le grand tour renaissance

Visiting Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion?

You must join the virtual exhibition queue when you arrive. If capacity has been reached for the day, the queue will close early.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

The grand tour.

Marble sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons

Piazza San Marco

Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)

Autre Vue Particulière de Paris depuis Nôtre Dame, Jusques au Pont de la Tournelle

Jacques Rigaud

Imaginary View of Venice, houses at left with figures on terraces, a domed church at center in the background, boats and boat-sheds below, and a seated man observing from a wall at right in the foreground, from 'Views' (Vedute altre prese da i luoghi altre ideate da Antonio Canal)

The Piazza del Popolo (Veduta della Piazza del Popolo), from "Vedute di Roma"

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Vue de la Grande Façade du Vieux Louvre

View of St. Peter's and the Vatican from the Janiculum

Richard Wilson

Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768)

Anton Raphael Mengs

Modern Rome

Giovanni Paolo Panini

Ancient Rome

Portrait of a Young Man

Pompeo Batoni

Gardens of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli

Charles Joseph Natoire

Veduta dell'Anfiteatro Flavio detto il Colosseo, from: 'Vedute di Roma' (Views of Rome)

View of the Villa Lante on the Janiculum in Rome

John Robert Cozens

The Girandola at the Castel Sant'Angelo

Designed and hand colored by Louis Jean Desprez

Dining room from Lansdowne House

After a design by Robert Adam

The Burial of Punchinello

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

Portland vase

Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

Jean Sorabella Independent Scholar

October 2003

Beginning in the late sixteenth century, it became fashionable for young aristocrats to visit Paris, Venice, Florence, and above all Rome, as the culmination of their classical education. Thus was born the idea of the Grand Tour, a practice that introduced Englishmen, Germans, Scandinavians, and also Americans to the art and culture of France and Italy for the next 300 years. Travel was arduous and costly throughout the period, possible only for a privileged class—the same that produced gentleman scientists, authors, antiquaries, and patrons of the arts.

The Objectives of the Grand Tour The Grand Tourist was typically a young man with a thorough grounding in Greek and Latin literature as well as some leisure time, some means, and some interest in art. The German traveler Johann Joachim Winckelmann pioneered the field of art history with his comprehensive study of Greek and Roman sculpture ; he was portrayed by his friend Anton Raphael Mengs at the beginning of his long residence in Rome ( 48.141 ). Most Grand Tourists, however, stayed for briefer periods and set out with less scholarly intentions, accompanied by a teacher or guardian, and expected to return home with souvenirs of their travels as well as an understanding of art and architecture formed by exposure to great masterpieces.

London was a frequent starting point for Grand Tourists, and Paris a compulsory destination; many traveled to the Netherlands, some to Switzerland and Germany, and a very few adventurers to Spain, Greece, or Turkey. The essential place to visit, however, was Italy. The British traveler Charles Thompson spoke for many Grand Tourists when in 1744 he described himself as “being impatiently desirous of viewing a country so famous in history, which once gave laws to the world; which is at present the greatest school of music and painting, contains the noblest productions of statuary and architecture, and abounds with cabinets of rarities , and collections of all kinds of antiquities.” Within Italy, the great focus was Rome, whose ancient ruins and more recent achievements were shown to every Grand Tourist. Panini’s Ancient Rome ( 52.63.1 ) and Modern Rome ( 52.63.2 ) represent the sights most prized, including celebrated Greco-Roman statues and views of famous ruins, fountains, and churches. Since there were few museums anywhere in Europe before the close of the eighteenth century, Grand Tourists often saw paintings and sculptures by gaining admission to private collections, and many were eager to acquire examples of Greco-Roman and Italian art for their own collections. In England, where architecture was increasingly seen as an aristocratic pursuit, noblemen often applied what they learned from the villas of Palladio in the Veneto and the evocative ruins of Rome to their own country houses and gardens .

The Grand Tour and the Arts Many artists benefited from the patronage of Grand Tourists eager to procure mementos of their travels. Pompeo Batoni painted portraits of aristocrats in Rome surrounded by classical staffage ( 03.37.1 ), and many travelers bought Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s prints of Roman views, including ancient structures like the Colosseum ( 59.570.426 ) and more recent monuments like the Piazza del Popolo ( 37.45.3[49] ), the dazzling Baroque entryway to Rome. Some Grand Tourists invited artists from home to accompany them throughout their travels, making views specific to their own itineraries; the British artist Richard Wilson, for example, made drawings of Italian places while traveling with the earl of Dartmouth in the mid-eighteenth century ( 1972.118.294 ).

Classical taste and an interest in exotic customs shaped travelers’ itineraries as well as their reactions. Gothic buildings , not much esteemed before the late eighteenth century, were seldom cause for long excursions, while monuments of Greco-Roman antiquity, the Italian Renaissance, and the classical Baroque tradition received praise and admiration. Jacques Rigaud’s views of Paris were well suited to the interests of Grand Tourists, displaying, for example, the architectural grandeur of the Louvre, still a royal palace, and the bustle of life along the Seine ( 53.600.1191 ;  53.600.1175 ). Canaletto’s views of Venice ( 1973.634 ;  1988.162 ) were much prized, and other works appealed to Northern travelers’ interest in exceptional fêtes and customs: Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo ‘s Burial of Punchinello ( 1975.1.473 ), for instance, is peopled with characters from the Venetian carnival, and a print by Francesco Piranesi and Louis Jean Desprez depicts the Girandola, a spectacular fireworks display held at the Castel Sant’Angelo ( 69.510 ).

The Grand Tour and Neoclassical Taste The Grand Tour gave concrete form to northern Europeans’ ideas about the Greco-Roman world and helped foster Neoclassical ideals . The most ambitious tourists visited excavations at such sites as Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Tivoli, and purchased antiquities to decorate their homes. The third duke of Beaufort brought from Rome the third-century work named the Badminton Sarcophagus ( 55.11.5 ) after the house where he proudly installed it in Gloucestershire. The dining rooms of Robert Adam’s interiors typically incorporated classical statuary; the nine lifesized figures set in niches in the Lansdowne dining room ( 32.12 ) were among the many antiquities acquired by the second earl of Shelburne, whose collecting activities accelerated after 1771, when he visited Italy and met Gavin Hamilton, a noted antiquary and one of the first dealers to take an interest in Attic ceramics, then known as “Etruscan vases.” Early entrepreneurs recognized opportunities created by the culture of the Grand Tour: when the second duchess of Portland obtained a Roman cameo glass vase in a much-publicized sale, Josiah Wedgwood profited from the manufacture of jasper reproductions ( 94.4.172 ).

Sorabella, Jean. “The Grand Tour.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grtr/hd_grtr.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Black, Jeremy. The British and the Grand Tour . London: Croom Helm, 1985.

Black, Jeremy. Italy and the Grand Tour . New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Black, Jeremy. France and the Grand Tour . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Haskell, Francis, and Nicholas Penny. Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500–1900 . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.

Wilton, Andrew, and Ilaria Bignamini, eds. The Grand Tour: The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth Century . Exhibition catalogue. London: Tate Gallery Publishing, 1996.

Additional Essays by Jean Sorabella

• Sorabella, Jean. “ Pilgrimage in Medieval Europe .” (April 2011)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Portraiture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe .” (August 2007)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Venetian Color and Florentine Design .” (October 2002)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Art of the Roman Provinces, 1–500 A.D. .” (May 2010)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Nude in Baroque and Later Art .” (January 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Nude in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance .” (January 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Nude in Western Art and Its Beginnings in Antiquity .” (January 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Monasticism in Western Medieval Europe .” (originally published October 2001, last revised March 2013)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Interior Design in England, 1600–1800 .” (October 2003)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Vikings (780–1100) .” (October 2002)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy .” (June 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Birth and Infancy of Christ in Italian Painting .” (June 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Crucifixion and Passion of Christ in Italian Painting .” (June 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Carolingian Art .” (December 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Ottonian Art .” (September 2008)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Ballet .” (October 2004)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ Baroque Rome .” (October 2003)
• Sorabella, Jean. “ The Opera .” (October 2004)

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The Grand Tour: Shaping the European Mind and Imagination

• by history tools
• May 26, 2024

For nearly 200 years, the Grand Tour of Europe served as a moveable feast of culture for young elites. From the Enlightenment salons of Paris to the Classical ruins of Rome, these epic journeys lasted months or years and traversed thousands of miles. More than just a glamorous gap year, the Grand Tour aimed to steep aristocratic scions in art, history, languages, and worldly experience in preparation for leadership roles at home.

The tradition emerged in the late 17th century and reached its height from about 1760 to 1820. The typical tourist was British, male, and moneyed, "with a good deal more money than brains, and a good deal more flesh than spirit," as one contemporary put it. But women, Americans, Germans, and others also embarked as continental travel became more common.

Origins and Evolution

The Grand Tour had roots in the Renaissance, when travel to Italy blossomed among artists, scholars, and aristocrats. "The idea was to go and see the marvelous buildings of antiquity and the Renaissance, and travel for the sake of curiosity and learning," explains historian Jeremy Black. Key early figures included the poet John Milton and essayist Michel de Montaigne in the 1500s.

Over the 1600s, a more structured itinerary developed as the Enlightenment sparked new interest in the classical world. The English gentry in particular began sending sons to Europe "to rub off their provincial awkwardness, to learn some languages, and to acquire a little of that social polish which alone can complete a gentleman," wrote one observer. By 1700, "making the Grand Tour" was a recognized rite of passage.

The Typical Tourist

Most Grand Tourists were the sons of nobles, gentry, and wealthy professionals. James Boswell, Edward Gibbon, and Horace Walpole were among the luminaries who made the trip. Some brought along an entourage of servants, tutors, and "bear-leaders" to manage the logistics and their charges‘ behavior. Later, more women participated, like the art historian Anna Jameson and novelist Ann Radcliffe.

A key goal was gaining social polish and connections. Grand Tourists were expected to hobnob with European elites, often bearing letters of introduction. "The Englishman‘s Grand Tour was often a Pleasant Grand Detour to the gaming tables and fleshpots," notes historian Tony Perrottet. Many had flings with local women or fellow travelers of both sexes.

The Classic Itinerary

The standard route varied over time but focused on France and Italy. Here is an outline of the classic itinerary at its 18th century height:

• London – Gathering point and channel crossing to Calais/Ostend
• Paris – Cultural capital and social whirl of salons, theaters, shops
• Geneva – Key intellectual hub and gateway to the Alps
• Turin – First major city in Italy, known for royal court
• Milan – Economic and cultural powerhouse of Northern Italy
• Venice – Mecca of art, Carnival, and courtesans
• Florence – Cradle of the Renaissance with legendary art collections
• Rome – Ultimate goal with layers of Classical and Baroque wonders
• Naples – Scenic beauty, Roman sites, and a wilder side

Some ventured on to Sicily and Greece, while others headed home via Germany or Austria. The full circuit could take two to four years, with long stays in major cities. Art, architecture, music, and antiquities were key draws. "In the 18th century, Italy still shone as the supreme beacon of European civilization," Perrottet notes.

Impact on Art and Learning

The Grand Tour fueled a golden age of cultural exchange between Britain and the Continent. Tourists snapped up Old Masters, sculptures, books, gems, and more in a spending spree that reshaped British collections. The 2nd Earl of Petworth amassed over 200 paintings and 70 statues on his trips, while the Duke of Bedford bought so much he had to build a new wing on his country house.

Italy in turn enjoyed an economic and creative renaissance as artists, dealers, hoteliers and more catered to the tourist trade. "The English are numbered, and they are all very rich…they will take our pictures, our statues, our curiosities," exulted one Roman. Cultural sites like the Uffizi and Pompeii became major attractions.

The Tour also shaped intellectual life as Neoclassicism and Romanticism took hold. Artists from Piranesi to Turner found inspiration in Roman ruins and the Italian landscape. "Rome…appears to me like some mighty ruin of an angelic mind," marveled the poet Robert Lowell. The diaries of Boswell, Goethe, and others became celebrated travelogues in their own right.

Disruption and Decline

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars brought the Grand Tour‘s golden age to an end. France and Italy became perilous for Britons as the two nations warred from 1793 to 1815. Many of Italy‘s artistic treasures were carted off by Napoleon. A generation of young elites had their travels curtailed or spent them on the battlefield instead of the opera house.

As peace returned, so did tourists, but in a different form. The spread of rail and steamships made the Continent accessible to a rising middle class by the 1840s. Thomas Cook launched his famous package tours in the 1860s, offering an affordable taste of the Grand Tour to the masses.

For elite travelers, Europe no longer seemed so rare and wondrous compared to more far-flung destinations. "The idea of the Grand Tour as an aristocratic male preserve was exploded," Black notes. Intrepid Victorians increasingly set their sights on the Middle East, India, and beyond.

A Lasting Legacy

Though the classic Grand Tour faded by the late 1800s, it cast a long shadow over European travel and culture. Its ideals of edification and exoticism still shape study abroad programs, cultural tourism, and creative pilgrimages today. The letters, art, and souvenirs it generated provide a vivid window into the lives and mores of a bygone elite.

The Tour also had a formative impact on the collections that fill Europe‘s great museums, the English country house, and the imaginations of generations of artists and writers. From Keats swooning over a Greek urn to Henry James dissecting the ex-pat scene in Rome, its influence permeates Western culture.

Perhaps most of all, the Grand Tour instilled a sense of Europe as a shared cultural hearth with a deep, living heritage to be explored. At a time of rising nationalism, it emphasized what Europeans held in common and how the Classical world still spoke to the present. It made the Continent smaller and grander at the same time, a tension still at the heart of the European project today.

