Gastronomy tours 2025 & 2026
Why travel with us?
Leading expertise
Since 1988 we have been the most in uential organisation in the eld of cultural travel, o ering 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.
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. eir brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform.
Personal service
We aim for faultless administration from your rst 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.
Congenial company
Our travellers are self-selected by common interests and an endorsement of our ethos. You are highly likely to nd yourself among like-minded companions, whether travelling solo (as 50% of our clients do) or with a travel partner.
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 li our clients’ experience far above standards which are regarded as normal for tourists.
Holiday protection
We provide full nancial protection for our package holidays which include international ights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL); and for those that do not include a ight, by way of a bond held by ABTOT – e Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited.
Award-winning
Five consecutive years as Best Special Interest Holiday Company at the British Travel Awards (2015–19) re ects 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.
Value for money
e 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. e price published is the price you pay.
Find out more about us at martinrandall.com/about
Front cover: ‘A Valley in Piedmont’ by Frank Fox, publ. 1913.
‘Every aspect of the trip was planned with such detail – the excellent tours of a 15th-century cheese company, state of the art farm vegetable co-op, a wine vineyard and a live stock sustainable farm.’
‘An
extremely well thought out itinerary. In addition to some seriously good eating, we met a variety of entertaining and knowledgeable people.’
‘A gastronomic “wonderland” – what more
can one say?’
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
Gastronomic Catalonia
Fine food and wine, art and architecture
3–10
November 2025 • 8 days
Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen
Eat well, drink well: Michelin-starred meals, award-winning chefs and quality wine producers.
Sightseeing ranges from medieval to Modernist art and architecture.
Also includes the lesser-visited city of Girona, and a day in the northernmost reaches of the region, crossing into France.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Barcelona. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Heathrow to Barcelona (British Airways), capital of Catalonia and cosmopolitan market place. Our rst visit en-route is to a Cava Corpinnat producer with views across to Montserrat. Our evening tapeo is a delicious time capsule back to the 1960’s – rustic, authentic and a pure expression of ‘hand into mouth’ joy. First of three nights in Barcelona.
Day 2: Barcelona. Visit the extraordinary Palau de la Musica, designed by Domènech i Montaner, and then on via the gothic masterpiece Sta Maria del Mar to our rst wine tasting masterclass, courtesy of Quim Vila, the God of Catalan wine merchants. is will include rarities from the Priorat and Penedès. In the early evening we visit Gaudí’s Parc Güell, and continue on to the Barri Gòtic, the most complete surviving Gothic quarter in Europe; still the location of some of the nest eating establishments and food suppliers in Catalonia. Dinner is in an intimate bistro –hosted by an acolyte of Ferran Adrià.
Day 3: Barcelona. On the slopes of Montjuïc the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya houses the greatest collection of Romanesque frescoes in the world. Lunch at the world heritage Fonda Espanya, a magical masterpiece of modernisme by Domènech, is followed by a walk through the legendary Boqueria market. An evening visit
takes in Gaudí’s equally astonishing La Pedrera building of 1906–09.
Day 4: Barcelona, Peralada. Gaudi’s true masterpiece is his Cripta Güell, south of Barcelona in a late 19th-century utopian worker’s colony. We visit the 14th-century monastic bliss of Pedralbes before an elegant lunch at the Hermanos Torres Michelin 3-star venue. Leave Barcelona and drive up the coast to the outskirts of Figueres. First of four nights in Peralada.
Day 5: Empúries and Figueres. We visit the cradle of Catalan cuisine and husbandry at the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries. If El Bulli represented the apotheosis of Catalan cuisine –the foundation stone was surely Figueres’ Motel Empordà – classic modern at its very best. e a ernoon will nish at Salvador Dalí’s wildly eclectic museum.
Day 6: Girona and Vic. Girona has a compact medieval Jewish quarter and Gothic cathedral towering over the river. Important illuminated manuscripts and tapestries are displayed in the chapterhouse. Lunch is inland at Michelin-starred Can Jubany, a converted farmhouse serving the very best home-grown produce.
Day 7: Collioure (France), Figueres. Begin with a visit and tasting at the award winning Peralada bodega designed by Pritzker Prize winners RCR architects – the rst sustainable bodega in Europe. Drive into France to the pretty port of Collioure, a favoured retreat for Matisse and the Fauves. Return to Spain for a nal elegant dinner at Michelin-starred Castell Peralada which ends with Toni Gerez’s amazing cheese board.
