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Expert-led small-group tours

This video was filmed on our Footpaths of Umbria tour in June 2023 and gives a flavour of what to expect on one of our holidays.

Exploring Italy on a cultural tour

We also offer fresh perspectives on old friends, using art historians, not musicologists, on our opera tours of Verona and seeing Florence, Padua and Bologna through the prism of science and medicine as well as art. We bring you Puccini at the maestro’s lakeside villa, the mosaics of Ravenna and the frozen worlds of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

We dine finely in Piedmont, throw light on the Dark Ages in the northern Adriatic and stand at the crossroads of European civilisations in Sicily. We gaze up at Michelangelo’s David and down at Etruscan tombs. We give you Italy, packaged in a gilt-edged portfolio.

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Cultural tours in Sicily

Whether it’s on a private tour of Palermo’s Palatine Chapel or a guided walk on Etna with an expert vulcanologist, you will be fully immersed in dazzling cultural inheritance.

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Cultural tours in Venice

With special, out-of-hours access to the Basilica di San Marco - as well as on-the-spot insights by our expert lecturers - we give you an unrivalled view of La Serenissima.

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Cultural tours in Florence

Special access is a feature of our Florence tours: visit the vast baroque Palazzo Corsini al Parione, dine at the Palazzo Corsini al Prato, and gaze across the city and Appenines beyond from Palazzo Gondi.

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Cultural tours in Rome

From the underground chambers of the Colosseum to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes viewed in tranquil solitude, we uncover both Rome's cultural triumphs and lesser-known masterpieces.

Browse Italy tours by theme

Why travel with us?

Leading expertise

For 36 years we have been the most influential organisation in the field of cultural travel, offering an unequalled range of tours and events. Pioneering and innovative, we have led the way with ideas and itineraries and by setting the benchmarks for customer service and administration.

Privileged access

Special arrangements are a feature of our tours – for admission to places not generally open to travellers, for access outside public hours, for private concerts and extraordinary events. In innumerable ways, we lift our clients’ experience far above standards which are regarded as normal for tourists.

First-rate speakers

Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours. Academics, curators, writers, broadcasters and researchers, they are selected not only for their knowledge but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience. Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform.

Holiday protection

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL); and for those that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTOT – The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited.

Personal service

We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. We want you to come back again and again – as most of our clients do. We can provide options without international travel if you prefer to make your own arrangements.

Award-winning

Five consecutive years as Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards (2015–19) reflects our commitment to excellence. With a remarkable 99% satisfaction rating from more than 1,100 independent reviews, our attention to detail and client care is unmatched.

Most of our tours run with between 10 and 20 participants. Our travellers are self-selected by common interests and an endorsement of our ethos. You are highly likely to find yourself among like-minded companions, whether travelling solo (as 50% of our clients do) or with a travel partner.

Value for money

The price includes nearly everything, not only the major ingredients such as hotel, transport and the costs of the lecturer and manager but also tips and drinks with meals. The price published is the price you pay. You can secure your booking today with a 15% deposit.

What do others say about Martin Randall Travel?

Showing 2184 reviews
Entertained and educated in style and comfort
Expert in this field, Martin Randall lives up to his reputation for a high quality cultural experience with attention to detail in hospitality and personal service.
*****
Victoria Bridge
21 Nov 2021
iron curtain
A coach ride down the old iron curtain, Baltic to Adriatic - a free route now with barriers largely disappeared. However enough remains to give you an idea of what was - and still is in parts of the world. Inevitably you can't but bump into other history on the way - Luther's accommodation...
*****
paradise lost
26 Sep 2014
A superlative experience - meorable in all respects
MRT has a level of management, attention to detail and understated oversight, unsurpassed by any other tour operator we have used
*****
Euclid
20 Mar 2017
The Venetian Hills
Offers exactly the sort of holidays we love. Only recently discovered Martin Randall. Everything is planned and executed effectively. We are grateful not to have to work out everything for ourselves any more. Although the cost seems high, in the event it is not because of the careful & rigorous ...
*****
Sophie
11 Oct 2013
Bach Leipzig Festival
Leipzig festival with 10 concerts. Expert lecturer Professor John Butt. Brilliant authority on baroque music who illuminated all the events that the small group attended. Expensive, but worth it.
*****
djangonut
21 Jun 2016
Informative and fun
Martin Randall Travel
*****
Dar
12 Nov 2019
Gentle walking with great art as the objective.
Martin Randall assembled an excellent team to run the holiday. Also the administration throughout was exemplary.
*****
Mr B P 16
05 Oct 2016
Better than I dreamed of.
First: the itinerary advertised drew my attention, however six months in advance the tour for 20 persons was sold out. I had to wait till the next year. It was worth the wait. Not only was the guide very learned, but was enthusiastic about the sites. He virtually carried us into medieval period and ...
*****
Architectural historian.
29 Jul 2016
Stimulating and fascinating.
This was a our first tour with MRT and we would not hesitate to travel with them again. From the first contact until the end of the tour our experience was entirely positive.
*****
Jussi
01 Jun 2019
East Coast Galleries of America
The beauty of Martin Randall Travel is that you are exposed to expert knowledge as standard, often with the addition of special access - sometimes even behind the scenes. Never disappointed and always with something new to learn, travelling amongst other like-minded enthusiasts.
*****
YelsomT
29 May 2017
Glorious music in elegant settings
The MRT concept of a 5 day music festival in Bologna was an enticement to come all the way from Australia. A carefully conceived program of music reflecting the place and the centuries of its musical heritage, this tour was executed with style and exactitude. Accompanied by fine dining, engaging tal...
*****
Penny
18 Oct 2014
Walking to Santiago
Martin Randall travel tours are characterised by efficient organisation, attention to detail, excellent lecturers and managers, high quality accommodation and wonderful meals and wines. This tour had all those attributes in abundance.
*****
Walking Linda
18 Jun 2015

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