Day 1 | Saturday 10 April
Arrival
The neighbourhood around our hotel – centred on the Rue de la Paix and Place Vendôme – became, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a focal point for couture salons and high jewellery houses, embedding fashion into the very fabric of the city. Gathering in our hotel in the afternoon, we begin with an inaugural talk on how Paris developed as a fashion capital. The talk is followed by welcome drinks and dinner at a classic Parisian restaurant, a short walk from our hotel. Overnight Paris (D)

Day 2 | Sunday 11 April
Paris – City of Fashion History
Paris’s fashion identity is inseparable from its political and social history. Long before the rise of haute couture, the regulation of guilds, court ceremony and urban planning shaped how dress was produced and displayed. To understand fashion in Paris is therefore to understand the city itself – its revolutions, salons and commercial streets. This morning we travel by metro to the Musée Carnavalet, dedicated to the history of Paris and housed across two exceptional private mansions of the 16th and 17th centuries. Once home to Madame de Sévigné, the complex provides an architectural setting for exploring the material culture of the city. During our guided visit, key objects – from portraits and decorative arts to revolutionary relics – reveal how changing regimes, social classes and urban transformation influenced what Parisians wore and how fashion circulated through society. In the afternoon, we are joined by a local guide for a fashion-focused walking tour through the Palais Royal, Rue Saint-Honoré and Place Vendôme. These streets witnessed the emergence of early dressmakers, milliners and later couture houses, while nearby Rue Cambon became synonymous with 20th-century elegance. The walk concludes near the Ritz, situating fashion within the city’s enduring culture of luxury. Overnight Paris (B)

Day 3 | Monday 12 April
Retail Revolution – Arcades to Grand Magasins
By the 19th century, Paris had begun to redefine not only how fashion was designed but how it was sold. Urban redevelopment transformed shopping into a defining feature of modern city life. Arcades and department stores created carefully orchestrated environments in which garments could be admired, compared and desired, establishing Paris as the model for fashion retail worldwide. We begin today exploring the Passages Couverts – early covered arcades that flourished from the late 18th century and throughout the Belle Époque. Once numbering more than 180, these glass-roofed galleries linked streets beneath iron and glazed ceilings, protecting elegant shoppers while encouraging leisurely browsing. After a break for lunch, we turn to the grand magasin. A private guided tour of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann reveals how late 19th-century entrepreneurs expanded fashion to an unprecedented scale. Founded as a small haberdashery shop in 1894 by cousins Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, the company quickly grew and by 1912 their flagship store on the Boulevard Haussmann was complete – a beautiful temple of shopping complete with Art Nouveau staircases and a spectacular stained-glass cupola. After our tour, there is time to explore this vast shopping mecca and take in the spectacular views across Paris from the panoramic terrace. Overnight Paris (B)

Day 4 | Tuesday 13 April
Fashion Fans
The Belle Époque was a formative period in Parisian fashion, when couture helped establish the city as the world’s leading centre of style. At the turn of the 20th century, designers moved beyond the role of skilled dressmakers to become influential creative figures whose work shaped taste across Europe and America. Beginning our day with a visit to Duvelleroy, one of Paris’s oldest luxury accessory houses, we enjoy a private tour of its boutique and archives. Renowned for its finely crafted fans, the company supplied European royalty and later collaborated with leading couture houses. Lunch is then served at the celebrated Angelina, an elegant tea room that remains closely associated with the city’s fashionable life, before an afternoon spent in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Founded in 1882, the museum houses one of France’s most important collections of decorative arts, encompassing fashion, jewellery, furniture, textiles and design that have shaped French taste from the medieval period to the present day. In the evening, we attend a performance of Donizetti’s beloved comic opera, L’Elisir d’Amore, at the Opéra Bastille. First performed in 1832, the opera remains one of Donizetti’s most popular works, celebrated for its warmth, humour and the famous aria Una furtiva lagrima. Overnight Paris (B, L)

