Press Room

Martin Randall Travel launches tours to India

released on 21/12/11

Britain's leading cultural tour operator is beginning a series of new tours to India in October 2012.

English Choral Music at Oxford

released on 8/12/11

Martin Randall Travel's latest pioneering music festival will be in Oxford in from 24–28 September 2012.

The principle behind these is matching classical music with historic venues.  Past successes include music festivals in Venice, Rome, Naples, St Petersburg, the Bach Journey and an Austro-Hungarian festival on the Danube.

Appreciate art in Italy, The Times

published on 17/09/11

Italy's best-known art treasures tend to be in the big cities, attracting large crowd, so it can be pleasurable to discover the lesser-known artworks dotted around the countryside. The hilltop towns of Umbria, Tuscany and Le Marche - known as the centri minori - are the setting for an in-depth tour of paintings and frescoes,led by Antonia Whitley, a lecturer at Kings College, London. She will talk you through Giotto's cycle at Assisi, Piero della Francesca at Arezzo and Raphael at the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino.

Politicians and Musicians, with Martin Randall Travel

released on 01/09/11

The Vienna Piano Trio begin on 31 October-2 November with a programme by the great Central European masters, Hadyn, Beethoven and Dvořák, but which also includes the British première of a little known contemporary Austrian composer, Paul Engel. This is a chance to hear and see the Wigmore Hall's 2012 Ensemble in Residence in one of the most intimate settings possible.

Short breaks for Autumn and Spring

released on 24/08/2011

As the nights begin to draw in and memories of summer holidays begin to fade, a cultural tour with Martin Randall Travel is an excellent way to revive the senses.   The UK's leading cultural tour operator has a wide variety of short breaks for all tastes, including opera breaks, European cities, tours in the English countryside and literary themed breaks.

Small Group Tours in Autumn 2010

released on 20/04/2010

Places are still available on a number of our autumn tours taking place this autumn. Some are new tours taking place for the first time this autumn, others are longer-established in the roster of Martin Randall Travel tours. However, what all have in common are an inspiring, companionable lecturer, a meticulously planned and innovative itinerary, award-winning customer care and great value for money.

Exploring Middle Egypt, 19–28 October 2011

released on 01/07/11

This 10-day tour is an alternative take on visiting some of Egypt's archaelogical wonders.   We journey into the heart of the country, exploring the lesser-known Fayoum, Minya and Tell al-Amarna and include some off-beat journeys in 4x4 Landcruisers with a team of desert specialists to prehistoric and more contemporary sites. 

Two Masters of Modern British Sculpture

released on 08/07/11

A new tour from Martin Randall Travel is being launched to coincide with the major Moore exhibition at Hatfield House and the opening of the Barbara Hepworth gallery in Wakefield.

The Venice Music Festival (13–18 March)

released on 05/10/2010

Our first all-inclusive Music Festival in 2011 will be A Festival of Music in Venice (13–18 March 2011). It features the finest interpreters of music from the golden age of Venetian music (Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Vivaldi) performing in some of the most glorious interior spaces in Europe, all within the most beautiful city on Earth.

New in 2011: The Bergen Music Festival

released on 12/01/2011

Martin Randall Travel is extending its programme of small-group tours this summer to include the internationally renowned Bergen Music Festival (25¬–31 May 2011). The tour includes top category seats at seven concerts, including a final evening song recital with Andreas Scholl.

The Seine Music Festival

released on 12/10/2010

Martin Randall Travel’s third all-inclusive music festival in 2011 features:

• Nine private concerts in historic châteaux, theatres and churches along the Seine. Admission to the concerts is exclusive to those who take a package which includes practically everything.
•  Musicians of the highest calibre include the Labèque sisters, Ebène Quartet, Joan Rodgers, Tenebrae.
•  Accommodation on MS Viking Spirit, a modern and comfortable river cruiser, which sails through the lovely scenery of the River Seine.
• Talks on the music by Richard Langham Smith and on the buildings by John McNeill.

The Danube Festival of Song (11–15 June 2011)

released on 12/01/2011

The 18th annual music festival along the River Danube will be different from its predecessors. In 2011, the festival will be dedicated to song and will boast a remarkable selection of internationally renowned singers and pianists, probably an unprecedented opportunity to hear such a list of musicians within just a week.

