Featured holiday Food and wine holiday in Franciacorta Italy

5 nights/6 days
This is a five-night food and wine holiday based at the Hotel l’Albereta, a 5-star hotel surrounded by Franciacorta vineyards within sight of Lake Iseo. Included is a 4-course dinner with wine, a tasting session of Franciacorta wines, and a 90-minute cookery lesson. There is time to explore the region on your own with a hire-car too.
Included in your Expressions holiday
  • Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
  • Scheduled flights with British Airways London to Milan return, economy
  • Hire of a Group B car for the duration of your stay
  • Dinner with wine, wine-tasting and one 90-minute cookery lesson
  • Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

Luxury tailormade food and wine holiday in Franciacorta

Highlights

One 4-course seasonal dinner with wine, water and coffee included • 45 minute tasting session of 3 Franciacorta sparkling wines (Bellavista Satén, Pas Operé, Almaterra) at the hotel, served with finger food • Tasting session of 3 Curtefranca still wines at the Bellavista winery (Convento della Santissima Annunciata, Uccellanda, Almaterra). The winery is located only 1.5km from Hotel L’Albereta and is easily accessible on foot • Ninety minute cookery lesson where guests learn to cook two Italian dishes (Pasta Cacio e Pepe and Pizzaiola Fassona Beef fillet) followed by lunch of dishes they have created, dessert, water, bottle of wine and coffee

Special offers for this holiday>

I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.
Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 5 nights.

From about

£2,480

Holiday Code FHIT09

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Luxury tailormade food and wine holiday in Franciacorta

Special offers for this holiday>

I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.
Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 5 nights.

From about

£2,480

Holiday Code FHIT09

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include ● Scheduled flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa, economy
● Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
● 5 nights' bed and breakfast in a Classic double room at the Hotel L’Albereta, near Erbusco
● One 4-course seasonal dinner with wine, water and coffee included
● 45 minute tasting session of 3 Franciacorta sparkling wines (Bellavista Satén, Pas Operé, Almaterra) at the hotel, served with finger food.
● Tasting session of 3 Curtefranca still wines at the Bellavista winery (Convento della Santissima Annunciata, Uccellanda, Almaterra) The winery is located only 1.5km from Hotel L’Albereta, and is easily accessible by car or on foot.
● Ninety minute cookery lesson where guests learn to cook two Italian dishes (Pasta Cacio e Pepe and Pizzaiola Fassona Beef fillet) followed by lunch of dishes they have created, dessert, water, bottle of wine and coffee.
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.
Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 5 nights.

From about

£2,480

Holiday Code FHIT09

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include • Scheduled flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa, economy
• Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
• 5 nights' bed and breakfast in a Classic double room at the Hotel L’Albereta, near Erbusco
• One 4-course seasonal dinner with wine, water and coffee included
• 45 minute tasting session of 3 Franciacorta sparkling wines (Bellavista Satén, Pas Operé, Almaterra) at the hotel, served with finger food.
• Tasting session of 3 Curtefranca still wines at the Bellavista winery (Convento della Santissima Annunciata, Uccellanda, Almaterra) The winery is located only 1.5km from Hotel L’Albereta, and is easily accessible by car or on foot.
• Ninety minute cookery lesson where guests learn to cook two Italian dishes (Pasta Cacio e Pepe and Pizzaiola Fassona Beef fillet) followed by lunch of dishes they have created, dessert, water, bottle of wine and coffee.
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are several British Airways flights to Milan Malpensa from London Heathrow every day. From Milan Malpensa, you collect a hire-car and the driving time to Erbusco is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Luxury tailormade food and wine holiday in Franciacorta

Expressions Holidays includes this hotel in this holiday.
Hotels included in this tour

Special offers

Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.

I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.
Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 5 nights.

