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Impressionist artists painted in the open air, travelling and painting from nature. Breaking free from the rigidity of the Salon, their paintings came out of every day life, finding wonderment in the ordinary.
Although each artist had their own technique, what they had in common was their attitude to light and the play of light and colours. Renoir said: "One morning one of us ran out of black. That was the beginning of the Impressionist movement."
Our experts will take you on the Impressionist journey of your choice, as we introduce a new range of options: |
IMPRESSIONISM: PARIS
Private guided tours in the company of an Impressionist expert are available for any of the following museums:
| MUSEE D'ORSAY |
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MUSEE DE L'ORANGERIE
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| MUSEE MARMONTAN-MONET |
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Our expert guides will pre-buy your ticket to avoid wasting time in the queues. You can choose a private visit to a single museum (as in our Paris VIP "degustation menu") or invest a whole day in the museums.
IMPRESSIONIST WALKING TOUR OF MONTMARTRE
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Your private guide will take you on an unforgettable walking tour around Montmartre, where the Impressionist painters lived and worked. You could enjoy lunch in the Auberge de la Bonne Franquette, where Pissarro, Sisley, Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Monet, Zola and many others would meet and eat. The famous Van Gogh painting "La Guingette" is said to have been painted there.
This half day tour can be extended to a full day with a visit to any of the Impressionist museums. |
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IMPRESSIONISM: THE "ILE DE FRANCE"
All the Impressionists (Gauguin, Renoir, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Dufy, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Signac, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Daubigny, Sisley) lived and painted in or around Paris before going on to discover new environments, new skies and new light.
The region around Paris became within easy reach of impoverished artists thanks to the new railways. They were attracted to the river Seine and its valley where the light can be clear or misty, the sky clear blue, with light clouds or grey heralding rain and snow.
Various half day and full day tour options include:
AUVERS SUR OISE 
The Impressionist "spectacle" at the Château provides a wonderful, easy to grasp overview of the Impressionist movement. It is the perfect introduction to the subject. Also at Auvers sur Oise you can visit Dr Gachet's home, as well as Van Gogh's room at the Auberge Ravoux and his tomb. Enjoy a private visit of Maison Daubigny, still occupied by Daubigny’s descendents. Lunch options include the Auberge Ravoux or Hostellerie du Nord, where Cézanne stayed.
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GIVERNY
A new museum will be opened in Vernon this year (operated in partnership with the Musee d'Orsay in Paris), with the special inaugural exhibition: "Le Jardin de Monet à Giverny - creation d'un projet". The exhibition aims to illustrate how Monet created his garden and related it directly to his conception of painting. After visiting this exhibition, our expert guide takes you on a guided visit of Monet's celebrated garden at Giverny, as well as his home |
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THE SEINE
Another option is an excursion on the theme of "The Importance of the River Seine in the Impressionist Movement". The area around Vaucresson, Louveciennes and Bougival in the suburbs of Paris is known as "The Impressionist country". Our expert guide takes you walking from the Château de Croissy, along the banks of the Seine, across the Pont de Bougival to the Ile de Croissy where you will find the site of the "ginguette" La Grenouilliere, the setting of many famous paintings by Courbet, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and many others. Continuing along the towpath, we come to Renoir's favorite bistrot on the Ile de Croissy - La Fournaise - the perfect place to enjoy lunch overlooking the Seine. |
A COMPREHENSIVE 4 DAY MODULE: "IMPRESSIONISM - PARIS AND THE ILE DE FRANCE" IS AVAILABLE.
For itinerary and costs, please contact us. For those who are interested, private art lessons can be arranged as part of the itinerary.
IMPRESSIONISM: GIVERNY AND NORMANDY
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It was this region which gave the movement its name (after Monet's celebrated painting in Le Havre). It was within easy reach of Paris and its magnificent views over the sea and enchanting villages and small ports attracted most of the Impressionists who went there and worked ( Boudin, Seurat, Monet, Corot, Jongkind, Sisley, Courbet, Bazille, Daubigny, Renoir, Morisot, Degas, Millet, Pissarro, Dufy )
One can readily recognize nowadays most of the places where the Impressionists set up their easels and understand how they translated the light and scenery to their canvases which became famous all over the world and which have changed our own way of looking at the world. Now and again you will catch a glimpse of the evolution of that late 19th century new industrial world which they loved to paint, giving it a spellbinding beauty, but which can also invite us from time to time to meditate on the 21st century.
We recommend you set aside a couple of days to explore this region. We can tailor-make an itinerary to suit you. A sample four day itinerary is set out below, which combines Giverny and Normandy. You will be accompanied by our French (but English-speaking guide!) who is an acknowledged specialist on the Impressionist movement. We can organise an additional day if you would like to stay for painting tuition. |
IMPRESSIONISM : GIVERNY AND NORMANDY"> |
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DAY 1 |
From Paris drive through the Seine Valley and the villages where Money lived before settling in Giverny. On arrival in Giverny, a light lunch at the Auberge Baudy, dating from the 19th century and closely linked to the artistic life of Giverny (Monet, Renoir, Rodin, Sisley, Pissaro - and where the gardens are worth a visit as well as the 19th century painter's workshop).