New for 2011: Walking in Tuscany

released on 17/12/2010

Put a spring in your step in Chianti and beyond

A new departure for May 2011, Martin Randall Travel’s Walking in Tuscany combines Sienese art and Renaissance architecture with walking in the Tuscan countryside and tastings of Italy’s finest red wines.
Based in Pienza for the first four nights, the tour is led by an Italian Renaissance specialist and includes walks and visits to hill-top towns Montalcino, Montepulciano, the serene Romanesque monastery at Sant’Antimo and the 17th century gardens at San Quirico d’Orcia. All-inclusive dinners are booked at first-rate restaurants, providing opportunities to taste the distinctive pici pasta, pecorino cheese and local honey.

Reception at the House of Lords (3rd Nov 2010)

released on 25/11/2010

Martin Randall’s talk: a summary:

The challenges and pleasures of organising tours in Britain
As well as introducing Martin Randall Travel’s (MRT) tours in Britain, Martin Randall talked more generally about the challenges, as well as the pleasures, of organising tours in Britain. He explained that his vantage point was that of someone who had spent thirty years organising top-end cultural tours in Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and who in the last couple of years has turned his attention to the UK.

Monet in Paris (11–14 January 2011)

released on 02/11/2010

This new tour has been specially devised to visit the hugely popular exhibition Claude Monet (1840–1926) at the Grand Palais before it ends in late January 2011. The exhibition, the largest of its kind since 1980, celebrates a lifetime of prolific painting with around 200 of Monet’s works on display.

Newly-launched Cultural Tours for Christmas 2010

released on 28/05/2010

Ten small-group tours, taking place over Christmas, have just been launched by cultural tour operator Martin Randall Travel. Visiting some of Europe and the Middle East’s most fascinating and beautiful regions and cities at their least busy but most evocative, the Christmas tours traditionally comprise some of our most popular tours, not least amongst solo travellers. The ten tours over Christmas are:

Chamber Music Weekends 2011

released on 24/08/2010

Chamber Music Weekends from Martin Randall Music Management feature musicians of the highest calibre performing concerts of chamber music over a weekend at two wonderful locations: the renowned Castle Hotel in Taunton and, new in 2011, Jesmond Dene House in Newcastle. From Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, each weekend sees four concerts performed for a small audience in an intimate hall little bigger than a large drawing room – just the sort of size composers used to have in mind for chamber music. There are opportunities throughout the weekend to mingle with the musicians, including in the award-winning restaurants. .

A Festival of Music in Castile (11–15 June 2011)

released on 12/10/2010

Spain was the dominant power in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and her musical life gloriously reflected that status. Whatever the causes of Spain’s subsequent slippage from the centre of European affairs, the twin facts are that, first, some of the finest Renaissance and Baroque music is Spanish and, second, much of this heritage remains unknown.

Battlefield Tours, Summer 2010

released on 09/02/2010

Although best known for our archaeological, musical and art-historical holidays, Martin Randall Travel also operates tours on the theme of military history. Places are still available on two such departures this summer, both led by historian and writer Ian Fletcher, the leading contemporary authority on the Peninsular War.

Walking in Cornwall

released on 8/02/2011

Enjoy coastal walking led by a marine biologist and proud Cornishman on this 11-day journey around one of England's most distinctive counties.
This tour explores Cornwall's exotic shrubs, prehistoric sites, vernacular and ecclesiastical architecture and flourishing arts scene. There are visits to the gardens of Trewithen, the galleries of St Ives and Falmouth, the cathedral in Truro and John Betjeman’s grave in Trebetherick. Fine British food is also a feature, as this tour stays in hotels chosen for high standards of food and service, culminating in two nights at Rick Stein’s famed restaurant in Padstow.

New For 2011: In Churchill’s Footsteps (17-21 October 2011)

Released on 21/02/11

Discover places intimately connected with Churchill in the company of his granddaughter.
With recent biographies putting Sir Winston Churchill very much back in the spotlight, the UK’s leading cultural tour operator Martin Randall Travel has designed a 5-day small-group tour giving unique access to houses, museums and collections illuminating the life and achievements of the great war leader and politician.

Autumn 2011 in Italy

Released on 01/02/11

This Music in Florence, the Venetian Hills and Connoisseur’s Rome

A new all-inclusive music festival and expert-led small group tours discovering Italy’s lesser known art and architecture.
A Festival of Music in Florence (23-29 October) offers private access to Florence’s unique palazzi and churches, including the Galleria degli Uffizi, for concerts with world-class musicians performing specifically chosen pieces. The 8-day festival also includes walks around Florence with Renaissance experts and talks by a renowned music historian. Hotels are centrally located and prices start at £3,200 per person including flights.