Day 8: Barcelona. A morning visit to Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving c. 4.30pm.
Image: Castillo de Peralada, Carrer Sant Joan, Peralada, España, ©Manuel Torres Garcia.
Gastronomic Provence
La cuisine du soleil, history and art in the South of France
16–23 April 2026 • 8 days
Speaker: Victoria Daskal
Sample the most abundant, colourful and delicious larder in France.
e dining experience ranges from street food to the 2-Michelin-starred ‘Flaveur’ in Nice.
e wines are equally compelling, among them the simple Provençal rosé and prestigious Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Journey from the Mediterranean coast to the Rhône valley; stay in Nice and Avignon.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Nice. Fly at c. 10.15am from London Heathrow to Nice (British Airways). An introductory talk and tasting of Provence rosé wine precedes dinner near the hotel. First of four nights in Nice.
Day 2: Nice. A guided food walk through Nice is an opportunity to sample local delicacy pissaladière, a sort of Provençal pizza. Lunch includes a tasting of Niçois specialities. In the steep wine hills above the city, taste a rare wine produced in the tiniest quantities.
Day 3: St-Paul-de-Vence, Vence. Mary Lynn Riley, MRT lecturer, resident of the Côte d’Azur and specialist in modern art joins the tour today. Drive rst to the Maeght Foundation, renowned for its collections (Picasso, Hepworth, Miró, Arp, Giacometti, but not all works are shown at once). A ernoon visit to the Chapelle du Rosaire, a Dominican chapel designed by Matisse. Dinner is at two Michelin-starred Flaveur.
Day 4: Cannes, Île Saint-Honorat. e Marché Forville in Cannes is a vast covered market whose colourful stalls are laden with seasonal fruits and vegetables, owers, locally caught seafood, cheese
and charcuterie. From Cannes take a short ferry to the Île Saint-Honorat. On this small island is the Abbaye de Lérins, a Cistercian monastery with a small community of monks who cultivate the surrounding vineyards. We walk through the vineyards, have a wine tasting and picnic lunch before returning to Nice.
Day 5: Cassis, Avignon. An early departure from Nice for the pretty port of Cassis. Visit the hidden bays of the calanques that are home to the bony rock sh traditionally thrown into the sherman’s pot. A erwards, overlooking the water, feast on that amazing festival of the sea, la bouillabaisse. An evening wine tasting at the hotel in Avignon (situated in a former 16th-century residence) celebrates the wines of the Rhône. First of three nights in Avignon.
Day 6: Pont du Gard, Rhône Valley, Les Alpilles. Morning visit to the Pont du Gard aqueduct, an astonishing feat of Roman engineering. Tasting and picnic lunch at a nearby family-run winery in the Costières de Nîmes. Return to Avignon via an olive oil producer in the heart of the Alpilles.
Day 7: Aigues-Mortes, Avignon. Drive through the Camargue, a windswept landscape home to wild horses, and where salt has been harvested from the ats for thousands of years. Lunch is within the medieval city walls of Aigues-Mortes. Return to Avignon for some free time before a nal dinner at Restaurant Sevin (formerly Christian Étienne). Chef Guilhem Sevin, who worked with Étienne for nearly two decades before taking over the restaurant in 2016, creates modern menus in a striking historical setting in the shadow of the Palais des Papes.
Day 8: Avignon. Late morning departure from Avignon for Marseille airport. Fly to London Heathrow arriving c. 4.00pm.
Image: An outdoor vegetable market, Provence, France. © Christian Mackie.
Gastronomic Le Marche
Food,
wine, art and hilltop towns in undiscovered Italy
11–18 May 2026 • 8 days
Lecturers: Marc Millon & Dr R.T. Cobianchi
Unspoilt and exceedingly picturesque – one of the least-visited yet most compelling regions of Italy.
A gastronomy that re ects a varied geology, along ancient byways from the Apennines to the Adriatic.
e region also o ers rich artistic and architectural treasures, including works by Carlo Crivelli and Lorenzo Lotto.
Two lecturers: Dr R.T. Cobianchi, art historian; and Marc Millon, gastronomic specialist.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Ascoli Piceno. Fly at c. 8.00am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino. Drive to Ascoli Piceno, an exceptionally attractive little city, ringed by rivers and wooded hills, where the rst three nights are spent. Evening aperitivo in a historic café in Piazza del Popolo.
