As featured in:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

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.

Image

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.

Image

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.

Image

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.

Image

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
Exactly what I hoped for.
A tour of ancient Etruscan sites in central Italy, about which I knew nothing. The lecturer was first-class (both as an expert in the field and as a teacher for a bunch of people who knew little about the subject). As usual, with MRT, the other 18 tourists were a great bunch of people, and the whole...
*****
Bradman
26 Sep 2018
Food for the mind and the body
Fabulous food, wine and culture brilliantly presented and organised
*****
Gourmand
03 Jun 2017
Danube Schubertiade
Great combination of luxury boat, first class music and good company.
*****
Elizabeth from Kenilworth
30 Aug 2015
Modern Art on the Cote d'Azure
A modern art escourted tour based in Nice and travelling out to nearby points of interest with an extremely knowledgeable and convivial guide and tour manager.
*****
Spirebat
23 Oct 2022
Martin Randall Berlin Potsdam Dresden
I live in Australia, the Martin Randall office in Brisbane was my contact and the women who work for MR could not have been more helpful. Everything ran smoothly, any questions answered and the final pack was couriered to me in London.
*****
HMJ
05 Nov 2016
Stimulating! Wonderful!
My main thing was the opera (Wagner's Ring cycle. But the tour was so much more. A really cultural experience of Berlin, its art, architecture, its history..
*****
Brunnhilde
20 Jun 2016
An informative and entertaining weekend in Cardiff.
Martin Randall are excellent at what they do.
*****
Justdoit
20 Feb 2018
A revelatory journey through the music of Habsburg upper Austria.
Martin Randall Travel are simply the very best cultural tour operator - worldwide.
*****
Sue
09 Sep 2019
Pleasures of Andalucia
Martin Radall
*****
Gerd
30 Oct 2018
Martin Randall's Ancient Cities of Castile and Leon + Camino + Sacred Music in Santiago
Martin Randall is very experienced in cultural tours and has very efficient operations, knowledgeable tour managers and access to venues that might otherwise be difficult to organise. They are a high end company, so the tours are expensive, but worth every cent.
*****
Dorothy
02 Oct 2019
Our first visit to Madrid and a comprehensive tour of art galleries and museums.
We spent five days visiting several galleries and museums a day the company of an expert guide.
*****
Chris
13 Nov 2022
Hogarth immersion with a charming scholar
A 1 day tour of London looking at 28 works by Hogarth in iconic muesems, a truly immersive experience which was well managed, planned and executed.
*****
Amateur Art Hound
29 Sep 2017

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.

Sign up to our e-newsletter

e-newsletter recipients are the first to hear about our future plans and our tours as they come on sale. By signing up you agree to our Privacy policy.

Please select your preferred Title from the drop-down menu.
Please enter your surname.
Please enter a valid e-mail address.
Please enter your primary country of residence from the drop-down menu.

Or join our mailing list for a printed brochure

My Wishlist

Wishlist

Click the heart icon on any event to save it to your wishlist.

Browse our tours.