Last chance for Rome 2027
We are leading one of our wonderful art-lovers trips this April 2027: to Rome.
An immersive exploration of the world’s greatest art city, in fun, intelligent and excellent company.
The trip runs 11th-16th April, 2027
If you’d like to join us, the deadline is coming up; so please sign up soon and just below, you will find the procedure for how to join us…
Introduction.
Some of you will remember our first two “Dublin Decoded” overseas excursions – to the magical city of Venice in October 2025, and to Rouen and Normandy in May of 2026.
Both were terrific successes: enjoyable, highly convivial, and stuffed with beautiful art treasures.
They were, however, only ever meant to be the opening chapters of a much longer story.
Over the next six or seven years, we plan to lead a whole series of these trips,
to destinations including Florence, the Veneto (Verona, Padua and Vicenza),
Belgium and Bruges, another trip back to Venice wiythin teh next 3 years, and other trips to France and Italy, including, of course, this trip to my former home, the Eternal City of Rome.
Our general approach
We tend to focus on quite high-end, small-group tours: staying in excellent hotels, using good restaurants, the best local guides and experts,
and with plenty of cultural “inclusions”
all with quite small groups – typically no more than 10 to 12 guests.
Previous trips have had a mix of couples and solo travelers.
Solo travelers by the way, are always made feel very welcome, and always fully included,
at more informal, evening excursions, like for example, smaller groups going out to dinner.
Our April 2027 overseas art trip: Rome
Given the size and richness of the Eternal City, and because Rome is so much larger than either Venice or Rouen, so this trip runs a little longer than our previous excursions – at four full days, plus two half-days. Inevitably, and with 5 nights accommodation, the costs somewhat more as a result. There’s really no way around that, alas.
Our walking tours will be led by one of Rome’s foremost experts, guiding our walking tours and excursions – and I’m absolutely thrilled to have her on board.
I lived in Rome myself, and remain more than a little obsessed with the place, so I’ll be on hand every day too of course, throughout both trips and providing additional value, content, company, and practical help.
The details and itinerary for the our Trip are entirely confirmed. This trip is also almost full. Please note that there have been some changes to the itinerary, and the approach of the second trip. This is partially because we wanted to bring the price down slightly, and partially because we wanted to offer something more evolved and off-beat than the Unmissable, Classic Highlights approach, of our first Week-One excursion.
Ultimate Rome: from Sunday 11th to Friday 16th April, inclusive,
covers most of Rome’s unmissable, classic sights, such as
the Colosseum, the Forum, the temples and fragments from Ancient Rome; as well as the legendary Renaissance works by Raphael and Michelangelo at the Vatican Museums; and highlights of Baroque Rome, such as Caravaggio’s masterpieces in various churches, and the stunning sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the Galleria Borghese. There could be no better introduction than this trip, to to the many faces of Rome.
We are now taking firm bookings (only) and deposits for Week-One, Sunday 11th to Friday 16th April, inclusive. Only two places remain, although we do also operate a wait-list.
Exploring “four Romes”
Rome, of course, isn’t really one city but several, layered one on top of another.
Over our four full days together, and two half days, on both trips we will explore many aspects of:
Ancient Rome:
the grandeur, the temples and fragments of the age of the Caesars, discovered on foot, in piazzas, side streets, and even – re-purposed and reused – embedded into the walls of old Christian churches. All of it explored, with superb guiding and with expert historical, and art-historical interpretation.
Medieval Rome:
a sometimes-overlooked side of the Eternal City, and one of the most rewarding. We’ll seek out the shimmering mosaics and venerable churches of medieval Rome, and see how the visual language of early Christian worship developed through art, including visits to some of the oldest and most fascinating churches in Rome.
Renaissance Rome:
our trip includes a visit to the unmissable Vatican Museums, beginning among some of the most celebrated statues of classical antiquity, and culminating in the most iconic frescoes of the Italian High Renaissance and of Western art.
Baroque Rome:
quite simply, Rome is the greatest city in the world for seventeenth-century art and architecture. Bernini, Borromini, Domenico Fontana, Carlo Maderno; Caravaggio, the Carracci and Gentileschi families, Guido Reni, Pietro da Cortona; vast papal urban projects that carved out new avenues, squares, obelisks and fountains; aristocratic palazzi stuffed with treasures. It doesn’t get better than this.
our Ultimate Rome trip (11th-16th April 2027), stays at the excellent, and very well-located H10 Palazzo Galla hotel, and also includes many tours and entries, including a guided tour of many sights, including the Vatican Museums, with its Raphael Rooms, and the Sistine Chapel, and so on, all during normal opening hours.
As with our Venice and Rouen trips, I’m again partnering with the highly experienced, luxury Irish travel firm Adams and Butler. Giovana at Adams and Butler therefore, will handle deposits and all practical inquiries, like hotel and transport inquiries, before and after the trip.
I will continue to design, refine and improve our itinerary and will liaise with our guides on the ground, provide briefings for my guests, and in general, I will take care of the art history side of things, and provide on-the-spot, practical and sociable support throughout, while we’re actually in Rome.
Giovana at Adams and Butler will handle, as I say, the deposits and all practical inquiries, like hotel and transport inquiries, before and after the trip.
An Ultimate Guide to Italian Art – our winter online art talks.
a few months before we go to Rome, by the way, and as just one part of the build-up to these two Rome trips, I’ll also be running an eight-week online art history course, in January and February of this coming winter:
Arran’s Ultimate Guide to Italian Art, “all roads lead to Rome”
starting Tuesday 5th January 2027.
This will be our eighth year of these winter talks, and of course, it’s open to everyone, not just those joining us in Rome.