Day 2: Ascoli Piceno. Explore the centre of Ascoli, an unspoilt agglomeration of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque buildings around arcaded squares and narrow streets. e walk ends at a producer of the delicate olive ascolane: sweet and juicy green olives stu ed with aromatised meat and fried in breadcrumbs. Watch how they are made and taste them here.
Day 3: Piattoni, San Savino di Ripatransone. Visit the Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi, a bioenergetic garden and park. Tour of the garden with the Principessa Giulia Panichi Pignatelli. Tasting and lunch at the Cocci Grifoni winery and vineyards, a historic estate whose owner’s vision and tenacity facilitated the revival and success of Pecorino wine.
Day 4: Monte San Giusto, Castel dardo, Montecassiano. At Monte San Giusto see the great Cruci xion by Lorenzo Lotto. Continue to Portonovo, home to the pescatori dei moscioli (designated a Slow Food Presidio product). Meet the shermen and taste the mussels over lunch. Continue to Montecassiano, where the following two nights are spent.
Day 5: Montecassiano, Tolentino, Colmurano. Now something of a backwater, the shrine of S. Nicola da Tolentino once made the town a major pilgrimage destination and the sumptuous church has ne medieval frescoes. Continue to an agriturismo for a visit to the orto (vegetable garden) a tasting of local beer, salami and cheese and a traditional Marchegiano lunch.
Day 6: Marzocca, Urbino. In the morning, visit a vineyard to taste and see some of the Marchigian wines produced from local grapes. Continue to Marzocca for lunch at Madonnina del Pescatore, an exceptional seafood restaurant, with two Michelin stars. Continue to Urbino, one of Italy’s loveliest towns, where the following two nights are spent. See the exquisite Gothic frescoes in the Oratorio di S. Giovanni.
Day 7: Acqualagna, Urbino. Some consider Acqualagna to be Italy’s tru e capital. ere is a tru e hunt near here this morning; sample the tru es over lunch in a nearby restaurant. Return to Urbino to visit the Palazzo Ducale, which evolved over 30 years as the perfect Renaissance secular environment.
Day 8: Cartoceto. Visit a cheesemaker and vendor, and see the formaggio di fossa: Pecorino cheese aged in wells. Olive oil and cheese-tasting before continuing to Bologna airport to y to London Heathrow, arriving c. 9.15pm.
Image: Urbino, ©Marian Luzi.
Gastronomic Veneto
From Verona to the Adriatic, the Po Valley to the Dolomites
6–13 May 2026 • 8 days
Lecturer: Cynthia Chaplin
One of Italy’s most varied regions, both gastronomically and geographically.
Some of the greatest and best-known Italian wines including Amarone and Prosecco. Michelin-starred restaurants.
Artistic riches in the dazzlingly picturesque Verona, architecturally spectacular Vicenza and smaller towns such as Asolo.
Led by wine expert Cynthia Chaplin.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Verona. Fly at c. 8.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Venice and drive to Verona. A ernoon tasting at a winery which champions sustainable and biodynamic wine production, followed by dinner at Il Desco (1-star Michelin). First of three nights in Verona.
Day 2: Verona, Sant’Ambrogia di Valpolicella. A major Roman settlement, Verona also ourished in the Middle Ages under the tyrannical rule of the Scaligeri dynasty. Outside Verona, visit the atmospheric Villa di Serego Alighieri, surrounded by Valpolicella vineyards, for a private wine tasting and lunch.
Day 3: Isola della Scala, Verona. Drive south to the rice elds near Isola della Scala to visit the historic rice mill at Riseria Ferron, which dates to 1650. ere is a cooking demonstration here of typical rice dishes, and lunch. In the a ernoon visit an olive oil producer near Verona, which uses artisanal harvesting methods to create only the highest-quality oils, tasted during the visit.
Day 4: Vicenza, Asolo. Leave Verona for the beautiful little city of Vicenza, architecturally the noblest and most homogenous in northern
Italy. Andrea Palladio spent most of his life here, and his buildings include the town hall (Basilica Palladiana) and an epoch-making theatre (Teatro Olimpico). Continue to the lovely hilltop town of Asolo where the next four nights are spent.
Day 5: Treviso. Once an important fortress city, Treviso has a ne historic centre with imposing public buildings and many painted façades. e cathedral has a Titian Annunciation, but the hero of the day is the 14th-century painter Tommaso da Modena: his frescoes of learned monks in the chapter house of S. Nicolò are extraordinary. Return to Asolo for a wine tasting led by the lecturer.
