Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, in collaboration with Stendhal Tours, is offering a five-night luxury garden tour in Rome. The “Gardens of Rome” experience includes visits to the Borghese, Vatican and Tivoli gardens as well as some of the city’s private homes with floral displays. Guests will enjoy private tours led by the boutique Italian travel company’s guides, join owners of private villas for a one-on-one introduction, and explore gardens.
Guests are welcomed to Rome with a private transfer from the airport to Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese. After a few hours of relaxation, the experience begins with an exploration of the neighboring Villa Borghese gardens. Originally a vineyard, the gardens were developed in the early 17th century by the Borghese family, who chose a design in the English landscape garden style, an innovative move for Italy at the time. The layout of the gardens today retains the same style, offering a blend of nature and art with wide-open spaces and tree-lined paths. The evening concludes with a dining experience at Settimo, the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.
On Day 2, an early morning private car takes guests to meet their guide at the Vatican Gardens. This extensive ensemble of gardens and green space covers more than half of the Vatican City and has been a place of quiet and meditation for the popes since 1279 when Pope Nicholas III moved his residence back to the Vatican from the Lateran Palace. Next, it’s on to Palazzo Colonna, one of the oldest and largest private palaces in Rome. The gardens are designed in the Baroque style, with manicured lawns, ornamental fountains, marble statues and geometrically arranged flower beds. Afterward, a private transfer escorts guests back to Sofitel Rome for an evening at leisure.
Day 3’s excursion to the Landriana and Ninfa gardens reveals the beauty of Lazio. Stendhal Tours’ guides illuminate the history and botanical significance of Landriana Garden, a romantic site along the Latium coast. After lunch at La Landriana, guests head to the gardens and ruins of Ninfa. Due to the unusual climate on the coast, Ninfa has exotic plants such as avocado and banana trees.
This next day invites guests to the medieval Castello Ruspoli, known for its Renaissance gardens. A lunch hosted by the castle’s owners offers an immersive cultural experience. Next up is the Centro Botanico Moutan, home to a collection of Chinese peonies. The center serves as a resource for both professionals in the field of botany and the general public who want to see these flowers in bloom.
Cypress and olive trees create a serene landscape at Palazzo Parisi, a medieval fortified house that features magnificent gardens overseen by landscape designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd. On Day 5, guests take in the views across the Sabine Hills as they enjoy their tour and enjoy lunch on-site. The journey continues to Villa d’Este in Tivoli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The villa is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, and the garden features fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music created by hydraulic organs within some fountains, making it a precursor of the kind of baroque elaboration of gardens that would become popular in the following centuries across Europe.
On Day 6, Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese offers guests a transfer to the airport.
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