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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
Enjoyably Educational
I learned a great deal about Spanish art from Xavier Bray, who wears his genius lightly. It was a well-planned and very enjoyable excursion through Spanish art beginning and ending with the medieval with Velasquez and Goya in the middle. It was my first visit to the Wallace Collection, of which Dr...
*****
Art Lover
06 Mar 2017
very well run tour, covering wide range of topics and geography. Well led and with fascinating content.A highly memorable experience.
Well planned itinerary took us to all the main sites and range of interesting other experiences. All the logistics and accommodation etc well planned and delivery. Led by excellent lecturer and tour guide.
*****
mrs A R 22
29 Sep 2022
A very pleasurable learning experience
Everything is covered, apart from a few meals. The tour manager sees to everything, makes sure that things run smoothly. the lecturer is enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and able to share that knowledge.
*****
Tazbag
28 Apr 2023
Stimulating and memorable.
Martin Randall Travel offered first class service throughout. Staff was helpful and kept me informed regularly. They deliver what they promise and more.
*****
CCB
06 Nov 2016
Excellent organisation made for an stress free trip
A fully escorted and expert guided tour of North India. The itinerary is printed out in booklet form. All you have to do is turn up at the allotted time. As expected (and paid for) in a Martin Randall holiday, everything is the best available from food, hotel, guides and attention to detail.
*****
Deborah
01 Apr 2023
Oman, Landscapes and Peoples
Whenever we have travelled with Martin Randall we have expected and received an exceptionally high standard and have never been disappointed
*****
Wendy
17 Jan 2018
High-minded and inspirational
High-minded and inspirational, with no compulsory shopping.
*****
Arley
31 May 2015
A genuine holiday experience
Martin Randall provided excellent tour staff who greatly enhances thee experience of an already well planned walk along parts of the Santiago pilgrimage trail.
*****
Cupid
28 Sep 2019
Exceptional opera tour with nuseum via sits in Berlin
Well organized and interesting
*****
Ms E S 23
13 Apr 2023
Perfect marriage of culture (the literature of the area) and the practical - walking in relevant places.
Considerable care goes into planning these holidays. The places to visit are well chosen and often have good local guides to expand on any given subject. The tour lecturer and manager are chosen to be very well informed and efficient at dealing with any difficulties that may occur. Buses arranged to...
*****
Mrs C M 16
02 Jul 2016
Food for the mind and the body
Fabulous food, wine and culture brilliantly presented and organised
*****
Gourmand
03 Jun 2017
Stimulating
MRT rightly prides itself in providing highly-vetted expert lecturers, carefully chosen, specialized itineraries and top-flight accommodations and food. Planning and execution are exceptional.
*****
Boston Abroad
11 Sep 2018

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