Short breaks for Autumn and Spring

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.

All these tours have the following highlights:

• Five days and four nights, or fewer

• Meticulously planned itineraries, designed to minimise travelling time

• First-rate lecturers

• Small groups, congenial company

• Value for money, and no surcharges

Martin Randall says: 'An MRT short break is the ideal opportunity to experience the planning and care that goes into a MRT tour.  All our lecturers are experienced in pointing out the highlights of every visit, ensuring our clients experience the best in museums and galleries.  We choose hotels based on service and location and careful consideration is given to airline and train timetables to ensure our tours make the most of the time available'.

Der Rosenkavalier at La Scala - NEW
• Attends the 100th anniversary production of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss at the world’s most renowned opera house.
• Includes a guided tour of La Scala, its museum and a talk with one of the principal cast members.
• Led by an art historian who gives talks on Milan’s artistic and architectural treasures.
• 15–18 October 2011; £1,740 per person

Wexford Opera
• Rare operas performed by international casts of world-class standards in the new, state of the art Opera House.
• Donizetti’s Gianni di Parigi; Statkowski’s Maria; Ambroise Thomas’ La cour de Célimene.
• Comfortable hotel in a tranquil location overlooking the river Slaney.
• 1–5 November 2011; £1,710 per person

Charles Dickens, in his bicentenary - NEW
• Accompanied by a leading Dickens expert and noted public reader of Dickens’s work.
• Stay in central London, on the seafront in Portsmouth and in Broadstairs.
• Includes a lunch at one of Dickens’s central London clubs, accessible by invitation only.
• 31 March–4 April 2012; £1,880 person

Ravenna and Urbino
• The best Byzantine mosaics and the finest Renaissance palaces; two must-see cities for art lovers.
• A Roman city on the plain of the sea and one of the loveliest hilltop towns in Italy.
• Stay all four nights in Ravenna, within easy driving distance from Bologna airport.
• 11–15 April, 13–17 June 2012; £1,350 per person

Lisbon Neighbourhoods - NEW
• Superb and varied collections of decorative and fine arts, as well as some of the best examples of Portuguese ceramic tiles.
• Palaces and gardens, art from the 15th and 16th centuries to modern collections.
• Fashionable boutiques and restaurants in the recently rejuvenated Bairro Alto.
• 17–21 April 2012; £1,560 per person

West Country Churches
• Fine cathedrals in Bristol, Wells and Exeter; beautiful parish churches and the stunning ruins of Glastonbury Abbey.
• Stay in Wells in a 15th-century building close to the cathedral.
• Drive through Avon, Somerset and Devon - some of the loveliest English countryside.
• 28 May–1 June 2012; £1,120 per person

Flemish Painting
• Short, sharp immersion in some brilliant painting and beautiful old cities; a classic art history tour.
• Stay in Ghent, equidistant from other cities, planned to minimise travelling time.
• First-class train travel by Eurostar from London to Brussels.
• 25–29 April 2012; £1,540 per person

• All prices are per person, based on two sharing.  A single supplement is applicable for sole occupation of a double room.