Gastronomic Lombardy - Food from the mountains, lakes and the plains of the Po

Fly at c. 10.30am from London Heathrow to Milan Linate (British Airways). Taste the local sparkling Franciacorta wine, made using a similar process to champagne, in an outstanding winery en route to the hotel. First of three nights in Brescia.

One of the most overlooked Italian city centres, Brescia has a fascinating historic core, and a rich trove of museums and churches – see the Averoldi Polyptych by Titian, and the very good picture collection at the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo. In the afternoon visit a farm on the shores of Lake Garda, to taste their award-winning olive oil. Dinner is at a 2-star Michelin restaurant on the outskirts of Brescia.

The birthplace of Monteverdi, Stradivarius and Guarini, Cremona has one of the finest squares in Italy, composed of the cathedral, Italy’s tallest medieval campanile, baptistery and Gothic civic buildings. Discover torrone, the city’s famous nougat, a Cremona speciality.

Leave Brescia to travel to an exceptional family-run trattoria near Bergamo. With its own herb garden, vegetables and fruit, this restaurant is beloved for the freshness of its flavours and fidelity to local food traditions. The Upper Town of Bergamo is among the most attractive old city centres in Italy. The Romanesque Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore forms part of the superb architectural complex of the Piazza del Duomo, and the adjacent Cappella Colleoni has frescoes by Tiepolo. Travel on to Bellagio for the first of three nights.

Spend the day on land and water, travelling exclusively by boat. Villa Carlotta on the western shore of Lake Como, built as a summer residence for a Milanese aristocrat, combines dramatic terracing, parterre and grottoes with an extensive landscape park and arboretum. The house contains notable collections from the Napoleonic period. Lunch is on the other side of the lake, in a family-run osteria.

Just north of the lake is a the Valtellina, a valley that opens to Lombardy’s alps. Some of Italy’s top red wines come from here, and there is a tasting with delicious local cheeses at one of the region’s best producers. This zone is famous for numerous local foods, among them pizzoccheri, a buckwheat pasta served with cheese, greens, potatoes and garlic – ideal paired with local red wine. The speaker leads a wine tasting in the evening, which sums up the extraordinary breadth and quality encountered on the tour.

Fly from Milan Linate, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 3.15pm.