Delft
Delft
Panorama Mesdag
Panorama Mesdag
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Rijksmuseum
Rembrandt, Rijksmuseum
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum
Haarlem
Prisenhof Garden
The Hague’s Mauritshuis
Panorama Mesdag and Prince William V Gallery in the Hague
Amsterdam’s incomparable Rijksmuseum and Rembrandthuis
The lovely Dutch towns of Haarlem and Leiden
Two lectures from accomplished art historian, Clare Ford-Wille
As the Dutch Republic came of age in the 17th century, its northern provinces led the way in a new style of painting that revolutionised Western art and continues to fascinate art lovers to this day. Join expert lecturer Clare Ford-Wille on this tour which visits a host of superb galleries and museums including, Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Haarlem’s Frans Hals Museum and Leiden’s Museum de Lakenhal. Added to which is a visit to The Hague’s Mauritshuis including 'The Goldfinch' exhibition showcasing the most beautiful birds from the world of art.
Available Departures |
From |
|
| 24 - October - 2024 | £ 1439.00 | Travel Info Book Now |
|
Provisional Timings London Heathrow Departing: 24th October 2024 at 08:20 Returning: 27th October 2024 at 19:40 |
Day 1: Fly from London Heathrow to Amsterdam and transfer by coach to Haarlem for a visit to the Frans Hals Museum. Onward travel from Haarlem to Delft and check-in to the Hampshire Delft Centre hotel in time for a welcome reception, lecture by Clare Ford-Wille, ‘An Introduction to the Golden Age of 17th Century Dutch Art’ and dinner with wine at the hotel.
Day 2: The Hague – Panorama Mesdag, Mauritshuis and the Prince William V Gallery.
We start with the largest painting in the Netherlands, Panorama Mesdag, before heading to the exquisite Mauritshuis which reopened in June 2014 after a big renovation project and is home to an outstanding collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck and Rubens. It was built as a private house in the seventeenth century, commissioned by Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, hence the name: Maurits' house and has been in use as a museum since 1822. Our tour date coincides with 'The Goldfinch' exhibition featuring Carel Fabritius's Goldfinch and where the exhibition will shift its focus from the 17th century to the wider world with an impressive selection of masterpieces from paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings to the applied arts with a treasure trove of birds and the power of art as its central theme. Our final visit of the day is to the largely unknown Prince William V Gallery with its stunning collection of paintings. Called the ‘Hidden Gem’ of The Hague it houses works by Steen, Rubens and Potter in grand surroundings. Evening lecture from Clare 'The Art Collections of Amsterdam’, followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Day 3: Delft and Leiden.
Our base, Delft is a beautiful town and the birthplace of Vermeer. This morning we will visit its fascinating Museum Prinsenhof Delt which not only showcases wonderful pieces of art paying tribute to Delft’s fame including Delft Blue and the Delft Masters but also has a dark history as the building where the murder of William of Orange took place in 1584. This afternoon we head to Leiden, and after some free time for lunch (not included) we will visit the newly reopened Museum de Lakenhal housing paintings from old masters such as Lucas van Leyden, Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen.
Day 4: Amsterdam – Rijksmuseum, Rembrandthuis and Our Lord in the Attic.
Reopened after renovation in early 2013, the Rijksmuseum is one of the world’s greatest galleries with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer. This afternoon we will visit the Rembrandt House Museum, based in the house where the artist lived and painted for 20 years before his eviction by creditors and displays a number of his etchings. Our final visit of the tour is to Our Lord in the Attic, a 17th century canal house which conceals a secret Catholic church in the attic. Built in 1663 and accessed through a secret door in the living room of the house the secret church has seating for approximately 150 worshippers and is beautifully decorated in the Dutch classicist style. Turned into a museum in 1888, it’s the second oldest museum in Amsterdam and is even still used today to hold regular services for worshippers. Late afternoon transfer to Amsterdam airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 25 passengers.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Hampshire Delft Centre Hotel, Delft
The family-owned three-star Delft Centre Hotel is located - as its name suggests - in the heart of Delft just behind the New Church, so within a few minutes' walk of the main square and all the main sights. Facilities here include bar, restaurant, waterfront terrace, wi-fi and comfortable bedrooms with private bath/shower, air-conditioning, TV, telephone and tea/coffee making facilities.
Hampshire Delft Centre Hotel Website
OUR VIEW ON THE HOTEL
The Hampshire Delft Centre Hotel has been welcoming Travel Editions' guests for nearly a decade now and continue to look after us very well.
Your Tour Lecturer - Clare Ford-Wille
Clare Ford-Wille has lectured in most areas of art history for over 35 years. She still teaches at the University of London, where she obtained her degree at Birkbeck, but also lectures regularly for Morely College, the City Literary Institute, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The Arts Society throughout Britain, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Every year since 1978 Clare had led art study tours to places of artistic importance throughout Europe and the USA, including Amsterdam, Padova, Vincenza, Bologna and Ravenna.
An excellent Tour . Clare Ford -Wille impressed with her wide knowledge of the period and its painters. Particularly enjoyed being based in Delft, which was charming.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-October-2022
Claire was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her subject. This made for an excellent holiday.
