Art Pursuits - Royal and Imperial Paris

Art Pursuits Study Tour Programme

Royal and Imperial Paris
Grand interiors from Louis XIV to the Belle Epoque

30 November – 5 December 2008

Day 1	Depart London St Pancras International in the morning for an early afternoon arrival at Paris, Gare du Nord. Coach to the Marais for lunch (independent), followed by a visit to the Musée de Carnavalet which will provide a chronological survey of interiors and furniture in Paris from Louis XIV to the nineteenth century. In the evening an introductory talk will be followed by dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day 2	A morning in the Marais, the heart of 17th- and 18th-century Paris, will take you via the Hôtel de Sully and the Place des Vosges, and from there to the splendid Hôtels de Soubise and de Rohan with their rococo interiors. After lunch, walk across to the Île-Saint-Louis to visit the Hôtel de Lauzun (by private appointment) with a rare 17th-century interior. Dinner in a restaurant near the hotel.
Day 3	All-day excursion to the vast Palace of Versailles. In the morning discover the King’s Chamber, and the private apartments of Marie Antoinette, Louis XV and Louis XVI (by appointment). After lunch (included) in a restaurant in the park of the château, walk through the magnificent State Apartments, culminating in the dazzling Galérie des Glaces. Return to Paris for an independent dinner.
Day 4	Morning excursion to the Château de Maisons-Laffitte, a handsome seventeenth-century building by François Mansart. Return to Paris for lunch before a walk through the grand Galérie d’Apollon and the sensational apartments of Napoleon III in the Musée du Louvre. Independent dinner.
Day 5	In the morning visit the Hôtel de Bourrienne, a rare survival of a residence of the Directoire period, and the Opéra Garnier with its spectacular staircase and foyers. Lunch will be a unique gourmet experience at the Michelin three-star-rated Le Grand Véfour, with its 18th-century décor, resplendent with gilt-edged mirrors and chandeliers, once admired by Napoleon, Victor Hugo, and Jean Cocteau.
Day 6	In the morning, enjoy a private view of the Hôtel de Breteuil, near the Place d'Etoiles, now housing the Irish Embassy. After an early lunch break, visit the Musée Jacquemart-André, a 19th-century mansion with a spectacular collection of fine and decorative arts of the eighteenth century. Transfer by coach to the Gare du Nord to board the Eurostar, returning to London in the early evening.

Please note that at this stage the programme is still provisional. Although we aim at the greatest degree of accuracy from the outset, some details, especially the order of visits, may be subject to change.