Update January 2025
CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE
There surely can be few greater musical pleasures than listening to music in the places most closely associated with the composer or the first performance. Linking the music to the places so central to the composers’ lives, and providing the historical context, is at the heart of all our planning, as is ensuring that the music itself is performed by artists of the highest international standing.
Martin Randall Festivals in 2025:
MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE
8–15 May 2025
COTSWOLDS CHORAL FESTIVAL
16–20 June 2025
MUSIC ALONG THE SEINE
16–23 July 2025
HANDEL IN MALTA
21–27 November 2025
Our series of UK Chamber Music Breaks: THE MARMEN QUARTET 11–13 April 2025
STILE ANTICO 26–28 November 2025
Contact us for more information or visit martinrandall.com/festivals
About us
Leaders in the field. Since 1988, Martin Randall Travel has been committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available. Operating in around 40 countries, our mission is to deepen your understanding and enhance your appreciation of the achievements of civilisations around the world.
First-rate speakers. Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours and events. They are selected not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience.
Original itineraries, meticulously planned. Rooted in the knowledge of the destination and of the subject matter of the tour, the outcome of assiduous research and reconnaissance, and underpinned by many years of reflection and experience, our itineraries are second to none.
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.
Travelling in comfort. We select our hotels with great care. Not only have nearly all been inspected by members of our staff, but we have stayed in most of them. Hundreds more have been seen and rejected. We invest similar efforts in the selection of restaurants, menus and wines, aided by staff with a specialist knowledge of these areas.
Small groups, congenial company. Most of our tours run with between 10 and 20 participants. Not the least attractive aspect of travelling with MRT is that you are highly likely to find yourself in congenial company, self-selected by common interests and endorsement of the company’s ethos.
Travelling solo. We welcome people travelling on their own, for whom our tours are ideal, as many of our clients testify. Half the group is usually made up of solo travellers.
Care for our clients. We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. Personal service is a feature.
To see our full range of cultural tours and events, please visit www.martinrandall.com
Martin Randall Travel Ltd
10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH
Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355
info@martinrandall.co.uk
From North America: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free) usa@martinrandall.com
Front cover: Toledo, bridge and cathedral, mezzotint c. 1920. Image (left): University College, Oxford ©Benjamin Ealovega.
Cambodia by River
From the Mekong Delta to the city of Angkor
7–21 March 2026 (mm 893)
15 days • £8,270
International flights not included
Lecturer: Freddie Matthews
Journey by river from the Mekong Delta to Siem Reap, the heart of the city of Angkor.
Six nights in a 5-star hotel in Siem Reap, to see all the major sites of the Khmer empire.
Two visits to Angkor Wat, morning and evening, to see how stone changes colour with the light.
Option to combine this tour with Vietnam: History, People, Food, 22 February–6 March 2026.
Itinerary
If combining this tour with Vietnam: History, People, Food, the tour finishes in Ho Chi Minh City on 6th March. That night is included for all participants on Cambodia by River.
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City, My Tho, Cai Be. Rooms are available on 6th March (flights are not included). The tour begins on 7th March with lunch at the hotel. Overnight Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City, My Tho, Cai Be. Join the ship at My Tho (c. 70km). Take sampans to the fruit orchards of Ben Tre, an area rich in birdlife. First of seven nights on the ship.
Day 3: Mekong Delta, Con Phuoc. Sail to Chau Doc, near the border with Cambodia.
Day 4: Chau Doc, Phnom Penh. Take minivans up Sam Mountain, site of Phuoc Dien Tu – the Hang Pagoda. Phnom Penh is at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers.
Day 5: Phnom Penh. The Royal Palace complex includes the Silver Pagoda. Tuol Sleng, a prison under the Khymer Rouge, is now a museum; see the harrowing memorial at the Killing Fields.
Day 6: Phnom Penh, Kampong Tralach. The National Museum of Cambodia has been well restored. Join the ship at Kampong Tralach.
Day 7: Oudong silk island. Travel to the ancient capital of Cambodia, Oudong. Sail to Koh Nghe Tei known for its exquisite silk products.
Day 8: Angkor Ban village and Wat Hanchey. Sunrise cruise to Angkor Ban village. Sail north to Wat Hanchey, centre of worship during the Chenla period. Moor mid-lake near Siem Reap.
Day 9: Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap, Roluos. Transfer to Siem Reap. The Roluos group consists of some of the earliest temples of the Angkor period. First of six nights in Siem Reap.
There is a chance the ship may not be able to reach Siem Reap. If this is the case, you are transferred by coach (c. 3 hours).
Day 10: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom. Visit after the sunrise backpackers have left, but before most other tourists arrive. In the afternoon enter the 12th-century walled city of Angkor Thom.
Day 11: Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei. Travel to the jungle temple of Beng Mealea. Banteay Srei (‘citadel of women’), a pink sandstone temple, is covered in pristine carved reliefs.
Day 12: Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat. visit Pre Rup, the archetypal ancient Khmer temple mountain; and Neak Pean, unlike anything else at Angkor.
Day 13: Banteay Chhmar. Drive north to Banteay Chhmar Temple (c. 3 hours), the last great ancient temple to be rescued from the tropical forest.
Day 14: Siem Reap, Chandara. Free morning. Later, sail to West Baray, for dinner at a villa surrounded by rice paddies and spice gardens.
Day 15: Siem Reap. The tour ends after breakfast. Participants are divided into two groups for some visits, each accompanied by a guide.
Image: Ruins of Angkor Wat, wood engraving c. 1880.
Savonlinna Opera I
The annual summer festival in lakeland Finland
14–18 July 2025 (ml 739)
5 days • £3,370 (including tickets to 3 performances)
Lecturer: Simon Rees
Three operas at the renowned Savonlinna Opera Festival: Verdi’s Macbeth, Puccini’s Turandot and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov.
Productions here are musically and dramatically first-rate, in the incomparable setting of a medieval castle on an island.
Savonlinna is a pleasant, small town amid the unassertive beauty of lakeland Finland.
A massive structure of rough-hewn granite rising from a rocky islet, the castle at Savonlinna is the largest in Scandinavia. It was built in 1475 and frequently re-fortified during the next three centuries, for this was border country: Nordic occupancy alternated with Russian until modern times. Opera has been performed here in the courtyard since 1912, so it even pre-dates Verona as a festival in a spectacular historic setting. During the last few decades its artistic achievements have placed this festival among the best in the world, yet its unlikely and rather inaccessible location keeps the number of international visitors well below what it deserves.
