Recipes & Railways: Southern Italian Cruise Extension

Day 1: An Evening Aperitivo in Trastevere

Rome has a way of drawing you in before you have quite found your bearings, and there is no more fitting introduction than an evening in Trastevere. In the company of a local expert, the enduring Italian ritual of aperitivo comes to life through a curated selection of classic drinks, among them the iconic Martini and the ever-popular Spritz, each paired with Roman finger foods that speak of neighbourhood tradition and easy conviviality. More than a tasting, it is a moment of pause at the golden hour, a window into the rhythms of local life where heritage and taste converge at twilight.

Day 2: A Morning in the Kitchen and an Introduction to Cucina Romana

The soul of Rome is perhaps best understood not in its monuments but in its pasta. This morning, step into a private kitchen where the city's most legendary dishes, Carbonara, Amatriciana, Cacio e Pepe and Gricia, are revealed in their full simplicity and depth. Under the guidance of a skilled chef, dough is shaped by hand, flavours are layered with care and the alchemy of pecorino, cured meats and eggs is coaxed into something quietly extraordinary. The experience culminates at the table, where your own pasta is savoured over a long and unhurried lunch, a meal that tastes, above all else, of Rome.

Day 3: Street Food and the Living Heart of Spaccanapoli

Bid farewell to Rome as you board your Business Class Frecciarossa high-speed train and travel south towards Naples, a city that operates entirely on its own magnificent terms. Your introduction is sensory and immediate, a street food journey through the neighbourhood that captures the very soul of the city in a single afternoon, textures and aromas building into a portrait of a place that has never needed to perform for anyone. A guided walk then carries you deeper into Naples' glorious history, past medieval castles and monumental squares, before arriving at Spaccanapoli, the great artery of the UNESCO-listed historic centre where voices, colours and centuries of daily life intertwine in one irresistible, unbroken rhythm. The evening finds you in Sorrento, settled above the bay at the Bellevue Syrene as the lights of the Gulf of Naples flicker on below.

Day 4: A Morning on the Crater and Lunch Among the Vines

There are few landscapes on earth quite as charged as the one that surrounds Mount Vesuvius. This morning, a hiking guide leads you up through the Vesuvius National Park along scenic mountain trails, the raw power of the volcano revealing itself step by step until you stand at the crater's rim, the entire Gulf of Naples spread out below in breathtaking panorama. The afternoon offers a quieter pleasure, a leisurely lunch at a charming winery nestled at the volcano's base, where the volcanic soils and shifting microclimates that shape this remarkable terroir are explained over a carefully paired flight of Campania's most expressive wines. It is a day of contrasts: fire and stillness, altitude and ease, nature and the very particular civilisation that has always chosen to live beside it.

Day 5: A Morning Among the Lemon Trees

Some mornings ask nothing of you but to slow down and pay attention. A visit to a traditional lemon farm above Sorrento opens a window onto one of the Amalfi Coast's most enduring traditions, guided by a local producer who knows these trees and this land with an intimacy that only generations can bring. From fragrant peel to final infusion, the time-honoured craft behind the region's celebrated limoncello is revealed at an unhurried pace, the scent of citrus threading through every moment. A relaxed lunch of simple, locally inspired dishes brings the morning to a natural close, surrounded by the particular stillness that only a place this beautiful, and this unhurried, can offer.