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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 knock-out combination
World-class performances of great classical music, enjoyed with a like-minded sophisticated group, enhanced by erudite and entertaining lectures on the music and geography of the historic Rhine Valley on an elegant ship with excellent food, drink and service, cossetted by a well informed and ever he...
*****
nwm
30 Jun 2018
Music and culture in Prague.
Two operas five instrumental concerts and a vocal recital, with tours and information about the culture and history of Czechnia.
*****
djangonut
22 May 2023
Walking to Santiago
This was a brilliant tour enabling a small group to experience selected sections of the the 500 mile French way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. We walked through a variety of regions, villages, towns and cities, saw wonderful scenery, historic buildings and magnificent cathedrals...
*****
Walking Linda
18 Jun 2015
Civilisations of Sicily
13 days in Sicily focusing on history, archaeology, architecture and gastronomy. A wide range of visits making the days quite exhausting but very rewarding. We visited Baroque churches, Norman cathedrals with Byzantine mosaics, Greco-Roman sites, museums and art galleries and private palaces open by...
*****
Dr G L 17
05 May 2017
Excellent tour of Sicily
Tour was faced with hurricanes, volcanoes, unexpectedly closed facilities and still managed to keep the tour full and interesting.
*****
akg
04 Nov 2021
SUPERB ESCORTED OPERA TOUR TO MUNICH
Martin Randall looked after us from beginning to end - we felt really pampered
*****
John in Monmouth
26 Jul 2017
A choral festival centred around the Divine Office
First class specialist cultural tour operator
*****
Jane
20 Oct 2015
An artistic delight
The Martin Randall Tour of Umbria was centred on Perugia with visits to Gubbio, Foligno, Montefalco, Arezzo and Assisi where the art of the early Renaissance was studied.
*****
Pix
30 Dec 2022
Gastronomic Sicily, Oct.19th to Oct. 25th
They provided information in a clear and timely manner. Well thought out attention to what was required and response to any questions or individual concerns.
*****
Ms M R 15
27 Oct 2015
Essential Sites in Andalucía
We visited three key sites in Andalucía: Granada, Córdoba, Sevilla. Each site was fascinating and very well represented and explained by our tour leaders.
*****
Judy
14 Oct 2018
Bilbao to Bayonne
This tour brought the Basque region to life through its food, wines, culture, architecture, art and people. Nothing could have been improved upon thanks to clearly superior planning and our tour guide,whose diverse background includes the very insides of Spanish cuisine, its history and kitchen. He ...
*****
Hal
13 Nov 2014
An absolute jewel
Martin Randall Travel combine high efficiency with friendliness. Unbeatable!
*****
Sue
20 Nov 2021

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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