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
Peru - a different culture, climate and history!
You pay for what you get. With Martin Randall Tours you get the best available so the tour was enjoyable allowing one to concentrate on the sights whilst having problems solved for you.
*****
Dreamer
11 Oct 2017
Gardens in the Highlands of Scotland
Martin Randall Tours are well organised and interesting
*****
madjudge
01 Jul 2023
The Divine Office
This was my first experience with Martin Randall Travel so I did not know what to expect can say that every detail was considered and wonderfully carried out. Even when the location for our final nights unexpectedly cancelled, MRT regrouped, made new plans, and carried them off seamlessly. MRT'...
*****
Retired Kansas Teacher
04 Oct 2015
Bach Journey, May 2019. Sublime divine music.
An experience of the music of Bach and some of his contemporaries in the places where Bach lived and worked. Inspired concerts by world recognised specialists in authentic concert environments. The experience definitely felt that you touched the Divine as was the intent of Bach's music. An expe...
*****
Simon C
19 May 2019
A unique and memorable experience
This was a unique and imaginative programme, brilliantly organised so that the complexities of travel and timing passed by smoothly. There was always a member of staff on hand to advise and direct discreetly.
*****
RJB
11 Jul 2023
Vienna at Christmas
It was a good introduction to Vienna. Beautiful hotel,
****
123epan
31 Dec 2022
Spring in Cornwall
Cornwall's Houses and Gardens. Excellent guides at all locations bar one where our visit seemed forgotten. Tour also inclded three art galleries which seemed to have been tacked on and where no expert guidance was provided.
Admin arrangements were excellent as were the in-house lecturer and to...
****
EDLOSI
02 May 2022
Unique experience on "Cambodia by River" tour
Although the tour is not cheap, it is of good value.. The tour itinerary is well designed and well thought out to give maximum cultural interest. MR Tour has always been generous in terms of food and drinks, quality lecturer and tour manager, hotel accommodations , quality of local guides and transp...
*****
ShahKim
01 Apr 2024
Music in Vienna at Christmas
Everything about the tour was at the extremely high standard that we know that we can rely on with Martin Randall.
*****
FrancoBristolian
23 Jan 2015
Learning plus Pleasure and Comfort
I have traveled with Martin Randall many times, and have always been extremely happy with them. In fact that is why I keep returning. The attention to detail is second to none. I shall now start looking for another trip with them.
*****
Martha
22 Sep 2016
Great emotional experience
Bach journey to places significant in his life with superlative performances of many great works in excellent venues and with very interesting and informative lectures every day.
*****
EP
11 Sep 2017
Outstanding Suffolk Festival of Music of Tudor & Stuart England, with Martin Randall Travel
Martin Randall Travel is staffed by very knowledgable people who understand the minutia of all elements of culture, as well as the minefield of travel logistics. They are personable and friendly. I try not to go anywhere without them.
*****
JG
17 Jun 2016

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.