Review by Burton who travelled 27-October-2022
Coach access difficult in Amsterdam
Review by Bryson who travelled 27-October-2022
Less is more. A statement our tour expert should consider. Delightful trip, but a lot squeezed into a very small time frame. The last day, when we had had a couple of busy days, was rushed. A few of the less mobile group members struggled with the dash to the airport, and the "missing bus". Thoroughly enjoyable break. Looking forward to more travel on the continent
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-October-2022
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-October-2022
A most enjoyable, instructive and rewarding holiday visiting fascinating churches and viewing amazing paintings, aided by an excellent tour manager and led by a brilliant expert lecturer whose in-depth knowledge and insights brought every artwork to life. I leant so much.
Review by Ehsanullah who travelled 27-October-2022
A very well planned four days. Both the tour manager and the art expert were very knowledgeable, friendly and approachable.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-October-2022
Gill was a fantastic organiser on our trip. I learnt a lot from her commentary on the coach tours and she was great at sorting out problems and attending to every bodies needs. Nothing was too much trouble. Always warm and friendly and with clear instructions as to timings. Many thanks Gill. Our guide Clare was outstanding as always . She is a fantastic, enthusiastic and enormously knowledgeable lecturer with a great ability to communicate. Her guided tours of the exhibitions and museums were full of insights, pointing out all the things to see (through the excellent whisper guides) without which I would have missed so much. Many thanks Clare!
Review by Smith who travelled 27-November-2019
A very good but intensive tour. Gill and Clare could not be faulted. Hotel OK but room hot and as I was suffering with an infected sinus this curtailed my sleep and energy levels! Early start and finish of flights also impacted adversely on those of us travelling from outside London.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-November-2019
I can't praise this tour too highly! Clare was a brilliant lecturer and Gill a very efficient and knowledgeable tour manager. They worked well together. The itinerary was well planned to include 3 special exhibitions as well as the permanent museum collections. I would never have been able to see these otherwise so it was a special treat. The Mesdag Panorama was an unexpected additional pleasure. The hotel in Delft was conveniently placed, the staff were friendly and the food was good (though there were some blips with service at dinner - I guess not normal).
Review by Ellis who travelled 27-November-2019
Tour Manager, Gill Thompson was excellent - looked after us very well and knowledgeable about the cities visited. Clare Fore Wille also excellent - her knowledge of Dutch Art was wonderful. Hotel very comfortable - food good, but service slow, partic on the first night. (Gill minimised that for the 2nd night by having us pre-order - good move on her part). Very reduced service in the bar area for bar meals on the last night, which was disappointing.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-November-2019
It was quite a tight schedule fitting everything in. Flying so early from Heathrow and returning about 8 p.m. was just a bit inconvenient. The lecturer/guide was very good, a complete expert. We were fortunate that all the museums/galleries advertised were open as were ongoing special exhibitions. The Rijksmuseum might have been a bit quieter on a weekday but then Haarlem or The Hague might also have been busy on the Saturday. Gill was very efficient as usual. I should be happy for Clare Ford-Wille to send me information about any lectures she might give about the Maes exhibition in particular.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-November-2019
We came on this tour because we love Claire Ford-Willie, she is a brilliant art historian and lecturer and was a wonderful tour guide. We couldn’t praise her more highly. We’d also like to say that Jill was a first-class rep for Travel Editions. She was extremely pleasant, efficient and well-informed and nothing was too much trouble. She had excellent local and restaurant recommendations and was very approachable . We can’t imagine having a better or more professional tour manager.
Review by Baillieu who travelled 27-November-2019
Both Jill and Clair did an excellent job. We learnt a lot about 17th century art which made the gallery visits most enjoyable.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 27-November-2019
Content of tour was excellent and Clare Ford-Wille and Jill made an excellent team together. This is my fourth trip to the area, and I wish to return again!!
Review by Ashley who travelled 27-November-2019
Would have liked a list of participants when we arrived or even later.
Review by Murrell who travelled 27-November-2019
We had two brilliant guides - everything was well organised. It was full on and there was a lot to take in. We will remember this trip for a very long while!
Review by Logie who travelled 27-November-2019
Hotel was clean and comfortable BUT Shower taps VERY Difficult to figure out. Dinner in hotel disastrous - inedible beef after an EXCESSIVE wait. NOTHING AVAILABLE IN BAR ON LAST EVENING - despite having checked with tour manager. Group size was excessive and above stated maximum. Specialist guide - fantastic as ever - wonderful Clare Ford Wille
Review by Naylor who travelled 27-November-2019
The tour manager, Gill, was absolutely amazing and Clare the speaker was extremely knowledgeable, despite not using visual aids. The hotel was excellent also.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 02-May-2019
Excellent tour as you can see .Gill was amazing efficient so helpful and knew so much about the area ,present and Historical . Claire Ford Wille was fantastic and makes the whole tour with her expertise and enthusiasm so much fun and informantive and five star
Review by Bernie who travelled 02-May-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 02-May-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 02-May-2019
Our Art Historian Clare Ford-Willie was very professional and led us seamlessly despite great numbers at some venues when the 'Whisper Guides' were a great asset. Her Notes were very thorough and also good for future reference. Our Tour Leader Gill was knowledgeable, very clear in her directions, very efficient and was personally very helpful.
Review by Bray who travelled 02-May-2019
Excellent tour manager and art expert. Hotel only average.
Review by Biggs-Davison who travelled 02-May-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 02-May-2019
-min.jpg&w=0&h=0)