The courtyard is backed by a starkly beautiful wall of rough medieval masonry: its huge gateway and precipitous staircase make a wonderful setting for productions of operas. Musically, the acoustically-designed temporary roof allows both intimate scenes and vast choral ensembles to sound at their best. In all three performances, the Savonlinna Festival Orchestra and Choir –picked from among the finest instrumentalists and singers in Scandinavia – will have the greatest opportunities to show their strength.
The lake district of eastern Finland is an area of gently beguiling beauty. Thousands of inter-connected lakes meet forests of birch and
pine at an incredibly convoluted shoreline, the pattern varied with scattered patches of pasture and arable land neatly arranged around timber farmsteads. The scenery and pure air provide a restful and refreshing foil to nights at the opera.
Itinerary
Day 1. Fly at c. 10.15am from London Heathrow to Helsinki (Finnair) and drive on to Savonlinna. The 200-mile journey is broken up by dinner in a manor house.
Day 2. After a morning lecture, visit the castle of St Olaf at Savonlinna for a guided tour. The afternoon is free before an early dinner. Evening opera: Macbeth (Verdi) (sung in Italian). Lorenzo Passerini (conductor), Ralf Långbacka (director); Ludovic Tézier (Macbeth), Saioa Hernández (Lady Macbeth), Goran Juric (Banco), Johan Krogius (Macduff), Cassandre Berthon (Lady-in-waiting).
Day 3. The morning is spent on a boat cruising through beautiful lakeland scenery. Some free time before a lecture and early dinner. Evening opera: Turandot (Puccini) (sung in Italian). Yves Abel (conductor), Pet Halmenr (director); Ewa Płonka (Turandot), Amadi Lagha (Calaf), Tuuli Takala or Sonja Herranen (Liù), Petri Lindroos (Timur).
Day 4. Visit the Punkaharju nature reserve and the Finnish Forest Museum. Lunch is included here before driving to Kerimäki, the largest wooden church in the world (1840s). Return to Savonlinna for some free time. Evening opera: Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky) (sung in Russian). Dima Slobodeniouk (conductor), Nicola Raab (director); Mika Kares (Boris), Timo Riihonen (Pimen), Olga Heikkilä (Ksenia), Arttu Kataja (Tschelkalov), Tuomas Katajala (Grigori), Matti Turunen (Varlaam).
Day 5. Drive from Savonlinna to Helsinki for the flight to London, arriving at Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.
Image: Visit Finland ©Sampo Luukkainen.
Roman & Medieval Provence
The south of France in the Middle Ages
24–30 October 2025 (ml 836)
7 days • £3,170
Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski
A remarkable richness of Roman remains and ambitious medieval architecture and sculpture.
Highlights include the Roman theatre at Orange and the great papal palace at Avignon.
Some outstanding Romanesque architecture – at St Trophime, Arles, Silvacane, Aix – in a natural setting of exceptional attractiveness.
Based throughout in Avignon at the historic 5-star Hôtel d’Europe.
Provence can seem the very essence of Mediterranean France. But its settlement was – historically – surprisingly concentrated, and the major Roman and medieval centres are clustered within the valleys of the Durance and Rhône. This is the area which was marked out for development in the first and second centuries ad, and the range and quantity of Roman work which survives is impressive.
This Roman infrastructure is fundamental, and the pre-eminent Romanesque churches of Provence may come as something of a surprise, being notable both for a predilection for sheer wall surfaces and an indebtedness to earlier architectural norms. But it is above all the sculpture which is most susceptible to this sort of historicising impulse. The Romanesque sculpture of Provence is more skilfully antique than any outside central Italy, and is often organised in a manner designed to evoke either fourth-century sarcophagi, or Roman theatres and triumphal arches. The façade of St-Trophime at Arles is a well-known example, but it is a theme we also encounter in many of the smaller churches. For once the truly great late medieval building we see is secular: the mighty papal palace at Avignon.
Itinerary
Day 1. Fly at c. 11.00am (BA) from London Heathrow to Marseille. Drive to Avignon.
Day 2: Avignon. The Palais des Papes is by far the most significant 14th-century building to survive in southern France. The collections of late Gothic sculpture and painting in the Petit-Palais act as a splendid foil, while the cathedral houses the magnificent tomb of Pope John XXII.
Day 3: Villeneuve, Orange, Pont-du-Gard. A day spent within sight of the Rhône, beginning with Pope Innocent VI’s Charterhouse at Villeneuvelez-Avignon. Orange is the site of the greatest of all Roman theatres to survive in the West.
Day 4: Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaison, Venasque. The fortified river town of Pernes contains an important Romanesque church and 13th-century frescoed tower. At Vaison-la-Romaine the sublime cathedral is attached to a northern cloister. End at the stunning baptistery at Venasque.
Day 5: St-Rémy-de-Provence. Drive along the northern flank of the Alpilles to St-Rémy-deProvence, Glanum of old, and proud possessor of one of the truly great funerary memorials of the Roman world, the cenotaph erected by three Julii brothers in honour of their forebears.
Day 6: Montmajour, Arles. Explore the complex that once constituted the abbey of Montmajour. In Arles the amphitheatre is a justly famous early 2nd-century structure. The cathedral of St-Trophime is home to one of the greatest cloisters of 12th-century Europe. The Musée Départemental Arles Antique houses a spellbinding collection of early Christian art.
Day 7: Silvacane, Aix-en-Provence. At Silvacane, a major late-12th-century Cistercian abbey, the monastic buildings descend to the River Durance. Finally visit Aix, where the cathedral provides an enthralling end to the tour. Fly from Marseille, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 6.30pm.
Image: Cathedral of St Sauveur, Aix-en-Provence, watercolour by A.H. Hallam Murray, 1904.
Bauhaus
The birth of modern architecture and design
7–12 October 2025 (ml 812)
6 days • £2,710
Lecturer: Tom Abbott
The art, design and architecture of last century’s most influential art school.
The Bauhaus centenary was marked in 2019, with new museums in Weimar and Dessau.
Includes the Bauhaus college buildings and several pioneering examples of modernism.
The Bauhaus was unquestionably the most influential art school of the 20th century. Much of the look of the modern world has been shaped by its principles and practices. The artists, architects and designers associated with Bauhaus have exerted an enormous influence, on the modern movement and on art education in many parts of the world. By studying the surviving work produced at this educational hothouse in the places in which it was made, unique insights can be gained into the nature of our own man-made environment and the development of modernism. This tour visits all the most important sites, some by special arrangement, of the Bauhaus schools and of buildings designed and furnished by the school’s workshops.
