What to Book for 2027: The Best Italy Tours in Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona and Ravenna

If Italy is on your list for 2027, the smartest thing you can do now is book the big experiences early, because timed tickets for the Colosseum, the Uffizi and the Verona Arena sell out months ahead, and once those are in place the rest of your trip falls into line around them.

Why It Pays to Book Your Italy Tours for 2027 Early

Most of Italy’s headline sights now run on timed entry and daily visitor limits, which means the best morning and evening slots at places like the Colosseum, the Accademia and the Verona Arena are often gone long before summer arrives. Our tours are also kept deliberately small and are led by licensed local guides, so there are only so many places available on each date.

Booking early gives you the pick of the cooler, quieter times of day, it means your tickets are reserved and waiting for you rather than something you have to chase on arrival, and it gives you the reassurance that your guide is confirmed and your days are planned before you even leave home.

The Best Italy Tours to Book for 2027

1. Rome: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

If you only secure one experience in Rome, make it this one. Our Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill guided tour includes skip-the-line tickets for all three sites, and over three hours your guide takes you inside the arena, past the Ludus Magnus gladiator school, through the temples and triumphal arches of the Forum and up onto the Palatine Hill, where the story of Rome first began.

Tickets are issued in your name, so remember to bring photo ID with you on the day. If you would like a few extra pointers before you go, our quick tips for enjoying the Colosseum are well worth a read.

2. Florence: David, Uffizi and Duomo Square

Florence packs more Renaissance masterpieces into a few streets than almost anywhere in the world, and our Best of Florence guided tour brings the highlights together in a single, beautifully paced morning or afternoon. Over three and a half hours, you will stand in front of Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery, walk through the historic center to admire the Cathedral, Baptistery and Giotto’s Bell Tower in Piazza del Duomo, and continue to Piazza della Signoria with a view of the Ponte Vecchio before finishing inside the Uffizi Gallery.

Pre-reserved entry to both the Accademia and the Uffizi is included, so you skip the long lines that build up at both galleries, and groups are capped at 12 people so you can always hear your guide and ask questions. Tours depart at 9:00 am and 2:30 pm every day except Monday.

3. Venice: Essentials Walking Tour With Gondola Ride

Venice is a city best understood on foot, and our Venice Essentials walking tour takes you through the lanes and squares that most visitors walk straight past. Starting near the Rialto Bridge, your guide leads you past Marco Polo’s house, through Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo and Campo Santa Maria Formosa and on to Piazza San Marco, where you will see St Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs from the outside with the stories that bring them to life.

To finish in true Venetian style, you can add a 30-minute gondola ride, shared with up to five guests from your group, gliding along the quiet canals that you simply cannot reach on foot. The tour runs every day at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, which makes it an easy one to build the rest of your day around.

4. Verona: Arena Tour With Tickets and Cable Car

The Verona Arena is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world, still in use 2,000 years after it was built and home to the famous summer opera festival. Our small group Verona Arena tour with tickets takes you inside with pre-reserved entry, then continues through Piazza Bra and Piazza delle Erbe before riding the cable car up Saint Peter Hill for the finest view over the city and the river Adige.

You can also add timed tickets to Juliet’s House if you would like to explore it at your own pace afterwards. The tour runs from Tuesday to Sunday, as the Arena is closed on Mondays, and for the full story of the city our guide to Verona’s history and hidden gems is the perfect companion.

5. The Dolomites: Bolzano Day Trip From Verona

Verona is one of the best bases in northern Italy for a day in the mountains, and our private Bolzano and the Dolomites day trip is the easiest way to experience them. The day begins with a scenic train journey through the Adige Valley to Bolzano, where a panoramic cable car climbs to the Renon plateau and a historic narrow-gauge railway carries you on to Collalbo, before forest trails lead you to the Earth Pyramids, the largest in Europe.

Along the way there is time to stop at a mountain café for Tyrolean pastries and to wander Bolzano’s old town, where Italian and Austrian cultures meet in a way you will not find anywhere else in the country. Every transfer is arranged for you, so you can simply enjoy the scenery while we take care of the logistics.

6. Ravenna: Highlights and Mosaics With Tickets

Ravenna is one of Italy’s best kept secrets, a small and elegant city that holds some of the most spectacular early Christian and Byzantine mosaics in the world. Our Ravenna highlights and mosaics tour visits the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and the Basilica of San Vitale, where the glittering portraits of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora are still as vivid as the day they were made, as well as Dante’s Tomb and the flooded crypt of San Francesco.

A combined admission ticket is included, groups are limited to just eight people, and the tour can also be booked privately if you would prefer the day to yourselves. It departs at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm every day except Sunday, and afterwards you are free to explore the Neonian Baptistery and the city center at your own pace.

How to Combine These Tours in One Italy Trip

A trip that brings these six experiences together follows a natural route from south to north. Spending three or four days in Rome gives you time for the Colosseum and the city’s neighborhoods, before a high-speed train takes you to Florence for two or three days of art, food and the Renaissance. From there, Ravenna works beautifully as a day trip on the way to Venice, and Verona makes the perfect final stop, with the Arena in the city and the Dolomites just a train ride away.

Booking your tours together means your guides, tickets and timings are arranged as one plan, so you can move between cities without any of the admin. If you are also drawn to wine country, our guide to private wine tours in Italy shows how easily Valpolicella, Chianti or the Prosecco Hills can be added along the way.

Plan Your 2027 Italy Trip

The best of Italy books up early, so now is the perfect time to start planning. Browse our tours, tell us where you would like to go and how you like to travel, and our local experts will shape an Italy trip that feels entirely your own.