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
Music in Venice is a unique tour of high quality
Eight private concerts over 4 days, with supporting lectures, all the music linked to Venice and carefully chosen by MRT (whose founder co-ordinates their music tours, and indeed attended throughout). Magical stuff - from early madrigals to a final Monteverdi Vespers 1610 in the Frari. Supported by ...
*****
PhilipNcl
21 Nov 2022
Palladian Villas Tour Entertains, Enlightens
A five-day packed itinerary takes you to and into most of the extant Palladian buildings in the Veneto. Our lecturer, Professor Fabrizio Nevola, shared his encyclopedic knowledge in witty commentary on what we were seeing. Each day was nicely paced. The touring group of 15 from across the world was ...
*****
Tom from Upstate NY
30 Sep 2014
Stepping into a different world
New Orleans and nearby Louisiana: history, environment, jazz and food.
*****
curator
15 Mar 2020
Fantastic, eye opening Persia
Our two week tour of Persia was a wonderful, eye opening experience. I arrived with some trepidation and prejudice, but quickly learned that the Iranian people are some of the warmest, kindest souls I have ever met. Their history is fascinating and complex and very worth learning about. This tour wa...
*****
Robert P
30 Apr 2017
Excellent
Very well organized tour.
*****
dps
28 Jan 2018
Superb specialist holiday
Good communication at all stages from Booking to delivery of the holiday. a good selection of tours on offer and the tour carefully planned with exclusive entry so many sites.
*****
DT Bath
21 Apr 2023
Exciting Ming in London
For a morning in the V & A, and an afternoon in the British Museum my wife and I were treated to couple of fascinating talks on Chinese ceramics by a Martin Randall expert.
As far as we were concerned, the talk could have gone on and on !
*****
Humphrey
26 Feb 2017
A banquet of music in a glorious setting (Florence)
Martin Randal Travel has superb organisation and dedicated staff accompanying the tour.
*****
Ian D.
08 Apr 2017
Perfection in Prague
From the beginning of the booking process to the farewells upon arrival back in the UK everything was excellent. Just what one wants with a holiday - no worries but to be able to enjoy oneself and this Martin Randall Travel certainly did!
*****
Pendennis
20 Jun 2018
A great trip
A combination of interesting culture and good food
*****
JoolsN
13 Apr 2022
Awesome
Just brilliant no faults
*****
Roger
21 Mar 2023
Music in Florence
I have done several tours with Martin Randall Travel down the years and they have always been meticulously organised to interesting locations.
*****
Miss J E 17
21 Mar 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.