Key Facts and Figures

The term "Grand Tour" was coined by the Catholic priest Richard Lassels in his 1670 book Voyage to Italy .

From 1764-1796, the British took out 6,000 passports for travel abroad, and at least half of those were for the Grand Tour. In the same period, they were granted 40% of the 3,200 export licenses for art from Rome.

Popular guides included Thomas Nugent‘s The Grand Tour (1749) and Mariana Starke‘s Travels in Italy (1800s). The poet Lord Byron‘s letters home were another hit.

The average age of the British Grand Tourist was 22. Most were the sons of peers (30%), gentry (35%), or professionals (29%).

Grand Tourists were among the leading buyers in Italy‘s booming art market. British collectors accounted for 60% of ancient sculpture exports from Rome in the late 1700s.

Top destinations saw huge upticks in visitors: Venice went from about 10,000 tourists per year in 1700 to over 40,000 per year by 1800. Italy received an estimated £15 million from tourists over the 18th century (over £1 billion today).

Sources and Further Reading

Black, Jeremy. The British Abroad: The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century . Sutton, 2003.

Black, Jeremy. Italy and the Grand Tour . Yale University Press, 2003.

Bohls, Elizabeth A. and Ian Duncan (eds.). Travel Writing 1700-1830: An Anthology . Oxford University Press, 2008.

Chaney, Edward. The Evolution of the Grand Tour: Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations since the Renaissance . Routledge, 2000.

Hornsby, Clare. The Impact of Italy: The Grand Tour and Beyond . British School at Rome, 2000.

Perrottet, Tony. "The Grand Tour." Smithsonian Magazine , April 2009, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-grand-tour-142368742/

Redford, Bruce. Venice and the Grand Tour . Yale University Press, 1996.

Wilton, Andrew and Ilaria Bignamini (eds.). Grand Tour: The Lure of Italy in the Eighteenth-century . Tate Gallery Publishing, 1996.

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What was the Grand Tour?

Find out about the travel phenomenon that became popular amongst the young nobility of England

Art, antiquity and architecture: the Grand Tour provided an opportunity to discover the cultural wonders of Europe and beyond.  

Popular throughout the 18th century, this extended journey was seen as a rite of passage for mainly young, aristocratic English men. 

As well as marvelling at artistic masterpieces, Grand Tourists brought back souvenirs to commemorate and display their journeys at home. 

One exceptional example forms the subject of a new exhibition at the National Maritime Museum. Canaletto’s Venice Revisited brings together 24 of Canaletto’s Venetian views, commissioned in 1731 by Lord John Russell following his visit to Venice. 

Find out more about this travel phenomenon – and uncover its rich cultural legacy. 

Canaletto's Venice Revisited

The origins of the Grand Tour

The development of the Grand Tour dates back to the 16th century. 

One of the earliest Grand Tourists was the architect Inigo Jones , who embarked on a tour of Italy in 1613-14 with his patron Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel. 

Jones visited cities such as Parma, Venice and Rome. However, it was Naples that proved the high point of his travels.  

Jones was particularly fascinated by the San Paolo Maggiore, describing the church as “one of the best things that I have ever seen.” 

Jones’s time in Italy shaped his architectural style. In 1616, Jones was commissioned to design the Queen’s House in Greenwich for Queen Anne of Denmark , the wife of King James I. Completed in around 1636, the house was the first classical building in England. 

The expression ‘Grand Tour’ itself comes from 17th century travel writer and Roman Catholic priest Richard Lassels, who used it in his guidebook The Voyage of Italy, published in 1670. 

By the 18th century, the Grand Tour had reached its zenith. Despite Anglo-French wars in 1689-97 and 1702-13, this was a time of relative stability in Europe, which made travelling across the continent easier. 

The Grand Tour route

For young English aristocrats, embarking on the Grand Tour was seen as an important rite of passage. 

Accompanied by a tutor, a Grand Tourist’s route typically involved taking a ship across the English Channel before travelling in a carriage through France, stopping at Paris and other major cities. 

Italy was also a popular destination thanks to the art and architecture of places such as Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan and Naples. More adventurous travellers ventured to Sicily or even sailed across to Greece. The average Grand Tour lasted for at least a year. 

As Katherine Gazzard, Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich explains, this extended journey marked the culmination of a Grand Tourist’s education.  

“The Grand Tourists would have received an education that was grounded in the Classics,” she says. “During their travels to the continent, they would have seen classical ruins and read Latin and Greek texts. The Grand Tour was also an opportunity to take in more recent culture, such as Renaissance paintings, and see contemporary artists at work.” 

As well as educational opportunities, the Grand Tour was linked with independence. Places such as Venice were popular with pleasure seekers, boasting gambling houses and occasions for drinking and partying.  

“On the Grand Tour, there’s a sense that travellers are gaining some of their independence and having a lesson in the ways of the world,” Gazzard explains. “For visitors to Venice, there were opportunities to behave beyond the social norms, with the masquerade and the carnival.” 

Art and the Grand Tour 

Bound up with the idea of independence was the need to collect souvenirs, which the Grand Tourists could display in their homes.  

“The ownership of property was tied to status, so creating a material legacy was really important for the Grand Tourists in order to solidify their social standing amongst their peers,” says Gazzard. “They were looking to spend money and buy mementos to prove they went on the trip.” 

The works of artists such as those of the 18th century view painter Giovanni Antonio Canal (known as Canaletto ) were especially popular with Grand Tourists. Prized for their detail, Canaletto’s artworks captured the landmarks and scenes of everyday Venetian life, from festive scenes to bustling traffic on the Grand Canal . 

In 1731, Lord John Russell, the future 4th Duke of Bedford, commissioned Canaletto to create 24 Venetian views following his visit to the city. 

Lord John Russell is known to have paid at least £188 for the set – over five times the annual earnings of a skilled tradesperson at the time.  

“Canaletto’s work was portable and collectible,” says Gazzard. “He adopted a smaller size for his canvases so they could be rolled up and shipped easily.” 

These detailed works, now part of the world famous collection at Woburn Abbey, form the centrepiece of Canaletto’s Venice Revisited at the National Maritime Museum . 

Who was Canaletto?

The legacy of the Grand Tour 

The start of the French Revolution in 1789 marked the end of the Grand Tour. However, its legacy is still keenly felt. 

The desire to explore and learn about different places and cultures through travel continues to endure. The legacy of the Grand Tour can also be seen in the artworks and objects that adorn the walls of stately homes and museums, and the many cultural influences that travellers brought back to Britain. 

Canaletto's Venice Revisited

Main image:  The Piazza San Marco looking towards the Basilica San Marco and the Campanile by Canaletto . From the Woburn Abbey Collection . Canaletto painting in body copy:  Regatta on Grand Canal  by Canaletto  From the Woburn Abbey Collection

The Grand Tour

Englishmen abroad.

At its height, from around 1660–1820, the Grand Tour was considered to be the best way to complete a gentleman’s education. After leaving school or university, young noblemen from northern Europe left for France to start the tour.

After acquiring a coach in Calais, they would ride on to Paris – their first major stop. From there they would head south to Italy or Spain, carting all their possessions and servants with them.

Their most popular destinations were the great towns and cities of the Renaissance, along with the remains of ancient Roman and Greek civilisation.

Their souvenirs were rather more durable than holiday snaps, replica Eiffel Towers or t-shirts – they filled crates with paintings, sculptures and fine clothes.

Travel was somewhat more of an ordeal than today (even accounting for the worst airport queues and hold-ups). However rich these young men were, there was no hot shower after a day on the road, no credit card to get them out of a tight spot, and no mobile phone to ring people for help.

Furthermore transport was slow. Instead of taking a 12-month trip, some went away for many years. Most went for at least two, spending months in essential spots along the way.

The plan was to set young noblemen up to manage their estates, furnish their houses and prepare for conversation in polite society. But did the Grand Tour turn them into gentlemen? Sometimes a taste for vice got in the way.

Next:  A moral education  

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

What Was the Grand Tour of Europe?

Lucy Davidson

26 jan 2022, @lucejuiceluce.

In the 18th century, a ‘Grand Tour’ became a rite of passage for wealthy young men. Essentially an elaborate form of finishing school, the tradition saw aristocrats travel across Europe to take in Greek and Roman history, language and literature, art, architecture and antiquity, while a paid ‘cicerone’ acted as both a chaperone and teacher.

Grand Tours were particularly popular amongst the British from 1764-1796, owing to the swathes of travellers and painters who flocked to Europe, the large number of export licenses granted to the British from Rome and a general period of peace and prosperity in Europe.

However, this wasn’t forever: Grand Tours waned in popularity from the 1870s with the advent of accessible rail and steamship travel and the popularity of Thomas Cook’s affordable ‘Cook’s Tour’, which made mass tourism possible and traditional Grand Tours less fashionable.

Here’s the history of the Grand Tour of Europe.

Who went on the Grand Tour?

In his 1670 guidebook The Voyage of Italy , Catholic priest and travel writer Richard Lassells coined the term ‘Grand Tour’ to describe young lords travelling abroad to learn about art, culture and history. The primary demographic of Grand Tour travellers changed little over the years, though primarily upper-class men of sufficient means and rank embarked upon the journey when they had ‘come of age’ at around 21.

‘Goethe in the Roman Campagna’ by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein. Rome 1787.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Grand Tours also became fashionable for women who might be accompanied by a spinster aunt as a chaperone. Novels such as E. M. Forster’s A Room With a View reflected the role of the Grand Tour as an important part of a woman’s education and entrance into elite society.

Increasing wealth, stability and political importance led to a more broad church of characters undertaking the journey. Prolonged trips were also taken by artists, designers, collectors, art trade agents and large numbers of the educated public.

What was the route?

The Grand Tour could last anything from several months to many years, depending on an individual’s interests and finances, and tended to shift across generations. The average British tourist would start in Dover before crossing the English Channel to Ostend in Belgium or Le Havre and Calais in France. From there the traveller (and if wealthy enough, group of servants) would hire a French-speaking guide before renting or acquiring a coach that could be both sold on or disassembled. Alternatively, they would take the riverboat as far as the Alps or up the Seine to Paris .

Map of grand tour taken by William Thomas Beckford in 1780.

From Paris, travellers would normally cross the Alps – the particularly wealthy would be carried in a chair – with the aim of reaching festivals such as the Carnival in Venice or Holy Week in Rome. From there, Lucca, Florence, Siena and Rome or Naples were popular, as were Venice, Verona, Mantua, Bologna, Modena, Parma, Milan, Turin and Mont Cenis.

What did people do on the Grand Tour?

A Grand Tour was both an educational trip and an indulgent holiday. The primary attraction of the tour lay in its exposure of the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, such as the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii, as well as the chance to enter fashionable and aristocratic European society.

Johann Zoffany: The Gore Family with George, third Earl Cowper, c. 1775.

In addition, many accounts wrote of the sexual freedom that came with being on the continent and away from society at home. Travel abroad also provided the only opportunity to view certain works of art and potentially the only chance to hear certain music.

The antiques market also thrived as lots of Britons, in particular, took priceless antiquities from abroad back with them, or commissioned copies to be made. One of the most famous of these collectors was the 2nd Earl of Petworth, who gathered or commissioned some 200 paintings and 70 statues and busts – mainly copies of Greek originals or Greco-Roman pieces – between 1750 and 1760.

It was also fashionable to have your portrait painted towards the end of the trip. Pompeo Batoni painted over 175 portraits of travellers in Rome during the 18th century.

Others would also undertake formal study in universities, or write detailed diaries or accounts of their experiences. One of the most famous of these accounts is that of US author and humourist Mark Twain, whose satirical account of his Grand Tour in Innocents Abroad became both his best selling work in his own lifetime and one of the best-selling travel books of the age.

Why did the popularity of the Grand Tour decline?

A Thomas Cook flyer from 1922 advertising cruises down the Nile. This mode of tourism has been immortalised in works such as Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie.

The popularity of the Grand Tour declined for a number of reasons. The Napoleonic Wars from 1803-1815 marked the end of the heyday of the Grand Tour, since the conflict made travel difficult at best and dangerous at worst.

The Grand Tour finally came to an end with the advent of accessible rail and steamship travel as a result of Thomas Cook’s ‘Cook’s Tour’, a byword of early mass tourism, which started in the 1870s. Cook first made mass tourism popular in Italy, with his train tickets allowing travel over a number of days and destinations. He also introduced travel-specific currencies and coupons which could be exchanged at hotels, banks and ticket agencies which made travelling easier and also stabilised the new Italian currency, the lira.

As a result of the sudden potential for mass tourism, the Grand Tour’s heyday as a rare experience reserved for the wealthy came to a close.

Can you go on a Grand Tour today?

Echoes of the Grand Tour exist today in a variety of forms. For a budget, multi-destination travel experience, interrailing is your best bet; much like Thomas Cook’s early train tickets, travel is permitted along many routes and tickets are valid for a certain number of days or stops.

For a more upmarket experience, cruising is a popular choice, transporting tourists to a number of different destinations where you can disembark to enjoy the local culture and cuisine.

Though the days of wealthy nobles enjoying exclusive travel around continental Europe and dancing with European royalty might be over, the cultural and artistic imprint of a bygone Grand Tour era is very much alive.

To plan your own Grand Tour of Europe, take a look at History Hit’s guides to the most unmissable heritage sites in Paris , Austria and, of course, Italy .

