Expert-led gastronomy tours with Martin Randall Travel are a notch above a gourmet holiday. With a choice of destinations including Provence in France, Valencia and the Basque Country in Spain and Le Marche and Veneto in Italy, the tours get to the heart of the gastronomy and culture of each region, unearthing their unique character and quintessential flavours. Top Michelin starred restaurants are often included, but visits and hands-on experiences with local producers, traditional simple meals and wine tastings also feature along the way. The gastronomic experiences are complemented by visits to explore local art, architecture and historic sites, all of which are enhanced by the insights of the expert speakers.

Holidays range from less travelled and unspoilt areas, such as Le Marche and Navarra to Piedmont's Slow Food revolution and Sicily's colourful markets. Many include special arrangements, and experiences that are not possible when travelling independently, such as a truffle hunt on Gastronomic Le Marche or a private lunch on a private island on the Venetian lagoon on Gastronomic Veneto.

Gastronomic Le Marche – Food, wine, art and hilltop towns

Explore this undiscovered region on Italy's Adriatic coast, defined by a landscape where the Apennine Mountains and the sea are less than an hour apart. This 7-night tour, led by acclaimed food writer Marc Millon and art historian Dr Cobiannchi, offers an insight into this unspoilt area, where culinary traditions and art and architecture combine to offer a rich experience. 

The region's food is a reflection of its varied geology with a blend of the more sophisticated flavours of the north with the heat of the south. By the coast, moscioli (wild mussels) are stirred through spaghetti, whilst the mountain valleys are home to rich stews. From visits to olive producers to wine tasting and from the exceptional two Michelin star seafood restaurant Madonnina del Pescatore to a truffle hunt in what is considered by many to be Italy's truffle capital Acqualagna, foodies are in for a real gastronomic treat.

Complementing the food is the region's art and architecture with time to discover some of the intricate works of Carlo Crivelli and Lorenzo Lotto. Their masterpieces, hidden away in quiet churches and galleries, are another highlight on this itinerary that celebrates the very best of this unsung region.

11th-18th May 2026 - Price from £3,730 per person including accommodation; breakfasts, 5 lunches and 4 dinners with wine; 3 wine and food tastings; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager and transfers.

Gastronomic Campania – Food, wine and history in the orchard of Italy

The southern Italian region of Campania, the home of the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Pompeii and Naples, is known as the 'larder of Italy'. This 7-night tour, led by food writer Marc Millin, explores its five provinces, offering insight into how rulers from the Greeks, Spanish and Bourbons, have shaped its modern gastronomy and culture.

Starting in Caserta, examine the Spanish Bourbon era at the Royal Palace, with the introduction of New World ingredients like tomatoes, chillies, chocolate and peppers. A visit to witness the production of rich silky buffalo mozzarella is a highlight. 

Visit the Lombard Duchy of Benevento and the vineyards of Avellino where Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, and Fiano wines are sampled before heading south to the province of Salerno with visits to Paestum and Velia as well as Cilento. The south is home to the Mediterranean diet with fresh fish and some of Italy's finest extra virgin olive oil. The tour finishes with a visit to the historic pasta-making town of Gragnano which produces the most famous artisanal dried pasta in Italy and where there's a fabulous lunch at Michelin starred O Me o il Mare, before a final night and dinner overlooking the bay from a luxury Naples hotel.

21st-28th October 2026 - Price from £4,570 per person including hotel accommodation; breakfasts, 6 lunches and 4 dinners with wine; wine and food tastings, all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager and coach travel. 

Gastronomic Veneto Fine wines and feasts in an historic region

The Veneto region – encompassing Padua, Vicenza and Verona, to the banks of Lake Garda and to the jagged peaks of the Dolomites, is one of Italy's most diverse regions, both gastronomically and geographically.

Led by wine expert Cynthia Chaplin, this 7-night tour takes in highlights of the region's rich culinary and artistic heritage, enjoying gastronomic experiences ranging from Michelin-starred dining to picnic lunches and plenty of fine wines. Starting in Verona, with visits to churches and Roman monuments, small producers and outstanding restaurants, it travels on through the wine hills of Breganze to Asolo, in search of outstanding mountain cheese, sparkling wines and fiery grappa. Experiences include a cooking demonstration at an historic rice mill; olive oil tastings; grappa tasting in an eminent distillery in Bassano de Grappa and a rustic lunch overlooking vineyards at a 500-year-old winery. The tour ends in grand style, on the Venetian lagoon, with lunch on a private island with its own vineyard.

