News

Inferno, the sequel to author Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, opens in UK cinemas this week and features action scenes on the Italo high-speed train as it races through Italy.

Saga’s Great Italian Cities by Rail tour features first-class travel on the iconic red Italo train from the heart of Milan to Florence and Rome.

Like Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who plays the role of Professor Robert Langdon in the mystery thriller, guests travel up to 360 kilometres an hour across the Tuscan countryside in first-class compartments which have reclining leather seats, air-conditioning and wifi.

Saga’s 10-night Great Italian Cities by Rail tour starts with two nights at the Hotel D'Este (4Q) in Milan. The itinerary offers plenty of free time for exploring plus tours to the flamboyant Milan Cathedral which took six centuries to complete; the 19th century Galleria, a glass-domed shopping arcade; the Monumental Cemetery, an open-air 'museum' of artistic tombs and the Navigli canals which are lined with shops, bars and cafes.

The tour continues by the Italo high-speed train to Florence with a four-night stay in the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo (4Q). A panoramic walking tour of the main sights is included and there’s an optional 'foodie tour' to the covered Mercato Centrale which sells fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, as well as artisan shops with tempting freshly baked bread, buffalo mozzarella, coffee and chocolate.

A visit to the Florence’s Uffizi Gallery is included in the holiday price. It is Italy’s greatest art gallery and home to outstanding masterpieces by Botticelli, Caravaggio, Michelangelo and Titian.

The last leg of the Italo train journey is to Rome where guests stay in the Grand Hotel Palatino (4Q). Tours include strolling through the village-like Rione Monti quarter to see some of the less well-known but beautiful architectural treasures such as the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.

The next day offers an optional full-day’s walking tour of Rome with entrance to the Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine. For those who yearn for the countryside there’s also an opportunity to escape to the cool, wooded hills of Castel Gandolfo, a town that is dominated by a Papal Palace.

A half-day tour to discover more of Rome’s masterpieces rounds up the holiday; guests visit the newly renovated Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna, the palaces of Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain – where throwing a coin into the fountain ensures they return to the city!

For details call free on 0800 300 500 or visit travel.saga.co.uk/italy

-ENDS-

10 nights from £1,299, departing London Heathrow on January 25, March 22, April 19, May 10, June 7, July 5, August 23, September 6 and 13, October 4 and 25, 2017

Price includes return flights, 10 nights in hotels, 16 meals (10 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 5 dinners), porterage, tour manager, audio headsets on all guided tours, excursions (some optional with an additional charge), travel insurance and additional cancellation rights or a discount if passenger has own insurance.

• Check out the Inferno film trailer at http://danbrown.com/#films/inferno/