Royal Academy of Art Tours Worldwide

 

Sign up for our Newsletter

Receive the latest news
and special offers

Name 


Email 


ra-logoWelcome to the 2013 Royal Academy of Arts worldwide tours programme. This range of expert-led art tours has been created by us on behalf of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) and focuses on the art, architecture, archaeology and culture of some of the world’s most fascinating destinations. The programme has been particularly created for the Friends of the Royal Academy, however, the tours are open to anyone with a passion for the arts and will suit enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike, with the aim of enriching the understanding of often complex subjects. The itineraries, which have been created by Cox & Kings experts in conjunction with the specialist lecturers who will be accompanying the tours, often concentrate on specific themes or topics. It is the expertise and enthusiasm of the lecturers, combined with the pleasure of travelling with like-minded people, which make these tours so fulfilling for lovers of the arts.

Armenia & Georgia: Treasures of the Caucasus
art

Armenia & Georgia: Treasures of the Caucasus

10 Nights from £2445
Departed 13 May 2013
Explore the spectacular highland countries of Armenia and Georgia, the world’s oldest Christian nations, both containing a treasure trove of ancient ruins, churches and monasteries together with centuries-old folk traditions.
Umbria: Soul of the Renaissance
art

Umbria: Soul of the Renaissance

6 Nights from £1550
Departed 17 Jun 2013
Travelling in the footsteps of St Francis and the painters of the Early Renaissance, explore and study the glowing frescoes of 14th- and 15th-century painters from Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and Giotto’s workshop on the walls of San Francesco in Assisi to Perugino and his brilliant pupil, Raphael, in Perugia.
Nordic Spirit in Oslo & Bergen
art

Nordic Spirit in Oslo & Bergen

5 Nights from £1845
Departs 16 Jul 2013
Norway’s majestic fjords and its unique climate, with the extremes of the polar night and midnight sun, have forged a distinctive culture.
Copenhagen: Danish Art & Design
art

Copenhagen: Danish Art & Design

3 Nights from £1195
Departs 01 Aug 2013
Copenhagen is justifiably known as the ‘Paris of the north’. Its cobbled streets are lined with beautiful 17th- and 18th-century buildings. The Rosenborg Palace, the ‘Marble Church’ and Christiansborg Palace grace the city skyline with their spires
St Petersburg: Pictures & Palaces
art

St Petersburg: Pictures & Palaces

5 Nights from £1495
Departed 17 May 2013
Departs 18 Aug 2013, 21 Feb 2014
Saving up to £100

St Petersburg is one of the most majestic and compelling cities in the world, much of it unchanged since the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ethiopia: A Journey through Landscape & Time
art

Ethiopia: A Journey through Landscape & Time

12 Nights from £3495
Departs 08 Sep 2013
Unravel the mysteries of Ethiopia on this comprehensive historical and cultural tour. Travel through awe-inspiring landscapes, visiting the tall cliff -churches of Tigray and the world renowned sites of Axum, Lalibela and Gondar, ...
Uzbekistan: The Golden Road to Samarkand
art

Uzbekistan: The Golden Road to Samarkand

10 Nights from £1938
Departed 26 Apr 2013
Departs 20 Sep 2013
This tour visits the most magnificent cites of the ancient Silk Road: Samarkand, the city of Tamerlane, stands noble and colossal. Dazzling blue double domes rise above intricately decorated drums: Bukhara, renowned for its 10th-century scholar sand artists, is laden with 1,000 years of some of the ...
Ancient Lands of Eastern Turkey
art

Ancient Lands of Eastern Turkey

6 Nights from £1625
Departs 22 Sep 2013
Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Armenians and Turks have settled in eastern Turkey, each leaving their imprint.
Madrid: The Golden Triangle of Art
art

