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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
A wonderful day of glorious music.
It was a single day "Byrd in the City", commemorating the 40th anniversary of the death of William Byrd. Three short recitals of glorious music in important city churches.
*****
AWH
16 May 2023
Intellectual excitement in the best of good company
Martin Randall is the best. A sure-fire recipe for pleasure and intellectual stimulation
*****
Heidi
20 Nov 2014
History of architecture of Venice
Extremely interesting tour of major historical palaces of Venice with very knowledgeable and engaging tour director
We were able to visit numerous private homes which
Showed the history of architecture and art of Venice as well as the history of Venice
We would have got no where near the understand...
*****
Peter
12 Nov 2022
A Music Weekend. Excellent programme with outstanding musicians.
Very well organised and in an excellent Hotel. I cannot fault the arrangements.
*****
Mrs P L 15
24 Nov 2015
Amazing Danish architecture
This is my 7th trip with Martin Randall, and although the exchange rate against the Australian dollar is so unfavourable, I think you get what you pay for - excellent tour management, great lecturers and fascinating itineraries.
*****
Kristina
07 Jul 2018
Memorable
Martin Randall's good name is well deserved and every time we travel with them we are secure in the knowledge that everything possible will be done for everyone's comfort and full enjoyment.
*****
Petersfield Singer
30 Mar 2019
SUPERB ESCORTED OPERA TOUR TO MUNICH
We had four nights in Munich for the 2017 opera festival, staying in an excellent hotel in central Munich within walking distance of the opera house. Four completely different operas on consecutive nights provide music of the very highest calibre. We were escorted by Tom Abbott, an art historian of ...
*****
John in Monmouth
26 Jul 2017
London Gardens day
Their attention to detail is very thorough and it is really relaxing not to have to worry about tipping or food, the latter of which is always good, sometimes superb.Their staff are both interesting in themselves, always helpful and very well briefed. Tour leaders always expert, friendly and interes...
*****
Josephine
26 Aug 2016
Morocco, interesting, well paced and varied, brilliantly guided, great food and hotels, excellent company.,
Martin Randal run small specialist tours in a range of categories - mainly within a few hours flying in distance. They clearly research their itineraries very carefully to ensure a well paced and varied experience with everything (and it can be a lot) fitting together seamlessly. they employ excelle...
*****
Clare
26 Sep 2013
Palladian Villas in October 2017
This was my first time traveling with a group to see and experience the architecture of Andrea Palladio. I am an architect and could not have been more impressed by all aspects of the trip: what we saw, our hotel, the meals we had together and the balance of organized and free time -- all in 5 ½ da...
*****
Oksuzanne
10 Oct 2017
Very enjoyable
I went to 12 beautiful Italian Gardens and the oldest botanical garden in the world. It was a week of heaven!
*****
Jeanie
09 May 2017
Opera at Verona and so much more
Martin Randall were excellent providing an expert lecturer and also a tour manager. Nothing was too much trouble, including transport just for my husband and myself to Venice when BA cancelled our flights and we rebooked from Venice unlike the rest of the party who flew back from Verona.
*****
Jane
31 Jul 2022

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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