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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

For 36 years 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, drinks with meals, and airport taxes. 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
Opera at Glyndebourne and Garsington
Well organised visits to Glyndebourne and Garsington. Operas excellent, food very good. Very satisfying
*****
Chota
26 Jul 2018
Magical! Martin Randall Travel offers a deeply engaging, well organized visit to major sites of art and archeological interest.
This was a 13-day visit to Sicily, to all the major sites, with very experienced guides well versed in the art and architectural history. Nice accommodations, congenial travelers, moderate price, and top-notch organization. All with a fairly high level of intellectual interest
*****
New York traveler
31 May 2023
Opera at Verona and so much more
Fantastic 4 night trip to Verona. 3 nights at the opera and 4 mornings visiting special places in Verona, churches, museums and just strolling through the streets with our expert guide. We also ventured outside Verona to Villa Arvedi for a tour followed by a delicious lunch.
*****
Jane
31 Jul 2022
Music and culture in Prague.
Martin Randall. I have travelled with Martin Randall on previous music holidays.
*****
djangonut
22 May 2023
Peru - a different culture, climate and history!
It was not so much a holiday as an experience. I went there to learn and, boy, did the group learn! It removed us from the comfort of our European way of thinking, showing a succession of cultures which reached amazing standards in construction, textiles, ceramics and metal work to emphasise the com...
*****
Dreamer
11 Oct 2017
Unforgettable medieval Burgundy
They pay great attention to detail, and deliver an excellent result.
*****
Pearl191
31 May 2015
Magnificant English Cathedrals
Beautifully organised, carefully chosen itinerary, excellent hotels and an exceptional lecturer who brought the buildings alive.
*****
Cally
01 May 2018
Civilizations of Sicily Tour
Martin Randall Travel really do provide outstanding experiences on a consistent basis. This is my third major tour in recent years - the others being to Egypt and St Petersburg. The Firm uses carefully selected Tour leaders - generally academics with proven. knowledge, experience and delivery skills...
*****
Walter
01 Nov 2016
Christmas break in Milan
We have used Martin Randall a few times and they are consistently professional and well organised.
*****
KB
01 Jan 2019
Walking to Santiago with Martin Randall Travel: Far more than simple walking holiday
Walking to Santiago--more a hike--surpassed our expectations on every level, beginning with booking and responses to our numerous questions, to the daily experience, the meals, and the superb quality of the tour leader and manager and driver. We gained an enormously profound appreciation of Spanish ...
*****
Hal
13 Nov 2014
Magical music
Celebration of William Byrd in the City
*****
Hedgehog
16 May 2023
Vienna at Christmas
They give a packed schedule.
*****
123epan
31 Dec 2022

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