Italy 2011

released on 03/03/2011

Luxury:
Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (22-28 September 2011)
A 7-day small-group tour led by Steven Desmond, landscape consultant and advisor for the National Trust. Staying in a 5* hotel on the shores of Lake Como and a 4* Belle Epoque hotel with lakeside gardens in Pallanza (Lake Maggiore), the tour includes visits to sixteenth century, Neo-classical and twentieth century villas, and a visit to Isola Bella, one of the world's great gardens. All the villas are enhanced by splendid natural settings with lake views, enhance at this time of year by the clarity of the Italian light.

New for 2011: A Festival of Music in Florence

Released on 06/04/2011

(23-29 October 2011)
Ten concerts of music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque performed in appropriate historic settings, including private palaces, the Uffizi, and the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

Universally known as the crucible of change in the field of the visual arts, ‘the cradle of the Renaissance’ was also an integral centre for the development of music, with Florence’s huge cultural and political prestige attracting the finest musicians from all over Europe.

A round-up of UK tours from Martin Randall Travel

Released 16/5/2011

Music in the countryside: Country House Opera. 19-23 June 2011. Enjoy three prestigious music festivals, featuring Mozart’s Così fan tutte ‘up close and personal’ at the exquisite Longborough theatre, Verdi’s powerful Rigoletto and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, as well as Vivaldi’s rarely-performed La Verità in Cimento. This tour stays at Oxford’s loveliest hotel and a country house outside Winchester, allowing time to explore these historic cities, and for debate and discussion of the music with a cultural historian. The venues are as diverse as the music, from little Longborough to the grounds of the Getty estate at Wormsley Manor and Grange Park, a Greek-style ‘temple’ in Hampshire. Price per person is £2,240 including four opera tickets, accommodation, meals with wine and the lecturer’s talks.

Historians at the Castle

released on 10/02/2010

Places are still available on the 2011 Writers at the Castle weekend, this year focusing on History. The speakers are six of the most distinguished and exciting historians in Britain today: Professor Mary Beard, Professor Tim Blanning, Professor Richard Holmes, Dr Tristram Hunt, Professor Helen King and Dr Ian Mortimer. See below for biographies.

The Danube Music Festival (20–27 August 2010)

released on 20/01/2010

Martin Randall Travel’s annual festival celebrating the musical heritage of the Austro-Hungarian heartlands returns for its seventeenth year, with a typically outstanding selection of performers and speakers. Among the musicians for 2010 are the internationally acclaimed Vienna Piano Trio, Robert Holl, one the most highly respected Lieder singers, the Wiener Kammerchorm, one of the finest choirs in Austria, and Roger Vignoles, one of the most distinguished musicians of today, who will be spending three nights on board the river cruiser with the festival participants.

New Cultural Tour: Basilicata (4–9 September 2010)

released on 28/05/2010

Following the postponement, as a result of the Icelandic volcano, of the first ever departure for our (fully-booked) Basilicata tour in late April, a new departure for this tour to Italy’s remote South has been re-scheduled for 4—9 September 2010.

Ardgowan (2–7 June 2011)

released on 16/12/2010

A new type of cultural tour:

Ardgowan is the first of a new type of tour from leading cultural tour specialist Martin Randall Travel. More a country house weekend than normal tour, the key feature is that participants are not accommodated in a hotel but instead stay as guests in a grand 18th-century country house which remains a private home, not a hotel or museum.

New Tours in Britain 2011

released on 05/10/2010

Leading cultural tour operator Martin Randall Travel has greatly expanded its portfolio of tours exploring the rich cultural heritage of the United Kingdom. There are 16 British tours in 2011 including the following 5 new tours:

All-inclusive Music Festivals in 2011

released on 05/10/2010

Martin Randall Travel is the pioneer of all-inclusive music festivals, matching music with place by performing private concerts in appropriate historic buildings. These own-brand festivals comprise some of the most musically rewarding and intellectually stimulating music holidays available. The 5 festivals in 2011 are:

Tours in Britain and Music Festivals in 2011

released on 05/10/2010

Leading cultural tour operator Martin Randall Travel has greatly expanded its portfolio of tours exploring the rich cultural heritage of the United Kingdom. There are 16 British tours in 2011 including the following 8 new tours:

A Festival of Music in Venice 2011

Released on 05/10/2010

Our first all-inclusive Music Festival in 2011 will be A Festival of Music in Venice (13–18 March 2011). It features the finest interpreters of music from the golden age of Venetian music (Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Vivaldi) performing in some of the most glorious interior spaces in Europe, all within the most beautiful city on Earth.

New Cultural Tours in 2011

Released on 05/10/2010

This is where you The 2011 brochure from Martin Randall Travel, featuring around 160 small-group cultural tours, is now available. There are numerous itineraries running for the first time in 2011, including many in the UK. New tours include: