Four of the best cultural tours around the world in 2020
Expand your mind and enrich your soul on one of these expert-led group trips, says Gemma Bowes in The Times
Textiles in Gujarat
Led by artist Sue Lawty, this tour of the state of Gujarat in western India focuses on arts and handicrafts, with an emphasis on the region’s delicate textiles. There are visits to markets, textile centres, craft workshops and museums, as well as demonstrations of block-printing, tiedye and embroidery. From the desert town of Bhuj, the group will make forays to artistic Banni villages, before a safari into the Little Rann of Kutch desert. 17-31 October, from £3,095, excluding flights (mountainkingdoms.com).
Midlands modernism
“A tour of Leicester, Nottingham, Northampton and Coventry might not sound glamorous”, but this one is genuinely “hip” thanks to its theme – modern architecture. Historian Alan Powers will guide a small group around buildings including the Curve Theatre in Leicester, the Arts and Crafts Stoneywell house, and Basil Spence’s Coventry Cathedral. There will also be time to look at German expressionist art at the New Walk Museum in Leicester. 8-12 September, for £1,245pp b&b (aceculturaltours.co.uk).
Opera in Munich
This trip to the Bavarian capital during its annual opera festival includes tickets for a recital by tenor Jonas Kaufmann, and for two operas – Verdi’s late, great Shakespearean masterpieces Otello and Falstaff, with singers including Roberto Alagna and Wolfgang Koch. In daylight hours there are guided tours of Munich and some of its cultural highlights, and a cruise on one of the idyllic lakes nearby, the Staffelsee, which is on the edge of the Bavarian Alps. 12-16 July, from £2,340, excluding flights (travelforthearts.com).
Gardens of Rome
This tour of the most important gardens and villas around Rome starts in Orvieto and proceeds via the capital to Frascati. Highlights include Villa Lante (a perfect Renaissance garden, “full of cascades and grottoes”), Villa Farnese (another Renaissance masterpiece) and Ninfa, where crumbling medieval walls provide a sheltered microclimate for rare plants from all over the world. This six-night trip has departures in May, June and September from £2,580pp (expressionsholidays.co.uk).