PARIS ART, MUSIC, HISTORY & FOOD MARCH 19 – APRIL 2, 2019 TOUR LEADER: STUART BARRIE WITH ANGUS HALDANE PARIS Overview ART, MUSIC, HISTORY & FOOD We all love Paris, but in this age of modern travel, how many of us get the Tour dates: March 19 – April 2, 2019 chance to spend an extended period there? We are delighted to offer Academy Travellers the opportunity to enjoy a 15-day odyssey through the Tour leader: Stuart Barrie with Angus Haldane history and art of one of the world’s most beautiful cultural capitals, from extraordinary art collections, to the city’s evanescent history, excellent performances in iconic and contemporary venues and Michelin-starred Tour Price: $8,420 per person, twin share dining in unforgettable locations. Single Supplement: $2,780 for sole use of a Accommodation is in a comfortable, well-located hotel in the 1st superior double room arrondissement, used by Academy Travel for nearly 10 years. The program is relaxed, yet comprehensive, offering both famous sites and a Booking deposit: $500 per person selection of less-visited gems. With a UK-based expert art lecturer, an expert local guide and tour leader Stuart Barrie all providing input to the tour experience, you are sure to be well looked after. Recommended airline: Emirates and Etihad The itinerary follows a broad chronological arc. Few cities have remained Maximum places: 20 as modern and at the forefront of artistic and cultural change as Paris through the ages. Over 1000 years ago construction commenced on the magnificent cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, demonstrating the glory of Itinerary: Paris (14 nights) France’s medieval kings and making the city the birthplace of Gothic Art. The regal and aristocratic ways continued until 1789, when Paris was the Date published: May 29, 2018 cradle of a tumultuous Revolution that altered the very foundations of its society and put it at the centre of the world stage. Post revolution, we see Emperor Napoleon III and his architect Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann undertake one of the great 19th century experiments in city planning, while in the twentieth century Paris became a hotspot of modernism, boasting residents such as Monet, Picasso and Miles Davis. The city’s rejuvenation continues in the 21st century, with new galleries and performance spaces, such as Frank Gehry’s museum in the Bois de Boulogne, which opened in 2014. Your tour leader Stuart Barrie is a director of Academy Travel and has been leading tours to Paris since 1985. He looks forward to providing an insider’s guide to the city, covering daily touring, entertainment and site visits. Stuart is a social historian with a strong interest in modern European history. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University and a Masters degree from the University of New South Wales Enquiries and Angus Haldene is a London based art expert and will be a special guest bookings lecturer on the tour. He studied classics at Oxford University, specialising in Roman history and art. His postgraduate qualifications from London's For further information and to prestigious Courtauld Institute are in Byzantine and Renaissance art. secure a place on this tour When not running his European art consultancy, Haldane Fine Art, Angus please contact Hannah leads tours for Academy Travel and for some of the UK's leading cultural Kleboe at Academy Travel on tour operators. 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email [email protected]. au Art, Architecture Ca and History A carefully selected sightseeing program, with expert guidance: Background talks from art expert Angus Haldane to help you navigate the Old Masters at the Louvre, Impressionism in the Musée d’Orsay and the modern art of the Pompidou Centre. Paris’ fascinating and turbulent history: from Roman remains and the Medieval core at Notre-Dame and the Latin Quarter, through Revolutionary Paris, Napoleon III and his legacy in the rebuilding of the city, to the streets of Montmartre, so evocative of the Belle Epoque. Small, less visited, house museums which present a personal history of Paris: the house of Victor Hugo, the residence of Eugène Delacroix and the Museum of Romanticism. Superb Gothic architecture at the cathedrals of Notre-Dame de Paris, Notre-Dame de Reims and the Sainte Chapelle. The magnificence of the Sun King Louis XIV and his Hall of Mirrors at the Chateau of Versailles Innovative modern architecture by Frank Gehry in the Bois de Boulogne. superb performances Four varied performances will be included in the itinerary: A production of Don Pasquale by Donizetti and an after-hours tour at the opulent Palais Garnier, one of the world’s most famous opera houses and the setting for Leroux’s 1910 