Madrid: The Golden Triangle of Art

4 Nights from £1295
Departs 22 Sep 2013
Madrid, the geographical heart of Spain, is also one of the major centres of European art. It is best known for its Golden Triangle of Art, which features the world renowned Museo del Prado, an extraordinary gallery with unrivalled collections from masters such as Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Rubens, Titian and Bosch.
Sicily: Crossroads of the Mediterranean
art

Sicily: Crossroads of the Mediterranean

8 Nights from £2175
Departs 23 Sep 2013, 06 Apr 2014
Sicily is home to fine Greek temples, exuberant Roman floor mosaics, Arab-inspired gardens and superb Norman architecture.
Bay of Naples: Pompeii & Herculaneum
art

Bay of Naples: Pompeii & Herculaneum

6 Nights from £1475
Departed 09 Mar 2013
Departs 27 Sep 2013
The Bay of Naples was once ringed with flourishing towns and luxury villas, and was one of the greatest centres of classical Roman civilisation.
Albania & Macedonia: Cradle of the Balkans
art

Albania & Macedonia: Cradle of the Balkans

8 Nights from £1250
Departs 01 Oct 2013
Albania and Macedonia are home to a rich variety of archaeological and historical sites, spectacular mountain scenery as well as a wealth of art treasures.
Jordan: Crusaders, Traders & Raiders
art

Jordan: Crusaders, Traders & Raiders

7 Nights from £1995
Departed 13 Apr 2013
Departs 04 Oct 2013
Jordan is one of history’s crossroads and battlegrounds, and this tour encompasses the entire range of its heritage and culture.
The Masterpieces of Dresden, Berlin & Potsdam
art

The Masterpieces of Dresden, Berlin & Potsdam

7 Nights from £1845
Departs 05 Oct 2013
Renowned as the ‘Florence of the north’, Dresden’s 18th-century buildings have been faithfully restored to their former glory.
China: A Journey Through Chinese Imagery
art

China: A Journey Through Chinese Imagery

11 Nights from £3995
Departs 06 Oct 2013, 27 Apr 2014
Unlike western styles of classical visual art, which have followed cycles of collapse and recovery, Chinese art has followed a continuous tradition since the first stone art appeared in 10,000BC.
Romania: Mountains, Monasteries & Medieval Castles
art

Romania: Mountains, Monasteries & Medieval Castles

9 Nights from £1625
Departs 10 Oct 2013
Two of the most beautiful areas of Romania are Transylvania and Bucovina, with their fine scenery and old-style towns and villages.
Istanbul: Byzantine & Ottoman Treasures
art

Istanbul: Byzantine & Ottoman Treasures

5 Nights from £1595
Departed 08 Apr 2013
Departs 21 Oct 2013
Istanbul, capital of the great Ottoman empire, enjoyed more than four centuries of imperial patronage, resulting in one of the most dramatic skylines in the world.
Connoisseurs' Venice
art

Connoisseurs' Venice

4 Nights from £1745
Departed 18 Mar 2013
Departs 24 Oct 2013
Much of Venice remains more or less as it was more than 500 years ago, with many important works of art still in their original locations. As such, it offers a rare opportunity to step back into the past and see how the art of previous centuries was experienced ...
Milan: In the Footsteps of Verdi
art

Milan: In the Footsteps of Verdi

4 Nights from £2295
Departs 25 Oct 2013
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. In the month of his bicentenary, follow in the footsteps of the great Italian composer and patriot.
Spain: Pilgrim's Road to Santiago
art

Spain: Pilgrim's Road to Santiago

7 Nights from £1595
Departs 27 Oct 2013
Santiago de Compostela has been one of the most visited shrines in Christendom since the Bishop of Iria was said to have discovered a relic containing the bones of the Apostle James.
Morocco: Medinas, Mosques & Mountains
art

Morocco: Medinas, Mosques & Mountains

7 Nights from £1475
Departs 01 Nov 2013, 07 Mar 2014
Morocco, with its famous medieval mosques and citadels, is truly the jewel of north Africa and exudes a sense of living history.
Burma: Golden Temples & Pagodas
art