Itinerary
Day 1: Weimar. Fly mid-morning from London Heathrow to Berlin (BA). Drive to Weimar, the lovely small court city which as home to Goethe, Schiller, Liszt and other luminaries was a centre of the German enlightenment; the constitution of 1919 was drawn up in the town which gave its name to the ill-fated Republic whose dates coincide with those of the Bauhaus. Visit the Haus am Horn, built and furnished by the Bauhaus workshops. First of two nights in Weimar.
Day 2: Weimar. Visit the original Bauhaus Building by the Belgian Henry van de Velde
(1904–5), then director of the school of arts and crafts which was predecessor to the Bauhaus; this contains reconstructed Bauhaus work destroyed by the Nazis (murals and reliefs by Schlemmer, Herbert Bayer and Joost Schmidt). Visit the Bauhaus Museum and Gropius’s Expressionist, abstract Trades Union Monument.
Day 3: Weimar, Dessau. Visit the Neues Bauhaus Museum, which opened to critical acclaim in 2019. Drive to Dessau, whose mayor succeeded in securing the Bauhaus in 1925 after nationalist forces evicted it from Weimar. See the Törten Estate (Gropius, Meyer and Muche) before driving on to the hotel. First of two nights in Dessau.
Day 4: Dessau. Visit the restored Bauhaus Building (1926), designed by Walter Gropius, incorporating student accommodation, a workshop wing with a spectacular glass wall, a theatre and a canteen, alongside special commemorative exhibitions. View other Bauhaus buildings in Dessau, among them the Master’s Houses and the Labour Exchange by Gropius.
Day 5: Dessau, Luckenwalde, Berlin. See the New Bauhaus Museum in Dessau. En route to Berlin, visit Luckenwalde, where architects such as Erich Mendelsohn and Richard Neutra created much of the town’s centre between 1919–33. In the Berlin suburb Zehlendorf, see Bruno Taut’s Onkel Toms Hütte estate and some early works of Mies van der Rohe. Overnight Berlin.
Day 6: Berlin. The Bauhaus was closed in 1932 by the Dessau authorities and moved to Berlin, where it survived only six months. There are two major post-war buildings by Bauhaus exiles, the Bauhaus Museum designed by Gropius, and the Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies van der Rohe. See the exteriors of both. Fly from Berlin to Heathrow (British Airways), arriving late afternoon.
Please note: because the itinerary is dependent on a number of appointments with private owners, the order and even the content of the tour may vary.
Image: Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau.
Sailing the Aegean
Voyage to spectacular sites in Greece & Turkey
4–13 October 2025 (ml 818)
from £5,970 • 10 days
Speaker: Dr Nigel Spivey
Cruise in comfort from Athens to the Peloponnese, islands of the Cyclades, Crete and western Turkey.
Includes major sites of Minoan, Classical, Ionian, Roman civilisation across the Aegean.
Exclusive charter on a small ship, with time to enjoy the sailing, sundeck and harbour towns.
Begin in Athens with the Acropolis and two nights in a five-star hotel.
Leading expert on Classical Greece, Dr Nigel Spivey, is our lecturer throughout.
Itinerary
Day 1: Athens
Fly at c. 8.00am from London Heathrow to Athens (BA). Coach to your chosen hotel for the first of two nights.
Day 2: Athens
An introductory lecture is followed by guided visits to the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum.
Day 3: Athens
Choose to visit the National Archaeological Museum or opt for free time. The refurbished museum displays the finest collection of Greek art and artefacts anywhere. Board the ship in the afternoon and sail early evening.
Day 4: Nauplion, Tiryns, Mycenae
Anchor off Nauplion, a small port among the most attractive on mainland Greece. Today’s theme is the Mycenaean civilisation of the Argolid Plain, the Greece of Homer’s heroes. Visit Tiryns and Mycenae. Sail to the island of Syros in the Cyclades.
Day 5: Syros
The morning is spent moored in Ermoúpoli. Free time here to stroll, shop, swim. Sail south through the afternoon to Crete.
Day 6: Heraklion
Moor in Heraklion, centre of the Bronze Age Aegean. Visit Knossos and the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion. Sail overnight to western Anatolia, now Turkey, and moor at Kusadasi.
Day 7: Kusadasi, Ephesus or Aphrodisias
Under the Romans Ephesus became capital of the province of Asia and the wealthiest city in the eastern Aegean. The site is the most extensive of the Classical world. An all-day excursion to Aphrodisias is offered as an alternative. Sail south along the coast in the early evening to Didim.
Day 8: Priene, Didyma, Miletus
Priene is situated on the slopes of Mount Mykale. Highlights of this day include the Temple of Athena esteemed by Vitruvius as a model of temple architecture; the oracle of Apollo at Didyma and the great Hellenistic Temple, the second largest in Asia. At Miletus the most prominent survival is the theatre, but the site is strewn with colonnades, baths and churches. Leave Turkey and sail back to the Cyclades.
Day 9: Delos
Revered as the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo, the small island of Delos was the most important religious sanctuary of ancient Greece. It accumulated great riches, dispersed when Greek power was superceded by Roman. Today uninhabited and visited entirely on foot, it is one of the most atmospheric of ancient sites. The energetic can climb Mt Kynthos for fine views. Evening sail to Athens.
Day 10: Athens
Leave the ship after breakfast. There may be some free time in Athens before the transfer to the airport. The flights to London arrive Heathrow mid- to late-afternoon.
Walking in Sicily
Crater & coast: in the footsteps of history
24–31 March 2025 (ml 646)
8 days • £ 3,890
Lecturer: Dr R. T. Cobianchi
Six walks of between 3 and 8 km through immensely varied scenery, from the lava fields of Etna to salt lake flats along the coast.
Much of archaeological interest, as well as visits to Syracuse, the greatest of western Greek cities, and to the Baroque city of Noto.
Led by art historian and Sicily expert Dr R. T. Cobianchi.
These walks have been chosen to make the most of the protected parks in Sicily, thus helping efforts to restore, waymark and maintain the paths in this remarkably unspoilt land on the edge of Europe. We have included walks that are relatively unknown and countryside that is not easily accessible, but keeping in mind the principles of travelling less and seeing more, we hope to have designed an itinerary giving a fuller flavour of what Sicily can offer.
Itinerary
Day 1. Fly at c. 11.30am from London City to Catania, via Milan (ITA Airways) Drive to Syracuse. First of three nights on Ortygia.
Day 2: Vendicari Nature Reserve, Syracuse. Drive south to the salt lagoons and nature reserve at Vendicari for a level walk along the sandy paths, c. 5 km. Visit the Villa Romana del Tellaro, where a small but superb set of Roman mosaics has been beautifully restored at this former masseria. Return to Syracuse to see some of the highlights of sculpture and ceramics from Sicily’s Greek colonies in the Archaeological Museum.
