Fly to Italy, meet your tour manager and transfer to Riva del Garda and your newly refurbished 26 bedroomed hotel in the delightful old town of this stylish and elegant lakeside resort. Rest and relax after the journey and, depending on the time you arrive, enjoy a first dinner, either at the hotel or in one of a host of restaurants and trattorie throughout the town.

Spend the morning getting to know your surroundings. Riva, the most northerly of the Lake Garda’s resorts, is a stylish and elegant town that served as an important port and link between the Alpine north and Mediterranean south for centuries. In addition to the delightful restaurants, bars and cafes clustered around the harbour, the town boasts a fascinating civic museum inside a shore-side moated castle. After the chance for a light lunch overlooking the harbour, this afternoon you’ll board a coach for the short journey up to the small village of Arco. Here, in a traditional local restaurant the cooking demonstration is presided over by well-known local chef Marcello Franceschi, whose reputation is for combining the flavours of Trentino cooking into beautifully presented modern dishes. Enjoy a welcome drink, before donning your apron to cook alongside Chef Marcello, who will reveal the secrets behind regional speciality, Carne Salada, finely sliced beef that has been cured with herbs and spices. You’ll also join in the preparation of regional breads and pasta, as well as a signature dessert. Then, taste buds awakened, you'll sit down for a fine meal, accompanied with paired wines and finished with coffee. You’ll return, no doubt happily well fed, to Riva this evening.