The luxury tour operator, Cox & Kings is the appointed travel partner for The Royal Academy of Arts for 2011 and has created a new collection of expert-led art tours open to anyone with a passion for the arts, architecture and archaeology.
The lecturers are with guests throughout tour, making themselves available for informal discussions as well as occasional evening lectures and site-talks, which will supplement the local guides. Through their expertise and enthusiasm, the fascinating destinations come to life making the tours enriching and educational experiences. Most include special visits, access to artworks not open to the wider public or talks by curators of local exhibitions.
Here are some of the tours departing in the autumn that still have spaces available:
Uzbekistan: The Golden Road to Samarkand – 12 days from £1,945 per person
Diana Driscoll, an expert in the religion, history, culture and language of the Islamic world, is leading this tour, which will visit some of the finest cities of Central Asia including Bukhara, Samarkand and Kunya Urgench. The tour includes a visit to the Fayzulla Hodjaev House, where you can see the daily life of a Bukhara merchant in the early 20th century.
The Bay of Naples: Pompeii & Herculaneum – 7 days from £1,295 per person
In Pompeii, special private visits have been arranged to areas not usually open to the public including Casa del Menandro and Casa dei Vetti. Nigel Spivey, a lecturer of Classical Art and Archaeology at the University of Cambridge and author of books on Roman, Greek and Etruscan, will escort the tour, which visits the thermal springs at Baia, Pozzuoli amphitheatre, the Greek temples of Paestum and treasures of Naples Museum.
Florence: La Fantastica – 6 days from £1,475 per person
Fenella Billington, who has lectured for NADFAS, historical associations and art societies, is leading this tour to Florence. Billington has accompanied numerous tours to the city and will guide guests around the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell’Accademia. A walking tour of the city is also included to visit the magnificent Duomo and Piazza della Signoria.
Ravenna: Mosaics & Marble – 4 days from £975 per person
Private entry to see the 6th century mosaics in the Archiepiscopal Chapel has been arranged for this tour. On the final day, a special visit to San Pietro in Silvis, the oldest and best-preserved church in Ravenna, is included followed by lunch at Bagnacavallo. Sally Dormer, an art historian, is accompanying the tour. Dormer is also a lecturer for the V&A Museum’s Early Medieval course and lectures for NADFAS.
Other tours running this year include Prague: City of the Winter Queen, Ancient Lands of Eastern Turkey and The Temples & Treasures of Laos & Cambodia.
Cox & Kings will pay a fee to the Royal Academy for every booking on the arts tours programme.
For more information and reservations phone 020 7873 5000 or visit www.coxandkings.co.uk
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