Day 3: Syracuse, Noto. Visit the 5th-century bc Greek theatre, the stone quarries and the Roman amphitheatre in Syracuse’s Archaeological Park.
Image: Taormina and Mount Etna, steel engraving c. 1840.
There is a short walk (c. 3 km) exploring the Greek ruins at Palazzolo Acreide. Visit Noto, one of the loveliest and most harmonious Baroque towns.
Day 4: Pantalica Nature Reserve. Today’s walk of c. 8 km takes place in Pantalica, where a series of paths within this spectacular reserve follow the Anapo river bed and former railway lines, or meander high along the plateaux; water levels in the river and local conditions determine the exact length of the walk. There is a challenging downhill section which requires sure-footedness. Drive north to Taormina, where the next four nights are spent.
Day 5: Taormina, Castello Saraceno. A moderate circular walk of 5 km starts from the hotel on a paved path, and continues uphill to near the Castello Saraceno on steps. Perched on the hilltop at 400m above sea level, and thought to be the site of the lower part of Tauromenion’s Acropolis, the apex of the walk offers spectacular views of the town and the Ionic coast. Visit Taormina’s famed Greek-Roman theatre and the Roman Odeon.
Day 6: Mount Etna, Piano Provenzana. Lessvisited and less-well known than the southern slopes, Etna’s northern flank nonetheless provides plenty of interest and atmosphere. A moderate circular walk (c. 5 km) on the lava fields from the great eruptions of 2002 with a local volcanologist allows time to appreciate what was known as Mongibello, mountain of mountains. Lunch at a rustic restaurant, before returning to Taormina.
Day 7: Forza d’Agrò. An unspoilt village with panoramic views of the Peloritani mountains and Etna, Forza d’Agrò is the starting point for a 8 km countryside walk, reaching 547m above sea level. It follows shepherds’ tracks through olive groves and terraces; some terrain is very uneven on this path and requires sure-footedness. Return to Taormina for a tasting of some Sicilian wines.
Day 8. Catania. Drive to Catania Airport in time for the flight to London Gatwick (British Airways), arriving at c. 2.30pm.
Aragón: Hidden Spain
Teruel, Zaragoza, Sos
7–15 May 2025 (ml 692)
9 days • £2,960
Lecturer: Dr Zahira Bomford
One of Spain’s least-visited regions, yet one of the richest in history, architecture and landscapes.
This diverse tour includes Paleolithic and Neolithic cave painting, Roman remains, Moorish palaces, Mudéjar and Romanesque architecture.
Other themes include military history: El Cid, Peninsular War, Civil War.
Goya is well represented; we visit his birthplace and see his Horrors of War.
Itinerary
Day 1. Fly at c. 10.00am (Air Europa) from London Gatwick to Madrid. Drive to Teruel arriving c. 6.30pm. First of two nights in Teruel.
Day 2: Teruel. A full day of visits, including the mausoleum of the famous Lovers of Teruel who perished for love of one another, and the fine Provincial Museum housed in an Aragonese mansion. See also the little city’s famous Mudéjar towers and the cathedral’s painted ceiling.
Day 3: Albarracín, Zaragoza. Albarracín is a gorge-ringed hill town founded by Arabs and long ruled by its Christian reconquerors. The defensive wall high on the ‘landward’ side, medieval streets and narrow site make it a remarkable spot. Close by lies a tract of well-wooded country above red sandstone cliffs. Here Palaeolithic and Neolithic communities painted animals and humans in rock shelters. Walk to see some of the most revealing paintings Continue to Zaragoza, capital of Aragón. First of three nights in Zaragoza.
Day 4: Zaragoza. Visit the medieval/Renaissance cathedral with Mudéjar work and La Lonja, the fine Gothic/Renaissance exchange. The Basilica of El Pilar is the 18th-century site of modern
pilgrimage built around the pillar on which the Virgin Mary appeared to St James. Ceiling paintings include works by Goya.
Day 5: Belchite, Fuendetodos, Zaragoza. Belchite was the site of fierce fighting in 1937 which left the town completely ruined. In open and semidesert country, the visit is an eerie experience. At Fuendetodos, in equally bleak country, Goya’s birthplace has been well-restored. The Museum of Etching contains the Caprichos, Disparates, and Horrors of War. Return to Zaragoza and visit the Aljafería, an Arab palace incorporating brilliant additions by Ferdinand and Isabella.
Day 6: Huesca, Loarre. Huesca, second ‘capital’ of infant Aragón, has a cathedral with a dramatic altarpiece. Follow the river Gállego past the rock formations of Riglos de los Mallos. The Castle of Loarre is arguably the finest Romanesque military building in Spain. Drive to the picturesque town of Sos for three nights.
Day 7: Sos del Rey Católico, Leyre. In remote hill country, Sos del Rey Católico is one of the chief sites of the medieval kingdom: Ferdinand of Aragón was born here in 1452 and the town retains much of its medieval atmosphere. The monastery of San Salvador de Leyre maintains Gregorian offices in a fascinating church with a good crypt and western portal.
Day 8: San Juan de la Peña, Santa Cruz de la Serós, Jaca. The monastery of San Juan de la Peña, dramatically sited under a bulging rock face, is the burial place of the kings and queens of early Aragón and key to understanding Aragón’s religious sentiment and history. See the magnificently carved mini-cloister. The 11thcentury church at Santa Cruz de la Serós is a fine example of Aragonese Romanesque. Continue to the cathedral of Jaca with fine stone carvings.
Day 9. Drive north out of Aragón to Bilbao (143 miles) to take the afternoon flight arriving at London Gatwick at c. 3.00pm (Vueling).
Image: La Torre Nueva, Zaragoza, late-19th-century engraving.
Chichester & the South Downs
Great
houses & gardens
26 June–1 July 2025 (ml 727)
6 days • £2,690
Lecturer: Janet Sinclair
The stunningly beautiful landscape of the West Sussex Downs. Based in one hotel throughout.
Great country houses and landscaped parks, charming country towns, inspiring upland and lowland countryside.
Special arrangements and private openings are a feature.
Itinerary
Day 1: Chichester. The coach leaves Chichester railway station at 1.30pm. Chichester Cathedral houses an extraordinary range of modern religious commissions, as well as nationally important Tudor panel paintings. Pallant House is a unique combination of a Queen Anne townhouse with a recent award-winning extension, which holds one of the best collections of 20th-century British art in the country.
