Picturesque Panoramas: Barcelona To Rome

Arrive in Barcelona and settle in with a private transfer straight from the airport to your hotel, where two nights of 5-star accommodation set an unhurried tone before the cruise begins.

A second Barcelona day before embarkation tomorrow. The Picasso Museum on Carrer Montcada, the Gothic Quarter’s medieval lanes and the Born neighbourhood’s independent restaurants give three completely different versions of the city within easy walking distance of each other. The Sagrada Familia is best in the afternoon light. Park Guell on the hill above the city gives the finest elevated view of Barcelona and the Mediterranean beyond.

A private transfer carries you from hotel to port. Seven Seas Mariner departs Barcelona at 5:00 PM.

Palamos, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. A full day ashore at this Costa Brava fishing village, largely bypassed by mass tourism and all the more genuine for it. The covered market and the prawn fleet in the harbour are the town’s defining character. The coves north and south of the port are among the finest swimming spots on the Spanish coast.

A day at sea cruising the Mediterranean, making full use of the ship’s suite life as it makes way toward the French Riviera.

A tendered call at glamorous Saint-Tropez, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a full day to explore its sun-bleached promenades and harbourside cafes.

A tendered call at Monte Carlo, 8:00 AM to 11:59 PM, a full day and evening in the principality. The extended stay is the scheduling decision that distinguishes this itinerary. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, designed by Charles Garnier who also built the Paris Opera, opens in the afternoon. The harbour, filled with superyachts, is best at dusk when the light catches the water and the hillside villas above. The evening is yours.

A tendered arrival at the pastel-hued fishing village of Portofino, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a full day to wander its picturesque harbour.

Tuscany (Livorno), 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, an early arrival and late departure that allow a long day to explore Tuscany. Florence is 90 minutes by road and worth the full day: the Uffizi, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio give the city its famous outline, but the Accademia with Michelangelo’s David and the Oltrarno neighbourhood across the river give it its depth. Pisa is 20 minutes from the port for those who want the tower.

A full day ashore in Ajaccio, Corsica’s Napoleonic capital, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

A tendered call at Bastia, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, giving a further full day to discover Corsica’s northern port town.

A further day at sea cruising the Mediterranean as the ship tracks toward Sardinia.

A full day ashore at Golfo Aranci, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, set against Sardinia’s pristine pink granite coastline.

Arrive Rome (Civitavecchia) at 7:00 AM, marking the end of the cruise. A private transfer carries you from port to your Rome hotel for two nights of 5-star accommodation.

Two nights in Rome at a 5-star hotel give the city the time it deserves. The Borghese Gallery, which admits only 360 visitors at a time and requires advance booking, holds the finest collection of Bernini sculpture in the world and is the single most rewarding cultural visit in Rome. The Pantheon, the Campo de’ Fiori morning market and the Trastevere neighbourhood’s evening restaurants give three completely different registers of the city in a single day.

A final Roman morning before the private transfer to the airport. Fifteen nights have covered Barcelona’s Modernista streets, the Costa Brava, Saint-Tropez, Monte Carlo at midnight, Portofino, Florence from Livorno, the Napoleonic capital of Ajaccio, Corsica’s northern coast at Bastia, Sardinia’s pink granite shore and four days in Rome. If time allows before the transfer, the Caffe Sant’Eustachio near the Pantheon serves what many consider the finest espresso in Rome. A fitting close.