London & Paris

Day 1 | Sunday 11 January
Arrive London

Airport transfers to our hotel in London will be arranged by Academy Travel. In the evening, we meet for introductions and welcome drinks in the hotel, followed by dinner. Overnight London (D)

Day 2 | Monday 12 January
National Portrait Gallery & The Courtauld Gallery - Performance

Our first day in London begins with a talk in our hotel, before we make our way to the National Portrait Gallery. Here there is free time to explore the gallery’s extensive collection, spanning six centuries of fascinating portraiture from the Tudor period to the present, before we gather for our welcome lunch in the Gallery’s fine restaurant. In the afternoon we continue to the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House. Founded in the 1930s by a group of collectors and philanthropists led by industrialist Samuel Courtauld, the gallery holds many important Impressionist paintings. This evening we make our way to the West End for an evening performance (schedule permitting). Overnight London (B, L)

Performance I
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 3 | Tuesday 13 January
Oxford Museums & Evensong

Heading out of London today we travel to Oxford, the fabled “City of Dreaming Spires”. Here our guided walking tour gives us special access to the historic heart of this university town, including the Sheldonian Theatre and Harris Manchester College Chapel. The chapel, an unexpected jewel in one of Oxford’s smallest colleges, was built in the arts and crafts style of the 19th century and is beautifully illuminated with striking stained-glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. Lunch is enjoyed on Oxford’s bustling High St, before the afternoon is spent at the Ashmolean Museum – home to extensive collections from Egyptian mummies all the way to contemporary art. Our visit to Oxford concludes with Evensong in the lovely chapel at Christ Church College. Returning to London the evening is at leisure. Overnight London (B, L)

Day 4 | Wednesday 14 January
Royal Academy of Arts - Performance II

After a talk in our hotel, we make our way to the Royal Academy of Arts, housed across a 17th-century mansion on Piccadilly and a grand 19th-century former university building. Founded more than 250 years ago by a group of artists and architects wanting to champion the arts, today it hosts major exhibitions by historic and living artists. We return to the hotel with the afternoon at leisure, before reconvening this evening for our second performance at the National Theatre on South Bank (schedule permitting). Overnight London (B)

Performance II
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 5 | Thursday 15 January
Wallace Collection & British Museum

The Wallace Collection, assembled by the Marquesses of Hertford and bequeathed to the British nation in the late 19th century, is superbly displayed in what was once the family’s London residence. This morning we explore this excellent collection, which surveys European fine and decorative art from the Renaissance to the 19th century and includes Frans Hals’ famous work The Laughing Cavalier. After a break for lunch, we then visit the superb British Museum. Founded in 1753, it was the world’s first national public museum and it contains over eight million objects that paint an interconnected portrait of the world’s cultures. Here we tour the special winter exhibition followed by the opportunity to explore the collection. It’s then a short walk back to our hotel, with the evening at leisure. Overnight London (B)

Day 6 | Friday 16 January
National Gallery & Tate Britain - Performance

London’s National Gallery holds a justifiable place as one of the world’s premier art institutions. We spend the morning here, exploring the exceptional permanent collection which includes many fine Old Masters and one of the greatest collections of Italian Renaissance art outside Italy. After a break for lunch we continue to the Tate Britain, a veritable temple of British art from the 16th century to today. Here we view masterpieces by JMW Turner, John Constable, John Everett Millais, as well as outstanding modern and contemporary art from Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney and Bridget Riley. Returning to the hotel, we freshen up before heading to tonight’s performance at the Royal Opera House (schedule permitting). Overnight London (B)

Performance III
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised 

Day 7 | Saturday 17 January
The King’s Gallery | Performance

This morning we visit the newly renamed King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which rose from the ruins of Queen Victoria’s private chapel, destroyed in an air raid in 1940. Totally renovated for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, the gallery displays a beautifully curated, and ever-changing selection of treasures from the Royal Collection, which holds many works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Hans Holbein and exquisite decorative pieces by Fabergé. In the afternoon we enjoy a West End matinee performance (schedule permitting), with the evening set aside to pack for tomorrow’s transfer to Paris. Overnight London (B)

Performance IV
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 8 | Sunday 18 January
To Paris & Musée d’Orsay

An early departure this morning takes us to historic St Pancras Railway Station, where we board the high-speed train for Paris. Arriving in the early afternoon, we begin the next chapter of our adventure at the magnificent Musée d’Orsay. Originally a Beaux-Arts railway station called the Gare d’Orsay, it was transformed into France’s National Museum of 19th-century art in the late 1980s, with interiors skillfully and sensitively designed by Italian architect Gae Aulienti. We have a guided tour of the collection and time to enjoy the winter exhibition before making our way across the Seine to our hotel. This evening we enjoy an aperitif followed by dinner together. Overnight Paris (B, D)