Day 6: Lusiana Conco, Bassano del Grappa. Drive into the mountains to a cheese-maker on the Altopiano, a high Alpine plain on the northern edge of the Veneto. Taste Asiago cheese and see where it is produced. Return to the lower plain to visit the charming town of Bassano del Grappa for a lunch of the celebrated local asparagus. Grappa tasting in the most eminent distillery in town, overlooking the bridge designed by Palladio.
Day 7: Valdobbiadene. Spend the morning at a renowned winery in the Cartizze hills, family-run for over 500 years. Visit the cellars and have a Prosecco tasting here, before a rustic lunch nearby overlooking the vineyards. Some free time in Asolo before a nal dinner.
Day 8: Mazzorbo. Drive to the coast and cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water-taxi) to the island of Mazzorbo, with wide vistas of breathtaking stillness. Visit the beautiful orti (kitchen gardens) of the acclaimed Venissa restaurant (1-star Michelin), taste wine produced from grapes grown here, and lunch. Fly from Venice, returning to London Heathrow at c. 7.45pm.
Image: Bassano del Grappa, with Palladio’s 1569 bridge, © Alessandro Porri.
Gastronomic Belgium & the Netherlands
Food, wine, art & architecture
3–10
June 2026 • 8 days
Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen
Historic cities, unspoilt coastline, bucolic countryside and parks of the Low Countries.
Wide-ranging menus from local delicacies to Michelin-starred meals; sparkling Dutch wines and aged Belgian beers.
Outstanding art, from the Early Renaissance to Post-Impressionism, but with particular focus on the 17th-century masters.
Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, Dutch art historian and author of books on art and food.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Ghent. Depart late-morning from London St Pancras by Eurostar for Lille, and drive to Ghent. Introduction to this most beautiful city via its waterways. A traditional stew follows. First of four nights in Ghent.
Day 2: Ghent, Lo-Reninge, Vleteren. Begin at Ghent cathedral to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb polyptych by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, one of the masterpieces of Netherlandish painting. Drive out to the rural west for lunch in a family-run establishment in Lo-Reninge. In the surrounding Belgian hop elds, a group of friends age golden beers to perfection in Ardbeg whisky casks or limousin oak barrels that once hosted Châteauneuf du Pape. Upon return to Ghent a tasting of exquisitely re ned chocolate.
Day 3: Antwerp. e great port on the Scheldt has an abundance of historic buildings. Visit the house and studio Rubens built for himself; also the small, outstanding collection of Old Masters at the Snijders & Rockox House. Tastings follow, of the curated cheeses of the world’s best ‘a neur,’ van Tricht, and of the rarest air-dried beef.
Day 4: Yerseke, Kruiningen. Cross into the Netherlands to the watery landscapes of the Eastern Scheldt. Tour and tasting at a familyrun mussel and oyster farm at Yerseke. From here to lunch at Inter Scaldes (2 Michelin stars), contemporary creations in a beautiful country estate. Return to Ghent for the nal night.
Day 5: Etten-Leur, Utrecht. Back in the Netherlands, visit a winery and asparagus farm. Continue to Utrecht, a beautifully preserved historic city. Dinner is an opportunity to explore some of the Netherlands’s best rijstafel (Indonesian rice table). First of three nights in Utrecht.
Day 6: Rotterdam, Leiden. In Rotterdam’s Delfshaven from where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail we taste lightly cured herring and the freshest of baby brown shrimp. Drive to Leiden and visit the Museum De Lakenhal, reopened in 2019 a er radical refurbishment. An early dinner nearby is a chance to feast on the national dish – hutspot.
Day 7: Lunteren, Zwolle. In homage to the Netherlands’s dairy culture we visit the Remeker farm to taste the only 100% grass-fed Jersey herd that produce a quite incredible cheese; complex, creamy, crystals of natural salt, deep and totally profound. In the Veluwe forest we lunch at Het Koetshuis, with 1 Michelin star. From there to the Hoge Veluwe National Park, home to the KröllerMüller Museum, with an outstanding collection of Van Goghs.
Day 8: Amsterdam. At the Rijksmuseum we feast our eyes and our appetites on Holland’s culinary past. A nal meal in the museum restaurant, Rijks (1 Michelin star), where chef Joris Bijdendijk celebrates gloriously modest Dutch produce. Fly from Amsterdam Schiphol to London Heathrow, arriving in the evening.
