Whether it's Van Gogh in Amsterdam, Wagner in Paris, Van Eyck in Bruges or Beethoven in Bonn, there's a wealth of art, architecture, history and music to discover with Martin Randall Travel's expert-led tours and exclusive music festivals, all of which can be enjoyed flight-free.  Hop across the Channel onboard Eurostar to discover some of the finest art in the Netherlands, enjoy a seven-day festival of piano solos along the Rhine, or experience the epic that is Wagner's Ring Cycle performed across four days in Paris's Bastille Opera House.  Closer to home, many UK tours also conveniently begin and end at mainline railway stations, offering a smooth relaxed journey.

Art in the Netherlands

This flight-free, expert-led itinerary offers a true celebration of Dutch artistic heritage, visiting a range of must-see galleries in a number of cities. Based in Utrecht, one of the Netherlands' prettiest towns, visits are made to Otterlo, Amsterdam, Leiden and The Hague. With their canals, cobbled alleys and gabled mansions, many have changed little in 300 years.

Led by distinguished art historian and former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, Desmond Shawe-Taylor, highlights of this seven-day itinerary include the Mauritshuis and the Kuntsmuseum in the Hague, with their superb collections of Rembrandt and Vermeer and Mondriaan respectively; the Kröller-Müller's collection of Van Gogh at Otterlo, with its beautiful 75-acre park and outdoor sculptures and further works from Rembrandt at the Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden. Two days are spent in Amsterdam, visiting the renowned Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, showcasing the depth and breadth of art in the Netherlands, along with Rembrandt's house which has been beautifully restored and has a display of prints by the artist. Away from the canvas, the itinerary highlights the architectural transition of the Netherlands, from its medieval foundations to the visionary designs of Gerrit Rietveld and Van der Velde, all set against the backdrop of canal-lined historic centres.

Dates: 16th-22nd June 2026, 14th-20th October 2026 and selected dates in 2027

Price from £4,070 per person including Eurostar travel, accommodation, breakfasts and 4 dinners with wine; coach travel; admission to museums and galleries; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Flemish Painting from van Eyck to Rubens:

Another itinerary led by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, this six-day expert led tour offers an immersion into the highlights of Flemish painting, in the original settings where these masterpieces were created. With a focus on the main centres of Flemish art in Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels, these cities still offer unspoilt streetscapes of great architectural beauty. Beginning with the 15th-century breakthroughs of Jan and Hubert van Eyck who mastered the techniques of oil painting, the itinerary explores the birth of naturalism and the oil techniques that dominated European art for half a millennium. Visit some of northern Europe's most beautiful cities and marvel at highlights, such as Van Eyck's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Memling's St John Altarpiece and Ruben's Descent from the Cross.

Travel is by first-class train from London to the heart of the southern Netherlands.

Dates: 30th June 2026-5th July 2026

Price from £2,920 per person including travel by Eurostar; accommodation; breakfasts and four dinners with wine; all admissions; all tips; the services of the lecturer and tour manager and private coach transfers.

Walking to Derbyshire Houses:  Enjoy one of Austen's favourite counties from the beauty of Chatsworth

The highly anticipated Pride and Prejudice adaptation will air on Netflix this coming autumn, starring Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet, Jack Lowden as Mr Darcy, Olivia Colman as Mrs Bennet and Rufus Sewell as Mr Bennet. For those yearning for a slice of Austen's Derbyshire, this itinerary takes them directly into the county declared in Pride and Prejudice to have no equal in England. Offering a journey through the heart of the Peak district, this expert-led tour combines the natural beauty of Britain's oldest National Park with the architectural splendour of its finest estates and smaller mansions. Savour the beauty of the English countryside with the gradual reveal of great houses that suddenly emerge in the distance. Explore the neoclassical elegance of Kedleston, the beauty of Haddon, and the Elizabethan 'glass house' of Hardwick. Accommodation throughout is in a comfortable hotel on the Chatsworth estate, where Chatsworth itself offers a fascinating collection of art and furnishings making it one of the grandest country houses in the UK.

Dates: 25th-30th June 2026

From £3,390 per person, including 5 nights' hotel accommodation; travel by private coach; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 4 dinners; admission to houses and gardens.

The Ring in Paris – Wagner in the French Capital

The highlight of this cultural itinerary is a new production of Wagner's Ring cycle in the Opera Bastille, one of the world's great opera houses. Composed over a 26-year period between 1848 and 1874, the four operas total 15 hours in duration, and make up an epic musical achievement.

This exciting operatic production is by the Spanish director Calixto Bieito, renowned for his visionary and often provocative stagings. Conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the production features a distinguished cast, including Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde) and Andreas Schager (Siegfried) and promises to be in high demand offering a thought-provoking experience of this musical masterpiece across four operas, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. 

This ten-day itinerary is enriched with daily talks and discussions led by Barry Millington, the chief music critic for The London Standard and editor of The Wagner Journal. Visits to a curated selection of Paris's finest museums and galleries, as well as the recently restored Notre-Dame also feature.

Dates: 14th-23rd November 2026

Price from £6,790 per person including travel by Eurostar, accommodation; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 5 dinners, with wine or beer; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager, top category tickets for 4 performances and private coach transfers.

The Rhine Piano Festival

One of Martin Randall Travel's unique music festivals, The Rhine Piano Festival is the first Rhine Festival solely dedicated to solo piano music and sees a celebration of its sound without accompaniment. Seven private concerts will be performed by some of the finest pianists in the world in historically and musically relevant settings such as Bach in the Baroque Schloss Mannheim; or Beethoven's last piano sonata in the Beethovenhaus in Bonn. All the concert venues are intimate, ranging from halls located within magnificent palaces at Mannheim, Bruchsal and Namedy to the Felix Meritis Hall in Amsterdam. Sail from Amsterdam to Basel on this unique seven-night itinerary on board the Amadeus Riva, one of the newest and most comfortable cruisers on the waterways of Europe.

Dates: 22nd -29th June 2026

Price from £4,640 per person including nine private concerts, talks by Dr Katy Hamilton, accommodation on a first-class river cruiser for 7 nights, all meals, from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last, with wine, coach travel, all tips, taxes and admission charges and the assistance of festival staff.

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

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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.