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
very interesting - it did what it said on the tin!
As above
*****
Scotty
05 Jun 2023
"The Divine Office": a specialist music holiday
Seventeen concerts of polyphony, including the Divine Office at the correct hours, with superb choirs and many college locations in Oxford. A unique experience in good company.
*****
Tallis
12 Oct 2021
Excellent
Wonderful lecturer and local expert. Excellent balance of activities and free time, and what a luxury not to have to deal with concert tickets!
*****
dps
28 Jan 2018
Learning and luxury in the company of a like-minded group
Excellent Italian tour covering the History of Medicine and lots of related art, through visits to Florence, Pisa, Bologna and Padua. Full days of visits were enhanced by two superb lecturers, each with an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge. Supporting arrangements of travel, hotels and meals...
*****
Missdefied
22 Sep 2016
Tour in Israel and Palestine
We travelled with Martin Randall Travel who were first rate throughout
*****
Ken T
01 May 2017
Truly the holiday of a lifetime
I can't speak highly enough of Martin Randall- they are pricey, but you can really see where your money has gone. The trip was extremely well organised, with a very personable, effective and efficient tour manager and excellent lecturer, who is a leading figure in the field of archeology. The h...
*****
TE
20 Sep 2019
Pleasant trip in France with interesting cave art
Bus trip from Bordeaux to Toulouse with guided tours on stone age art.
*****
Gerd
15 Sep 2022
Fantastic
Martin Randall travel the creme de la creme of cultured tours.
*****
Music lover.
24 Jul 2017
Venice palazzo tour which was excellent.
Very professional in every way.
*****
Newcomb
06 Nov 2017
Gastronomic Sicily
A wonderful tour of North Western Sicily visiting food producers, eating and drinking and sight seeing. We spent four night in Palermo and three in Marsala. My experience on Italian food and wine was taken to a new level with the help of out lecturer and tour manager. There was a brilliant combinati...
*****
EricaP
28 Nov 2019
A comprehensive cultural adventure around the Ethiopian Highlands.
An extensive tour of the wonderful landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands. Starting at the bustling capital, Addis Ababa and visiting the major historic sights, including Aksum and its' stelae field and tombs, the "new Jerusalem" and its' cathedrals, Lalibela and its many rock-hewn...
****
Culture vultures
29 Oct 2015
Lovely people, dangerous footing in gardens adn strenuous walking, disappointing hotel, wonderful food
The hotel was linked to a visit to a private garden owned by the proprietor's pareents. It was certainly not upto thedelix standards of a hotel on the Riviera.
****
Nini
16 May 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.