TRAVELANDLEISURE.COM 83
Book an exclusive tour of
the Saône River in Lyon,
France, with the help of an
A-List member.
Petros G. Zissimos
The managing director at
Hellenic Holidays, Zissimos
planned more than 200
trips to Greece last year.
He has developed food-
focused itineraries to
unsung destinations like
Naxos and the Cretan city of
Chania. Travelers can begin
with a visit to a farmers’
market, then learn how
to cook with a Greek
yiayia, or grandmother.
Additional specialty: Turkey;
minimum daily spend:
$300 per person; 212-944-
8288; pzissimos@hellenic
holidays.com.
ITALY
Matteo Della Grazia and
Daniela Mencarelli
This husband-and-wife team
have spent their lives
exploring their native Italy.
Recently, they started offering
trips to Naples and the island
of Ischia inspired by the
novels of Elena Ferrante, and
adding the charming city of
Lecce, nicknamed the
Florence of southern Italy,
onto Puglia itineraries.
Minimum daily spend: $500;
347-441-3907; matteo@
discover your italy.com.
Joyce Falcone
Falcone founded her
company, the Italian
Concierge, in 1999. She
customizes itineraries with
stops like a visit to the silk-
weaving mills of Florence or a
private early-morning tour of
the Colosseum in Rome. All of
her trips feature a culinary
component, such as a
cooking class in Chianti.
Minimum daily spend: $900;
888-674-3311; info@italian
concierge.com.
Andrea Grisdale
Based in Lake Como, Grisdale
gives you the chance to live
like a local. Her itineraries are
filled with select villas and
singular activities, such as a
sommelier-led wine tasting
inside a Venetian palace or a
private helicopter tour along
the Lido. (A former tour guide,
Grisdale also knows the tricks
to beating the lines in Rome.)
Minimum daily spend: $1,100;
39-031-952-059; andrea@
icbellagio.com.
Gary Portuesi
With more than two decades
of travel planning under his
belt, Portuesi, who owns a
home in Sicily, can organize
specialized culinary-focused
experiences throughout Italy.
He can put together a
mountain-bike tour of the
food and wine trails around
Lake Garda, a visit to a caviar
farm in Calvisano, and an
excursion to Matera’s most
popular pizzeria, where you
can choose the flour for your
dough. Additional specialty:
multigenerational travel;
minimum daily spend: $1,000;
917-868-4712; garyp@
authentic italy.com.
How We Create the A-List
Every year, Travel + Leisure editors evaluate hundreds
of luxury-travel advisors to determine which ones will
best serve our readers. After receiving input from our
Travel Advisory Board (select owners and operators
who consult with us on industry and consumer trends;
see page 96) and other experts, we vet each and
every one. What do we look for? It starts with unique
itineraries, exclusive access, and positive client
testimonials. We also seek professionals who travel
often (at least once a year) to the destinations they
specialize in and who never fail to deliver more than
their clients expect. Last year we began charging the
advisors we invited to join the A-List an annual
membership fee. We introduced the fee not in
exchange for inclusion on the list, but so we could
offer of a range of new benefits designed to connect
A-Listers to our readers, including a profile in a
searchable database at tandl.me/advisorsearch.
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