Day 2: Petworth, Woolbeding, Pulborough.
In one of ‘Capability’ Brown’s most poetic landscapes, immortalised by Turner, Petworth is an impressive ducal palace of the 17th century. It contains major works by Turner, van Dyck and Blake. Woolbeding Gardens are one of the South Down’s hidden gems. A horticultural haven, the 26-acre garden was created by Simon Sainsbury and Stewart Grimshaw with garden designers Lanning Roper in the 1980s and the Bannermans in the late 1990s. Woolbeding’s new Orchid House (by Heatherwick) was awarded a 2024 Sussex Heritage Trust Award. Bignor Roman Villa in Pulborough has fine mosaic floors in a beautiful Downland setting.
Day 3: Arundel, Fontwell. Home to the Duke of Norfolk, England’s premier duke, Arundel Castle
has Norman origins, later mediaeval parts and 18th- and 19th-century embellishments. The totality is splendid, the art collection outstanding. The picturesque and unspoilt little town of Arundel is capped by a soaring 1870s Catholic cathedral in Gothic style. Denman’s Garden in Fontwell was started in the 1940s by Joyce Robinson and is the former home and garden of the late John Brookes, one of Britain’s most influential landscape designers and garden design authors.
Day 4: Weald and Downland, Parham, Cowdray, Boxgrove. The Weald and Downland Museum at Singleton is an assembly of rescued and re-erected vernacular buildings from the 14th to the 19th centuries, including two hall-houses. One of the loveliest of Elizabethan buildings, Parham House has an extensive collection of 16th- and 17thcentury portraits and tapestries, and a clutch of award-winning gardens. Cowdray Ruins are the dramatic remains of a noble and extensive Tudor palace. At medieval Boxgrove Priory, the remains include a vaulted Gothic choir of cathedral-like proportions.
Day 5: Stansted, West Dean, Petersfield. Stansted Park provides a fascinating insight into the social history of an English country house in its Edwardian heyday. The Edward James Foundation at West Dean has extensive, beautifully-kept gardens. Some free time in Petersfield.
Day 6: St Mary’s, Goodwood, Chichester. St Mary’s Almshouses in Chichester, a medieval hospital with superb 13th-century woodcarvings. Goodwood House, seat of the Duke of Richmond, is a magnificent late Georgian country house with excellent furniture and paintings by Stubbs, Canaletto and van Dyck. The coach takes you to Chichester railway station by 3.30pm before returning to the hotel.
Please note that some appointments cannot be confirmed until early 2025.
Image: Cowdray House, Midhurst, by Michael Coppins, licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0.
Calendar | 2025
March 2025
3–10
Florence & Venice (ml 633)
Desmond Shawe-Taylor
6– 9 L’Ancien Régime (ml 634)
Prof. Glenn Richardson
8–13 Gardens of Madeira (ml 638)
Dr Gerald Luckhurst
10–14 Ravenna & Urbino (ml 640)
Dr Luca Leoncini
11–15 Venetian Palaces (ml 641)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
12–14 Anglo Saxons – the origins of England (ml 636)
16–22 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (ml 639)
Mary Lynn Riley
18–29 Indian Summer (ml 642) Raaja Bhasin
19–24 Strauss in Berlin (ml 643)
23–30
Barry Millington
Gastronomic Andalucía (ml 645)
Gijs van Hensbergen
24–31 Walking in Sicily (ml 646)
Dr R.T. Cobianchi
25–31 Florence Revisited (ml 647)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
26– 4 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (ml 648)
Carolyn Perry
28– 5 Minoan Crete (ml 649)
Dr Christina Hatzimichael-Whitley
31–12 Civilisations of Sicily (ml 650)
Dr Luca Leoncini
April 2025
1– 9 Normans in the South (ml 652)
John McNeill
1– 6 Opera in Vienna (ml 665)
Dr John Allison
2– 6 The Venetian Hills (ml 653)
Dr Carlo Corsato
2– 6 Art in Madrid (ml 654)
Dr Zahira Véliz Bomford
2– 9 Romans & Carolingians (ml 656)
Dr Hugh Doherty
2–11 Tuscany Revealed (ml 655)
Dr Flavio Boggi
2–13 Morocco (ml 659)
Prof. Amira Bennison
3– 7 Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen (ml 658)
3–15
Simon Rees
Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (ml 657)
Dr Peter Webb
5–14 Cities of Catalonia (ml 660)
Gijs van Hensbergen
7–13 Gastronomic Lombardy (ml 661)
Christine Smallwood
10–16 Val D’Orcia and the Sienese Hills (ml 662)
11–13
11–13
Prof. Fabrizio Nevola
Welsh National Opera (ml 663)
Simon Rees
Chamber Music Break: The Marmen
Quartet (ml 664) Richard Wigmore
22–29 The Heart of Italy (ml 667)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
22–30 Cornish Houses & Gardens (ml 668)
Anthony Lambert
23– 1 The Cathedrals of England (ml 671)
Dr Hugh Doherty
24–30 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (ml 670) Colin Crosbie
25– 4 Classical Turkey (ml 669)
Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
25– 4 Ribera del Duero Gijs van Hensbergen
28– 3 Pompeii & Herculaneum (ml 673)
28– 4
Dr Mark Grahame
World Heritage Malta (ml 675) Juliet Rix
28– 7 Medieval Saxony (ml 674) Dr Ulrike Ziegler
28–10 Civilisations of Sicily (ml 672)
Dr Philippa Joseph
May 2025
1–8
2– 8
2– 9
Gastronomic Provence (ml 710)
Victoria Daskal
Art in the Netherlands (ml 666)
Desmond Shawe-Taylor
Courts of Northern Italy (ml 677)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
3– 9 The Ligurian Coast (ml 678)
Dr Luca Leoncini
4–11 Istanbul Revealed (ml 676) Jeremy Seal
6–11 Palladian Villas (ml 680) Dr Sarah Pearson
7–15 Aragón: Hidden Spain (ml 692)
Dr Zahira Véliz Bomford
8–14 Medieval Toulouse & Languedoc (ml 703)
John McNeill
8–15 MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE (ml 693)
9–15 Walking the Rhine Valley (ml 681)
Richard Wigmore
9–16 Ancient & Islamic Tunisia (ml 683)
Dr Zena Kamash
9–19 Mahler in Amsterdam (ml 682)