Day 5 | Wednesday 14 April
The Art of Fashion & Performance
As couture consolidated its authority in the late 19th century, Paris also began to preserve and interpret its own fashion history. The establishment of dedicated fashion collections reflected a growing recognition that dress was not merely seasonal commerce but a vital record of artistic, social and political change. At the same time, the city’s great opera houses continued to sustain the long-standing dialogue between costume, spectacle and haute couture technique.Following a talk in the hotel this morning on the intersection of fashion, sport and performance, we travel to the Palais Galliera – the City of Paris’s museum of fashion. Designed to house the collection of the Duchesse de Galliera and opened in 1895, the building has served since 1977 as a permanent museum devoted to style. During our guided visit, we examine highlights from the collection, tracing developments in silhouette, construction and craftsmanship from the 18th century to the present day. After a break for lunch, the early afternoon is at leisure before we head to the Opéra Bastille for an ‘Arts and Crafts’ backstage tour. Here, in the workshops where costumes, wigs and sets are created, we see how techniques associated with couture remain central to operatic production. Dinner follows at a nearby restaurant, where a menu firmly rooted in the Parisian bistro spirit provides a relaxed conclusion to the day. Overnight Paris (B, D)

Day 6 | Thursday 15 April
Haberdashery & Trimmings
If couture represents the finished garment, districts such as the Sentier reveal the intricate infrastructure that sustains it. For more than two centuries this neighbourhood has supplied the ribbons, lace, buttons and specialised textiles upon which Parisian fashion depends, forming a dense network of small-scale expertise behind the great maisons. Joining our local guide this morning in the historic Sentier district, we embark on a textiles and haberdashery walking tour. As we move through its streets, we encounter family-run suppliers and workshops that continue to serve designers with highly specialised materials, many recognised as Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant for their preservation of traditional skills. Lunch follows at a nearby restaurant on Rue Montorgueil, before we enjoy an afternoon at leisure. Those interested may accompany the Tour Leader on a short walk to a cluster of specialist fabric merchants, where surplus and deadstock textiles from leading fashion houses can be browsed and purchased. Overnight Paris (B, L)

Day 7 | Friday 16 April
Ready to Wear
By the mid-20th century, Parisian fashion was no longer defined solely by couture salons. Designers began creating collections intended for broader production, responding to changing lifestyles, new materials and an increasingly international clientele. Ready-to-wear allowed Paris to retain its creative leadership while engaging directly with modern commerce and global fashion cycles. We begin our day at the Musée du Parfum Fragonard, founded in 1926, where we explore the history of perfume – long considered an essential counterpart to dress and a powerful marker of identity. The relationship between couture and fragrance, formalised by houses such as Chanel and Dior in the early 20th century, demonstrates how fashion extended beyond garments into a complete aesthetic world. During our guided visit and workshop, we create our own bespoke scent, gaining insight into composition, raw materials and the craft behind a signature fragrance. After a break for lunch, our afternoon is spent in the workshop of a contemporary ready-to-wear brand that participates in the official Paris Fashion Week shows. During this insider visit, we meet members of the design team and learn how collections move from concept to runway, examining the realities of sourcing, fabrication and collaboration within today’s Paris fashion ecosystem. Overnight Paris (B)

Day 8 | Saturday 17 April
Flea Market Treasure Hunting
Long before vintage became fashionable, Paris had already developed a thriving culture of resale and reclamation. The origins of the city’s flea markets lie in the 19th century, when ragpickers – the chiffonniers – salvaged and resold discarded goods on the outskirts of the capital. From these informal beginnings grew the organised markets of Saint-Ouen, which by the early 20th century had become an established destination for antiques, textiles and clothing with a second life. Saturday is one of the liveliest days at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, and this morning we travel by minibus to what is now one of the largest antique markets in the world. To navigate its scale and specialisation, we begin with a guided exploration in smaller groups, focusing on antique fabrics, vintage garments, lingerie and accessories. After a break for lunch, there is time to explore the markets at your own pace or continue into nearby Montmartre, where cafés, Sacré-Cœur and art nouveau metro entrances recall its past as a village of artists and performers. In the evening, we return to Montmartre for dinner and the Féerie revue at the Moulin Rouge (schedules permitting). Featuring more than 80 performers in elaborate costumes, the production continues the cabaret’s long tradition of music, dance and theatrical spectacle that has entertained Paris audiences since the late 19th century. Overnight Paris (B, D)