From about

£2,480

Holiday Code FHIT09

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include • Scheduled flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa, economy
• Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
• 5 nights' bed and breakfast in a Classic double room at the Hotel L’Albereta, near Erbusco
• One 4-course seasonal dinner with wine, water and coffee included
• 45 minute tasting session of 3 Franciacorta sparkling wines (Bellavista Satén, Pas Operé, Almaterra) at the hotel, served with finger food.
• Tasting session of 3 Curtefranca still wines at the Bellavista winery (Convento della Santissima Annunciata, Uccellanda, Almaterra) The winery is located only 1.5km from Hotel L’Albereta, and is easily accessible by car or on foot.
• Ninety minute cookery lesson where guests learn to cook two Italian dishes (Pasta Cacio e Pepe and Pizzaiola Fassona Beef fillet) followed by lunch of dishes they have created, dessert, water, bottle of wine and coffee.
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are several British Airways flights to Milan Malpensa from London Heathrow every day. From Milan Malpensa, you collect a hire-car and the driving time to Erbusco is about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Luxury tailormade food and wine holiday in Franciacorta

Highlights of the Italian Lakes

Historic villas are to be found on every lake from the Grotte di Catullo Roman villa at Sirmione on Lake Garda to Villa Melzi and Villa Olmo on Lake Como and the Palazzo Estense in Varese. Most of these villas also have extraordinarily beautiful gardens (which can be visited as part of an Expressions Garden Tour holiday) such as the Villa Carlotta on Lake Como, the Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore and Villa Taranto at Punta della Castagnola on Lake Maggiore. Monte Mottarone above Stresa on Lake Maggiore and Monte Baldo above Lake Garda can both be reached by cable car and afford spectacular views. At Gargnano on Lake Garda you can see the stone pavilions where lemons were traditionally cultivated. Within the region there are national parks such as the Stelvio National Park north of Orta and the Parco Nazionale della Val Grande above Verbania on Lake Maggiore.

Cultural highlights of the Italian Lakes

Much of the artistic and architectural cultural wealth in the region is concentrated in the great cities such as Milan and Verona but also in the less well-known but culturally-rich centres of Bergamo, Brescia, Pavia, Mantova and Vicenza (not directly on the Lakes but within reach for a day`s excursion). Highlights include the frescoes by Masolino at Castiglione Olona, the Rocca (castle) at Angera, the Flemish tapestries on the Isola Bella Lake Maggiore, the marble cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore at Como and the works of art in the Galleria dell`Accademia Tadini at Lovere on Lake Iseo. Milan has La Scala, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, the Brera Gallery (containing Raphael`s `Marriage of the Virgin` and the Montefeltro altarpiece by Piero della Francesca) and its Gothic cathedral. Verona has its annual opera festival from June until the end of August, the Romanesque church of San Zeno, the Renaissance Loggia del Consiglio and the Roman Arena.

Festivals in the Italian Lakes

The Verona Opera Festival takes place in the Roman Arena every year with performances running from June until the end of August. Verona also celebrates Carnival every year culminating on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday. Como holds a flea market, the Fiera di Pasqua, over the Easter weekend. Music festivals take place in Bergamo throughout the year. The Mille Miglia veteran car race starts and ends in Brescia (via Ferrara to Rome in May each year).

Gastronomy in the Italian Lakes

The cuisine of northern Italy tends to contain more meat and butter than further south and rice and polenta compete with pasta. Saffron is used extensively as in Risotto alla Milanese. Bresaola is cured raw beef served as an antipasta (now often with rocket and parmesan). Manzo al Barolo (beef in Barolo wine), Costolette alla Milanese (veal cutlets in breadcrumbs) and Ossobucco (veal in wine and tomatoes) are all popular dishes. Panettone cake and Zabaglione are two regional desserts. This region produces some of Italy's most famous cheeses such as Gorgonzola, Bel Paese, Fontina and Taleggio as well as some of Italy's most exportable wines such as Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella. Less well known but interesting wines are produced in the Valtellina in the north of Lombardy and in Franciacorta near Lake Iseo.

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