Dr Paul Max Edlin
10–17 Medieval Normandy (ml 705)
Dr Richard Plant
10–19 Classical Greece (ml 679)
Dr Nigel Spivey
11–15 Gardens of Sintra (ml 698)
Dr Gerald Luckhurst
12–18 Walking Hadrian’s Wall (ml 684)
Dr Matthew Symonds
12–18 Gastronomic Friuli-Venezia Giulia (ml 686) Marc Millon
12–25 The Western Balkans (ml 685)
Prof. Cathie Carmichael
13–16 Norman Conquest & Plantagenet Power (ml 694) Dr Marc Morris
13–18 Tuscan Gardens (ml 688)
Dr Katie Campbell
14–20 Shostakovich Festival Leipzig (ml 687)
Elizabeth Wilson
15–27 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (ml 689)
Dr Peter Webb
16–23 Art in Scotland (ml 690)
Desmond Shawe-Taylor
19–23 Arts & Crafts in the Lake District (ml 691)
Janet Sinclair
19–25 Prague Spring (ml 702)
Dr Michael Downes
19–28 The Venetian Land Empire (ml 695)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
22– 1 Moldavia & Transylvania (ml 696)
Dr Shona Kallestrup
26– 1 Austria: Abbeys & Organs (ml 699)
Simon Williams
27– 2 Dresden Music Festival (ml 700)
Barry Millington
27– 3 Footpaths of Umbria (ml 701)
Nigel McGilchrist
30– 7 Medieval Burgundy (ml 704)
John McNeill
June 2025
2– 6
Great Private Houses in Norfolk (ml 707)
Dr Andrew Moore
2–13 Art in Japan (ml 708) Prof. Timon Screech
3–10 The Ring in Basel (ml 709) Barry Millington
6–18 The Road to Santiago (ml 712)
Dr Richard Plant
9–15 Traversing the Tyrol (ml 714)
Dr Ulrike Ziegler
9–24 Eastern Turkey (ml 713) Ian Colvin
10–16 In Search of Alexander (ml 718)
Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
10–16 Moving on: Architecture & Memory (ml 715) Tom Abbott
11–16 Leipzig Bach Festival (ml 716)
Prof. John Butt OBE
13–20 Treasures of Moravia (ml 706)
Martina Hinks-Edwards
13–21 Great Irish Houses (ml 717)
Anthony Lambert
16–20 The Welsh Marches (ml 719) John McNeill
16–20 COTSWOLDS CHORAL FESTIVAL (ml 720)
18–30 Galleries of the American Midwest (ml 721) Gijs van Hensbergen
23–27 Lincolnshire Churches (ml 722)
John McNeill
23–29 Connoisseur’s Vienna (ml 725)
Dr Jarl Kremeier
24–29 Stockholm Modern (ml 723)
Prof. Harry Charrington
26–30 Garsington & Glyndebourne (ml 724)
Dr John Allison
26– 1 Chichester & the South Downs (ml 727)
Janet Sinclair
30– 4 Medieval Oxfordshire (ml 730)
John McNeill
30– 7 Great Swedish Houses (ml 731)
Ulrica Häller
July 2025
1– 6 Flemish Painting (ml 732) Dr Sue Jones
6–13 Lofoten Festival (ml 735)
Dr Michael Downes
7–13
11–14
14–18
Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern borderlands (ml 736) Dr Jarl Kremeier
Versailles: Seat of the Sun King (ml 738) Patrick Bade
Savonlinna Opera I (ml 739) Simon Rees
16–23 MUSIC ALONG THE SEINE (ml 740)
20–25 Savonlinna Opera II (ml 743)
Dr John Allison
23–29 French Gothic (ml 744)
Dr Jana Gajdošová
24–31 The Hanseatic League (ml 745)
Andreas Puth
27– 3 Santa Fe Opera (ml 750)
Dr John Allison
30– 3 Verona Opera (ml 749)
Dr R. T. Cobianchi, Dr Bruno Bower
Bayreuth Festspiele
Beaune Music Festival
Gstaad Menuhin Festival
Lockenhaus Festival
August 2025
4–11
6–14
Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania (ml 752)
Dr Hugh Doherty
Baroque & Rococo (ml 753) Tom Abbott
13–20 Iceland’s Story (ml 760) Dr Chris Callow
22–28 The Schubertiade (ml 761)
Richard Wigmore
24– 1 Mitteldeutschland (ml 762)
Dr Jarl Kremeier
26– 1 Walking in Southern Bohemia (ml 763)
Martina Hinks-Edwards
31– 5 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (ml 765)
Anthony Lambert
31– 5 The Lucerne Festival (ml 764)
Dr Michael Downes
Drottningholm & Confidencen
Salzburg Summer
September 2025
1– 5 The Age of Bede (ml 767) Imogen Corrigan
1– 8 Gastronomic Basque Country (ml 769)
Gijs van Hensbergen
1–17 Peru: the Andean Heartland (ml 766)
Dr David Beresford-Jones
3–10
Cave Art of France (ml 768) Dr Paul Bahn
4–16 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (ml 771)
5–12
Dr Richard McClary
Courts of Northern Italy (ml 770)
Prof. Fabrizio Nevola
5–13 Sacred Armenia (ml 774)
Ian Colvin
5–15 Frank Lloyd Wright (ml 773)
Prof. Harry Charrington
6–15 Classical Greece (ml 775) Dr Nigel Spivey
7–11
7–14
Châteaux of the Loire Dr Sarah Pearson
Art in Le Marche (ml 783)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
8–12 Castles of Wales (ml 781) Dr Marc Morris
8–14 The Imperial Riviera (ml 776)
Dr Mark Thompson
9–16 Trecento Frescoes (ml 772)
Donal Cooper
10–17 Parma & Bologna (ml 777)
Dr R.T. Cobianchi
12–20 Great Houses of the North (ml 779)
Christopher Garibaldi
15–20 Gardens & Villas of Campagna Romana (ml 784) Amanda Patton
15–22 The Heart of Italy (ml 786) Leslie Primo
15–25 Georgia Uncovered (ml 785) Ian Colvin
16–23 Medieval Champagne John McNeill
17–25 The Cathedrals of England (ml 788)
Dr Hugh Doherty
17–26 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (ml 787)
17–26
Carolyn Perry
Scottish Houses & Castles (ml 791)
Alistair Learmont
17–28 Walking to Santiago (ml 778)
Dr Rose Walker
18–27 Sicily: from the Greeks to the Baroque (ml 789) Dr Mark Grahame
19–26 Gastronomic Asturias & Cantabria
Gijs van Hensbergen
19–29 West Coast Architecture (ml 790)
21–27 Early Railways: the North (ml 793)
Anthony Lambert
29– 4 Pompeii & Herculaneum (ml 801)
Dr Nigel Spivey
29– 4 Friuli Venezia-Giulia (ml 805)
Dr Carlo Corsato
29– 9 Essential Andalucía (ml 803)
Dr Philippa Joseph Bayreuth Barockfest
Beethoven in Bonn
Cold War Berlin
Samarkand & Silk Road Cities
Turner
Yorkshire Modern
October 2025
1– 8 Cyprus: stepping stone of history
2– 8 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (ml 807) Amanda Patton
2– 8 Piero della Francesca (ml 806)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
4–13 Bulgaria (ml 808) Dr Nikola Theodossiev
4–13 Sailing the Aegean (ml 818)
Dr Nigel Spivey
6–13 Habsburg Austria (ml 811)
