Destination Insights
Get a critical assessment of leading and emerging destinations
Istanbul, Ravenna & Venice: The Byzantine Legacy
In this photo-essay, Dr Kathleen Olive reflects on our recent residential-style tour in Istanbul and Venice, with time in Ravenna to appreciate the glittering legacy of Byzantine art and architecture.
The Dolomites: like nowhere else and magnificent
In this article, Jane Johnston writes about the Dolomites, from their unique geology to the rise of nature tourism here in the 19th century.
Romania - In Photos
In this photo-essay, Dr Nick Gordon introduces you to some of the remarkable history and architecture of Romania. He begins in Bucharest, which has been his base between leading and researching tours in Europe recently, and then takes us into Transylvania and Moldavia.
South Korea - in photos
In this photo-essay, Limelight Arts Travel director Dr Nick Gordon takes a look at South Korea from the neighbourhoods of Seoul, to UNESCO World Heritage listed palaces and temples, contemporary art and its delicious cuisine.
Cambridge Sculpture Trails
Cambridge, a city synonymous with its storied university, is steeped in history, music, famous pioneering names, art and artefacts. But did you know that it also boasts a collection of more than 100 sculptures from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, many in its public spaces? Shamistha de Soysa learns more.
The Venice Biennale in pictures (part 1)
Dr Nick Gordon introduces the 2024 Venice Biennale, from Australia’s Golden Lion-winning pavilion to this year’s highlights and overarching themes.
It’s Verdi, Jim, but not as we know it
It’s Verdi, Jim, but not as we know it. Gain a deeper appreciation of the master’s work, in its historical and biographical context, in this article by Clive Paget about four works at the 2024 Festival Verdi in Parma.
Encountering Matsue & Izumo: A photo-essay
Encounter Matsue and Izumo, the location of some of southern Japan’s most ancient religious traditions and archaeological sites, in this photo essay by Senior Product Manager Mark Lalor.
A Tuscan Christmas Feast
What will be on the table in Tuscany on Christmas day? In this article, longtime Florence resident and expert art and culture guide, Freya Middleton, explores the delights and delicacies of a Tuscan Christmas feast.
In Kyushu with the Hidden Christians
Learn more about Japan’s surprising “Hidden Christian” sites, recognised with World Heritage status by UNESCO in 2018, and offering a fascinating insight into the nation’s interactions with the wider world in the seventeenth century and beyond.
On Japan’s art islands: A stay on Naoshima
Japan’s celebrated ‘art islands’ of the Seto Inland Sea are routinely spoken about as one of the most exciting destinations for site-specific contemporary art and architecture in the world. In this Q&A, Dr Kathleen Olive explains what makes a visit so invigorating, and how you can immerse yourself in the experience by staying on the islands.
View from the lagoon, Part 2
In this second in a series of articles on the Venetian lagoon, Limelight Arts Travel director Robert Veel introduces us to this overlooked and fascinating dimension of La Serenissima’s great art, history and culture.
How the Mongols helped shape Japanese history
Archaeologist Ben Churcher explains how not one but two attempted Mongol invasions of Japan in the thirteenth century shaped much of what we now recognise in the nation's history and cultural identity, medieval to modern.
Seen from the sea: A voyage aboard Sea Cloud II
A voyage aboard Sea Cloud II affords you the opportunity to experience the Mediterranean the way that travellers of the past experienced it. Slow travel, from a time when it was the sea – rather than the land or the air – that connected peoples and cultures, as Robert Veel explains.
In Corsica: Musée Fesch, Ajaccio
In this article we investigate the history of the Musée Fesch’s art collection in Ajaccio, Corsica, an impressive repository of Italian art assembled by Napoleon’s uncle.
View from the lagoon, Part 1
In this first of a series of articles on the Venetian lagoon, Limelight Arts Travel director Robert Veel introduces us to this overlooked and fascinating dimension of La Serenissima’s great art, history and culture.
Turin: Capital of history, art, food and wine
How much do you know about Turin, tucked away in the north-westernmost corner of Italy? Probably not much, as it’s never received significant recognition from international visitors to Italy, despite its grand squares, colonnaded streets, superlative museums of art and antiquities, and reputation as the birthplace of Italy’s Slow Food gastronomy movement.
A hidden medieval masterpiece in Abruzzo
So many of Italy’s great medieval masterpieces require no introduction: Giotto’s frescoes for the Scrovegni Chapel, for example, or the Arab-Norman mosaics of Palermo, Monreale and Cefalù. And yet Italy is also full of unsung artworks of the highest quality – you just need to go a little bit off the well-trodden tourist track.
Sculpture parks
In this article, we take a look at some of our favourite sculpture parks, from Storm King in the USA, to the ‘Art Islands’ of Japan and Arte Sella in Italy.