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The Grand Tour Of The 18th Century

In the eighteenth century, the Grand Tour was an obligatory part of a young nobleman’s artistic, intellectual and sentimental education.

The ‘Grand Tour’, that extended journey to Italy undertaken mainly by British but also French and German aristocrats in the eighteenth century, is not only the stuff of legend, but meant as many different things as there were tourists; each came back with a particular and personal view of the experience.

The Grand Tour evolved during the seventeenth century to become a formative experience for the leaders of British society. Princes, nobles, aristocrats, landed gentry, and politicians—with courtiers, retinues, scholars, tutors, advisors and servants—all made the journey across France. Crossing the Alps at Mont Cenis (usually carried in a chair), they descended into Italy at Turin, or, taking a felucca from Marseilles, they landed at Genoa.

Italy was seen as the cradle of Western civilisation, the source and home of all that was reckoned to be significant historically, aesthetically, politically, religiously and, above all, for collecting: antique sculpture, Old Master paintings, furniture, textiles, objets de vertu, jewellery, contemporary sculpture and painting.

In the latter category, most highly prized were portraits of the tourists themselves by masters such as Pompeo Batoni and ‘vedute’, views of the sites visited as presented in Canaletto’s paintings or Piranesi’s prints. Moreover, Italy was the textbook for students of architecture, with ancient and modern buildings not only to be studied but imitated back home. The British stately home is almost by definition the result of the Grand Tour in both its architecture and its contents.

Earlier this year, the ‘Italy Observed’ exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York showcased a fine selection of Italian vedute, from paintings of Venetian life by Luca Carlevaris to a Neapolitan album of gouache drawings documenting the eruption of Vesuvius in 1794 to sketches and watercolours of Italian antiquities, capturing the artist’s romantic attraction to Italy and its irresistible Roman heritage.

The places to visit included most of the sites still popular with less grand tourists today: Florence, with untold riches held by the Grand-Ducal Medicis in their several city palaces, as well as works of art in the churches and monasteries; Venice, which combined artistic and mercantile wealth; Genoa, which had artistic links with Britain due to the visits of Rubens and Van Dyck whose works adorned that city; and Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, an outpost of the Habsburg empire with a glamorous court and the place where in the later part of the eighteenth century Sir William Hamilton and his wife, Emma—later to achieve fame as Nelson’s lover—held cultural sway.

Later in the century the archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum put these on the tourist trail, as sites for the study of the ancient world, sources for yet more riches to be brought home, and templates for decoration and decorative art works in the Neo-classical style that emerged partly as a result of these finds. At the same time, Southern Italy and Sicily were added to the Tour as interest grew in classical Greek architecture, the temples at Paestum and Segesta being among the finest examples.

Above all others, the destination of the Grand Tour was Rome—the crossroads of the ancient and the Christian worlds—and the place that epitomised Western civilisation. The site of the vestiges of the Roman Republic and Empire, those sources of European law and administration, and of the noble examples of pagan virtue and rectitude that inspired the classical ideals of the Augustan gentleman, Rome was also the heart of European Christianity: for Catholics the very heart of the religion; for Protestants, although historically important if doctrinally suspect or downright repugnant, a power to be known and reckoned with.

However, the Grand Tourists were not pilgrims, but came with other motives—often mixed, but principally to drink from the source of civilisation, to undertake a Bildungsreise, the journey of a life time (often lasting several years), an experience that would form an aristocrat’s life-long attitudes, tastes, intellectual habits and manners. It was also a major shopping expedition intended to provide the nobility with objects to furnish their newly built Neo-classical houses.

Grand Tourists can be seen in works of art such as the portraits of Lord Mountstuart and John Talbot painted respectively by Jean-Étienne Liotard in 1763 and Pompeo Batoni, ten years later. Talbot is shown as the consummate Grand Tourist: elegant, poised, nonchalant, surrounded by the signs of his Roman sojourn—a broken capital at his feet, a Grecian urn at his elbow and the Ludovisi Ares in the background.

Tourists who had not done their homework before setting off were ably assisted by their tutors, the ubiquitous and often ill-used ‘bear leaders’, who were also meant to oversee their charges’ moral integrity, a fruitless task more often honoured in the breach.

In fact, the Grand Tourists’ less high-minded behaviour and interests were frequently remarked on—pointedly, in one instance by Alexander Pope who satirised the twin aspects of the Grand Tourist’s agenda: ‘… he sauntered Europe round, / And gather’d ev’ry Vice on Christian ground; / Saw ev’ry Court, heard ev’ry King declare / His royal Sense of Op’ra’s or the Fair; / The Stews and Palace equally explor’d / Intrigu’d with glory, and with spirit whor’d.’

But the Grand Tourist whose budget did not stretch to having a personal tutor was responsible for the invention of what has become an indispensable item of tourism: the guidebook, with foldout maps and panoramic views marked with the not-to-be-missed monuments and sites.

The beautiful red chalk drawing of an antique monument in a landscape by Marie-Joseph Peyre from about 1753-85 is an example that serves as reminder that many Grand Tourists were taught, on the spot, to draw, sketch and paint. The Grand Tourists’ collecting activities promoted the revival of ancient art forms, creating a taste for architecture and sculpture in a Neo-classical or Greek style, and in the manufacture of objects such as Wedgwood cameo wares.

The publication in 1755 of Johann Joachim Winckelmann’s Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks influenced European taste for the next half-century. Greek sculpture was (as it still is) known almost exclusively through Roman copies, and the striving for the cool, serene and noble sentiments that art seemed to embody is exemplified most of all by the work of Antonio Canova, represented by his marble statue of Apollo crowning himself.

Ancient carved gemstones and cameos, cameo casts, contemporary gemstones carved in the manner of ancient ones, prints, and a painting by Canaletto, The Arch of Constantine with the Colosseum in the background, show how works of art served as souvenirs and aide-memoires for returning visitors. Ultimately, their patronage and spending was the driving force behind Neo-classicism, the international style that wedded the principles of ancient art to modern individual inventiveness.

Collecting of an entirely different sort and on an entirely different scale marked the end of the Grand Tour and of aristocratic classical taste. Napoleon’s invasion of Italy signaled the beginning of the end of the aristocratic age for which Italy was both the goal and the source.

See also: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Years in Vienna

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• Key Figures & Milestones
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• M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge
• B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis

The French Revolution marked the end of a spectacular period of travel and enlightenment for European youth, particularly from England. Young English elites of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often spent two to four years touring around Europe in an effort to broaden their horizons and learn about language , architecture , geography, and culture in an experience known as the Grand Tour.

The Grand Tour, which didn't come to an end until the close of the eighteenth century, began in the sixteenth century and gained popularity during the seventeenth century. Read to find out what started this event and what the typical Tour entailed.

Origins of the Grand Tour

Privileged young graduates of sixteenth-century Europe pioneered a trend wherein they traveled across the continent in search of art and cultural experiences upon their graduation. This practice, which grew to be wildly popular, became known as the Grand Tour, a term introduced by Richard Lassels in his 1670 book Voyage to Italy . Specialty guidebooks, tour guides, and other aspects of the tourist industry were developed during this time to meet the needs of wealthy 20-something male and female travelers and their tutors as they explored the European continent.

These young, classically-educated Tourists were affluent enough to fund multiple years abroad for themselves and they took full advantage of this. They carried letters of reference and introduction with them as they departed from southern England in order to communicate with and learn from people they met in other countries. Some Tourists sought to continue their education and broaden their horizons while abroad, some were just after fun and leisurely travels, but most desired a combination of both.

Navigating Europe

A typical journey through Europe was long and winding with many stops along the way. London was commonly used as a starting point and the Tour was usually kicked off with a difficult trip across the English Channel.

Crossing the English Channel

The most common route across the English Channel, La Manche, was made from Dover to Calais, France—this is now the path of the Channel Tunnel. A trip from Dover across the Channel to Calais and finally into Paris customarily took three days. After all, crossing the wide channel was and is not easy. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Tourists risked seasickness, illness, and even shipwreck on this first leg of travel.

Compulsory Stops

Grand Tourists were primarily interested in visiting cities that were considered major centers of culture at the time, so Paris, Rome, and Venice were not to be missed. Florence and Naples were also popular destinations but were regarded as more optional than the aforementioned cities.

The average Grand Tourist traveled from city to city, usually spending weeks in smaller cities and up to several months in the three major ones. Paris, France was the most popular stop of the Grand Tour for its cultural, architectural, and political influence. It was also popular because most young British elite already spoke French, a prominent language in classical literature and other studies, and travel through and to this city was relatively easy. For many English citizens, Paris was the most impressive place visited.

Getting to Italy

From Paris, many Tourists proceeded across the Alps or took a boat on the Mediterranean Sea to get to Italy, another essential stopping point. For those who made their way across the Alps, Turin was the first Italian city they'd come to and some remained here while others simply passed through on their way to Rome or Venice.

Rome was initially the southernmost point of travel. However, when excavations of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748) began, these two sites were added as major destinations on the Grand Tour.

Features of the Grand Tour

The vast majority of Tourists took part in similar activities during their exploration with art at the center of it all. Once a Tourist arrived at a destination, they would seek housing and settle in for anywhere from weeks to months, even years. Though certainly not an overly trying experience for most, the Grand Tour presented a unique set of challenges for travelers to overcome.

While the original purpose of the Grand Tour was educational, a great deal of time was spent on much more frivolous pursuits. Among these were drinking, gambling, and intimate encounters—some Tourists regarded their travels as an opportunity to indulge in promiscuity with little consequence. Journals and sketches that were supposed to be completed during the Tour were left blank more often than not.

Visiting French and Italian royalty as well as British diplomats was a common recreation during the Tour. The young men and women that participated wanted to return home with stories to tell and meeting famous or otherwise influential people made for great stories.

The study and collection of art became almost a nonoptional engagement for Grand Tourists. Many returned home with bounties of paintings, antiques, and handmade items from various countries. Those that could afford to purchase lavish souvenirs did so in the extreme.

Arriving in Paris, one of the first destinations for most, a Tourist would usually rent an apartment for several weeks or months. Day trips from Paris to the French countryside or to Versailles (the home of the French monarchy) were common for less wealthy travelers that couldn't pay for longer outings.

The homes of envoys were often utilized as hotels and food pantries. This annoyed envoys but there wasn't much they could do about such inconveniences caused by their citizens. Nice apartments tended to be accessible only in major cities, with harsh and dirty inns the only options in smaller ones.

Trials and Challenges

A Tourist would not carry much money on their person during their expeditions due to the risk of highway robberies. Instead, letters of credit from reputable London banks were presented at major cities of the Grand Tour in order to make purchases. In this way, tourists spent a great deal of money abroad.

Because these expenditures were made outside of England and therefore did not bolster England's economy, some English politicians were very much against the institution of the Grand Tour and did not approve of this rite of passage. This played minimally into the average person's decision to travel.

Returning to England

Upon returning to England, tourists were meant to be ready to assume the responsibilities of an aristocrat. The Grand Tour was ultimately worthwhile as it has been credited with spurring dramatic developments in British architecture and culture, but many viewed it as a waste of time during this period because many Tourists did not come home more mature than when they had left.

The French Revolution in 1789 halted the Grand Tour—in the early nineteenth century, railroads forever changed the face of tourism and foreign travel.

• Burk, Kathleen. "The Grand Tour of Europe". Gresham College, 6 Apr. 2005.
• Knowles, Rachel. “The Grand Tour.”   Regency History , 30 Apr. 2013.
• Sorabella, Jean. “The Grand Tour.”   Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History , The Met Museum, Oct. 2003.
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The Grand Tour: Everything You Need to Know

Gokce Dyson 28 November 2022 min Read

Carl Spitzweg, Englishmen in Campania , ca. 1835, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany.

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Nowadays, it is very common to take a gap year before or after university studies to travel and expand your horizons. Dedicating a year or two before committing to a full-time job means you can experience different cultures, learn languages, and enjoy having a bit of fun before settling down. Back in the day, with similar objectives, many noblemen embarked on a journey across Europe before entering adulthood. It was called the Grand Tour. 

The Grand Tour evolved between the 17th and 18th centuries as a custom of a traditional trip. The purpose of the Grand Tour was to provide male members of upper-class families with a formative experience. The term was first used by the Catholic priest and travel writer Richard Lassels in his guidebook The Voyage of Italy . The book came out in 1670 and described young lords traveling to Italy to see art, architecture, and antiquity. Lassels completed the Grand Tour five times during his lifetime.

In England, for example, the general view held by the aristocrats was that foreign travel completed the education of an English gentleman. However, some people were also quite skeptical about the tour. They feared the amount of money spent to make the Grand Tour possible could ruin the young nobility.

Although the Grand Tour was largely associated with English travelers, they were far from being the only ones on the road. On the contrary, wealthy families in France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark also saw traveling as an ideal way to finish the education of their societies’ future leaders.

Itinerary of the Grand Tour

The traditional route of the Grand Tour usually began in Dover, England. Grand tourists would cross the English Channel to Le Havre in France. Upon arrival in Paris , the young men tended to hire a French-speaking guide as French was the dominant language of the elite during the 17th and 18th centuries. In Paris, they spent some time taking lessons in fencing, riding, and perhaps dancing. There, they became accustomed to the sophisticated manners of French society in courtly behavior and fashion. Paris was a crucial step in preparing for their positions to be fulfilled in government or diplomacy waiting back in England.

