Luxury travel company Cox & Kings has created twenty exciting new tours departing in 2011 which will appeal to travellers with an interest in art, architecture and archaeology.
Here are some examples of trips running this year:
Ravenna: Mosaics and Marbles with Sally Dormer
This trip explores the 6th-century mosaics at the Archiepiscopal Chapel and the Byzantine Church of San Pietro in Silvis. This 4 day/3 night tour is priced from £975 per person.
Ancient Lands of Eastern Turkey with Konstantine Politis
Exploring the legacy of the Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine, Armenian and Turkish heritage, this tour discovers some of the region's greatest monuments, including the Ishak Pasha Palace and Sumela Monastery. A highlight of this tour will be meeting the world's only reader of Urartian letters. The 7 day / 6 night tour is priced from £1,395 per person.
Uzbekistan: The Golden Road to Samarkand with Diana Driscoll
Guests visit some of the finest cities of Central Asia, at the heart of the ancient Silk Road: Bukhara, Samarkand, Kunya Urgench and Khiva. The 12 day / 11 night itinerary is priced from £1,945 per person.
Treasures of Rajasthan with Hilary Smith
This tour combines the imperial capital of Delhi and a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art to see Indian and Colonial art since 1857, with the Mughal splendours of Agra and highlights of the former princely state of Rajasthan, including Jodphur's blue-washed houses and the lakes and palaces of Udaipur. In Agra, a special visit to Kohinoor takes guests to see hand-crafted artefacts and ornaments, preserved by a family who were traditional jewellers of the Mughals. The 12 day / 10 night tour is priced from £2,695 per person.
Peruvian Treasures with David Drew
This itinerary combines colonial architecture and Inca ruins with local community interaction and perhaps the world's most breathtaking archaeological site in the world - Machu Picchu, in the 100th anniversary year of its rediscovery by Hiram Bingham. The 13 day / 11 night tour is priced from £3,145 per person.
All tours include international flights, transfers, sightseeing escorted by English-speaking guides, accommodation with breakfast daily and other meals as specified and are accompanied throughout by an expert lecturer.
To book call 020 7873 5000 or visit www.coxandkings.co.uk