Day 9 | Monday 19 January
Musée Jacquemart-André & Parc Monceau - Performance

The Museé Jacquemart-André was inaugurated in 1913, the generous gift of Nelie Jacquemart and her husband Edouard Andre who built a sumptuous mansion on one of Hausmann’s grand new Boulevards in the late 19th century and filled it with a magnificent collection of fine and decorative art gathered on their travels around the world. After a talk in our hotel, we explore the newly renovated private museum, with a break for lunch in the museum cafe. We then walk the short distance to the lovely Parc Monceau, a genteel oasis established in the late 18th century by Phillippe d’Orleans, cousin to Louis XVI. Imortalised on canvas by Monet and beloved by Berlioz, the park’s informal layout in the “English” style makes it a popular destination for an afternoon promenade. Tonight sees us head to the Art Deco Théâtre des Champs-Élysées for an evening performance (schedule permitting). Overnight Paris (B)

Performance V
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 10 | Tuesday 20 January
Palais Garnier & Les Passages Couverts - Performance

The historic heart of Paris opera, the Palais Garnier, is an opulent and extravagant 19th-century temple to music, adorned with gold leaf, coloured marble, and artworks commissioned from the leading artists of the time. This morning our tour leader guides us through the Palais, revealing the fascinating history of this extraordinary building. After our visit we make our way to Chimère, a local restaurant with a chic 70s vibe offering an excellent seasonal menu. This afternoon we stroll through the covered walkways of the Passages Couverts, beautiful shopping arcades dating from the Belle Epoque which are now home to a range of elegant boutiques and cafes. Returning to our hotel we freshen up before our evening performance at the Opéra Bastille (schedule permitting). Overnight Paris (B, L)

Performance VI
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 11 | Wednesday 21 January
Fontainebleau - Performance

This morning we board our coach for Fontainebleau. Frequently overlooked by large tour groups in favour of its showier competitor Versailles, Fontainebleau is a gem of a château and a wonderful destination on a winter’s day. The original medieval castle on the site was transformed into a hunting lodge for the early Kings of France before Francois I commissioned architect Giles le Breton to transform it once more into a magnificent Renaissance palace. The château was further extended by subsequent monarchs, from Henri II through to Louis XIV, and remained relatively unscathed through the Revolution, but it fell into disrepair until rediscovered by Napoleon, who loved the site and decorated a suite of apartments in his favoured Empire Style. Our visit today includes the Grand Apartments and the apartments of Napoleon, followed by a stroll around the gardens, weather permitting. We return to Paris in time to freshen up for an evening performance at the Philharmonie de Paris (schedule permitting). Overnight Paris (B)

Performance VII
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 12 | Thursday 22 January
Notre Dame & the Left Bank - Performance

Today we take a walking tour of the famed Rive Gauche with in the presence of a local guide. We start with a visit to one of Paris’ most iconic monuments, the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral. Partially destroyed by an accidental fire in 2019, Notre Dame has been painstakingly restored with similar materials and techniques used for its construction in the 12th century. We hope to view the new stained glass windows to be designed by a contemporary French artist; more than 100 artists have submitted their designs and are awaiting news of the winner. After a break for lunch, we then enter the Musée Cluny and view pieces rescued from Notre Dame, along with other treasures such as the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry. Tonight sees us return to the Palais Garnier for a performance (schedule permitting). Overnight Paris (B)

Performance VIII
Venue: To be advised
Program: To be advised

Day 13 | Friday 23 January
Musée Rodin & Musée Bourdelle

We commence our day at the Hôtel Biron, better known today as the Musée Rodin. Sculptor Auguste Rodin, often considered the father of modern sculpture, bought the 18th-century Hôtel Biron in 1908, using the residence as a home and studio until his death in 1917. He bequeathed his entire collection to the French State and the building opened as the Musée Rodin in 1919. Today the museum and sculpture garden which surrounds it, offer an extraordinary insight into his life. We enjoy lunch together in the museum’s restaurant before continuing to the converted studio of another major French sculptor, Antoine Bourdelle. The charming and often overlooked Musée Bourdellle has a fantastic collection of both his own works and works he acquired, including multiple busts of Ludwig Van Beethoven, spread over several rooms and gardens. Returning to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Paris (B, L)

Day 14 | Saturday 24 January
Musée Marmottan Monet & Musée des Années Trente

Once a hunting lodge on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, the Musée Marmottan Monet is now an exceptional collection of Impressionist works, established from bequests from Doctor Georges de Bellio, an early supporter of the Impressionist movement, and Claude Monet’s son and heir, Michel. Despite a daring heist in 1985 which temporarily relieved the collection of some key works, we can appreciate over 300 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works on our morning visit today. After a break for lunch, the afternoon is spent at the Musée des Années Trente, a fine museum that takes us to the days of the inter-war period, from its artistic production to its architectural richness. We end the day with a farewell dinner at Le Grand Véfour, an opulent brasserie opened in the arcades of the Palais-Royal in 1784. Overnight Paris (B, D)

Day 15 | Sunday 25 January
Depart Paris

The tour ends after breakfast. (B)