From there, tourists would buy transport, and if they were prosperous enough, they would hire a tutor to accompany them. The travelers would then get back on the road and cross the Alps, carried in a chair at Mont Cenis before moving on to Turin.

Italy was exceedingly the most traveled country on the Grand Tour. A Grand tourist’s list of must-see cities in Italy included Florence , Venice , and Naples . And then, there was Rome . Each Italian city offered immense importance in experiencing art and architecture, and Rome had it all.

Touring Italy

Once arriving in Italy, noblemen traveled to Florence followed by Venice, Rome, and Naples. Florence was popular for its Renaissance art, magnificent country villas, and beautiful gardens. Young aristocrats were able to gain entry to private collections where they could observe the legacy of the Medici family. Venice , on the other hand, was the party city. There was, however, a second reason to visit Venice. During their travels, grand tourists often commissioned art to take back home with them. Wealthy ones brought sketch artists along with them. Others purchased ready-made artworks instead. Giovanni Battista Piranesi created numerous prints and sketches depicting the ancient ruins in Rome. The works of the Venetian artist were popular among noblemen.

Rome was considered the ultimate stop during the Grand Tour. The city had a harmonious mixture of past and present. One could experience modern-day Baroque art and architecture and ancient ruins , dating back thousands of years at the same time. It was lauded as home to Michelangelo’s and Bernini’s most prized works. Gentlemen visited spots like the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and Porta del Popolo. William Beckford described his feelings in a letter when he was on his Grand Tour:

Shall I ever forget the sensations I experienced upon slowly descending the hills, and crossing the bridge over the Tiber; when I entered an avenue between terraces and ornamented gates of villas, which leads to the Porto del Popolo… William Beckford, letter from the Grand Tour, 1780.

The next stop on the route was Naples. When Italian authorities began excavations in Herculaneum and Pompeii in the 1730s, grand tourists flocked there to delve into the mysteries of the ancient past. Naples became a popular retreat for the British who wanted to enjoy the coastal sun. Travelers such as J. W. Goethe praised the city’s glories:

Naples is a Paradise: everyone lives in a state of intoxicated self-forgetfulness, myself included. I seem to be a completely different person whom I hardly recognize. Yesterday I thought to myself: Either you were mad before, or you are mad now. J. W. Goethe, Google Arts& Culture .

Returning home, young gentlemen crossed the Alps to the German-speaking parts of Europe and visited Innsbruck, Vienna , Dresden, and Berlin . From there, they stopped in Holland and Flanders before returning to England.

With the introduction of steam railways in Europe around 1825, travel became safer, cheaper, and easier to undertake. The Grand Tour custom continued; however, it was not limited to the members of wealthy families. During the 19th century, many educated men had undertaken the Grand Tour. It also became more popular for women to travel across Europe with chaperones. A Room with A View, written by English novelist E. M. Forster, tells the story of a young woman who embarks on a journey to Italy in the 1900s.

Legacy of the Grand Tour

Grand tourists would return with crates full of books, oil paintings, medals, coins, and antique artifacts to be displayed in libraries, cabinets, drawing rooms, and galleries built for that purpose. The marble sarcophagus shown above was brought back from Italy to England by the third duke of Beaufort who found this item during his Grand Tour stop in Pompeii. Impressed by the European art academies on his Grand Tour, Joshua Reynolds founded the Royal Academy of Arts in London upon his return in 1768. The Grand Tour inspired many travelers to take a greater interest in ancient art. The British School in Rome was established to learn more about the Roman ruins and it still exists today.

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Gokce Dyson

Based in Canterbury, Gokce holds a bachelor's degree in History and Archaeological Studies and a master's degree in Museum and Gallery Studies. She firmly believes that art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. If Gokce is not tucked into a cosy corner with a medieval history book, she can be found spending her evenings doing jigsaw puzzles.

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1.3 The Grand Tour

Read the following excerpt from Sarah Goldsmith’s book, Masculinity and Danger on the Eighteenth-Century Grand Tour .

Introduction

Eighteenth-century Britain was a society in constant motion. As the country’s trading empire grew, vessels set sail to explore and trade around the globe. Within the British Isles, aristocratic households moved regularly between the town and country, labouring communities migrated for work, and domestic tourism was on the rise. Between the extremities of global and domestic travel lay the destination of continental Europe. Diplomatic, military, trade, intellectual and artistic networks facilitated travel across the channel at almost every level of society. These occupational travellers frequently took the opportunity to enact the role of tourist and were joined by a growing body of travellers from elite and middling backgrounds whose purpose for going abroad rested entirely on reasons of pleasure, curiosity and health. This nascent culture of tourism could result in short week- or month-long trips or in years spent in expatriate communities. It was stimulated by a developing genre of travel writing, which was also highly influential in the diffusion of key cultural trends, including the novel, sentimentalism, the sublime and picturesque, and Romanticism.

In the midst of this was the Grand Tour, a well-established educational practice undertaken by the sons of many eighteenth-century aristocratic and gentry families. The Tour, which dates back to the Elizabethan era, had its roots in a long tradition of travel as a means of male formation, which included the medieval practice of raising young boys in noble households and the Renaissance custom of peregrination. Its participants were young elite men in their late teens and early twenties, often travelling after school, home tutoring or university but before the responsibilities of adult life. As this was the most expensive, time-consuming and socially exclusive of the early modern options of educational travel, a Grand Tourist was typically the family heir, often with companions. These were mostly tutors (part companion, part in loco parentis) and servants, but could also include younger brothers, friends of a lesser rank and older male companions. These groups embarked on journeys that typically lasted between three to four years, although they could be as long as five years or as short as several months. During this time, Grand Tourists received a formal education, through tutors, academies and universities, and an experiential one, via encounters with a wide variety of European countries, societies and cultures. Key destinations included the cities, courts and environs of France, the Netherlands and Low Countries, the German principalities, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, with occasional excursions further afield.

As a practice of travel that catered exclusively to the young, elite and male, the Grand Tour had a distinctly educational purpose that distinguished it from other cultures of eighteenth-century travel. The Tour was understood as a finishing school of masculinity, a coming-of- age process, and an important rite of passage that was intended to form young men in their adult masculine identities by endowing them with the skills and virtues most highly prized by the elite. [1] ¹ As a cornerstone of elite masculine education, it was a vital part of this social group’s understanding, practice and construction of masculinity, and of their wider strategies of self-fashioning and power.² This intrinsic relationship between the Grand Tour and elite masculinity is at the heart of Masculinity and Danger on the Eighteenth-Century Grand Tour .

Studies of the Grand Tour have typically focused on the destinations of Italy and France, and asserted that the Tour’s itinerary and goals prioritized polite accomplishments, classical republican virtue and an aesthetic appreciation of the antique. On the Grand Tour, elite young men were supposedly taught to wield power and social superiority primarily through cultural means. Through this, it is argued, male tourists were formed in a code of masculinity that was singularly polite and civil. This conclusion is influenced by the history of masculinity’s early theory – adapted from the sociologist R. W. Connell – which argued that historical understandings of maleness were dominated by a succession of hegemonic expressions of masculinity. As a cultural institution exclusively associated with the polite man, the Grand Tour has been viewed as a tool used to propagate and enforce a hegemonic norm. It is a principal contention of this book that these approaches have masked the full depth, breadth and complexity of the Grand Tour and, correspondingly, of eighteenth-century elite masculinity. As the book’s title suggests, it offers a reassessment of the Tour’s significance for the history of elite masculinity by investigating its aims, agendas and itineraries through bringing together archival evidence around the theme of danger.

The Grand Tour was an institution of elite masculine formation that took place in numerous environs across Europe, resulted in myriad experiences, and imparted a host of skills and knowledge. In his memoirs, published after his death in 1794, the historian and MP Edward Gibbon reflected on the ideal capacities of a Grand Tourist. Alongside ‘an active indefatigable vigour of mind and body’ and ‘careless smile’ for the hardships of travel, the Tourist, or traveller, required a ‘fearless’, ‘restless curiosity’ that would drive him to encounter floods, mountains and mines in pursuit of ‘the most doubtful promise of entertainment or instruction’. The Tourist must also gain ‘the practical knowledge of husbandry and manufactures … be a chemist, a botanist, and a master of mechanics’. He must develop a ‘musical ear’, dexterous pencil, and a ‘correct and exquisite eye’ that could discern the merits of landscapes, pictures and buildings. Finally, the young man should have a ‘flexible temper which can assimilate itself to every tone of society, from the court to the cottage’. In a line later edited out, he concluded that this was a ‘sketch of ideal perfection’.³

Gibbon’s list was wide-ranging, but even so he included only some of the Tour’s agenda. He made no mention of one of the most common expectations surrounding the Tour: that young men would gain an insight into the politics, military establishment, economy, industries and, increasingly, the manners and customs of other nations. The impressive diversity of the Tour’s agenda was intentionally ambitious and unified by a single aim: to demonstrate, preserve and reinforce elite male power on an individual, familial, national and international level. Acknowledging the full breadth of the Grand Tour’s ambition allows one to consider how this goal was achieved through a complex, calculated use of practice, performance, place, and narrative. This book starts the process of unpacking the full extent of the Tour’s diversity by offering an in-depth examination of its provision of military education and engagement with war; the Tour as a health regime; Tourists’ participation in physical exercises, sports and the hardships of travel; and their physical, scientific and aesthetic engagement with the natural phenomena of the Alps and Vesuvius. Each episode in this agenda is united by two factors: it was understood to harbour elements of physical risk, and it has been largely neglected by existing scholarship. During these activities, encounters with danger were often idealized and used as important and formative opportunities that assisted young men in cultivating physical health, ‘hardy’ martial masculine virtues of courage, self-control, daring, curiosity and endurance, and an identity that was simultaneously British, elite and cosmopolitan.

In identifying the significance of ‘hardy’, martial masculinities to eighteenth-century elite culture, this book is not arguing that the masculinities of polite connoisseurship were any less important. Rather, it contends that the Grand Tour’s diversity of aims, locations and itineraries was intentionally used to form men in multiple codes of elite masculine identity. To have a ‘flexible temper’ that could be assimilated in ‘every company and situation’ was not simply a hallmark of polite sociability.4 It was evidence of a masculine trait of adaptability. Acknowledging that adaptability and multiplicity were crucial components to elite masculinity as a whole is central to moving the history of masculinity beyond the search for a hegemonic norm. Examining these issues through the theme of danger and hardy masculinity adds another degree of complexity to understanding the types of men that the eighteenth-century elite wished the next generation of British political, military and social leaders to be.

The itineraries, agendas and mentalities explored throughout this book are not easily visible in the contemporary published literature surrounding the Grand Tour and have, for the most part, been recovered through an analysis of archival sources. The Tour’s highly prized status has meant that related correspondence, journals, tutor reports and financial records were often carefully preserved. This book draws on research into more than thirty Grand Tours, taking place between 1700 and 1780, and closely follows the experiences and writings of these gentry and aristocratic Grand Tourists, their tutors, companions, servants and dogs. These men exchanged correspondence with a wider range of male and female family members, friends, diplomats and members of a continental elite befriended during their travels; they also wrote diaries and memoirs, commissioned and purchased portraits, artwork and mementos and, in the case of some tutors, published literature based on their travels. Recovering an individual and familial perspective allows one to delve beyond the cultural representation of the Tour into richly textured accounts of lived experience in all its complexity. Probing the differences between published and archival accounts enables a fuller, nuanced understanding of how the British elite as a community understood the Grand Tour, the masculinities that families hoped to cultivate in their sons and that these sons desired for themselves, and the ways in which this cultivation was undertaken. By investigating the priorities, agendas and beliefs evident in these sources, a collective elite agenda can be distilled while still allowing for individual approaches, divergences and disagreements.

• For scholarly discussions of the Grand Tour as a form of initiation, see B. Redford, Venice and the Grand Tour (New Haven, Conn. and London, 1996), pp. 7–9, 14–15; M. Cohen, Fashioning Masculinity: National Identity and Language in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1996), pp. 54–63; R. Sweet, Cities and the Grand Tour: the British in Italy, c.1690– 1820 (Cambridge, 2012), pp. 23–5.
• H. Greig, The Beau Monde: Fashionable Society in Georgian London (Oxford, 2013), pp. 24–5; S. Conway, England, Ireland and Continental Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Oxford, 2011), ch. 7.
• British Library (Brit. Libr.)., Add. MS. 34874 C, ‘Memoirs of the life and writings of Edward Gibbon, written c.1789–90’, fos. 29–30.
• Brit. Libr., Add. MS. 34874 C, ‘Memoirs of the life and writings of Edward Gibbon, written c.1789–90’, fos. 29–30.

Attribution

“Introduction” in Masculinity and Danger on the Eighteenth-Century Grand Tour by Sarah Goldsmith published by University of London Press, Institute of Historical Research is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

• For scholarly discussions of the Grand Tour as a form of initiation, see B. Redford, Venice and the Grand Tour (New Haven, Conn. and London, 1996), pp. 7–9, 14–15; M. Cohen, Fashioning Masculinity: National Identity and Language in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1996), pp. 54–63; R. Sweet, Cities and the Grand Tour: the British in Italy, c.1690– 1820 (Cambridge, 2012), pp. 23–5. ↵

Origins of Contemporary Art, Design, and Interiors Copyright © by Jennifer Lorraine Fraser is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• What Was The Grand Tour...

What Was the Grand Tour and Where Did People Go?

