Italy & France Grand Tour Honeymoon

The Hotel de Russie sits between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, as central as Rome gets without the noise.

Arrive in the afternoon on a private transfer from Fiumicino. The first evening belongs to Le Jardin di Russie: dinner in that garden, cacio e pepe ravioli, a good Barolo. Ease in slowly.

Days 2-3: An early-access tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum before the crowds arrive is worth every pre-dawn alarm. The Forum reads differently at 7 am, quieter, stranger, more real.

Spend the afternoon loose around Campo de’ Fiori and the Pantheon. Book La Pergola for one evening before you travel: three Michelin stars, panoramic city views from the Rome Cavalieri, and one of the great tasting menus in Italy. Reserve three to four months ahead.

The third day is for the Vatican. Private after-hours access is available through specialist operators and changes the experience entirely.

Private car to Naples Capodichino (around 90 minutes), then fly to Nice. Hotel du Cap sends a car to meet you. The drive along the Antibes headland, through pine forest to the front entrance, is the first signal that this place operates differently.

Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc accepts no credit cards on property, a quirk worth briefing clients on before they arrive. There are no room key cards either – they favour actual keys. The cliffside pool, blasted from the rock in 1914, sits above the Mediterranean at the end of a long pine-shaded walk from the main house.

Day 8: Morning in the Antibes covered market: flowers, cheese, olives, good bread. Afternoon by private yacht to Monaco for lunch, back to the hotel by evening. Dinner at the Eden-Roc restaurant overlooking the sea. Order the catch of the day.