Alps to Rome — Nine Nights from the Swiss Mountains to the Italian Cities

You land at Zurich and walk across to the railway station directly beneath the airport, then take the train to your base in central Switzerland. The rest of the day is free — the lakeside towns nearby are easy to walk and the light in the late afternoon is the best of the day.

A full-day excursion to Mount Titlis. The ascent runs by cable car in stages, the final one rotating slowly so the view turns around you. The summit sits on a glacier, with an ice cave and a cliff walk, and there is snow underfoot whatever the month.

A full-day excursion to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. The cog railway climbs inside the mountain itself for the last stretch, and the station opens onto the Aletsch glacier — the longest in the Alps — with an ice palace cut into it.

No touring is scheduled today. The lakes and small towns around your base are easy to reach independently and the day is yours. Two further excursions can be arranged locally if you want one — a high-altitude glacier outing, or a Bollywood-locations tour. Neither is included.

You make your own way to the station for the train south across the Alps to Venice, and your own way from Venice station to your hotel. A gondola ride is included. The crossing out of Switzerland into Italy is one of the better rail journeys in Europe and is worth staying awake for.

A half-day tour by motorboat out to the three best known islands of the Venetian lagoon — glassblowing on Murano, lace and painted houses on Burano, and the Byzantine churches of Torcello including Santa Fosca. The rest of the day is free in Venice.

You make your own way to the station for the train to Florence and your own way to the hotel on arrival. A road transfer then takes you from Florence to Pisa and back for the Leaning Tower, which stands with the cathedral and baptistery on the walled green of the Campo dei Miracoli.

You make your own way to the station for the train south to Rome, and your own way from Rome station to your hotel. Florence is worth an early walk before you leave — it is small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes and quietest first thing.

A hop-on hop-off day in Rome. The ancient centre, the Vatican side of the river and the squares and fountains of the historic core are spread widely enough that a route you can join and leave at will is the sensible way to cover them.

Breakfast at the hotel and free time until check out, depending on your flight, then your onward journey. Allow the check-in time your airline requires and plan your run to the airport — a transfer is not included on this departure.