Art Tour Itinerary


The 'From Paris & Provence to Surreal Spain Art Tour' is a two week extravaganza exploring the artists trail in France and Catalan Spain. The itinerary is as follows:


Saturday 12 April, 2014: SYDNEY to DUBAI

Assemble at Emirates check-in desk at Sydney Airport at 6.10pm for evening flight to Paris via Dubai, departing 9.10pm.


Sunday 13 April, 2014: DUBAI / PARIS
Arrive in Dubai International Airport at 5.40am and transfer to Emirates flight to Paris leaving at 8.20am.

Arrive in Paris at 1.30pm. We will be met and transferred to our accommodation, Hotel Campanile Bastille, where we will stay for the next 4 nights on a bed, dinner and breakfast basis. After unpacking and briefing, the group will walk to Notre Dame via Place des Vosges, stopping to view the house where Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables.
Dinner will be served at nearby La Cantoche Paname. 


Monday 14 April, 2014: PARIS
Our group will walk to the L'Orangerie Gallery to see Monet's Waterlilies.
Board the Metro to the Eiffel Tower to take a behind the scenes tour. Visit the military bunker of the Eiffel Tower under the Champs de Mars, get exclusive access to the machinery room under the east pillar. Learn about the workings of the impressive engine room and see how the Tower's elevators operate. End the tour on the roof of the Jules Verne Restaurant for an extraordinary view of Paris.
Board the Metro from Rambuteau to the Pompidou Centre to view exhibitions. Walk back to the hotel.
Dinner will be served at Le Pas-Sage Oblige.


Tuesday 15 April, 2014: PARIS
Take a walking tour of the Marais district including Place de la Bastille and Anne Frank Garden.
Ride the Metro to the Rodin Museum and have lunch in its gardens. Walk or take Metro to La Sainte-Chapelle on the Ile de la Cité.
Dinner will be served at Le Bistrot des Vosges.


Wednesday 16 April, 2014: PARIS
Travel to the lively area of Montmartre to see the Sacré Coeur Basilica, the Place du Tertre and the street artists. 
Walk to Louvre to take an hour tour to see the top 10 exhibits, and then onto the
Musee D'Orsay to view all exhibits that concentrate on keynote artworks.
In the late afternoon, take the train to Paris Disneyland to enjoy the 'worlds' and fairytale atmosphere created by the Disney Company. Purchase own dinner.



Thursday 17 April, 2014: PARIS TO AIX EN PROVENCE
Transfer to Gare de Lyon for the direct TGV train to Aix en Provence. Transfer to our accommodation, Hotel Concorde,  for the next two nights, dinner and breakfast included.
Aix became famous for its boulevards, squares, fountains and stately houses. We will walk the Cours Mirabeau, a wide avenue between four rows of plane trees with its end marked by 19th century fountains. Visit the Place de l'Hotel de Ville, St Sauveur Cathedral and, rejoining our artists trail, spend time at the Paul Cezanne Studio.
Dinner will be served at La Brocherie.


Friday 18 April, 2014: Day trip to LES BAUX
Les Baux is a most attractive medieval village with rocky outcrops that house the ancient Saracen Citadelle as well as the striking Cathedral Desimages where images of artworks are shown inside cave walls. Take a tour of Les Baux Chateau and see the duel and catapult spectacle. Lunch at the castle at own expense.
Tour the Les Baux Carrieres des Lumieres to see the work of artists Klimt and Schiele projected onto cave walls, ceilings and floors.
Dinner will be served at Petit Pierre.


Saturday 19 April, 2014: AIX EN PROVENCE / ARLES / NIMES 
WE will check out of our hotel and transfer to Nimes via Arles.

Both villages are full of Roman buildings such as the Masion Caree temple in Nimes and in Arles, a large amphitheatre, temples, baths and necropolis.
Vincent Van Gogh spent the last years of his life in Arles, inspired by the luminous quality of the sky and the red, greens and yellows of the land. We will visit the café made famous by Van Gogh's 'Café Terrace at Night'.
Take a guided walking tour of the Van Gogh Trail in Arles, visiting the famous street cafe portrayed in his work.

Check into our hostel accommodation for the night on a bed, dinner and breakfast basis at Auberge de Jeunesse in Nimes. Take a stroll to the Maison Carre and the Maison Modern Art. See the contrast between the well preserved Roman temple mirrored across the road by the contemporary art gallery.




Sunday 20 April, 2014: NIMES/ CARCASSONNE/ PERPIGNAN
Check out of our accommodation and transfer by coach to Perpignan via Carcassonne, where we will visit the medieval fortified walled La Cite with its castle, drawbridge, moat and cobblestone streets. Walk the ramparts of this UNESCO Heritage site founded by the Visigoths in the 5th century.
Half Catalan-half French, Perpignan has the Musee de Beaux Arts de Hyacinthe Rigard which house many works of the modern masters as well as an impressive contemporary collection.
In Perpignan, you will be accommodated for one night on a bed, dinner and breakfast basis at Ibis Hotel Perpignan Centre.



Monday 21 April, 2014: PERPIGNAN / FIGUERAS / BARCELONA
Travel by coach to Figueres to see tha amazing Dali Teatro Museum, said to be the largest surrealistic object in the world. the building houses over 4,000 of Salvador Dali's works both weird and wonderful and some that are interactive. it is the town of his birthplace.
Arrive in Barcelona  at the Ibis Barcelona Centro (Sagrada Familia). In the afternoon, take a ride on the Metro to Parc Guell and walk among Gaudi's amazing architectural designs.
Dinner will be served in a local restaurant.




Tuesday 22rd April, 2014: BARCELONA
This is the city of Picasso's youth, where we will experience the meeting of cultures from east and west. Today, we spend a full day in Barcelona to explore Montjiuc Park and its amazing features such as Fundació Joan Miro and the Olympic and Sports Museum Joan Antonio Samaranch. We can ride the funicular railway or the cable car down to the tree lined pedestrian mall of La Rambla to soak up the local culture, and then make our way to Antonio Gaudi's 'Casa Mila' and 'Casa Batló'. 
Dinner will be served in a local restaurant.


Wednesday 23rd April, 2014: BARCELONA
We will visit the Picasso Museum in the morning and experience the medieval La Ribera and the Gothic Quarter areas of Barcelona including the fabulous world heritage listed Art Nouveau Palace of Catalan Music.  In the afternoon, we will be amazed by the interior of Gaudi's masterpiece, La Sagada Familia, before attending a Flamenco Show which includes dinner.



Thursday 24th April, 2014: BARCELONA to DUBAI
After checking out of our hotel in the morning, we will explore our local area looking at the modernist buildings of Passeig de Gracia and Avinguda Diagonal before transferring to the airport for check in at 1.10 for our 4.10pm flight to Dubai.


Friday 25th April, 2014: DUBAI 
Arrive in Dubai at 12.05am and transfer to our hotel - Ibis Al Barsha on a bed and breakfast basis.

Visiting great architectural sites such as the Burj Al Arab and Burj Dubai, we will then prepare for our evening Sundowner Dune Dinner Desert Safari, complete with 4WD dune surfing, henna tattoos, a bedouin camp, belly dancing, camel rides, falconry....an experience straight from the Arabian Nights.


Saturday 26th April, 2014: DUBAI / SYDNEY
After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and transfer to Dubai International Airport for our flight back to Sydney at 10.15am.

Sunday 27th April, 2014: SYDNEY
Arrive at Sydney International Airport at 6.05am
















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