It will, however, be free for anyone already signed up to one of the Rome trips. A small, added bonus, and ideal preparation for your trip.
Rome Trip: Prices and inclusions.
Trip One – Ultimate Rome (11th-16th April 2027)
Included is: 5 nights at H10 Palazzo Galla (Superior Rooms); tours hosted by Arran Henderson; 2 airport transfers (if you use our recommended flights) ; welcome dinner; 3 full days (6 sessions) with our Rome expert guide for private touring; 1 guided tour at the Vatican during normal opening times, plus transport there; 5 breakfasts; all admissions while with the group (museums, churches etc); personalised itinerary, coordination and support; 24-hour assistance during your trip.
Trip One Ultimate Rome (11th-16th April 2027) costs are
€3,345 per person sharing a double or a twin room
Or the single supplement is an additional €1,215
____________
Not included:
international flights, meals not listed above, gratuities, and personal and travel insurance.
Minimum numbers for each trip: 10 guests.
(Most spots are already taken, please move quickly as this trip is now almost full)
How to apply and join us.
As ever, demand for these trips is likely to outstrip supply, so, in order to maintain strict and absolute fairness, places are allocated exclusively on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to people who follow the procedure below, using the correct channels and the correct email subject-line.
Please note that this process is expressly designed for fairness: to let us keep track of who applied when, for which trip, and how many places they’d like.
So if you’d like to join us, please don’t deviate from it.
We also need to confirm numbers with the hotel.
So time is now relatively tight.
Here is the procedure:
Firstly, and crucially, please do NOT reply to this email.
We won’t be able to keep track of anyone who does that, and it won’t count as an application!
Instead, please write a short, new email – not a reply to any previous message from me –
and use the relevant email subject header suggested below, and write only to this address here:
arran@dublindecoded.com
(Please, honestly, do not use social media messages, WhatsApp, texts, or any other platform. Email only, with a subject line and only to that address, please)
Secondly, please use one of these 4 subject lines (subject headers) at the top of your email
In your email, to help us achieve fairness, please use one of these four subject headers, depending on which trip, and how many places you want?
For one (solo) place, on the first trip: “ONE place for Rome, Week One”
For two places (sharing) on the first trip: “TWO places for Rome, Week One”
and also in your email please make clear who you’re sharing with – full names, please –
and whether you, personally, intend to pay for both spaces (or just your own place)
_____
To place a firm exprsssion of interest, for one place (solo visitor) on the second “advanced” trip, the correct subject header is: “ONE place for Rome Week Two”. And to express real and firm interest in booking two places on the second, advanced trip, please use the Subject line: “TWO places for Rome Week Two”
Again, please tell us in your email who you’re sharing with, and who’s paying for what.
Not using the correct procedure won’t rule you out of joining us, on either trip. But it will push you further down the list, relative to people who did follow it.
Anything else is not fair on other guests.
( For fairness, we do need to keep track of the order people apply in,
and from experience running these trips, we know this is the only good way )
What happens next?
(and FAQs)
As further applications come in, we’ll allocate places strictly in order of application, and continue to send out a booking link, up to the limit : (the first 10-12 people for each trip)
Deposits
You’ll be asked to pay the booking deposit at that point, with a set period to do so,
followed by a gentle reminder for anyone running a little behind.
Flights?
For people firmly signing up, we will also give you the times, and dates and flight numbers for your recommended flights, to and from Rome.
If you use the recommended flights, it means you will be able to travel with the whole group and you will qualify for the included airport transfers, from the airport in Rome, direct to our hotel; and of course back again, at the end of our trip.
Wait List
Even if/when the places entirely fill up, we do also operate a waiting list – for both the two Rome trips.And it’s worth knowing that people initially placed 14th or 15th in the order of application – often do end up traveling with us, as places can sometimes free up along the way. So if you want to join, it is always a good idea to apply, using the exact procedure above, and as soon as you can.
Either way, everyone who applies will always receive a reply, generally within a few days.
Timing: Deadline
We intend to firm up on numbers with the Rome hotels, the week of Monday 17th August.
Accordingly, we’d like to receive all the applications to join, for the remaining places,
as soon as possible please.
_________
In summary
these two trips to Rome are going to be an exceptional treat:
a deep, immersive exploration of the world’s greatest art city, in fun, intelligent and excellent company.
We very much look forward to welcoming some of you to Rome,
and to sharing its extraordinary layers of history, and staggering art and architecture with you.
It is going to be wonderful.
– Arran.
made for earlier, 18th century (Grand) Tourists, and still showing many of the sights we shall see on our trip.
This stunning artwork, by Filippino Lippi, is one of my favourite Renaissance paintings in Rome.
Careful examination of its many details reveals fascinating, often amusing secrets about the city, during the Renaissance era.
part of the legendary Papal Stanze cycle of works by Raphael at the Vatican
below: School of Athens by Raphael 1509 the famous detail depicting Plato, Aristotle, and Diogones (right) and Haeraclites (to left) depcited as a likeness of Raphaels’ great rival and contemporary, Michelangelo
below – A baroque masterpiece, the Madonna of Loreto altarpiece, painted c.1604-6 by Caravaggio, and still at the church of Sant’Agostino – one of several works by Caravaggio in Rome we we see in different churches and museums.
below – The Pantheon of Rome.
above:
a medieval masterpiece: St Paul and other apostles, part of the incredible, hugely significant works in fresco by by Pietro Cavallini to be found in Trastevere, hidden away in a hard-to-find spot in the church of Santa Cecilia, in the beautiful Trastevere district of Rome.
These works are now thought to have been a major influence on Giotto, and through him, therefore, on the whole direction of western art.
Come see them with us.
©Arran Henderson and Dublin Decoded