Tour Overview

There is no better way to explore the fascinating history of Paris, its rulers, politics and culture than by studying the evolution of its gardens.

We will begin with the rise of scientific interest in plants with Louis XIII’s Jardin du Roi developed by the botanists Jussieu and Buffon. At the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte we will see the triumph of Le Notre’s formal French aesthetic contrasting with the royal hunting forests of Fontainebleau. In the Marais the 17th century aristocrats sought refuge from court life in charming private gardens which can be experienced during visits of these mansions.

Rose gardens were favoured by French royalty such as Marie Antoinette and Marie de Medici as can be seen at the Bagatelle and Luxembourg, while Napoleon’s Josephine cultivated her own varieties at the Chateau de Malmaison.

In the 19th century, Napoleon III wanted to imitate the greenery of London and created numerous cleverly landscaped “squares” and parcs such as Monceau for the bourgeoisie and open parks such as the Buttes de Chaumont for the workers.

We will of course visit the Impressionist garden of Monet at Giverny and Albert Kahn’s Japanese and English gardens near Sevres. The Parc CitrÖen and the Passage Plantée near the Bastille show 21st century garden innovation.

At the Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie we will see gardens in art and at Dumas’ Chateau de Monte Cristo, a garden based on literature.

Travels Through Time will take a group of 15–18 people to explore the hidden green spaces of Paris, from Monceau to the little lanes and mediaeval courtyards of the old Latin Quarter. Several coach trips will take us outside Paris to Chateaux and Impressionist Gardens.

The tour will be led by Sylvia Sagona, specialist in 19th century French art and history, who has been taking lecture tours to Europe for the past fifteen years.

Tour Price :

AUD $5600 - Land Content only based on twin / double room accommodation

AUD $1950 - Single room supplement (added to above price if single room accommodation is required)

Note : The above prices do not include airfares or transfers to and from airports. Meals, other than daily breakfasts, are also not included.

Tour Price Includes:

• 9 nights accommodation in an Art Deco hotel in the Champs Elysées district, including full breakfast
• All museum and garden entrances
• Guided tours and lectures including a pre–tour briefing
• Coach transport and unlimited Metro pass for travel in Paris
• Night cruise down the Seine
• Daily commented visits and walks and a pre-tour briefing
• Tour materials and maps

A tour brochure and a tour reservation form may be downloaded by clicking on the Tour Documents tab above and then selecting the document you wish to download. If you would prefer to have any of these documents posted to you, please email us.

For more information about this tour please select the Tour Information tab above.

Tour Information

Accommodation

We will be staying at Hotel Château Frontenac, an elegant art deco hotel which is situated in the “Golden Triangle” in the heart of the 8th arrondissement in a small street off the Champs-Élysées, half way between the Arc de Triomphe and the Grand Palais.

The hotel is an elegant Haussmanian building of the end of the 19th century which means it has high ceilings, thick walls and luminous rooms with wrought iron balconies. The public areas have typical Art Deco features of etched glass and Baccarat chandeliers. The rooms are large by Parisian standards and have been renovated in the last year. There are tea and coffee making facilities in the room and the hotel has a charming bar and salon under an etched glass dome where it will be great to relax after a day’s itinerary.

The elegant breakfast room provides a buffet service with everything from pastries and fresh fruit to salmon, chicken, eggs, cheese, hams and charcuterie. There are many little restaurants and bars in the street and it is a 5 minute walk to the nearest Metro station, Franklin Roosevelt.

Tour Organisation

Participants may prefer not to stay constantly with the group and may have special interests they wish to pursue.

Tour members must communicate to the tour leader any particular problem that may interfere with their participation in the itinerary. This would include claustrophobia, fear of heights, and dislike of cemeteries or crowds.

The tour leader must be made aware of any dietary or religious practices that may affect the member’s participation in all activities. All such information is of course confidential.

A detailed itinerary listing all activities will be given to participants at a pre-tour briefing session in Melbourne or on request.

In the event of particularly bad weather, strikes or unexpected closures of gardens, museums or monuments, the tour leader reserves the right to alter the programme to better suit conditions.

Language

The tour leader is fully bi-lingual and will do all the interpreting and negotiating required for the running of the tour and for the well-being of the participants.

Level of Physical Activity

The tour programme is not strenuous but will involve a considerable amount of walking and standing for some time in gardens, museums, climbing stairways and using public transport.

In fairness to all tour participants, the tour leader may advise certain paricipants, whom the tour leader believes may struggle to keep up with the group for general fitness reasons, to not participate in certain excursions which are more physically demanding.

Tour participants are advised to wear comfortable walking shoes that grip well. The programme for most days involves walking through the city or countryside outside of Paris.

Tour members should beware of pick pockets in the Metro and at major tourist sites.

Meals

Daily full breakfasts are included at the hotel. Interesting restaurants which have significance for the tour theme will be included in the itinerary. However, this is provided for information only and tour members are free to eat where they wish. On each day the tour leader will recommend the best places to eat.

Weather

The temperature in Paris in early September is generally in the mid- 20 degrees centigrade range so light layered clothing would be a good idea.

Insurance

Tour participants must take out their own private Travel and Health cover.

Not Included in the Tour Price

• Meals and beverages other than daily breakfasts
• Entertainment such as cinema, opera, concerts and theatre
• Entry to special exhibitions at museums where the permanent collection is visited
• Headphones for museums other than those included in the entry fee
• Fines incurred by tour members not presenting transport tickets when required by officials
• Entry tickets for museums when the tour member has lost or forgotten their special group entry ticket

Emergencies

The tour leader is trained in first aid and can provide assistance on the spot. Addresses of English speaking hospitals, doctors, ambulance services, pharmacies and dentists will be supplied to participants.

The tour leader will be contactable at all times on a mobile phone.

Download Documents

This page lists the tour documents which you can download and save on your computer or print directly on your own printer.

Alternatively, if more convenient please email us with your postal address and we will mail the documents to you.

Please click on the document you wish to download. The document will open a new window or tab in your browser.