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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, drinks with meals, and airport taxes. 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
perfectly organised and delivered by Martin Randall
7 days Art intensive tour in Florence
*****
Michelangelo
04 Apr 2022
A comprehensive and well-managed architecture tour
This is the 6th time we have done a tour with Martin Randall Travel and they never disappoint. The standard of tour management from pre-planning to on-the-road, is excellent, and the lecturers are highly qualified academics in their fields.
*****
KristinaM
28 Oct 2015
Camino De Santaigo
Great organisers with excellent tour manager and incredibly good lecturer. Meals. Hotels food all organised to the finest detail. Hard working comparable manager kept everything on track.
*****
Michael
28 Sep 2019
Interesting symposium with excellent, (well qualified) lecturers covering a wide range of topics within a historical survey.
See above. This was a short visit to Edinburgh giving opportunity for a limited amount of personal tourism, i.e. museums, etc.; administration before and during was excellent - any questions were answered fully and promptly.
*****
Scotty
07 Nov 2017
Excellent mix of food, wine, art, history and architecture !
Always reliable, always well planned tours, always excellent guides - what more can we ask !
*****
FoodieMike
30 May 2017
Visiting the jewels of Ravenna and Urbino with an expert in art
Martin Randall Travel organises art and music tours led by lecturers expert in their fields. Dr Luca Leoncini is excellent in his knowledge of art and his passion for the art and architecture of Italy.
*****
LSS
06 Oct 2021
Food for the mind and the body
Fabulous food, wine and culture brilliantly presented and organised
*****
Gourmand
03 Jun 2017
Ravenna
Ravenna mosaics : visit to major works
*****
Luca
06 Oct 2021
Romans in Mediterranean Spain
Very well planned programme which came upto expectations. Excellent lecturer, who really knew his material and was able to put it across. Very good tour management
*****
Mr T O 17
30 Oct 2017
Completing my education on the Cote d'Azur!
At last I can feel truly sophisticated, having been immersed for a week in the development of Modern Art on the Cote d'Azur! These are works in many cases I have known all my life, but what a difference to BE there, staying in lovely Nice and learning more every day. Congenial company and mind-...
*****
Surrey Artist
27 Oct 2019
Art Historians Potpourri
Extremely committed to delivering a intellectually stimulating and comfortable weekend!
*****
trojanadventurer
20 Feb 2017
Stimulating to see some of the best modern art on the côte d'azur
Martin Randall, with whom we have travelled in the past and found excellent.
*****
Pops
25 Sep 2014

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