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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
It exceeded my expectations
The tour was to Ravenna and Urbino, and finishing in Rimini. It was beautifully planned and we
saw as much as we could, without being too tired.
*****
DCT
16 Oct 2017
We travelled to Paris and eastern Normandy (Rouen, Giverny, Auvers, Honfleur, Le Havre), concentrating on the Impressionist painters, and had a superb time.
Every day of the holiday was wonderful. We spent four nights in Rouen and one in Paris, and from both places we travelled by bus to museums and galleries with exhibitions of Impressionist paintings (by, among many others, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Boudin, Pisarro, Caillebotte and Morisot) and to places ...
*****
Alfred
07 May 2016
A week of absolute pleasure with cultural visits, informative presentation and of course interspersed with great meals.
A full cultural visit to Rome with historical information back to Romulus and Remus. This came with an enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable lecturer and incredibly efficient manager. What a treat. It was perfect.
*****
CMF
02 Mar 2022
perfectly organised and delivered by Martin Randall
7 days Art intensive tour in Florence
*****
Michelangelo
04 Apr 2022
An excellent tour of the principal sites of Classical Greece
Great attention to detail. Meticulously planned and executed itinerary. Delicious dinners and great wines.
*****
mountain leader
14 May 2019
Tiring but extremely worthwhile
Martin Randall Travel is an exceptional tour operation and I would now never travel with anyone else not only because they are so good but also because they ensure my needs are met .
Their tour guides are always extremely well informed and their lectures and discussions add a dimension to the tour w...
*****
Marguerita
07 Nov 2016
The Divine Office- a sublime experience
MRT is an excellent operator, striking the balance very successfully between the benefits of specialist, organised travel, and the desire of participants to be treated like adults able to manage themselves . If you want to be led from A to B, they will do it - but otherwise , it's assumed that ...
*****
Happy at Home
07 Oct 2021
Spectacular St Petersburg!
St Petersburg is an astonishing city. So much history and culture. So much architecture. So much music, opera and ballet. Its also a beautiful place, with lots of parks and lovely buildings. And contrary to some reports, we found the people to be helpful and friendly. We always felt safe and welcome...
*****
Coffee and Cake
11 Sep 2016
Excellent.
Martin Randall are infinitely painstaking, professional, understanding & amiable.
*****
WPS
03 Apr 2019
Gastronomic Piedmont
Martin randall is first class.
*****
Brenda
02 Nov 2019
Choral music in excellent venues
Just one day
*****
Elly
07 Jun 2019
My First Martin Randall Holiday - Absolutely Excellent
The arrangements were very good, and a great deal of care had obviously been put into selecting the various elements of the holiday.
*****
S
02 Feb 2018

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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