novel, The Phantom of the Opera. In contrast to the 19th century Palais, we see a performance of Verdi’s Otello at the other seat of Paris Opera, the ultra-modern Bastille Opera house, inaugurated by President Mitterrand in 1989. A piano recital by Alexander Melnikov at the art deco Théâtre des Champs Elysées. An intimate evening of cabaret or jazz at one of Paris’ smaller cafés chantants. Five Highlight meals Dine in elegant spaces and explore Paris’ food scene from traditional to cutting edge: A welcome dinner at the superb Parisian Bistrot Benoit; classic French food and the only Bistro with a Michelin star. Lunch at the fabulous restaurant in the Musée d’Orsay Paris’ finest seafood at David Bottreau’s Michelin starred Les Fables de la Fontaine. Champagne tasting and a lunch in Reims, centre of the champagne region. A farewell dinner at Garance, a modern Michelin starred restaurant in the centre of the city, whose tenet is ‘Garance uninhibits wine and gastronomy’. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Tour start & finish time The tour starts on Tuesday 19 March at 6pm, with welcome drinks at the bar of the Royal Saint Honoré hotel. The tour ends on Tuesday 2 April after breakfast, with a transfer from the hotel to Charles de Gaulle airport. Tuesday 19 March Arrive Join your tour leader and fellow participants for a welcome drink in the bar at the Royal Saint Honoré, followed by a light dinner in a nearby restaurant. (D) Wednesday 20 March Medieval Paris Today we set out on foot to enjoy a walking tour of the medieval heart of Paris. We start with the cathedral of Notre-Dame, one of the most important monuments of the Middle Ages and then proceed to the astonishing 13th century Sainte-Chapelle, a royal chapel built by Louis IX to house major relics. We visit the Sorbonne, one of Europe’s oldest Universities, dating back to Caption the 13th century, and enjoy an amble around the streets of the Latin Quarter where the Medieval lives on today in many of the facades. Dinner is at the convivial Bistro Benoit. This warm and comfortable, typically Parisian Bistro is proud of its 100-year history and of being the only Bistro to be starred by the Michelin guide. (B, D) Thursday 21 March LOUVRE This morning art expert Angus Haldane joins us for a talk in the hotel before we set forth to explore the vast collection at the Louvre museum, which dates from the Middle Ages to 1848. The building has a fascinating history, having started as a fortified enclosure in 1190 on the outskirts of the city and being enlarged in size by successive rulers, including two Napoleons, into the world’s premiere art gallery. The latest addition, the superb pyramid, was completed in 1989. To compliment the ‘high art’ of the Louvre you might also like to visit the nearby Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which offers an extraordinary collection of furniture, objets d’art, tapestries, ceramics, jewellery and toys from the Middle Ages to today. (B) Friday 22 March Musée d’orsay and Musée Rodin Angus Haldene joins us for a second talk before we venture to the Musée d’Orsay. When it was built in 1900, painter Edmund Images left: the jewel-like interior of the upper chapel of Sainte- Chapelle; the Louvre Palace and the pyramid; The Three Shades, 1886, in the garden of Musée Rodin Detaille declared that the Gare d’Orsay looked like a palace of fine art. How appropriate that one of his paintings is now part of the exceptional collection at the Musée d’Orsay, the national museum of 19th century art. Our visit takes a thematic approach following the development of painting from the early academic paintings to the celebrated work of the Impressionists. After lunch at the fabulous museum restaurant, our next stop is the nearby Musée Rodin which underwent an enormous renovation some years back that included the building and grounds, to the Rodin sculptures themselves restored and re-presented. (B, L) Saturday 23 march MARAIS AND MAISON VICTOR HUGO Our walking tour today takes in Le Marais on the right bank of the Seine, an area that has long been the aristocratic heart of the city and houses many outstanding buildings of historic and architectural importance. It is here, on the Place des Vosges, that we find the Maison de Victor Hugo, his apartment between the years of 1832-48, an illustration of the life of the writer through his three major stages (before, during and after his exile in Guernsey). The afternoon is at leisure before we enjoy a performance of Verdi’s Otello at the modern Opéra Bastille, a striking building which was the ‘Grand Project’ of French President, François Mitterrand. (B) Sunday 24 march Markets and versailles This morning we head out to the royal chateau of Versailles on the fast RER train.