Burma: Golden Temples & Pagodas

11 Nights from £3845
Departs 03 Nov 2013, 02 Feb 2014
Burma (Myanmar) has a rich and colourful cultural history, shaped by many influences. The highlights of this tour include the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda, the river cruise from Mandalay to Mingun, the ancient treasure house of Pagan (Bagan) with its thousands of pagodas, mystical Mount Popa and the floating villages of Inle Lake.
Israel & The OPT: Crusaders in the Holy Land
art

Israel & The OPT: Crusaders in the Holy Land

7 Nights from £1975
Departs 03 Nov 2013
Jerusalem had a magnetic attraction for medieval Christians, who were drawn to visit the places where Jesus had lived and died. In 1099, an unprecedented expedition - the First Crusade - captured Jerusalem and established a kingdom that endured for nearly 90 years.
Connoisseurs' Florence
art

Connoisseurs' Florence

5 Nights from £31
Departed 22 Apr 2013
Departs 04 Nov 2013
Florence was once an immensely wealthy and powerful city-state, where families were able to commission great architects and artists to beautify the city with buildings, statues and paintings. As a result, Florence today is a treasure house of artistic riches.
Bruges & Ghent: Flemish Art & Architecture
art

Bruges & Ghent: Flemish Art & Architecture

4 Nights from £995
Departs 06 Nov 2013
Explore the two great ancient Flemish cities of Bruges and Ghent on this well-paced walking tour. During the Northern Renaissance, from the early 15th century until the 17th century, Flanders produced Europe’s leading artists who invented and developed the technique of oil painting with their vibrant colours and outstanding realism.
Rome: Caravaggio & Bernini's High Baroque
art

Rome: Caravaggio & Bernini's High Baroque

4 Nights from £1395
Departs 06 Nov 2013
The works of Caravaggio and Bernini represent two of the most important and influential strands of artistic culture of the baroque period in Rome. The radical naturalism of Caravaggio, whether in religious or genre painting, brought about an extraordinary upheaval among both the public and the artistic community.
Renaissance Rome
art

Renaissance Rome

4 Nights from £1795
Departed 18 Mar 2013
Departs 11 Nov 2013
When the papacy returned to Rome in 1420, after more than a century in exile, Pope Martin V found the city in ruins. Humanists, patrons and artists sought to return Rome to its former glory, inspired by the classical remains.
Laos & Cambodia: Temples & Treasures
art

Laos & Cambodia: Temples & Treasures

10 Nights from £3195
Departs 19 Nov 2013, 31 Jan 2014, 07 Nov 2014
Angkor Wat, the mystical 12th-century temple, is the highlight of this tour. Begin in serene Luang Prabang in Laos, . lled with glittering temples. Cruise on the Mekong river to sacred caves, before flying to Vientiane.
Barcelona: Gaudi's Masterworks
art

Barcelona: Gaudi's Masterworks

4 Nights from £1095
Departs 20 Nov 2013
This in depth Focus Tour concentrates on the history, technical innovations and influence of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), one of the world’s most celebrated architects, and a central figurehead of Catalan Modernism.
Ravenna: Mosaics & Marble
art

Ravenna: Mosaics & Marble

3 Nights from £995
Departed 25 Apr 2013
Departs 21 Nov 2013
Ravenna is the best place to see early Christian and Byzantine church architecture and decoration from the fifth and sixth centuries. In 401AD, the city became the capital of the western Roman empire and mosaic-clad churches were built.
South Africa: Art In The Cape
art

South Africa: Art In The Cape

7 Nights from £2895
Departed 23 Feb 2013
Departs 28 Nov 2013
This dedicated art tour to the Cape offers a comprehensive introduction to the South African art scene both past and present. Our expert lecturer has lived and worked in Cape Town for more than 10 years and has hand-picked a blend of visits to private ...