Freelance Travel and Music Writer

Nowadays, it’s so easy to pack a bag and hop on a flight or interrail across Europe’s railway at your own leisure. But what if it was known as a right of passage, made no easier by the fact that there was no such modern luxury? Welcome to the Grand Tour – and we’re not talking about Jeremy Clarkson’s TV series …

What was the grand tour all about.

The Grand Tour was a trip of Europe, typically undertaken by young men, which begun in the 17th century and went through to the mid-19th. Women over the age of 21 would occasionally partake, providing they were accompanied by a chaperone from their family. The Grand Tour was seen as an educational trip across Europe, usually starting in Dover, and would see young, wealthy travellers search for arts and culture. Though travelling was not as easy back then, mostly thanks to no rail routes like today, those on The Grand Tour would often have a healthy supply of funds in order to enjoy themselves freely.

What did travellers get up to?

Just like us today, explorers travelled to discover and experience all kinds of different cultures. With their near-unlimited funds, travellers would often head off for months – or even years – in search of Western civilisation, perfecting their language skills and even commissioning paintings in the process.

Of course, in the 17th century, there was no such thing as the internet, making discovering things while sat on the other side of the world near impossible. Cultural integration was not yet fully-fledged and nothing like we experience today, so the only way to understand different ways of life was to experience them yourself. Hence why so many people set off for the Grand Tour – the ultimate trip across Europe!

Typical routes taken on the Grand Tour

Travellers (occompanied by a tutor) would often start around the South East region and head in to France, where a coach would often be rented should the party be wealthy enough. Occasionally, the coaches would need to be disassembled in order to cross difficult terrain such as the Alps.

Once passing through Calais and Paris, a typical journey would include a stop-off in Switzerland before crossing the Alps in to Northern Italy. Here’s where the wealth really comes in to play – as luggage and methods of transport would need to be dismantled and carried manually – as really rich travellers would often employ servants to carry everything for them.

Of course, Italy is a highly cultural country and famous for its art and historic buildings, so travellers would spend longer here. Turin, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Venice would be amongst the cities visited, generally enticing those in to extended stays.

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On the return leg, travellers would visit Germany and occasionally Austria, including study time at universities such as Munich, before heading to Holland and Flanders, ahead of crossing the Channel back to Dover.

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The Educated Traveller

History of the grand tour .

In the early years of the 18th and 19th centuries it was fashionable, for wealthy British families, to send their son and heir on a tour of Europe. A trip that was designed to introduce the young ‘ milord ‘ to the art, history and culture of Italy. The British educational system was based on Latin and Greek literature and philosophy. An educated person was taught the classics from a very early age. Whilst the original Grand Tourists were mostly male, there were a few enlightened families who sent their daughters to ‘the continent’ too. Aristocratic families regarded this journey to Europe as an opportunity to complete their education. The journey was known as the ‘Grand Tour’. The young gentlemen and a few ladies were often accompanied by a ‘learned guide’ a person who could act as a tutor and chaperone. These guides, usually highly educated, were known in Italian as ‘ cicerone’  and it was their job to explain the history, art and literature of Italy to their young charges.

A ‘Grand Tour’ generally included visits to Rome, Naples, Venice and Florence. On the journey south Geneva or Montreux in Switzerland were popular stopping off points too. Think Daisy Miller in Henry James novella of the same name. Wealthy families traversed Europe, often for months on end, absorbing every possible palace, party and picnic in the process. For many it was a very long and decadent party for others it was a necessary departure from their homeland until the dust of a divorce, bankruptcy or other social scandal had settled.

THE JOURNEY – Young gentlemen would make the journey south from The British Isles, either by ship or overland by horse and carriage. There are numerous reports of these young travellers being made chronically ill by travel sickness, rough seas and ‘foreign food’. In the 1730s and 1740s roads were rough and full of potholes, carriages could expect to cover a maximum of 15-20 miles per day. Highwaymen and groups of brigands often preyed on travellers, hoping to steal money and jewels. In the days of the ‘Grand Tour’ travel wasn’t for the faint-hearted .   Crossing the Alps was a particular challenge. Depending on the age and level of fitness of travellers, it may have been necessary to hire a sedan chair to be carried, literally, by strong local men over various Alpine passes. In fact the ‘chairmen of Mont Cenis’ close to Val d’Isere were known throughout the Alps for their strength and dexterity. These ‘chair carriers’ worked in pairs and groups of four, six or even eight men – they physically carried the ‘Grand Tourists’ over the Alps.

TRAVELLING – Having endured a crossing of the Alps the young ‘milordi’ would head to Milan or Turin where the local British consulate would offer a warm welcome. However,  the really attractive destinations were further away, particularly Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples. These cities were renowned for their entertainment, lavish parties and sense of fun. There’s a fantastic cartoon, by David Allen (above) showing a young aristocrat arriving in Piazza di Spagna, Rome. His carriage is instantly surrounded by local touts, street performers, actors and actresses, all anxious to separate young ‘Algernon’ from his trunk full of cash! It’s interesting to remember that the Italians have been welcoming tourists to their lands for centuries. They’ve learned a thing or two about helping newly arrived foreigners!

VENICE – In Venice the British Consul Joseph Smith was an art collector and supporter of local artists. Smith lived in a small palace on the Grand Canal, filled with paintings, art, books and coins. He was patron of Canaletto, probably the most famous and popular Venetian painter of his day. Canaletto painted ‘vedute’ scenes of Venice. Every Grand Tourist wanted to leave with a Canaletto painting as a souvenir of the Grand Tour. Smith’s art collection was so impressive that a young King George III purchased the entire collection in 1762, when he was himself on the Grand Tour. So Joseph Smith’s art collection became the basis of the British ‘Royal Collection’ of art much of which can still be seen at Buckingham Palace or in the National Gallery, London today. Whilst in Venice the young Grand Tourists would attend concerts, visit churches and wherever possible attend a ball or two. Venice at Carnival time was a particular fascination – an opportunity to put on a mask and be whoever you wanted to be!

A typical Grand Tour of Europe could last up to two years and would always include several months staying in each city visited.

Florence was popular for its renaissance art, magnificent country villas and gardens, whilst Rome was essential for proper, classical, ancient ruins. Venice was the party city, especially at the time of Carnival. Naples was regarded as the home of archaeology, excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum began in the 1730s and Vesuvius was quite active at this time. Plumes of volcanic gases and occasional lava flows would illuminate the mountain after dark. The Grand Tourists would position themselves on the lower slopes of the volcano to watch the nightly spectacle.

IN ROME – many of the Grand Tourists funded excavation work in and around the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Many of the Grand Tourists wanted to acquire a Roman statue or sculpture to take home as a souvenir. There were numerous stonemasons working in and around the basement of the Colosseum, creating modern and ‘antique’ marble sculptures. Even in the 18th century demand exceeded supply in the ‘genuine Roman sculpture market’. Many Grand Tourists left for home with an ‘original’ antique Roman statue, which years later, under expert examination turned out to be a fake! The artist Panini painted several imaginary compositions of young Grand Tourists surrounded by paintings of Roman buildings and ruins. Each of the ‘ruins’ in the paintings was based on an actual Roman building. For example, in the painting below The Pantheon is clearly visible just to the right of the two standing gentlemen. Above the Pantheon is the Colosseum. On the left of the painting above the two seated gentlemen the Roman arches of Constantine and Septimius Severus can be seen.

Roma Antica – by Giovanni Paolo Pannini c. 1754 – Stuttgart Art Museum

The Grand Tour inspired many travellers to take a greater interest in Roman history and art. The study of archaeology was born at this time with extensive excavations taking place in Pompeii, Herculaneum and in the area of the Roman Forum in Rome. The British School at Rome was established to learn more about the Roman ruins and to fund excavations. The School still exists today. Below is another painting by Pannini showing the wonders of Modern Rome (1750s) – featuring details of Baroque fountains, palaces and elegant piazzas. These exceptionally detailed paintings effectively catalogue the ‘ancient marbles’ discovered in Italy by the middle years of the 18th century.

NAPLES – for fun and excitement on the Grand Tour was very popular. Lord Hamilton, British Ambassador in Naples was a wonderful host and put on spectacular parties and musical evenings. His second wife Emma Hamilton would dress in Roman and Greek style clothing and perform a series of ‘Attitudes’ where guests had to guess her identity. It was here at the Hamilton residence that Emma attracted the attention of Lord Nelson, British naval hero of the day, and they became lovers.

Meanwhile Vesuvius , the volcano that dominates the Bay of Naples was having an active phase in the 1760s and 1770s, most days steam could be seen rising from the crater and frequently, especially after nightfall, streams of glowing lava could be observed. Lord Hamilton wrote several articles on Vesuvius and the lava flows that he witnessed. Many visiting painters were inspired to paint Vesuvius and the surrounding area. The science of vulcanology was in its infancy. The spectacle that Vesuvius offered visitors most nights must have seemed quite extraordinary to the early Grand Tourists – typically away from home in strange and different lands for the first time.

From Naples it was relatively easy to arrange transport on a British ship back to England. So Naples was a popular end point for the 18th century Grand Tour. The young aristocrats would board a ship bound for England and assuming no rough seas they’d be home within a few weeks. Typically they’d have extensive luggage including marble statues and friezes from Rome, paintings and glassware from Venice, even lava samples and pumice stone from Naples . All these souvenirs would be displayed with great pride in the family home. The impact on British country houses of the Grand Tour can still be seen today. Almost every stately home in Britain has several paintings by Canaletto, commissioned during the Grand Tour. Many stately homes have a sculpture gallery, often specially built to accommodate the Roman statues and marble work brought back from the Grand Tour.

In a sense the Grand Tour was the start of modern tourism, it was a journey taken to learn and experience new and different styles of art, architecture and culture. A journey designed to understand and learn about Europe. The Grand Tour was a couple of years enjoying the best that Europe (especially Italy) had to offer. Parties, ladies, fine food and wine – and family members at a distance – a letter from mama or papa would take weeks to arrive. The young aristocrats had freedom, fun, sun and souvenirs. What finer way to complete a young gentleman’s education. Head home with a sack full of souvenirs and a full and varied experience of life – this was escapism at its best!

• ‘Milordi’ is a term referring to aristocratic men, literally meaning ‘my lords’. In the days of the Grand Tour the term ‘milordi’ was an ironic and satirical way of referring to young, aristocratic men, travelling in Europe with (generally speaking) more money than sense.
• Cicerone or bear-leader  was a popular term for a man who escorted young men of rank or wealth on their travels on the  Grand Tour . The role of cicerone or bear-leader blended elements of  tutor, chaperone and companion. These tutor-companions were often hired to keep the young ‘milordi’ out of trouble and to ensure that they didn’t do anything to embarrass their families. The name Cicerone originally comes from ‘Cicero’ referring to the famous Roman orator, politician, thinker and writer., who lived from 106-43 BC.

Many of London’s museums have exceptional collections of Italian and Greek paintings and sculptures as a result of the Grand Tour. The National Gallery has an amazing collection: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/learn-about-art/paintings-in-depth/the-grand-tour

• I’ve written about Herculaneum at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD.
• I’ve also written other articles about Naples and Herculaneum:
• Herculaneum – a very bright future…..
• Naples, A Crazy Prince and fantastic pizza…
• To learn more about unique travel opportunities and tailor-made journeys check out our sister web site:  Grand Tourist  for ideas and examples of exceptional travel experiences.
• The picture at the top of this article (reproduced below) is by German 19th century painter Carl Spitzweg. It is a wonderful, and humorous portrayal of earnest English tourists soaking in the atmosphere at a ruined temple site (it could be Paestum, south of Naples). Although I think it might be Agrigento, Sicily. The artist has captured the mood of the ‘Grand Tourists’, just look carefully at the characters!

Herculaneum, Roman seaside town, buried by eruption of Vesuvius 79 AD (left). Map (right) shows areas excavated by 1908

• NOTE: Journeys in Europe are designed by our sister company www.grand-tourist.com drop us a line to discuss your perfect grand tour.
• Written: 23-11-17
• Updated: 15-11-20 / 10-01-2022 / 10-12-2023

#grandtour #grandtourist #educatedtraveller #archaeology

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30 thoughts on “ History of the Grand Tour  ”

• Pingback: What Was the Grand Tour? – Kat Devitt

Thank you for including my article in your list. I am fascinated by the Grand Tour – possibly Adam Smith’s decision to leave his post and become a private tutor, meandering around Europe, was not such an unusual one. Certainly the Italian cities of Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples were filled with eager ‘tourists’ anxious to learn and often to finance restoration of ancient buildings. It must have been a very interesting time.

Absolutely amazing piece. Thank you for providing such interesting information!

Like Liked by 1 person

Thank you Natalia x

Thanks for linking to my ‘History of the Grand Tour’. Curiously I too was an undergraduate at Oxford, although not one of the drunken ones. Were you a Rhodes or a Fulbright Scholar? The authors who wrote for the original Grand Tourists were people like John Murray and Baedeker. In fact you couldn’t call yourself a serious ‘tourist’ without a small red volume of either writer tucked under your arm!

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Hello Miss Onion – thanks for finding my blog. Please can you put the source as educated-traveller.com Thank you. Also the book about the Grand Tour is by Brian Dolan (Katie Hickman just wrote a review) If you want a little more background on the Grand Tour just ask – I run a travel business called Grand Tourist as well as writing my blog! Have a good day.

• Pingback: Venice – happy to be back… – The Educated Traveller

Excellent, enjoyably breezy summary of a very important 18th century phenomenon, really enjoyed it, thank you.

Hi Arran – thank you so much for this kind comment. I’m delighted you enjoyed my summary!

