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From Canvas to Cathedral

Our art and architecture tours take you to the work itself, and to the cities that produced it. In the museums of the Dutch Golden Age you stand before Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and van Gogh's Sunflowers. You follow Monet to his water lilies at Giverny and see them again on the curved walls of the Orangerie in Paris. You look up at the Byzantine mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna and San Marco in Venice, find Michelangelo and Botticelli in Florence, and walk the Renaissance and Baroque design of the Boboli and Bardini gardens. And in Glasgow you explore the Burrell Collection, Kelvingrove and the buildings Charles Rennie Mackintosh left across the city. 

You travel with expert Guide Lecturers, art historians and specialists who know these collections and buildings closely, love sharing what they know, and can tell you the story of a painting rather than simply who painted it. 

You don't just see a site like this — you learn to read it. Once you know where to look, every broken wall is still telling you something.

Dr. Eleanor Marsh, Archaeologist & Tour Leader

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Art Masters of Holland

Art Masters in Holland

This morning, we visit the Frans Hals Museum in the charming city of Haarlem. Frans Hals was a Master Dutch Golden Age painter whose portraits are greatly admired, partly due to his use of visible brushstrokes, a new technique at the time. The Laughing Cavalier is recognised as one of, if not the greatest, portrait painting produced in the Dutch Golden Age. The museum's collection includes an extensive array of Hals' portraits, which are known for their lively and spontaneous style. In addition to Hals' masterpieces, the museum houses works by notable artists from the same period, providing a comprehensive overview of Dutch art in the 17th century.  In the afternoon, we head to the oldest museum in the Netherlands for a unique glimpse into the world of art, science and natural history. The Teylers Museum also boasts an exceptional art gallery featuring works from the Dutch Romantic period, as well as masterpieces by renowned artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael.  Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Golden Tulip, Leiden
6 days from £1,795 View Tour
Essential Pompeii

Essential Pompeii

Few moments in the ancient world are as vividly documented as the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.  We know, with a specificity that no other lost city can match, what Pompeii looked like on the day it was destroyed and it is this intimacy, a sense of a world interrupted rather than simply destroyed, that makes the sites of the Bay of Naples so extraordinary. Greek colonists, native Samnites, the Romans (of course), Bourbon excavators and World War bombers have all left their marks on these sites. This tour sets out to explore that world in depth and in context, providing expert guidance with a well-thought-out itinerary, which includes free afternoons for independent exploration and a hotel in the modern town of Pompei for easy access to sites.
6 days from £1,780 View Tour
Gardens of Marrakech

Gardens of Marrakech

Four nights at the Kenzi Rose Hotel (or similar) with breakfast Three dinners & one lunch Visits as outlined in the itinerary Private air-conditioned coach travel Services of an expert Tour Manager
5 days from £1,695 View Tour
Gardens & Architecture of Mallorca

Gardens & Architecture of Mallorca

Away from the busy resorts, the Balearic Island of Mallorca offers a timeless, verdant landscape of wooded hills and orange groves, sweeping bays and rocky mountains. The gardens here are a delight to visit in the warm sunshine, including Raixa and Alfaiba, both with Moorish origins and later Christian influences, and the Gardens of Sóller, a botanist’s paradise. Elsewhere, we visit the monastery of Real Cartuja de Valldemosa, tour the island’s principal city of Palma, with its Gothic cathedral and Arab baths, and take an exhilarating ride on the Tren de Soller, a heritage train that runs through spectacular mountain scenery.
6 days from £1,885 View Tour
Lazio Botanical Wonders - Rome, Ninfa & Vlterbo

Lazio Botanical Wonders - Rome, Ninfa & Vlterbo

From the timeless beauty of Rome to some of Italy's most extraordinary gardens, this carefully curated tour brings together Renaissance masterpieces, romantic landscapes and remarkable private visits. Wander through the enchanting Gardens of Ninfa, where roses, flowering trees and crystal-clear streams weave amongst medieval ruins, explore the magnificent Papal Gardens at Castel Gandolfo and admire the elegant fountains and terraces of UNESCO-listed Villa d'Este. Along the way, discover one of Europe's finest Renaissance gardens at Castello Ruspoli, the celebrated Villa Lante and the world's largest collection of tree and herbaceous peonies at the Centro Botanico Moutan, complemented by time to explore the atmospheric medieval city of Viterbo.
6 days from £2,395 View Tour

Art and Architecture Tours: Your Questions Answered

Not at all. Some guests have studied the subject for years and others are simply drawn to beautiful things, and both get on well. The specialists travelling with you tell the story behind the work and bring art and architecture to life, and questions are always welcome. 

Art historians and specialists who know these collections and cities in depth. Standing in front of a painting with someone who can explain what the artist was attempting, what the commission demanded and how it was received at the time is a different experience from reading the caption beside it. 

Archaeology in Egypt is seeing another Golden Age, this time led by local Egyptians themselves. With new technology and work undertaken in the last 10 years, countless projects are coming to fruition revealing often surprising detail about the ancient Egyptians and how they lived from engineering ingenuity to insights into their beliefs. It is clear that Ancient Egypt is not done giving up her secrets. Alongside these remarkable discoveries, the redesign and modernisation of existing museums, together with the creation of regional museums, means that many precious artefacts which have been languishing in a basement, some as far back as the Victorian age, are now on display.

Galleries and museums, certainly, but also the churches, palaces, houses and streets the work was made for.

Yes, and that is the point of travelling this way. Itineraries are built around fewer places seen well rather than a long list ticked off, and time is set aside at the major collections so you are not moved on before you have finished looking.

Museum and city days involve a good deal of walking on hard floors, and historic centres are often cobbled with steps and no lift. Each itinerary carries an activity level of light, moderate or active so you know what to expect before you book.

Very much so, and many guests travel solo. Shared interest naturally leads to easy conversation, and friendships formed on tour often outlast it.

Spring and autumn suit the city tours best, when the light is good and the major collections are quieter than in high summer. Some tours are timed around a particular exhibition or reopening, and each itinerary explains what it has been built around.

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