Image: ‘The Milkmaid’, Johannes Vermeer, c.1660, © Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Image: The Canal Grande of Trieste, ©Arno Senoner.
Gastronomic Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Superb food and wine in Italy’s less frequented north east
8–14 June 2026 • 7 days
Lecturer: Cynthia Chaplin
A cultural melting pot of Italian and central European in uences, from rich mountain fare to the freshest seafood.
Some of the nest wines in Italy are from the gently rolling Collio hills.
A full spectrum of gastronomic experiences, from cheese and ham at the tables of their producers to the region’s nest 2* Michelin restaurant.
Iti nerary
Day 1. Fly at c. 1.00pm from London Heathrow to Venice (British Airways). Drive to Udine for the rst of four nights.
Day 2: Udine, San Daniele del Friuli. In Udine, visit the main piazza with its Gothic and Renaissance loggias. Visit and lunch at an artisanal prosciutti cio in San Daniele, home of the lightly salted, sweetest and most delectable of all cured hams. A tasting at a distinguished grappa producer follows.
Day 3: north of Udine, Cormons, the Collio. Discover the inner workings of a traditional polenta mill, where grains are still re ned according to age-old tradition. Continue on to a superb one-star Michelin restaurant for lunch, and visit their vinegar production. A ernoon wine tasting at one of the most prestigious wineries in the Collio region.
Day 4: Cividale, Capriva del Friuli. Cividale is a charming town in the hills bordering Slovenia. See some of the town and sample the delicious local cake (gubana) before continuing on to a local dairy farm where everything is produced organically. ere is a rustic lunch and cheese tasting in the hills were the cattle graze, before
returning to Udine for some free time. Dinner this evening is at Agli Amici on the outskirts of Udine, which holds two Michelin stars.
Day 5: La Laguna di Grado. A er a brief stop at Palmanova (with its unusual star fort design), today is focused on Friuli’s coast – the captivating lagoon around Grado is a tranquil haven for birds, and dotted with tiny islands where shermen once lived in traditional straw huts (casoni). Journey across the lagoon by private water taxi (c. 45 minutes) to enjoy a simple lunch of the freshest sh before travelling on to Trieste, where the next two nights are spent. Evening wine tasting given by the lecturer.
Day 6: Trieste. When the Austro-Hungarian empire was at its height and Vienna was the co ee drinking capital of Europe, it was through Trieste that co ee beans arrived from around the world. e city developed its own sophisticated co ee culture and today remains a centre of importance for the Italian co ee industry. A tour of some of its historic, old-world cafés is interwoven with the city’s literary and cultural history.
Day 7: the Karst. Some of the most interesting and idiosyncratic wine producers in the region are based on the limestone plateau (the ‘Karst’) that runs between Slovenia and the Trieste area. Wine tasting and traditional local snacks (osmizza) before continuing to Venice airport. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving c. 6.00pm.
‘ e tours of the artisan producers were a highlight – all were so enthusiastic about their processes and the nished products.’
Gastronomic Devon and Cornwall
‘The
best larder in all of Europe’
6–12 July 2026 • 7 days
Lecturer: Marc Millon
Encompasses both a study of artisan food and drink production and outstanding restaurants.
Lunch at Michael Caines’ Lympstone Manor ends the tour.
Takes place among some of the loveliest landscapes in Britain.
Most visits possible by special arrangement only and the lecturer’s personal contacts.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Topsham. e coach leaves Exeter St David’s Railway Station at 12.30pm. A simple lunch is included before transferring to Sidmouth for the rst of three nights.
Day 2: Quicke’s Cheese, Pipers Farm. Cheese masterclass and tasting at Quicke’s, awardwinning producer of cloth-wrapped traditional farmhouse cheddar. Visit to Pipers Farm to meet the animals, then lunch on hay bales around the re pits.
Day 3: Buckfast Abbey, Riverford Farm, Sidmouth. Begin the day with a visit to Buckfast Abbey, home to a community of Benedictine Monks. Guy Watson’s Riverford Farm is the source of organic vegetables delivered in ‘boxes’ all around the country. Farm visit followed by lunch of organic vegetables and local organic meats in the ‘ eld kitchen’. Some free time in Sidmouth before dinner at e Pig at Combe, with a menu of foods sourced locally within a 25-mile radius.