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So THIS is where the name for your tour company originated! I feel like a GRAND TOURIST when I’m traveling with you, Janet–learning as I travel just like the folks from centuries ago! Thanks for this terrific background article!

I was going to say the same as Mary Lou Peters, and congratulate you on your four bears (Darn that predictive text – I had actually dictated “congratulate you on your forebears”!) – A truly riveting and informative article – superb reading – thank you so much for that!

Thank you John – appreciated!

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The Grand Tour: tourism during a much bigger world

14 November 2017

The Grand Tour was a cultural pilgrimage undertaken by young people of means in a time when the world was much less connected than it is today. Travelling by carriage, and in some portions by foot, these tourists explored the cradle of Western civilization to learn about the art, architecture and culture of antiquity and the Renaissance. Italy was the final stop on the tour; as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

Gap year, Erasmus, study abroad: common periods in a young person's life when they embark on travel for education; even as we get older, vacations and adventures are often tailored around experiencing a culture. This desire to learn through exploration is nothing new. Its form, content and modus operandi have drastically altered over time, but before the onset of mass tourism and comfortable travel, young men of affluence were embarking on cultural pilgrimages through the cradle of Western civilisation: Europe. It was called the Grand Tour.

What was the Grand Tour?

Between the late 15th century until the rise of relatively affordable train travel in the mid-19th century, young men, and nearer to the end, young women of means and status would set sail from England and arrive on continental Europe to undergo a period of formative education. The Grand Tour was not the solo backpacking trip of your youth, mind. Instead, these young people arrived with a small entourage of personal servants, trunks to fill and letters of introduction to get them into the most influential homes across Europe.

Travelling entirely by horse-drawn carriage, and in particular parts, by foot where there were no marked paths, the Grand Tour was not accessible nor affordable. It was, however, a luxury for the time; the Grand Tour marked a young person’s place in life. In the modern interpretation, The Grand Wine Tour is not limited to young people or just men. We welcome all ages and genders of people who are willing to embark on a journey through Italian wine culture. 

Who led The Grand Tour?

The Grand Tour may have been as short as a few months, or as long as a few years, but whatever the length, each Grand Tourist followed a standard itinerary. As it was an educational rite of passage, there were museums, shows and landmarks that everyone had to visit. To ensure that these young men were indeed gaining a profound knowledge, each Grand Tour was guided by a cicerone . A cicerone was essentially a tutor, skilled in the disciplines of classical antiquity, architecture and the Renaissance period. The cicerone was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famed Roman lawyer whose impact on literature and language still exists to this day. They would chaperone the Grand Tourist, either for portions where they were specialists, or for the entirety of the trip and were entirely responsible for their cultural, literature and artistic training during the tour.

The Grand Wine Tour is a mark of excellence in hospitality distinguishing Italian wineries throughout the country. Book your tasting and tour today!

The Grand Wine Tour embraces the element of a knowledgeable tour guide or cicerone. An English speaking driver guides each of our luxury day tours , and each wine tasting is conducted by a trained member of staff from the winery, ensuring that you will leave with a little more info under your cap as well as the memory of an outstanding wine experience. 

Where did The Grand Tour go?

The general path of the Grand Tour would see these young people sailing from England to France, arriving either at Le Havre or Calais and then making their way overland to Paris. This first leg of the trip was the easiest, as Paris was the cultural (and political) centre of mainland Europe at the time. Regal dinners and dances, taking in the liberal openness of the Parisian elite, were high on the list of must-dos.

From Paris, the carriages were packed, and the long road to Switzerland would commence. Usually, these young men would tour either Germany or Switzerland, making stops in Hanover or Geneva. Following Northern Europe, the most challenging travel would be undertaken, as these men and their servants passed through the Alps. There were no paved highways, tunnels or bridges that carried people through the Alps as there is today. The had only one choice: by foot. Often the carriage and horses would be sold in Switzerland, to lessen the burden, and then the group would pass through the Alps, walking until they crossed into Italy, the most culturally significant country within the tour.

Italy was exceedingly the most travelled country on the Grand Tour, no less than three cities had to be visited, but often five or six cities would be visited. The Grand Tour was a literary voyage through society, and the Romans left Italy as the redoubtable cradle of Western civilisation. It is true what they say: all roads lead to Rome.

Starting usually in Turin , the Grand Tour included stops in Florence , Padua, Bologna , Venice , Rome and later on, Naples with the discovery of Pompeii. Often these young Grand Tourists would have their most extensive stays in Italy as there was a lot to explore. The Italian cities visited during the Grand Tour are still the top cities to travel to today, a mark of its lasting impact on tourism.

These pilgrimages are the inspiration for  The Grand Wine Tour . While our world is much smaller, much more connected than it was for these young people, the grandeur of touring Italy will never fade. The Grand Wine Tour is an exploration of the seat of Western civilisation through one of its most diffused impact: wine. Choose from any our of 20 associated top wineries through the country and let us design an exclusive wine tasting for the ultimate wine traveller. Infusing the elements of luxury and education together, the Grand Wine Tour will take you on a journey like no other through the most iconic Italian wine regions. We welcome you to new and updated, Grand Tour.

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The Grand Tour of Italy

Celebrate the past. define the future., in collaboration with, four cities, one journey, soak up the past by stepping into modern-day venice, siena, rome and palermo., the plague of 1575, from the depths of darkness to a modern celebration of light, life inside the contrade, discover the true meaning of siena’s notorious horse race, a world without art, how an italian idea unlocked art for everyone, opera reinvented, the youth reclaiming italy’s largest opera house, through the eyes of visionaries, from how we see the universe through galileo's eyes to understanding rising sea levels with caneletto's remarkable talent—explore some of italy’s most inspiring innovations., from san marco to the moon, the ideal city, the first social network, origins of street food, canaletto's secret, the city of networking, city of water, middle ages air conditioning, discover more about the grand tour's history, how tourism hasn’t changed from the grand tour to the present day, sun, sea, sex and art, 9 books and films inspired by the grand tour, from mary shelley's 'frankenstein' to john hughes' 'national lampoon', the art that made grand tourists flock to italy, the artistic gems of ancient and renaissance italy, explore italy's most iconic locations in 360˚, the journey continues, online exhibits, street view, artworks and photographs, collections.

The Grand Tour- the most important time in the history of tourism?

The Grand Tour isn’t only a TV show about cars, in actual fact, The Grand Tour is a very important part of the history of travel and tourism (and I expect this was the rationale for the name of the show ‘The Grand Tour too!). In this article I am going to teach you what The Grand Tour was, why it was so important to tourism and where the popular Grand Tour destinations were. Ready to learn more? Read on…

What is the Grand Tour?

Why is the grand tour important to tourism, the grand tour- paris, the grand tour- france onwards, the grand tour- heading north, the grand tour in the media, further reading.

The Grand Tour was the name of a traditional trip through Europe, undertaken by Upper Class boys as they were coming of age. It was mostly the British nobility and landed gentry who went on a Grand Tour, but this did extend to other wealthy Europeans and, later, South and North Americans as well as Filipinos. 

According to The National Trust , the term ‘Grand Tour’ was coined by the Catholic priest and travel writer Richard Lassels (c.1603-68), who used it in his influential guidebook The Voyage of Italy (published 1670) to describe young lords travelling abroad to learn about art, architecture and antiquity.

The Grand Tour was a form of travel from around 1550-1850. It was at its most popular during the 18th century, and was said to be the way to end a boy’s education – making them a man. Often, these adolescent boys would be accompanied by tutors who would make the scenes in front of them come to life. It was more of a hands-on education, much like how we have field trips today. The Grand Tour, however, was much more lengthy.

This rite of passage was a very important point in the timeline of the history of tourism – but why?

The Grand Tour is important to the overall history of tourism because it represented travel for educational and recreational purposes rather than, for example, trade or military reasons. It contributed greatly to the cultural, social, architectural, gastronomic, political and artistic evolution of the home country’s of these travellers – especially when, as time went on, it became accessible to not only gentry but artists, collectors, designers and more. These people would take influence from the things they saw abroad. Buildings in Britain would follow architectural styles the designer had seen in Italy , for example.

It is also so important because it was during this large timeframe that the term ‘tourist’ was first properly used. Without it, the history of tourism as we know it would look massively different. People were travelling en masse (although not in groups, per se, as this was before proper public transport existed), visiting new destinations and bringing back stories of their trips. As mentioned, The Grand Tour expanded from being purely a British upper class thing to being something taken by the working class, as well as nobility from other countries. It was highly influential.

The Grand Tour paved the way for the ongoing popularity of museums – as it was clear that people who travelled to different countries often had an interest in learning about the history and culture . It proved there was a need for lodgings for people visiting from out of town; it encouraged the growth of restaurants so visitors could try the local cuisines and so on. Essentially, it was the start of what we now know as tourism because it had such a large and visible influence.

Grand Tour destinations

There was no set itinerary for a Grand Tour. It was up to the individual, and often influenced by their interests or finances. However, most people followed the same vague outline at least. Paris and Rome were firm favourites along with much of the rest of Italy, but a typical itinerary might have looked something like this – if travelling from Britain, that is…

One would start their trip properly in Dover, on the south coast of England. This remains a popular transport hub for people travelling out of the country. From here, our Grand tourist would head by boat across the channel to Ostend in Belgium or either Calais or Le Havre in France depending on their preference. Here, the tourist and their tutor (and servants, if they had any) would decide on the next move.

Often this would be to purchase a coach to transport them from place to place. This would generally be sold on again when it was time to get back on another boat – although some travellers would dismantle theirs and take it with them on their trip.

The first major stop on anyone’s Grand Tour was Paris. The capital of France and the city of love and romance, as well as baked goods, beautiful artwork and breathtaking views, Paris was an obvious choice. Grand Tourists would often hire a French speaking guide to accompany them throughout the entirety of the trip, because it was Europe’s dominant language at the time. Paris was an ideal place to acquire some to join you on a Grand Tour!

Pairs held a world of opportunities, too. Fencing tutorials, dance lessons, French language tutorships, riding practice and so much more. On top of this was the sophistication of the French high society, which would help to polish the traveller’s manners for his eventual return to England.

After getting to know Paris, one would make the journey across to Switzerland to visit either Lusanne or Geneva. This would be only a short stop, however, in order to prepare for an often-difficult journey across the Alps. The really wealthy Grand Tourists would be carried across by their servants, but generally everyone struggled together.

Awaiting them on the other side of the Alps, of course, was Italy. This is typically where our Grand Tourists would spend the most time, visiting different cities and generally exploring over the course of quite a few months. Turin and Milan would be early stops, followed by an extensive stay in Florence. Home to a larger Anglo-Italian diasporic community, Florence was an excellent part of a Grand Tour and one which allowed for a lot of fun and socialising. From here there would be shorter trips to Pisa, Padua, Bologna and Venice – the latter being a high point for many.

But this didn’t conclude the Italian part of a Grand Tour at all. Venice gave way to Rome – particularly for the study of the ancient ruins here as well as the artwork of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque time periods. From Rome some of the more curious travellers went to Naples, where there was a big music scene, and even (after the mid 18-th century, of course) to Pompeii and Herculaneum to see the recent discoveries. Later still, some of the most adventurous Grand Tourists headed to Siciliy to see even more archaeological sites, Greece for the sunshine and culture, and Malta for its history. For the most part, however, Naples or Rome were the usual end to an Italian adventure.

From Italy, most Grand Tourists would head back across the Alps to parts of Europe which were more dominated by the Germanic language. This included Vienna, Innsbruck, Dresden, Potsdam and Berlin – all beautiful cities with distinctive architecture and beautiful culture nuances. Some would even study at the universities in Heidelberg or Munich to round off their trip. Finally were flying visits to Holland or Flanders, before travelling back across the channel and returning to England full of the warm wonders of European travel and education.

By looking at this route, it almost seems reminiscent of an itinerary. And this is true, and is another reason why the Grand Tour is so important to tourism – it was the blueprint for many itineraries travellers and tourists still use today.

There are few pieces of media which actually depict someone going off on a Grand Tour – but we can see references to it, and influence from it, in many media stories. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, in fact, was said to be conceived during her own Grand Tour; the doctor in the story is born in Naples and travels throughout Europe.

There are various non-fiction books which make great reference to the Grand Tour, such as Francis Bacon’s Of Travel – a guide which is still relevant today – and some books which were more of a hybrid between fiction and non-fiction. These include Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad and Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s Italian Journey.

We can’t forget, of course, the TV show which takes its name from this early tourist phenomenon. The Grand Tour is a British motoring TV series, featuring Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson. Initially, it centred around car reviews and timed laps, motoring challenges and races, studio segments, and celebrity guests – with the ‘studio’ being a large portable tent. They filmed in different locations across the globe, hence the name. In a BBC article before the show was first launched, Clarkson said that the name brought to mind the tradition of Grand Tours, and reflected how the show would be filmed in different countries.

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The Grand Tour – the introduction to popularized travel itineraries, souvenirs and postcards

The Renaissance – Setting Popular Travel in Motion

As the renaissance spread through-out Europe, bringing with it a new artistic and academic focus, it became fashionable for young aristocrats to visit the great master pieces of the classical era as part of their classical education, (mainly Roman art and architecture.) This became known as the Grand Tour.