Dr Jarl Kremeier
6–19 The Western Balkans (ml 814)
Dr Mark Thompson
7–12 Bauhaus (ml 812) Tom Abbott
7–13 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (ml 813)
Monica Bohm-Duchen
7–14 Fiesole to Lucca: Tuscany on Foot (ml 816)
Dr Thomas-Leo True
10–18 Basilicata & Calabria (ml 810) John McNeill
13–17 Siena & San Gimignano (ml 780)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
13–17 Ravenna & Urbino (ml 815)
Dr Luca Leoncini
13–22 Castile & León (ml 825)
Gijs van Hensbergen
16–25 Extremadura (ml 826) Chris Moss
18–24 Gastronomic Piedmont (ml 828)
Cynthia Chaplin
18–26 Essential Jordan (ml 829)
Prof. Graham Philip
20–27 Footpaths of Umbria (ml 831)
Dr Thomas-Leo True
20– 1 Civilisations of Sicily (ml 832) John McNeill
20– 1 Traditions of Japan (ml 833)
Prof. Timon Screech
23–30 Istanbul Revealed (ml 835) Jeremy Seal
24–30 Roman & Medieval Provence (ml 836)
Dr Alexandra Gajewski
24– 3 Oman: Landscapes & Peoples (ml 837)
Dr Peter Webb
28– 2 Palladian Villas (ml 847)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 1492 Giles Tremlett
Opera at Wexford
The Douro
In Churchill’s Footsteps
November 2025
1– 8 Ancient & Islamic Tunisia
3–10 Gastronomic Catalonia
Gijs van Hensbergen
4–15 Art in Japan (ml 844) Dr Monika Hinkel
4–16 Painted Palaces of Rajasthan (ml 843)
Dr Giles Tillotson
5– 9 Art in Madrid (ml 845) Dr Xavier Bray
5–14 Great Palaces of Italy Dr Luca Leoncini
6–17 Japanese Gardens (ml 846)
Yoko Kawaguchi
10–16 Art History of Venice (ml 849)
Dr Susan Steer
11–15 Venetian Palaces (ml 848)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
13–16 Les Années Folles Patrick Bade
13–20 Gastronomic Sicily (ml 851) Marc Millon
14– 20 World Heritage Malta (ml 809) Juliet Rix
17–23 The Art of Florence (ml 852)
Dr Flavio Boggi
21–26 HANDEL IN MALTA (ml 850)
24– 1
The Printing Revolution (ml 853)
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, Stephen Parkin
26–28 Chamber Music Break: Stile Antico (ml 854)
Granada & Córdoba
Symposium
December 2025
We usually offer around seven tours over Christmas and New Year. Please contact us to register your interest – either call us, or send an e-mail to alerts@martinrandall.co.uk
Calendar | 2026
January 2026
24–30 String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam
31–11 Architecture of the British Raj
Kingdoms of Southern India
Valletta Baroque Festival
Oman: Landscapes & Peoples
Caravaggio
Mozart in Salzburg
Venetian Palaces
February 2026
22– 6 Vietnam: History, People, Food (mm 886)
Dr Dana Healy
Opera in Paris
Granada & Córdoba
Pompeii & Herculaneum
The Art of Florence
Connoisseur’s Rome
Florentine Palaces
Essential Rome
Hamburg: Opera & ‘Elphi’
March 2026
7–21 Cambodia by River (mm 893)
Freddie Matthews
Bengal by River
Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity
Minoan Crete
Art in Texas
Ancien Régime Paris
Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur
Gardens of the Riviera
Essential Andalucía
Art in Madrid
Cities of al-Andalus Gardens of Madeira
Eastern Sicily
Venetian Palaces
Normans in the South
Civilisations of Sicily
Ravenna & Urbino
Ancient Rome
Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese
Italian Modern: Turin & Milan
Welsh National Opera
Beauty & the Abyss: Viennese Modernism
Music in Berlin
The Ring at La Scala
April 2026
Albania Revisited
Samarkand & Silk Road Cities
World Heritage Malta
Morocco
Central Anatolia
Monet & Impressionism
Gaudí in Spain
Extremadura
The Duero River: from Source to Sea
Medieval Pyrenees
Ravenna & Urbino
Gardens & Villas of the Veneto
Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes
Val d’Orcia and the Sienese Hills
Gardens of Sicily
Genoa & Turin
Gastronomic Campania
Pompeii & Herculaneum
The Heart of Italy
Naples
Civilisations of Sicily
Baroque Music in the Bolivian Missions
Opera In Vienna
The Hanseatic League
Tom Abbott’s Berlin
Romans & Carolingians
Art in Japan
Opera in Copenhagen
The Ring in Helsinki
May 2026
13–21 The Cathedrals of England
Traditions of Japan
The Western Balkans
Moldavia & Transylvania
Istanbul Revealed
Classical Turkey
Ancient & Islamic Tunisia
Classical Greece
Samarkand & Silk Road Cities
East Coast Galleries
Versailles: Seat of the Sun King
Medieval Alsace
Gastronomic Provence
Madrid & Toledo
The Road to Santiago
Two Spains: the Spanish Civil War & its aftermath
Gastronomic Valencia
Gardens of Sintra
Gastronomic Friuli Venezia Giulia
Gastronomic Le Marche
Lucca
Tuscan Gardens
Masters of Milan
The Ligurian Coast
Courts of Northern Italy
Venetian Land Empire
Footpaths of Umbria
Palladian Villas
Art in Scotland
Cornwall Modern
Great Houses of the South West
Ardgowan
New English Gardens and Chelsea
Walking Hadrian’s Wall
The Ring in Dresden
Walking the Rhine Valley
The Dresden Music Festival
Art in Switzerland
Bergen Music Festival
June 2026
22–26
Medieval Sussex and Hampshire
John McNeill
22–29 A CELEBRATION OF PIANO ALONG
29–3
THE RHINE
Medieval East Anglia John McNeill
Flemish Painting
Art in the Netherlands
Gastronomy & the Golden Age
Kraków & Silesia
Eastern Turkey
In Search of Alexander
French Gothic
Great French Gardens
Medieval Burgundy
Asturias & Cantabria
Aosta & Como
Gastronomic Veneto
Gardens of the Bay of Naples
Trasimeno
Glyndebourne Opera Festival
The Industrial Revolution
At Home in Weston Park
Shropshire Houses
Gardens in the Highlands
Great Gardens of Southern England
Walking to Derbyshire Houses
Roman Southern Britain
The Ring in Berlin
Organs of Bach’s Time
German Gothic
Leipzig Bach Festival
Swiss Modern
Budapest EARLY MUSIC IN YORK
Copenhagen Modern
Hindsgavl Music Festival
Finland: Aalto & Others
Great Irish Houses
West Cork Chamber Music Festival
Great Swedish Houses
July 2026
6–13