Day 4: Haytor. A walk on Dartmoor to Haytor Rocks is followed by a picnic lunch of local food and drink. Continue to Padstow, where the next three nights are spent. Enjoy an early-evening
seafood cooking demonstration and tasting at Rick Stein’s Cookery School.
Day 5: Roseland Peninsula, St Austell. Visit the magical Lost Gardens of Heligan, before lunch at a nearby restaurant. Continue to St Austell Brewery for a tasting of their award-winning beers. In the a ernoon visit Trevibban Mill Vineyard, a family-run vineyard producing sparkling and still wine and cider.
Day 6: Padstow. Learn about the life cycle of lobsters and what can be done to help them to reproduce sustainably at the National Lobster Hatchery. Free a ernoon in the utterly charming port town of Padstow, with an optional ferry trip to Rock and a walk to St Enodoc Church, where the poet laureate Sir John Betjeman is buried.
Day 7: Lympstone Manor. Michael Caines held two Michelin stars at Gidleigh Park for 18 years. His country house hotel which opened in 2017 won a Michelin star only six months a er opening. A special lunch menu has been devised for us to highlight and showcase places and producers visited during the week. Finish at Exeter St David’s Railway Station by 5.30pm.
‘Our second gastronomic tour and our fourth tour with MRT in total. We’re very impressed!’
Image: Seasonal produce from Riverford Farm, ©Anna Cahill.
Gastronomic Navarra
Spain’s kitchen garden
26 September–4 October 2026 • 9 days
Speaker: Gijs van Hensbergen
Small, special and delightfully lesser-visited, the region of Navarra is the source of some of Spain’s nest produce.
Rustic lunches in hilltop villages, Michelinstarred meals at the nest restaurants, and visits to olive oil and wine producers.
Notable is the abundance and celebration of the region’s vegetables.
Special arrangements include access to a private dining club in Pamplona, and the kitchen garden of one of Navarra’s top chefs.
Beautiful scenery throughout, from the arid lunar landscapes of the Bardenas desert to the forested foothills of the Pyrenees.
Iti nerary
Day 1: Zaragoza. Fly at c. 9.15am (Iberia) from London Heathrow to Madrid, to Zaragoza, arriving in time for dinner. First of two nights here.
Day 2: Zaragoza. Lunch includes recipes inspired by Juan Altamiras, an Aragonese friar and the ‘18th-century Ferran Adrià’. His recipe book from 1745 revolutionised Spanish gastronomy. A group of Aragonese chefs continues to pay homage to his original recipes on their own menus.
Day 3: Tudela, Pamplona. Drive north along the Ebro valley into Navarra. Visit an organic olive oil farm; Navarra is Spain’s most northerly olive oil growing region. e oodplains around Tudela produce the nest vegetables in all of Spain. Chef Luis Salcedo leads a visit of his vegetable garden, before we taste his exquisite produce for lunch at his restaurant, Remigio. Continue north to Pamplona for the rst of six nights. Evening walk
via some of the city’s bustling pintxos bars.
Day 4: Pamplona. A morning spent exploring the Navarrese capital, and walking the streets of the famous San Fermín bull-running route. Lunch is at Europa, which has held a Michelin star since 1993.
Day 5: San Martín de Unx, Ujué, Olite. Today we visit several of the spectacularly-sited hilltop villages to the south of Pamplona. First to Máximo Abete, a family run winery that has revitalised the abandoned vineyards around San Martín de Unx. Rustic lunch at a humble restaurant-cum-bakery in Ujué.
Day 6: Otazu, Estella, Eunate. Just outside Pamplona, Otazu is a winery that combines an impressive contemporary art collection and wines of superb quality, holding the prestigious pago classi cation. For dinner we have privileged access to one of Pamplona’s historic gastronomic societies, as guests of the club’s president.
Day 7: Roncesvalles, Selva de Irati. Scenic drive north into the foothills of the Pyrenees. On a gentle walk through the forest we observe the myriad varieties of mushrooms that grow on the mossy forest oor, before tasting them for lunch at a nearby casa rural.
Day 8: Urdániz. A nal lunch at El Molino de Urdániz, the only restaurant in Navarra to hold two Michelin stars (plus a Michelin green star). Chef David Yárnoz is at the forefront of Navarrese culinary creativity and innovation, while also showcasing local produce and traditions.