A Trending Itinerary

During the 16 th and 18 th centuries a standard itinerary was popularized. While detours included many European destinations, the grand tour typically started in London and included Paris, but focused mainly on Italy, especially Rome. Few visited as far as Greece, which was still under Turkish rule. The grand tourists visited famous ruins, architecture, fountains and churches. Admission to Greco-Roman statues and paintings included both private collections and museums. Travel guides were available for the grand tour and the tour typically lasted for many months and sometimes years. Besides visiting art and architecture, a grand tourist could also listen to music, visit theaters, be tutored in languages, fencing, dancing, riding and other popular activities. The grand tour was often seen as a rite of passage and was considered a symbol of status.

Souvenirs and postcards

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Grand tourists returned to display items otherwise unavailable at home. Popular souvenirs included art, books, sculptures, clothes, glass, coins and other cultural gems. Micro-mosaic became popular and often depicted famous landmarks. It could be worn as jewelry or be sent home in the form of small pictures to friends and family as a fore-runner to the modern post-card. Cityscape and landscape paintings or vedute became immensely popular during the time of the grand tour and provided “snap-shots” the tourist could bring back and present as a visual tale of their travels. Etchings of the grand tour also became very popular. Some grand tourists commissioned their own artists to accompany their travels.

Tour Guides

While it was common practice to hire a personal tour guide for the grand tour, printed travelogues or itineraries became popular to both travelers and non-travelers. Published accounts and letters of personal experiences gave insight to what the grand tour could offer for the populace of the time, but they also help illuminate the historic trend for us in modern times.

By Jessica Lang, Multimedia Team Specialist, Travel Planners International

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Le Grand Tour: A Renaissance trip of high jewellery by Van Cleef & Arpels

Taking trips around Europe, the Maison unveils its Le Grand Tour High Jewelry Collection, which is inspired by its birthplace’s cultural legacy.

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V an Cleef & Arpels—the pioneer of high joaillerie —has introduced the peak of the goldsmith ‘s profession, taking inspiration from the tale of the ‘ Grand Tour ‘ that was famous in the 18th and 19th centuries. A tale that follows young aristocrats who embarked on this voyage across the European continent to complete an over-academic education, which was then required to mould their character, widen their brains, and assure their acceptance into society. 

”Van Cleef & Arpels has deployed the full spectrum of its expertise and taste in jewels with roughly 70 pieces, reasserting its devotion to the arts.”

The tour featured two mandatory passages: a visit to Paris and stays in Italy’s major towns. While northern France, Switzerland, the Alpine Alps, and German regions were all popular stages, the actual route varied. Today, in honour of its birthplace’s cultural history, the Maison is reinterpreting their High Jewellery Collection with the release of Le Grand Tour raconté par Van Cleef & Arpels.

“The collection pays tribute to the beautiful idea of travelling for art and education,” said Chief Executive and President of Van Cleef & Arpels, Nicolas Bos. Who unveiled the grand collection at Villa Medici. An event, which was inspired by a 19th century painting of the palace.

To transcribe the beauty of the writings and works encountered in the context of the Grand Tour, Van Cleef & Arpels has deployed the full spectrum of its expertise and its particular taste in jewels with roughly 70 pieces, reasserting its devotion to the arts. 

Impressive necklaces and girandole earrings were launched in such a dazzling fashion, all inspired by Renaissance stones. Following that, wide bracelets reproduce vistas of well-known locations in the style of ancient micro-mosaics, and sculptural clips are produced from historical cameos and intaglios. 

”Impressive necklaces and girandole earrings were inspired by Renaissance stones.”

The creativity of its design studio, the trained eye of its gemologists, and the savoir-faire and mastery of its High Jewelry workshops has proved that the Maison’s designers and craftsmen have breathed life into pieces conceived like so many travel sketches: an invitation to set forth and admire in wonder.

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“ Le Grand Tour “

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Notwithstanding the aristocratic associations of “ Le Grand Tour ,” this version of the post-Renaissance voyage of discovery might best be described as a postmodern, postcolonial road movie. Produced and directed by François Cheval, curator of the Musée Niépce, it featured three French artist-photographers (in order of appearance: Ange Leccia, Jean-Luc Moulène, and Patrick Tosani) who set out on the trail of their nineteenth-century predecessors in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine with the idea of doing things differently this time around.

Flashback : Developing since 1997, “ Le Grand Tour ” formally got under way four years ago with the idea of creating an exchange between the venerable museum of photography (which traces its origins back to 1861) and the societies of the Middle East that have long served as “subjects” of Western photographers.

Interior (tracking shot) : Rather than attempting to reproduce the events organized in Damascus and Saida (where the large-format contemporary photos were shown in highly visible public spaces and the digital copies of vintage images were distributed among surrounding shops), the exhibit at the Musée Niépce was conceived as a kind of walk-through travel album juxtaposing the experiences of the three artists with judiciously chosen photos and drawings from the past. In an introductory sequence, “views” and portraits by Félix Bonfils, Henri Béchard, Zangaki, and other nineteenth-century photographers alternated with initial impressions recorded by the contemporary artists on exploratory visits to the region: Moulène’s glimpses of Alexandria (1997); Leccia’s montages combining multiple video stills of young women’s faces or strolling couples, also in Alexandria (1997); Tosani’s visual “notes” from his preliminary trip to the West Bank and Jerusalem (2000). In the main exhibition space, these episodic images gave way to a selection of the pieces resulting from each artist’s residency: Azé , 2003, a monumental video triptych by Leccia incorporating street scenes (and sounds) from Damascus and Alexandria; large-format landscapes, cityscapes, and portraits of Saida inhabitants by Moulène; still lifes and portraits of Palestinian children by Tosani.

If nothing was overtly political, all the scars of recent history were present in landscapes, faces, and objects alike. At the same time, the energy of the images and the palpable intensity of the artist-subject relationships marked the key contrast with the monochrome stillness of the historic works. But the most ingenious aspect of the project was Cheval’s deliberate “miscasting” of his artist sidekicks—Leccia, connoisseur of Corsica and Japan, transplanted to Syria; Moulène, artisan of the everyday, confronted with the demand for epic history “paintings”; and most audaciously of all, Tosani, the perfectionist of the studio, catapulted into a war zone—leading in every case, as Cheval points out, to a “veritable osmosis” between their habitual work and the situation at hand.

— Miriam Rosen

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Législatives 2024 : retrouvez le débat entre Gabriel Attal, Manuel Bompard et Jordan Bardella sur le pouvoir d’achat, le climat, l’immigration…

A cinq jours du premier tour, le premier ministre, le président du Rassemblement national et le coordinateur national de La France insoumise débattent pendant deux heures sur TF1.

Tout le live

Ce live est maintenant terminé, merci de l’avoir suivi.

Pour retrouver mercredi matin notre nouveau direct consacré à la campagne des législatives, vous pouvez suivre ce lien .

Ce qu’il faut retenir du débat entre Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella et Manuel Bompard

Retrouvez notre synthèse du débat qui a opposé mardi sur TF1 le premier ministre, le président du Rassemblement national et le coordinateur de La France insoumise, représentant du Nouveau Front populaire.

Législatives 2024 : ce qu’il faut retenir du débat entre Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella et Manuel Bompard

Marine Tondelier et Olivier Faure saluent la prestation de Manuel Bompard durant le débat

Affichant l’unité de la gauche, les chefs de file écologiste et socialiste ont félicité sur X Manuel Bompard pour son débat face à Gabriel Attal et Jordan Bardella, mardi soir sur TF1.

Selon le premier secrétaire du Parti socialiste, Olivier Faure, le coordinateur de La France insoumise, qui représentait le Nouveau Front populaire lors du débat « a affiché le sérieux qui convient dans un moment de crises face à deux professionnels de la com ».

La leader des Ecologistes, Marine Tondelier, elle, a félicité sur X le coordinateur de La France insoumise pour avoir « brillamment représenté le #NouveauFrontPopulaire ». « Tu as démontré que notre projet est ambitieux, clair et que nous sommes prêt·es à gouverner dès le 8 juillet prochain », s’est-elle enthousiasmée.

Adrien Quatennens brocarde avec virulence François Ruffin sur X

L’ancien député La France insoumise (LFI) Adrien Quatennes s’en est pris avec virulence à François Ruffin sur X, rebondissant sur un reportage de TF1 suivant le député sortant de la Somme à Abbeville, dans lequel M. Ruffin considérait Jean-Luc Mélenchon comme «  un obstacle à la victoire du [nouveau] Front populaire ».

« Si Mélenchon et LFI ne t’avaient pas investi, tu n’existerais pas. Et aujourd’hui, tirer contre lui est ton assurance-vie. Si belle soit-elle, la Picardie n’est pas le pays. Rejoins le RN direct ! On gagnera du temps et de l’énergie », lance sur X l’ancien député du Nord, qui a dû se retirer de la course aux législatives face au tollé suscité dans les rangs du Nouveau Front populaire par son investiture.

Dans le reportage, on voit François Rufin aller au-devant d’électeurs pour les dissuader de voter pour le Rassemblement national qu’il qualifie d’ « arnaque sociale ». Lorsqu’une femme lui demande « vous n’êtes quand même pas pour M. Mélenchon ? » , il répond : « Lui, c’est lui, moi, c’est moi. » Revenant sur cet échange au micro du journaliste Paul Larrouturou, il constate : « C’est pas un appui Jean-Luc Mélenchon, ici, c’est plutôt quelque chose qui repousse les électeurs. »

Pour Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Manuel Bompard « est mieux qu’au niveau »

Le fondateur de La France insoumise a jugé sur X que Manuel Bompard était « mieux qu’au niveau » après le débat de mardi soir entre le coordinateur de La France insoumise, le premier ministre, Gabriel Attal, et le président du Rassemblement national, Jordan Bardella. Selon Jean-Luc Mélenchon, dans ce débat « entre futurs premiers ministres » , « Manuel Bompard a démontré une force, un niveau de connaissance et une sensibilité humaine que les autres n’ont pas égalé » .

C’est dans un contexte tendu que trois représentants des trois principaux blocs politiques se sont affrontés, mardi soir, lors d’un débat sur TF1 : Gabriel Attal, premier ministre et représentant du camp présidentiel, Jordan Bardella, président du Rassemblement national, et Manuel Bompard, coordinateur de La France insoumise et représentant du Nouveau Front populaire.

Retrouvez les moments principaux de ce débat ici :

Sur l’école, des chiffres à prendre avec beaucoup de précautions

Pendant le débat sur TF1, Manuel Bompard a évoqué le chiffre de « cent élèves » concernés par l’interdiction du port de l’abaya en septembre 2023. En réalité, le port de signes et tenues constituait, en ce mois de rentrée scolaire, 81 % des 1 063 faits d’atteintes à la laïcité signalés à l’éducation nationale, soit beaucoup plus que cent élèves. L’éducation nationale précisait également que « les signalements pour port de tenues et signes ont concerné près de 500 établissements en France » en septembre 2023.

Par ailleurs, Gabriel Attal puis Jordan Bardella ont tous deux évoqué le chiffre « d’un enseignant sur deux » s’étant déjà censuré en cours . Ce chiffre est tiré d’un sondage IFOP de décembre 2022, selon lequel 52 % des enseignants se sont déjà censurés dans leur enseignement, contre 43 % en 2020. Le chiffre n’est donc pas faux, mais il faut garder en tête qu’il repose sur un échantillon représentatif de 1 009 enseignants du premier et du second degré (sur 860 000 au total), et qu’il est établi à partir d’un questionnaire auto-administré en ligne.

Cette donnée ne saurait donc remplacer les enquêtes qualitatives menées auprès des professeurs. Eux décrivent plutôt des stratégies pour emmener leurs élèves sur les sujets sensibles, désamorcer les conflits, établir les faits tout en respectant les croyances de chacun.

Retrouvez notre entretien avec Françoise Lantheaume et Sébastien Urbanski, qui ont mené une étude qualitative sur le sujet :

« Les professeurs mettent en œuvre une dizaine de stratégies sur les sujets liés à la laïcité ou aux discriminations »

Qui accompagne Gabriel Attal ? Sont ils toutes et tous membres de Renaissance ?

Bonsoir JK,

Derrière le premier ministre, il y avait plusieurs députés de Renaissance sortants, tels que Nadia Hai, Céline Calvez ou David Amiel. Il y avait aussi Bruno Millienne, un député MoDem.

Qui est Tamara Volokhova, la Franco-Russe citée par Gabriel Attal ?

« Est-ce que vous pouvez dire aux Français qui nous regardent qui est Tamara Volokhova, oui ou non ? Est-ce que vous pouvez répondre à cette question, qui est Tamara Volokhova ? » Durant plusieurs minutes, Gabriel Attal a questionné le président du Rassemblement national sur une personnalité du RN méconnue du grand public, mais qui exerce une fonction importante, a fortiori pour un parti qui assure vouloir lutter contre les ingérences étrangères.

Tamara Volokhova est une ancienne top-modèle franco-russe, devenue conseillère politique des eurodéputés du RN. Elle a organisé ou participé à plusieurs déplacements des élus du RN en Russie ou en Crimée annexée, rappelait Le Monde en 2022 . Assistante parlementaire de Marine Le Pen de 2014 à 2016, elle est depuis devenue attachée presse puis conseillère technique du groupe RN au sein de la commission des affaires étrangères.

Elle fait partie des quatre membres du parti de Marine Le Pen auxquels la DGSI s’est intéressée dans le cadre de ses liens avec la Russie, sur fond de suspicion d’espionnage, rapportait Mediapart en 2023 .

Ingérences étrangères : le Parlement européen à « l’ère du soupçon »

Pourriez-vous rappeler les différentes positions des partis du Nouveau Front Populaire sur la question du nucléaire ?

