Italy: Venice a la Carte: A Getaway

The rolling hills and plains adorned with Palladian structures reach from the Dolomite mountains to
Venice, a city comprised of more than a hundred islets. This Walking à la Carte tour provides perfect
access to the varied charms of the Veneto and its centerpiece of Venice. Accessible to all walkers, you start by exploring Venice’s labyrinthine passageways and move on to the fragrant hillsides of Asolo, while indulging in legendary accommodations and classic cuisine. Walking à la Carte tours include a world of options—additional cultural and regional opportunities—along with plenty of walking. The choice is always yours.
     The tour begins in Venice, the quintessential pedestrian city, and this itinerary takes full advantage by exploring its untrammeled corners and surrounding islands. In the Middle Ages, Venice became one of the world’s great maritime powers, and the evidence is ubiquitous in the grand palaces built by its leading families, churches, and monuments reflecting centuries of architectural styles from Veneto-Byzantine to Gothic and Renaissance. It has been celebrated in art, literature, and film over the centuries—from Shakespeare to Canaletto to the drawing rooms of Henry James’ novels, not to mention a timeless backdrop in innumerable films.
     Following the route of wealthy Venetian merchants and its aristocracy, you proceed to picturesque Asolo. This “town with a hundred horizons” was a summer retreat where exquisite Renaissance villas were constructed among the cypress-covered hillsides. This is the landscape where the architect Palladio was inspired and worked and is perfectly suited to walking. The tranquil beauty of this region is still linked to the land, and springtime paths are colored with flowering fruit trees, while the fall yields ample harvests of mushrooms, fresh fruits, and vegetables. The birthplace of grappa, a tasting at an authentic distillery demonstrates the delicacy of this Italian brandy. Meals reflect the diversity of the Veneto, the fertile countryside and nearby waters of the Mediterranean result in dishes unique to the region—whether simple or complex—homemade pasta delicately flavored with fresh seafood, risotto incorporating local radicchio and asparagus, or rich dessert finales. Accommodations are elegant retreats, historic and decorated with antiques, yet updated with every comfort.