The area's cuisine is varied – with rice and polenta being particular favourites; there is a fantastic array of fish and shellfish from the lagoon and the Adriatic, whilst in the mountains, there are delicious cheeses produced from fragrant alpine milk. There is an amazing choice of fruits and vegetables: asparagus from Bassano del Grappa, radicchio from Treviso and Castelfranco, cherries from Marostica and tiny violet artichokes from Sant'Erasmo. Grapes grow almost everywhere, producing some of the country's greatest wines, including Amarone and Prosecco. Artistic and archaeological highlights include the Renaissance Palaces of the pretty city of Vicenza; the frescos, painted facades and cathedral of the former fortress city of Treviso and the beautiful medieval palazzi of Verona.

6th-13th May 2026 - Price from £4,600 per person including hotel accommodation; breakfasts, 6 lunches and 4 dinners with wine; wine and food tastings, all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager and coach travel.

Gastronomic Navarra Spain's kitchen garden

Move over San Sebastián… step forward Pamplona, on this tempting 8-night tour led by expert Gijs van Hensbergen, discovering the gastronomy and history of Aragón and Navarra in Northern Spain. Small, special and less visited, the region of Navarra is the source of some of Spain's finest produce, with prized vegetables, whilst neighbouring Aragón has a rich culinary heritage, having been home to Juan Altamiras - an 18th century friar whose recipe book from 1745 revolutionised Spanish gastronomy and continues to influence today's chefs.  Memorable foodie experiences range from rustic lunches in hilltop villages to Michelin starred meals, and from sampling the pintxos bars of Pamplona to exclusive access to the private dining club and kitchen garden of one of the region's best chefs.

Start with two nights in Zaragoza and taste dishes inspired by Friar Juan Altamiras - described as 'the 18th century Ferran Adria' (of El Bulli fame). Continue into Navarra, with accommodation in Pamplona. Highlights include a visit to an organic oil farm; a tour by venerable Chef Luis Salcedo of his vegetable garden, followed by a private lunch at his restaurant, Remigio and lunch at Europa (1 Michelin star), perhaps Navarra's most classic restaurant, which has held a Michelin star consistently since 1993. Enjoy a walking tour of Pamplona's bustling pintxos bars; savour dinner with one of Pamplona's historic gastronomic societies, a visit to a family-run winery and a farewell lunch at El Molino de Urdániz, the only two Michelin starred restaurant in Navarra.

26th September – 4th October 2026. Price from £4,750 per person including private coach; accommodation; breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners with wine; all wine and food tastings; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Gastronomic Loire Valley: From the Atlantic coast to Saumur

Once the domain of French royalty, the Loire Valley is one of Europe's most picturesque cultural landscapes; it is now celebrated equally for its wines and gastronomy.

This 6-night tour journeys from Nantes to Saumur, in the company of expert guides, with private wine tastings and memorable meals, exploring the Loire as both a cultural heartland and a gastronomic paradise. Visiting vineyards and chateaux en route, savouring superb local produce and wine, with a range of gastronomic experiences from two Michelin-starred restaurants to country inns and local creperies, additional insight is added by expert speaker Victoria Daskal, formerly managing editor of The World of Fine Wine.  

Every style of wine is produced in the region, from the saline Muscadet on the Atlantic coast, to Sauvignon from the central vineyards; Chenin Blanc; Cabernet Franc, and delicious Crémant.  They combine perfectly with a cuisine rooted in local produce: cave-grown mushrooms, artisanal pâtés and rillettes, fresh fish, and the finest selection of cheeses. Alongside the fine food and wines, the region's heritage is among the richest in Europe, from the working salt marshes of Guérande to the medieval Apocalypse Tapestry at Angers, to the Renaissance façades of Saumur and the grandeur of Fontevraud Abbey, resting place of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

26th October – 1st November 2026. Price from £3,550 per person for six nights, including travel by private coach for airport transfers and excursions; hotel accommodation; breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners with wine, water and coffee; all wine and food tastings; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager. 

To book any of these expert-led tours, visit martinrandall.com or call 0208 742 3355

About Martin Randall Travel:

Martin Randall Travel is a leading specialist tour operator, offering high-end, expert-led, cultural tours to around 40 countries worldwide, with the average number of participants being between 10 and 22.  Established in 1988 and well respected in the industry, the company's mission is to 'provide the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available'. 

Tours focus on various themes, including art, architecture, music, history, gardens, archaeology and gastronomy.

All the tours are accompanied by an expert speaker and a tour manager, so participants feel really well taken care of.  Speakers range from academics and curators to writers, broadcasters and researchers and original itineraries are meticulously planned and researched. Special arrangements, out of hours access and private concerts and events are a feature of the tours, including admission to places not usually open to travellers.