Afternoon guided visit of Monet's garden and his home at Giverny before driving to Honfleur, a centre most favoured by painters from the Romantics to the Impressionists, and subsequently the Pointillists and Fauvists.
Evening in Honfleur.
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Monet's House |
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DAY 2 |
Guided walking tour of Honfleur where you will understand why there is a popular saying: "If you come to Honfleur, you'll catch the local illness and feel the need to paint!"
Guided visit of Musee Eugene Boudin (one of the most important Impressionist precursors).
Lunch at the Ferme Saint-Simeon , between 1825 and 1865 the meeting place of Courbet (the artist who gave birth to L'ecole de Honfleur , the direct origin of Impressionism), Bazille, Monet and many others. Ferme Saint-Simeon is now a Relais-Chateau Hotel restaurant overlooking the estuary.
After lunch a short drive to the coast to stroll around Deauville and Trouville, two resorts much favored and painted by the Impressionists.
Back to Honfleur for the evening. |
Honfleur
Ferme Saint Simeon |
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DAY 3 |
Drive across the Pont de Normandie and into Le Havre (the town site and port were declared World Heritage in 2006), where Monet, who lived here from the age of five, painted the view overlooking the port, giving the work a simple title - "Sunrise Impression". The name was subsequently given to the whole movement. After a guided visit of the Musee Andre Malraux, you'll drive along the coast to Etretat and Fecamp.
Evening in Rouen.
Between June and September there is a magnificent laser-light show at 10 pm, bringing Monet's paintings of the cathedral to life. |
Rouen Cathedral
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DAY 4 |
Morning guided walking tour of Rouen on the theme: "Rouen and the Impressionists". The tour finishes at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Rouen, which arguably claims the finest collection of Impressionist paintings outside Paris.
Lunch is in one of Rouen's most celebrated restaurants situated in a 14th century building. Authentic Normandy cuisine in a remarkable setting. (Past customers include Sophia Loren, John Wayne, Salvador Dali, Maurice Chevalier, Jean-Paul Sartre - and Princess Grace of Monaco!)
After lunch you can drive or take the fast train back to Paris. |
Rouen |
IMPRESSIONISM: PROVENCE
A sample four day program is outlined below, however the program can be extended for an extra day or two to take in the small and picturesque Mediterranean town of Cassis (a great favorite with the painters and which has retained much of its late 19th century charm) and/or Nice and Menton in order to retrace the life and work of Renoir.
All of our tours are tailor-made, so you can choose your own perfect itinerary.
Sample Provence Tour -
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DAY 1 |
Take the TGV, arriving early afternoon in Aix-en-Provence, where you can enjoy a guided visit of the town's lovely historic centre before dinner. |
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DAY 2 |
The second day is devoted to Cézanne and the inspiration he found in and around Aix for the majority of his paintings. The excursion retraces Cézanne’s life in Aix and the settings of the landscapes he painted, including the Atelier de Cézanne and the Jas de Bouffan (the property, which was owned by the Cézanne family from 1859 - 1899, was the source of inspiration of some 40 paintings and has recently been reopened to the public), the Domaine de la Marguerite, the Carrières de Bibémus, the road to Tholonet and the famous views of the Sainte-Victoire associated with Cézanne. Lunch will be taken in the Relais at Le Tholonet which was a favorite with Cézanne - he would often lunch here alone or with friends. |
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DAY 3 |
The World Heritage town of Arles is featured on the third day. After strolling through the famous Alyscamps, the guided walk is devoted to Van Gogh, visiting the settings of ten of his most famous Arles-period canvases, from the gardens of the Maison de Santé to the so-called Pont Van Gogh. At the end of the visit of Arles, a short drive takes you to the small town of St Remy de Provence, setting of some of Van Gogh's finest works painted while he was a patient in the Hospice Saint Paul de Mausolée. Lunch will be in the excellent restaurant La Maison Jaune, in the very heart of Van Gogh country. Before leaving - a last contact with Van Gogh as you wander along the Van Gogh Way which helps the visitor appreciate the settings of some twenty of his greatest works and the extraordinary interpretive gifts and sensibility of the artist. We return to Aix by driving through one of the most spectacular parts of Provence, Les Baux de Provence, with its historic village and ruined medieval château. |
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DAY 4 |
On Day 4 after breakfast we take a short drive to the outskirts of Marseille to what was once the small town of L’Estaque. Very closely associated with the new trends in European painting at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. A guided tour along the Chemin des Peintres - the settings are still sufficiently picturesque to evoke the paintings. Return to Aix for lunch in the most famous brasserie in Aix, Les Deux Garçons. With décor classified "historic site", (and many famous clients in the past including Churchill, Picasso and Piaf) it was especially favoured by Cézanne who would pass several hours there in the early evening with his friend Emile Zola. After lunch take the TGV back to Paris. |
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