Day 9 | Sunday 18 April
From North Africa to the Paris Runway
Parisian couture has long drawn strength from designers whose backgrounds extend beyond metropolitan France. In the late 20th century, figures shaped by North African heritage brought new perspectives to structure, femininity and craftsmanship, enriching the vocabulary of haute couture while working firmly within its Parisian framework. Today we venture into the Marais district to visit the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, dedicated to the visionary Tunisian-born designer whose work redefined femininity through structure, minimalism and a deep understanding of the body. Our guided tour offers insight into Alaïa’s groundbreaking creations as well as his remarkable personal archive, showcasing garments by fellow designers and artists he admired. We enjoy lunch in the stylish courtyard café of the Foundation, followed by free time to explore the surrounding area – one of Paris’s oldest neighbourhoods, known for its preserved medieval street plan, independent boutiques and artistic flair. Later in the afternoon, we gather in the hotel for an introductory talk on the House of Dior, followed by a screening of Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. Overnight Paris (B, L)

Day 10 | Monday 19 April
The World of Haute Couture
Few houses have shaped post-war fashion as decisively as Dior. Founded in 1946, the maison restored Paris’s couture prestige in the aftermath of the Second World War, introducing the ‘New Look’ silhouette that reasserted structure, femininity and meticulous construction. Dior’s legacy also lies in the continuity of creative direction, with successive designers reinterpreting the house codes while maintaining its Parisian identity. This morning we travel to Avenue Montaigne to visit La Galerie Dior, located on the historic site of the original couture house. Following a carefully structured, multi-level journey through the museum, we encounter original garments, sketches and archival material that illuminate the creative processes behind Dior’s debut collections and the reinterpretations of successive artistic directors. We then move beyond the public gallery to explore the world of couture production at Atelier Caraco. Founded in 1945, this specialist atelier is among the highly skilled workshops that support Paris’s haute couture industry, working with some of the world’s leading fashion houses. During a private visit, we gain insight into the craftsmanship and technical expertise required to transform a designer’s vision into a finished garment as we observe the processes of pattern-making, cutting, fitting and hand-finishing. Overnight Paris (B)

Day 11 | Tuesday 20 April
Future of French Fashion
Parisian fashion has endured not simply through celebrated designers, but through its ability to adapt – embracing new technologies, responding to changing markets and sustaining the skilled workshops that support both couture and ready-to-wear. Behind every runway collection stands a network of textile specialists whose technical knowledge turns creative ideas into viable garments. To understand the future of French fashion, we must look beyond the catwalk to the makers who experiment with materials and process. Today we travel to the Invenio Flory textile workshop in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais. Founded in 2011 by designer Flory Brisset, the studio collaborates with major fashion houses and luxury brands, operating at the intersection of art, material innovation and craftsmanship. During our visit, we step inside the working atelier to observe sampling tables, textile manipulation techniques and small-scale production processes that precede a runway collection. We see how fabrics are pleated, bonded, embroidered or structurally altered, and learn how prototypes are developed in dialogue with designers before entering wider manufacture. Attention is also given to responsible sourcing and material research, reflecting the growing emphasis on sustainability within French fashion. The workshop reveals the often unseen stage between sketch and catwalk, where experimentation, precision and technical problem-solving transform creative vision into wearable reality. On return to our hotel, the afternoon is at leisure to revisit a favourite neighbourhood, browse a final boutique or simply enjoy time at your own pace. We reconvene in the evening for a farewell dinner at Café de la Paix, opposite the Palais Garnier. Associated with Parisian society since the 19th century, the restaurant offers an elegant setting in which to reflect on the many layers of Parisian fashion explored throughout the tour. Overnight Paris (B, D)

Day 12 | Wednesday 21 April
Departure
Our tour concludes after breakfast this morning. Please check individual documents for onward travel plans. (B)