Art And Culture in Italy

Italy's cultural circuit rests on two pillars: the Vatican, and what is left of Rome and Pompeii. A skip-the-line tour of the Vatican Museums takes three hours at 95 dollars, a papal audience two and a half hours at 40, and a combined day covering the Vatican and the Colosseum four and a half hours at 369.

The second layer is the museum cities. In Venice the route runs through the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica (two and a quarter hours, 128 dollars); in Florence, through the Pitti Palace with the Palatine Gallery and the Medici story (about two hours, 76). Pompeii and Herculaneum are seen together on a day out of Sorrento: eight hours, 183 dollars. In Pisa a two-hour city walk costs 31 dollars — the cheapest entry in the category.

The third layer is less obvious and the more interesting for it: Palermo offers an anti-mafia bike tour at 50 dollars and a trip to Corleone unpacking what lies behind that name beyond the films — three hours each. On Murano there are lampwork glass workshops (two hours, 79 dollars). GetExperience lists 106 cultural programmes in Italy, from 31 to 438 dollars. Pages state the language of the guide and what the price covers.