A Paris Affair

17 - 24 September 2013

Tour Highlights

• On this tour led by Kenneth W. Park we:
• • Live in 'studio' rooms in the heart of Quartier Latin, near the Pont-Neuf, so you can experience Paris' street-life, boulevards, markets, gardens and cafés
• • Learn to read the urban structure of this great city, and explore the ways in which its urbanism, its great monuments and its vibrant political, social and cultural life made it the quintessential world city
• • Enjoy a series of walks designed to illustrate the story of Paris
• • Marvel at magnificent religious architecture - Notre- Dame, Sacré-Coeur and Sainte Chapelle
• • Make excursions to privately owned Château de Médan, the grand Château of Vaux-le-Vicomte, and Le Corbusier's revolutionary Villa Savoye
• • Explore some of the world's major art collections at the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Marmottan
• • Visit a number of smaller and little known museums and galleries that provide snapshots of Parisian history
• • Sample the very latest in design at spaces like Philippe Starck's Cristal Room Baccarat and Dali restaurant at Hotel Le Meurice
• • Visit Paris' weekend Saint-Ouen flea market, considered the premier market for antiques in the world
• • Dine at famous places, such as 'Le Train Bleu', the grand Belle Époque restaurant at Gare de Lyon, and the classic Parisian brasserie 'Le Grand Colbert'

About the Tour

This tour is limited to 18 participants

Experience the uniqueness of Paris, one of the world's most beautiful and exciting cities, with art curator Kenneth Park. This tour explores the rich complexities and profound legacy of Paris' cultural landscapes from its medieval patrimony to its cutting edge modernity. Paris is the most visited city in the world. French monarchs and later republican governments nurtured its status. In the 17th century, Louis XIV and his minister Colbert deliberately set out to make Paris the world centre of fashion and luxury, which led, among other things, to the modern boutique. In the 18th century, salons often run by eminent women, established France as the world's intellectual capital, and in the 19th century it became the capital of entertainment, in part because it was the first city to be lit at night, which extended its life beyond dusk. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries Paris had become the quintessential 'Great World City', a magnet for tourists that has continued into the 21st century.

Paris' medieval marvels include the Musée Cluny, the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame Cathedral. From the 17th century, we visit the Baroque masterpiece Vaux-le-Vicomte, which has one of France's finest gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, which inspired Versailles, and in central Paris, the Place des Vosges and the Palais Royal. Many of Paris' most powerful cityscapes and monuments date from the 19th century. We visit the interior of the Opéra Garnier, view the Eiffel Tower and walk through the Bohemian quarter of Montmartre & Sacré-Coeur. This period fostered avant garde communities who cemented the city's reputation as a world cultural leader. People flocked to what was now a 'mythic' city from everywhere. Above all, it became a cultural mecca for Americans, from Benjamin Franklin to Henry James, Gertrude Stein, Henry Miller, George Gershwin and Ernest Hemingway. We explore the genesis of architectural modernism at Paris at Le Corbusier's recently restored Villa Savoye. We complete our affair with Paris by visiting some of its great art treasure houses – the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin and the Pompidou Centre. We sample Paris' wonderful cuisine at the Belle Époque restaurant 'Le Train Bleu' and the classic Parisian brasserie 'Le Grand Colbert'. We also eat at the Cristal Room Baccarat, and take afternoon tea at the Hotel Le Meurice's Dali restaurant, (both designed by Philippe Starck). A highlight of this tour is the opportunity to experience Paris as a local, through extensive walking tours, using the Métro, and shopping at produce markets near your self-catering studio apartment located in the heart of Paris.