Day 9. Drive to Bilbao for an a ernoon ight to London Heathrow (Vueling), arriving at c. 2.45pm.
Image: Vineyard in Navarra, ©Turismo de Navarra.
Gastronomy calendar 2025 & 2026
September 2025
21–28
Gastronomic Asturias & Cantabria (ML 794) Gijs van Hensbergen
October 2025
18–24 Gastronomic Piedmont (ML 828)
Cynthia Chaplin
November 2025
3–10 Gastronomic Catalonia (ML 838)
13–20
Gijs van Hensbergen
Gastronomic Sicily (ML 851)
Marc Millon
March 2026
23–30 Gastronomic Valencia (MM 947)
Gijs van Hensbergen
April 2026
16–23
Gastronomic Provence (MM 935)
Victoria Daskal
May 2026
6–13
Gastronomic Veneto (MM 935)
Cynthia Chaplin
11–18 Gastronomic Le Marche (MM 958)
Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi
June 2026
6–13
8–14
Gastronomic Belgium & the Netherlands (MM 978) Cynthia Chaplin
Gastronomic Friuli-Venezia Giulia (MM 982) Cynthia Chaplin
July 2026
6–12
Gastronomic Devon and Cornwall (MM 109) Marc Millon
September 2026
7–14
26–4
Gastronomic Basque Country (MM 157)
Gijs van Hensbergen
Gastronomic Navarra (MM 183)
Gijs van Hensbergen
Gastronomic Loire Valley
Gastronomic Campania
Gastronomic Emilia Romagna
October 2026
17–23
Gastronomic Piedmont (MM 203)
Cynthia Chaplin
Italian food culture: a regional journey through gastronomy
Learn about the history of Italian gastronomy, traditional dishes in di erent regions, and Italian dining culture.
Illustrati on: Fruit and Flowers, Orsola Maddalena Caccia Italian ca. 1630, ©The Met.
CAMBODIA BY RIVER
7–21 March 2026
SAILING THE DALMATIAN COAST
30 April– 9 May & 1–10 October 2026
THE RHINE PIANO FESTIVAL 22–29 June 2026
HISTORY & ART ON THE DANUBE 6–13 July 2026
MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE
15–22 August 2026
MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE
31 August–7 September 2026
CRUISING THE DOURO 14–22 October 2026
Visit
Online talks by expert speakers
‘The Tale of the Two Brothers’: A story to unlock Ancient Egypt
Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
View until 23 October 2025
Muses and Divas: four inspirational women from the belle epoque to mid-century | Patrick Bade
View until 28 October 2025
Paris and the Russian Avant-Garde (1900–1930) | Dr Natalia Murray
Wednesdays, 10 September–8 October 2025 View until 3 December 2025
Cashing in with the Ancient Britons: Coinage in Iron Age, Roman and early Medieval Britain
Dr Sam Moorhead FSA
11–30 September 2025 View until 18 November 2025
Minervas of Science, 1700–1950
Dr Patricia Fara
ursdays, 9 October–6 November 2025 View until 1 January 2026
‘Lloyd is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable and gives us so much fascinating detail.’
Talks are broadcast live on Zoom at 4.30pm (London). Recordings are available exclusively for subscribers to view for up to eight weeks a er a series ends.
www.martinrandall.com/online-talks
CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE
Martin Randall Festivals bring together world-class musicians for a sequence of private concerts in Europe’s most glorious buildings, many of which are not normally accessible. We take care of all logistics, from flights and hotels to pre-concert talks.
HANDEL IN MALTA
21–27 November 2025
EARLY MUSIC IN YORKSHIRE
6–11 May 2026
THE RHINE PIANO FESTIVAL
22–29 June 2026
MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE
15–22 August 2026
MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE
31 August–7 September 2026
THE J. S. BACH JOURNEY
28 September–4 October 2026
MONTEVERDI IN VENICE
11–17 November 2026
Contact us for more information or visit martinrandall.com/festivals
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 (15% of the total booking price) or full balance if booking within 12 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 12 weeks of departure.
Confirming your booking
Once you have completed the above, we will send a formal con rmation. 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 nd 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 tness tests, available at martinrandall.com/about under ‘Fitness’.
‘ e company excellent, food and wine very enjoyable.’
‘ e towns, vineyards and wineries visited were excellent choices and the art was of great interest.’
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
‘Travelling with Martin Randall Travel is always completely wonderful.’
www.martinrandall.com