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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

Since 1988 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
An interesting and eye-opening experience.
The name of the tour was Essential China. We visited all the usual sites--the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall, the terra cotta warriors, West Lake in Hangzhou, the Bund in Shanghai... Our lecturer was the former curator of the Far Eastern collections at the V & A Museum. She wa...
*****
Canuck
08 Nov 2016
A great day exploring the City of London, we learnt a lot
Very well organised, good information before the event. Everything was run to time with good food at interesting venues.
*****
Tech60
11 Apr 2018
Superb Classical Music Festival in the Cotswolds
You simply cannot find residential music festivals of this quality anywhere but through Martin Randall Travel - superb from start to finish
*****
Purple H
11 Jun 2018
Opera in Southern Sicily
A series of six performances, five of opera and one of a Mass, given in four delightful opera houses built in the 1860s in or near Syracuse, and one church in Ortigia. Brilliant musicians were flown to Sicily to perform for us and comfortable accommodation and travel by coach organised on the island...
*****
EricaP
28 Nov 2019
Review by Mr A R 17 on Mon Mar 06 2017 08:00:00 GMT+0000 (Greenwich Mean Time)
We have always enjoyed our Martin Randall Tours
*****
Mr A R 17
06 Mar 2017
Monteverdi in Venice - an exploration of Monteverdi and his works
We have travelled with Martin Randall Travel 50 times and have always been extremely satisfied. On this occasion our flight from LHR was cancelled due to fog. Members of the Martin Randall staff had stayed up until 3am organising alternative flights from Stansted in order to get us to Venice for the...
*****
Dumkin
15 Nov 2015
educational
Visiting old castles and churches in Wales
****
Lucy
13 May 2022
Fascinating history of Hadrian's Wall
Martin Randall Travel arranged the itinerary, accommodation and meals and a knowledgable lecturer so that we would get the most out of our journey. Very professional and faultless service and arrangements throughout.
*****
Ali
04 Oct 2018
Venice at Christmas
Martin Randall made the whole trip unbelievably easy. They organised everything. One did'nt have to make decisions or take responsibility for anything!Mrs
*****
Fluffy
18 Jan 2020
Sailing the glorious Dalmatian coast by boat - an excellent experience!
Martin Randall always runs exceptional tours. This was my fourth tour with them and there are more tours to enjoy in the future.
*****
Renee
02 May 2019
Superlative: imaginative planning and programming, meticulous attention to detail
The Bach Journey with Martin Randall gave us the life-enhancing opportunity to hear BachÕs music performed by exceptionally gifted musicians in a series of private concerts given in the places where Bach lived and worked. The musicians all gave deeply felt and moving performances, with a sense of re...
*****
Imogen Starr
17 Sep 2023
The Hanseatic League.
Very well organised. Very helpful.
*****
frequent traveller
06 Aug 2023

Joining a Martin Randall Cultural Tour

Between 10–22 participants can usually join our small group tours, though the upper limit can be lower dependent on the tour.

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