Oberammergau Passion Play and Italy – Papal Rome, Assisi and Verona Tour Package

Day 1

Arrival Rome

On arrival in Rome you will be met and taken to your waiting transport for the transfer to your 4* hotel in central Rome for the next 4 nights.  Dinner is included this evening either at the hotel or a nearby restaurant (within walking distance).

Day 2

Day 3

Rome ‘The Eternal City’ and the Vatican

After breakfast, board the coach for a morning visit and tour of the Vatican Museums (including audio headsets).  The museums are one of the most important historical sites in the world housing one of the world’s greatest art collections, amazing architecture and religious history.  The walls of the Sistine Chapel are adorned by famous artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli and Perugino amongst others.  (Note:  On Wednesdays there is the option to purchase tickets for the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square – subject to confirmation and availability).

After the tour and free time for lunch we will enjoy a short introductory walking tour of the historic centre taking in the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (exterior only), Trevi Fountain and other famous highlights.

Later, we will visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (including audio headsets).  This is Rome’s most awe-inspiring monument overlooked by the Palatine Hill, where supposedly Rome was founded.

Return to the hotel for dinner (either at hotel or nearby restaurant).

Day 4

Roman Catacombs

This morning we will take a half-day tour by coach to the Ancient Roman Via Appia Antica located just outside the Aurelian Walls and enjoy a guided visit of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus or St. Sebastian (to be confirmed).

The catacombs are ancient underground cemeteries used by the Christian and Jewish communities as burial places and previously places of refuge and where celebration of the Eucharist took place.  They are all located outside the city walls.

After the tour, the rest of the day is at leisure to explore the city further – again, we can assist with excursions, tours and suggestions.

Return to the hotel for a final dinner either at the hotel or a nearby restaurant.

Day 5

Rome to Assisi

After breakfast and check-out of the hotel we will board our coach for our journey northwards to the famous city of Assisi.  We should arrive late morning, check-in at our 4* hotel and get some lunch (not included) before the afternoon tour.

Our guide will meet us at the hotel for the walk to the Basilica of St. Francis.  This is Umbria’s single greatest glory with one of the most overwhelming collections of art, outside a gallery, anywhere in the world.  The basilica is split into two parts – the Upper Church and the Lower.  See Gioti’s dazzling frescoes on the life of St. Francis, the brown-robed monks and the crypt where St. Francis is buried.  After the visit, we will continue the tour with a stop at the Chiesa Nuova, built on the site of the stable where St. Francis was reputedly born, make a brief visit to the Roman Forum which lies under building in the main square and then the Temple of Minerva and the church that occupies its interior.  Finally we will visit the Church of St. Clare to see St. Francis’s tunic and a 13th century painted crucifix.

Dinner is included at the hotel or a local nearby restaurant.

Day 6

Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli

After breakfast, our guide will lead us to the Rocca, a medieval fortress which overlooks the town.  A stop will be made at the Duomo which is dedicated to San Ruffino, where both St. Francis and St. Clare were baptised and onto the Convent of San Damiano where St. Clare settled with the sisters of her order.  From here, we will board the coach to the Hermitage where St. Francis retired with his fellow friars.

After time for lunch (not included) in Santa Maria degli Angeli, a visit will be made of the basilica of the same name where a little church ‘the Porziuncola’ is located and which is a most sacred place for the Franciscans.  It was here that a young Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and renounced the world in order to live in poverty and thus started the Franciscan movement.

Return to our hotel for dinner (either at the hotel or nearby restaurant).

Day 7

Assisi to Verona (via La Verna)

After breakfast and check-out, board the coach and travel to the Franciscan Sanctuary of La Verna in Tuscany.  This is where St. Francis received the stigmata and is a place of intense spirituality and natural beauty.  We will have a guided tour by one of the Franciscan monks and enjoy lunch in the Pilgrim’s Refectory.

The journey will continue to our final overnight stop in Italy via Bologna, Modena and Mantua to Verona.  After check-in at our 4* hotel, dinner is included either at the hotel or nearby restaurant.

Day 8

Verona Sightseeing / Travel to Oberammergau

After breakfast, we will meet up with a local guide for a 2 hour walking tour of Verona, strolling along the medieval lanes, seeing many Roman ruins, ‘Juliet’s Balcony’ and, of course, the Verona Arena, Italy’s largest opera theatre seating over 15,000 spectators.

After the tour, we will continue north by coach, passing Trento and Bolzano in the Dolomite Alps, over the Brenner Pass into Austria, skirting Innsbruck and over the border into Germany, arriving at our hotel in Oberammergau in time for dinner which is included. (Note: a stop will be made en-route for lunch – not included in cost).

Day 9

Oberammergau Passion Play Day

After breakfast, we will have a full day in Oberammergau. In the morning there will be the option to visit the Passion Play theatre for an introduction talk by one of the cast members to learn about the production of the Passion Play.  After this, there will be free time to explore this picturesque village with the beautifully painted houses, shops and buildings, as well as the Rococo church and many wood-carving shops.

Lunch will be included in one of the local restaurants before we take our seats for the first half of the Passion Play performance which is followed by a 3-hour interval during which time we will enjoy a 3-course dinner with drinks before the second half commences.

At the end of the play, which is around 10.00pm, we return to the hotel.

Day 10