Barcelona to Rome on Silver Moon

After included VIP airport lounge access, board your flight and arrive in Barcelona. You've got a few hours to explore – walk among the medieval Barri Gotic area, marvel at the Art Nouveau facades and stroll along La Rambla, making time to tour Gaudi's famed Sagrada Familia. Then, take your included transfer to the port to board the ultra-luxury Silver Dawn. Check in to your sumptuous suite – with its own private veranda and butler – before perhaps settling in for a sundowner at the Panorama Lounge for wonderful sea views. You’ve then got the choice of eight dining venues – all offering open seating – and we'd highly recommend the S.A.L.T. programme to sample excellent local cuisine.

Stay: Silver Moon

During the Civil War, Valencia was the last seat of the Republican Loyalist government (1935–36), holding out against Franco’s National forces until the country fell to 40 years of dictatorship. Today it represents the essence of contemporary Spain—daring design and architecture along with experimental cuisine—but remains deeply conservative and proud of its traditions.The city has been fiercely contested ever since it was founded by the Greeks. El Cid captured Valencia from the Moors in 1094 and won his strangest victory here in 1099: he died in the battle, but his corpse was strapped into his saddle and so frightened the besieging Moors that it caused their complete defeat. Modern Valencia was best known for its frequent disastrous floods until the River Turia was diverted to the south in the late 1950s. Since then the city has been on a steady course of urban beautification. The lovely bridges that once spanned the Turia look equally graceful spanning a wandering municipal park, and the spectacularly futuristic Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences), most of it designed by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava, has at last created an exciting architectural link between this river town and the Mediterranean.

Stay: Silver Moon

Mallorca is a Spanish island of cuisine, culture, and sun-gorged beaches. Palma de Mallorca is the island's capital, a sand-coloured mirage of glorious buildings and living history. Conquered and liberated countless times over the years the city is your gateway to ceaseless Mediterranean beauty, buzzy markets and intense flavours. Cafes and bars wait close to the sweeping coastline, where you can enjoy strong espressos to kick start the day, or splashes of red Majorcan wines to round it off. The labyrinth of the old town is a cobbled haven, which bustles with dripping ice creams and sun-lashed squares.The splendid Royal Palace of La Almudaina fortress stands nearby, a left-behind Moorish footprint of square towers and Arabic archways that now serves as an official summer residence for the King of Spain.

Stay: Silver Moon

Menorca lives life at its own pace, offering endless pine-tree fringed beaches and an appealing, mellow approach. With atmospheric old towns, tiny fishing villages, and unspoiled beach coves, this is one of the group’s lesser-known and explored gems – and all the richer for it. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, there are wetlands and rolling sand dunes with diverse wildlife to explore - and 220 different birds soar and wade within. The island’s capital spills around the Med’s largest natural harbour, which sprawls out for three miles. Wander the whitewash town’s streets, heading for the hubbub of the fish market – to sample the best of the day’s freshly prepared haul. 

Stay: Silver Moon

France’s oldest city awaits today – Marseille. Here, faded streets frame the yacht-dotted port – filled with fishermen unloading fresh catches – dominated by the spectacular Notre-Dame de la Garde. It’s all best explored with a walking tour, or head to nearby charming Aix-en-Provence’s historic landmarks with its Old City, leafy boulevards and public squares lined with 17th-century mansions. It's also well worth visiting the local olive oil mills in the villages of Provence, or you could even head out on a tour and tasting in the famed Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine region. Why not sample La Dame tonight, Silversea’s signature French restaurant, to experience the epitome of sommelier-matched fine dining. 

Stay: Silver Moon

The glitz and glamour of St Tropez awaits you today, the French Riviera hotspot and holiday choice of the rich and famous. Explore with a stroll around the yacht-dotted harbour or head for a wine class and tasting in one of the nearby hilltop villages, walking among the medieval streets and tiny squares that lie in complete contrast to their St Tropez neighbour. For an extra-special excursion, you could even on a private helicopter ride over St Tropez for wonderfully panoramic views.

Stay: Silver Moon

Just a quick skip from Monaco and the last stop on the Cote de d’Azur before Italy, Menton isn’t the celebrity haunt like some of the flashier resorts of the coast, but it’s not exactly undiscovered either. It was already a fashionable winter retreat for the travelling nobility in the 19th century, even gaining a royal seal of approval from Queen Victoria. Inspired by the subtropical micro-climate, well heeled 19th century aristocrats planted lavish gardens now open to the public, bursting with rare, tropical plants from their travels and the largest collection of citrus trees in Europe, with over a hundred different varieties.  The charms of Menton did not escaped prominent artists and writers. Picasso, Duffy, Monet, Zola and Flaubert among others have all found inspiration here. Perhaps none so much as Jean Cocteau - artist and director. The admiration was mutual, there’s a fantastic museum dedicated to his work as well as visits possible to buildings he was given free rein to decorate.

Stay: Silver Moon

Anchor in to Livorno in Tuscany today where you’ve got a day to take advantage of one of Italy’s most beautiful regions. We'd highly recommend heading out of the city to immerse yourself in the exquisite beauty, art and architecture of Florence, medieval Lucca and Volterra or the famed monuments of Pisa. Of course, you can’t leave Italy without sampling the cuisine, and there’s everything from an Italian barbecue feast with wines on the Tuscan Hills to truffle hunting on offer.  In keeping with your surroundings, return each day to perhaps one of the Italian restaurants on board, either La Terrazza for authentic Italian recipes using fresh sustainable ingredients or Spaccanapoli for excellent pizzas, influenced by Naples' famed pizzerias. 

Stay: Silver Moon

Napoleon Bonaparte may have been forced into exile here in 1814, but nowadays this picturesque Tuscan island draws no end of visitors who come by their own free will. Offshore in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Elba is a mountainous mirage of glowing beaches, turquoise waters, and craggy coastline. The island capital’s sun-faded pink and yellow buildings stack up over the waterfront, offering sweeping views back to the mainland. The harbour's tiny wooden fishing boats are now dwarfed by the gleaming yachts that visit. Elba is the third biggest Italian island, and the protected Tuscan archipelago’s largest, with no fewer than 90 miles of gorgeous coastline rolling out for you to explore. Grown from the ruins of the Roman settlement of Fabricia, steep fortifications and a scenic natural harbour all add to Portoferraio's appeals.

Stay: Silver Moon

An energetic little town, where authentic Sardinian life plays out, Olbia welcomes you to the island’s attractive northeastern coastline. Explore a land where glorious turquoise oceans and white sands meet, and cork and olive trees grow wild. Corso Umberto is the paved, flower-decorated spine of Olbia - a buzzing pedestrianised street that runs from the waterfront and hums with restaurants and shops. The town’s atmospheric narrow streets eventually lead to the small squares of Piazza Regina Margherita and Piazza Matteotti - perfect for a shaded drink and a sit down in their clusters of animated cafes. The coastline around Olbia is some of Sardinia’s finest. Head to the Costa Smeralda, where some of the most beautiful beaches in the world sparkle. 

Stay: Silver Moon

After breakfast disembark in Rome, make your way to the airport with an included transfer for your flight back to the UK.  Alternatively, speak to one of our specialists about extending your stay in Rome, the Eternal City.