, a magnificent wine estate in the hills of Lucca. You will have a wine tasting and lunch with the owners who are experienced wine makers.
Late afternoon cooking lesson followed by dinner at Villa Michaela.

Day 4
After breakfast, departure for Lucca train station for Florence with one of Villa Michaela’s team.
A Florence tour guide will meet you at the station and spend the day with you visiting the most important sites, lunch in a typical Florentine trattoria.
Dinner at Villa Michaela with a pizza menu.

Day 5
Early breakfast and departure for the famous Pistoia food market.
Lunch in Montecatini Alto – a cable car ride up to this idyllic village with incredible views.
Return to the Villa late afternoon “Hills of the North” cooking session, using the fresh ingredients purchased in the market. Dinner at the Villa.

Day 6
After breakfast, cooking lesson to prepare a traditional Tuscan lunch. Then, leave for Lucca for sightseeing & shopping.
At 7 p.m. attend an Opera recital in St. John's Church: an hour of all the most famous arias by Puccini and Verdi with a soprano and tenor.
Dinner at restaurant in Lucca.

Day 7
After breakfast, depart for a day in Cinque Terre taking the train along the coast.
Lunch in the beautiful village of Vernazza with stunning views of the sea. Return and, before dinner, attend a short opera recital in the Villa's beautiful chapel with a mezzo soprano.
Gala Dinner at Villa Michaela.

Day 8
After breakfast depart for Pisa or Florence airports or the train station in Lucca.