Sailing the Danube
The Beaune Music Festival
Verona Opera
Lancashire Houses
In Churchill’s Footsteps
Tudor England
Gastronomic South West England
Opera in Munich & Bregenz
Vienna’s Masterpieces
The Hanseatic League
Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern borderlands
Franconia
Bayreuth Festspiele
Gstaad Menuhin Festival
Danish Art & Design
Savonlinna Opera
Arts & Crafts in Ireland
The Lofoten Music Festival
August 2026
6–13 Orkney: 5,000 years of culture
15–22
MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE
Estonia
Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania
Asian Frontiers – China & Islam
Royal Residences
A History of Scotland
Maritime England
The Schubertiade
Walking the Danube
Salzburg Summer
King Ludwig II
Baroque & Rococo
The Lucerne Festival
The Sibelius Festival
Iceland’s Story
Drottningholm Opera
September 2026
9–17 The Cathedrals of England
MUSIC ALONG THE DOURO
Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity
Flemish Painting
Connoisseur’s Prague
Kingdom of Bohemia
Samarkand & Silk Road Cities
Classical Greece
Frank Lloyd Wright
Châteaux of the Loire
Feudal Francia
Neanderthals in France
Gastronomic Loire Valley
Gastronomic Basque Country
Gastronomic Galicia
Walking to Santiago
Cave Art of Spain
Normans in the South
Trecento Frescoes
Courts of Northern Italy
Cave Art in Italy
Northern Lazio & Abruzzo
Heart of Italy
Gastronomic Emilia Romagna
Civilisations of Sicily
Imperial Riviera
Dark Age Brilliance
Piero della Francesca
The Etruscans
Pompeii & Herculaneum
Sardinia
The Age of Bede
Arts & Crafts in the Cotswolds
Victorian Painting
Yorkshire Houses
England’s Georgian Towns
Scottish Houses and Castles
Walking a Royal River
Norman Conquest
Cold War, Berlin
Rhineland Palaces & Castles
Music in the Saxon Hills
Bayreuth Barockfest
Beethoven in Bonn
Sacred Armenia
Georgia Uncovered
October 2026
Traditions of Japan
The Western Balkans
Bulgaria
Art in the Netherlands
Moldavia & Transylvania
World Heritage Malta
Oman: Landscapes & Peoples
Essential Jordan
Istanbul Revealed
Eastern Turkey
New England Modern
Roman & Medieval Provence
Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur
1492 (Giles Tremlett)
Castile & León
Gastronomic Navarra
Essential Andalucía
The Douro
Essential Rome
Courts of Northern Italy
Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes
Gastronomic Puglia
Gastronomic Piedmont
Civilisations of Sicily
Early Christian & Medieval Rome
Ravenna & Urbino
Palermo Revealed
Palladian Villas
Raphael
Connoisseur’s Pompeii
Footpaths of Umbria
Walking in Southern Tuscany
Opera North Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden
Wexford Festival Opera
November 2026
11–17 MONTEVERDI IN VENICE
21–6 Essential India
Buddhism in India
Connoisseur’s New York
Art in Japan
Japanese Gardens
Music of the Czech Lands
Egypt
Opera in Paris
Art in Paris
Art in Madrid
The Making of Argentina
Lands of the Maya
Venetian Palaces
The Art of Florence
Venice Remade
Heaven & Hell
Early Music in Cremona and Milan
The Story of Venice
Venice Revisited
December 2026
We usually offer around seven tours over Christmas and New Year. Please contact us to register your interest – either call us, or send an e-mail to alerts@martinrandall.co.uk
How to book
Either: on our website
Click ‘Book now’ on any tour page. Fill in your details, consent to the booking conditions, and pay the deposit (10% of the total booking price) or full balance if booking within 10 weeks of departure.
Or: by telephone or e-mail
Call or e-mail us to make a provisional booking, which we hold for up to 72 hours. Within that time, we require you to complete a booking form (we can provide this electronically or by post) and pay the deposit, or full balance if booking within 10 weeks of departure.
Confirming
your booking
Once you have completed the above, we will send a formal confirmation. Your deposit is then nonrefundable except under the special circumstances mentioned in our booking conditions.
Booking
conditions
It is important that you read these before committing to a booking. We will direct you to these when you book, but you can also find them online: www.martinrandall.com/terms
Fitness
Ensure also that you have read ‘How strenuous’ in the ‘Practicalities’ section of the tour description –and that you have taken our fitness tests, available at martinrandall.com/about under ‘Fitness’.
Online talks by expert speakers
The Reformation and Art in Germany
Dr Ulrike Ziegler
£65 | View until 16 January 2025
Fake Heritage – from Artefact to Artifice John Darlington
£75 | View until 5 February 2025
Questioning the First Christmas: the Nativity Story in Early Christian Traditions
Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
£55 | View until 13 February 2025
Early Christian and Medieval Rome: Architecture and imagery from Constantine to Innocent II | John McNeill
£75 | View until 1 April 2025
Image: The Nativity (The Met, 06.1214).
Martin Randall Travel Ltd
10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH
Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk
From North America: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free) usa@martinrandall.com
ATOL 3622 | ABTOT 5468 | AITO 5085
Made in China: Looking at art, grasping art history | Prof. Oliver Moore
£65 | Thursdays, 9 January–6 February 2025
View until 3 April 2025
The History of Islam told by its Great Buildings | Dr Peter Webb
£75 | Mondays & Wednesdays, 10–26 February 2025 View until 23 April 2025
Talks are broadcast live on Zoom at 4.30pm (London). Recordings are available exclusively for subscribers to view for up to eight weeks after a series ends.
www.martinrandall.com/online-talks
www.martinrandall.com