Itinerary

Discovering Historical Paris:
The Importance of Collective Memory

May 26–June 6, 2009

 

Program description Register

 

This itinerary is tentative and subject to change.

Wendy and Richard Allen have custom designed this itinerary to facilitate study of French history and culture using the city of Paris as a metaphor. They will address the theme directly during their seminars. Visits to museums, cafés, parks, historical figures’ homes and monuments will enhance the educational topic.

Tuesday, May 26
Depart Minneapolis/St. Paul for Paris

Wednesday, May 27
Probable late morning arrival. Transfer to hotel to store luggage. Sandwich/beverage snack upon arrival at hotel. Walking tour of hotel neighborhood, including the Seine and Notre Dame. Group dinner and welcome seminar.

Thursday, May 28
Morning visit to the Catacombs and Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and Tour Saint Jacques. Lunch on your own. Afternoon educational city tour by private coach. Group dinner and evening theater or opera performance.

Friday, May 29
Morning travel to Chartres by train. Group lunch at Chartres. Afternoon guest lecture by Malcolm Miller on the cathedral’s stained glass windows. Return to Paris via train. Dinner on your own and free evening.

Saturday, May 30
Morning visit to Eiffel Tower. Lunch on your own. Afternoon visit to Champs Elysees, Quartier de la Madeleine, Chez Fauchon and Place Vendôme. Group dinner and perhaps an evening performance.

Sunday, May 31
Suggested morning options: high mass at Notre Dame or a walk along the quays of the Seine. Afternoon visit to the Academie Francaise, Jardin des Tuilleries, and Faubourg Saint Honoré. Dinner on your own and free evening.

Monday, June 1
Morning visit to Musée d’Orsay and walk along Boulevard Saint-Germain to the Latin Quarter with its quirky bookstores and famous cafés such as Café Flor and Café les Deux Magots. Group lunch in Le Procope (the oldest café in Paris, frequented in their day by LaFontaine and Voltaire). Afternoon visit to Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur and evening free with dinner on your own.

Tuesday, June 2
All-day visit to Versailles by train. Group lunch at Versailles. Return to Paris for dinner on your own and free evening.

Wednesday, June 3
All-day visit to Giverny, Monet’s house and gardens, including group lunch. Return to Paris for dinner on your own and free evening.

Thursday, June 4
Free day

Friday, June 5
Morning visit to the Louvre (focusing on Poussin, David, Delacroix, Gericault, the Impressionists). Lunch on your own and free afternoon. Group farewell dinner.

Saturday, June 6
Transfer to airport for return flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Register
Register online, call toll-free 866-255-6523 or fax 507-786-8232. A deposit of $350 per person guarantees your space.