Tout d’abord dans le programme du Nouveau Front populaire, la question de la place du nucléaire dans le mix énergétique n’est pas évoquée. Tout juste, les partis de gauche sont d’accord pour « revenir sur la fusion entre l’Agence de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) et l’Institut de recherche sur la sûreté nucléaire (IRSN) » .

Car il existe des divergences sur cette question entre eux. Les écologistes et les « insoumis » se sont toujours positionnés contre cette énergie. Pendant la campagne des européennes, ils défendaient le 100 % d’énergies renouvelables respectivement en 2040 et 2050, et donc sortir du nucléaire. Les socialistes plaidaient pour conserver l’atome comme « énergie de transition » , sans donner de date de sortie.

A l’inverse, les communistes font du nucléaire un élément central de la transition énergétique. Au cours de la dernière législature, les députés du groupe communiste avaient d’ailleurs voté à une majorité pour un projet de loi du camp présidentiel qui visait à « accélérer des procédures liées à la construction de nouvelles installations nucléaires » .

Le débat est terminé

Après 1 h 45 d’échanges qui ont porté sur le pouvoir d’achat, les impôts, la sécurité ou l’immigration, le débat entre Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella et Manuel Bompard est terminé.

Gabriel Attal souhaite « libérer du temps médical pour [les] médecins » afin de lutter contre les déserts médicaux ; Manuel Bompard plaide pour « un plan d’urgence » pour l’hôpital

Gabriel Attal, Jordan Bardella et Manuel Bompard débattent désormais sur la disparition des services publics en particulier dans les territoires ruraux. Sur la question des déserts médicaux, Gabriel Attal a estimé qu’à moyen terme il faillait « former plus de médecins » . Mais dans un premier temps, le premier ministre souhaite « libérer du temps médical pour [les] médecins » pour qu’ils accueillent davantage de patients. « Comment ? En déléguant un certain nombre d’actes, de tâches à d’autres professionnels de santé » , a-t-il expliqué, rappelant avoir autorisé que les pharmaciens « puissent proscrire des antibiotiques, par exemple en cas d’angine ou de cystite » .

« J’avais annoncé également un sas, c’est-à-dire un médecin de garde à moins de trente minutes, qu’on peut appeler par téléphone. Pour tous les Français, on est à 80 % de territoire couvert, on sera à 100 % à la fin de l’été. »

Pour Manuel Bompard, il faut « faire en sorte que tous les services publics essentiels soient à moins de trente minutes de son lieu de vie ». L’« insoumis » rappelle aussi qu’une proposition de loi avait été rejetée à l’Assemblée nationale lors de la dernière législature par une partie du camp présidentiel et du RN qui visait à réguler l’installation des médecins.

« Il faut réguler l’installation des médecins, il faut sauver notre système d’urgence qui est dans une très grande situation de fragilité » , a plaidé M. Bompard. Le député des Bouches-du-Rhône sortant souhaite « revaloriser » le salaire des infirmières, mais aussi arrêter la suppression des lits dans les hôpitaux. « L’hôpital en France est à bout de souffle, donc il faut un plan d’urgence » , a-t-il défendu.

Non, l’AME ne donne pas accès à la gratuité de « toute la palette de soins »

Lors du débat, Jordan Bardella a réaffirmé son souhait de supprimer l’aide médicale d’Etat (AME), une couverture maladie destinée aux étrangers sans papiers (dont bénéficiaient près de 470 000 personnes fin 2023). Le candidat RN a dénoncé le fait que l’AME donne accès à la gratuité de « toute la palette de soins » .

En réalité, certaines prestations sont exclues du dispositif AME, c’est-à-dire qu’elles ne font l’objet d’aucune prise en charge. Il s’agit des cures thermales, de la procréation médicalement assistée et des médicaments à service médical rendu faible remboursés à 15 %. En outre, certains soins non urgents sont pris en charge au terme d’un délai de neuf mois après l’admission à l’AME, à l’image d’interventions de la cataracte, du canal carpien ou de pose de prothèses.

Enfin, les bénéficiaires de l’AME ne sont pas éligibles au dispositif du « 100 % santé » instauré pour réduire le renoncement aux soins audio, dentaires et aux optiques. « Leurs dépenses sont prises en charge à concurrence du tarif fixé par la Sécurité sociale. Ils peuvent être amenés à payer un reste à charge, notamment en matière d’optique et de soins dentaires ou de dépassement d’honoraires » , précisait un rapport sur le sujet publié en décembre 2023 .

Jordan Bardella appelle à revenir sur le système des agences régionales de santé

« Il faut débureaucratiser la santé et redonner le pouvoir aux soignants » , défend M. Bardella en souhaitant « rapprocher la santé du terrain ». Il entend aussi « départementaliser » la santé et en finir avec le système des agences régionales de santé. A la place, il propose que la santé soit gérée localement par l’intermédiaire d’un préfet délégué.

Les peines planchers, une mesure déjà testée, jugée peu efficace

Candidat du « big bang de l’autorité » , le président du RN a dit vouloir imposer dès son entrée en fonction à Matignon un tour de vis envers les mineurs délinquants. « Il existe des peines maximales, il doit y avoir des peines minimales dans le droit français » , a-t-il argué.

Les peines planchers ont déjà été mises en place en France en 2007 sous Nicolas Sarkozy pour lutter contre la récidive des majeurs et des mineurs, avant d’être supprimées en 2014, sous François Hollande.

Une étude de l’Institut des politiques publiques de 2024 observe que cette mesure très décriée n’a « pas eu d’effet dissuasif à court terme » . Les récidives ont diminué de 10 %, mais uniquement pour les mêmes délits ; le dispositif n’a pas empêché les personnes sanctionnées d’en commettre d’autres. En revanche, elle a contribué à accentuer la surpopulation carcérale.

Peines planchers : une étude pointe le « faible effet dissuasif » de la mesure instaurée sous Nicolas Sarkozy

Dans les faits, les juges ont le plus souvent dérogé au dispositif, comme ils y sont autorisés au prix d’un alourdissement administratif. Il s’agissait de l’une des raisons qui ont entraîné à sa suppression.

Jordan Bardella veut bannir les téléphones portables des établissements scolaires

« Un enseignant sur deux s’autocensure » sur les sujets qui touchent à la laïcité, assure M. Bardella, qui évoque une « emprise islamiste » sur l’école.

Plus largement, il veut un « big bang de l’autorité » à l’école. Et aussi que les téléphones portables soient bannis des établissements pendant les cours, « y compris au lycée » . « Je souhaite poursuivre les expérimentations de l’uniforme » , ajoute-t-il.

Tandis que M. Attal, ancien ministre de l’éducation, vante le dédoublement des classes en zones d’éducation prioritaire. « Comme depuis le début de ce débat, vous êtes satisfait de vous » , le tance Jordan Bardella.

Sur la laïcité, Gabriel Attal assume l’interdiction de l’abaya dans les écoles 

Sur la laïcité désormais, l’ancien ministre de l’éducation national Gabriel Attal a rappelé qu’il avait alors « à cœur de réaffirmer clairement, par des actes, les règles de la République, les lois de la République à l’école, et notamment la laïcité » , évoquant notamment l’interdiction de l’abaya à l’école.

« La France insoumise à l’époque, m’a attaqué sur cette décision, y compris en justice, pour tenter de la faire annuler. Le Conseil d’Etat a validé cette décision qui a permis de réaffirmer clairement les règles » , a-t-il défendu. Se félicitant que les signalement sur les atteintes à la laïcité aient augmenté, car selon lui « les enseignants ont vu qu’enfin on allait tout faire remonter à la justice et qu’on allait chercher à sanctionner tous les actes » , M. Attal a lancé un appel aux professeurs en affirmant qu’il se trouvera « toujours derrière eux et à leurs côtés pour faire respecter leur autorité » .

Après M. Attal, Manuel Bompard s’est, lui, placé dans « l’application pleine et entière de la loi de 1905  [sur la séparation de l’Eglise et de l’Etat] à l’école ». Mais pour l’« insoumis » le réel problème dans les écoles c’est le fait qu’il « n’y a pas eu un professeur devant chaque classe après la rentrée scolaire » . « On a de plus en plus d’enfants qui viennent à l’école et qui ont de très grandes difficultés pour pouvoir bénéficier des fournitures, des livres scolaires pour pouvoir étudier dans de bonnes condition » , a-t-il fustigé, appelant à garantir « la gratuité réelle de l’école » dès la rentrée prochaine.

Pourquoi il serait compliqué de supprimer le droit du sol « calmement, par la loi » comme le souhaite Jordan Bardella

Jordan Bardella affirme que, s’il devient premier ministre, l’acquisition de la nationalité française ne sera plus automatique. Il propose de « réduire drastiquement les flux migratoires » et de faire passer une « loi d’urgence pour supprimer le droit du sol » . Dans le programme du RN, il est encore question « de faciliter les expulsions de délinquants et criminels islamistes étrangers, en levant les contraintes administratives » . S’y ajoute la volonté d’exclure les binationaux de certains emplois stratégiques peu définis.

« Ça se fera calmement, par la loi » , estime Jordan Bardella ce soir.

De fait, le RN compte parvenir à cette politique migratoire – comme l’annonce son programme – par des projets de loi « portant mesures d’urgence sur l’immigration » , suivis d’un référendum permettant de réviser la Constitution afin « d’entériner ces mesures dans la Constitution française pour les rendre aussi intouchables par des jurisprudences européennes ou internationales » , explique Jordan Bardella en conférence de presse lundi 24 juin.

Est-ce réaliste ? Les récentes décisions du Conseil constitutionnel amènent à en douter.

Quelques mois après l’adoption de la loi sur l’immigration, en décembre 2023, dont un tiers des articles ont été censurés par le Conseil constitutionnel pour des raisons de procédure, le Conseil constitutionnel a cette fois-ci rejetté un projet de loi référendaire sur l’immigration porté par des députés LR pour un motif d’anticonstitutionnalité. Ce projet de référendum d’initiative partagé visait à faire voter, par les Français, certaines mesures censurées du projet de loi sur l’immigration telles que la restriction de l’accès aux prestations sociales des étrangers (en la conditionnant à leur présence sur le territoire depuis plus de cinq ans) et la réforme de l’aide médicale d’Etat.

Des mesures qui ont été jugées non conformes à la Constitution, au motif que la préférence nationale alors établie (avec le critère de cinq ans sur le territoire) était contraire au préambule de la Constitution qui garantit une politique de solidarité nationale envers les plus défavorisés.

Sécurité : pour Manuel Bompard, « il faut rétablir ce qui a fonctionné », comme la police de proximité

« Les Français sont inquiets et confrontés à des problèmes d’insécurité » , reconnaît M. Bompard. Pour les protéger, « il faut changer de logique » , selon lui, « et d’abord rétablir ce qui a fonctionné : par exemple la police de proximité ». Il entend la faire rétablir dès le mois de juillet si la coalition de gauche remporte les législatives.

A Marseille, où il est député, « ce qui a fonctionné contre les trafics, ce n’est pas la communication et les opérations “place nette” [organisées par le ministère de l’intérieur]  » , mais plutôt les « moyens » supplémentaires donnés à la police judiciaire ou aux douaniers.

Sur la délinquance des mineurs, « on ne doit pas juger un majeur comme un mineur » , soutient-il, tout en contestant l’existence réelle de la notion d’« excuse de minorité » : ce qui existe, à ses yeux, ce sont seulement des « atténuations de peine ».

Non, le droit du sol n’a pas été supprimé à Mayotte

Sur l’immigration, Jordan Bardella a été interrogé sur le risque d’inconstitutionnalité de sa promesse de supprimer le droit du sol. Le candidat du RN a défendu la faisabilité de sa mesure, en assurant que « le droit du sol a été supprimé à Mayotte » .

Or, dans l’archipel de l’océan Indien, le droit du sol a été restreint mais pas supprimé en tant que tel. Un régime dérogatoire a, en effet, été instauré en 2018 par la loi Collomb, la première loi relative à l’immigration sous la présidence d’Emmanuel Macron. Depuis lors, l’enfant né sur l’archipel doit justifier qu’un de ses parents était en situation régulière depuis au moins trois mois avant sa naissance pour espérer devenir Français à sa majorité ou par déclaration anticipée à partir de ses 13 ans. Jamais le Conseil constitutionnel n’a encore eu à se prononcer sur une suppression totale du droit du sol.

Le contexte

Live animé par Jérémie Lamothe et Julien Lemaignen

Ont également animé ce live : Dorian Jullien et Anna Villechenon.

Retrouvez notre direct du lundi 24 juin en suivant ce lien .

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• Analyse. Au lendemain des législatives, le risque d’un pays ingouvernable
• Entretien. Pour Laurent Berger, « la première urgence, c’est d’éviter le RN », pas de savoir qui ira à Matignon
• Synthèse. Comparez les programmes des principaux partis en lice pour les législatives
• Décryptage. Chez les classes moyennes, un vote marqué par la peur du déclassement
• Analyse. Marine Le Pen, la tentation du compromis au risque de décevoir ses électeurs en attente de radicalité
• Reportage. A Boulogne : la tentation du vote RN, « c’est de sa faute, à Macron, comme à tous ces politiques qui nous ont tant promis »
• Décryptage. Législatives 2024 : le coût des programmes des partis politiques, une bataille de chiffres et des doutes
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Le Nouveau Front populaire tient son premier meeting à Montreuil

Malgré de premières dissensions au sein du Nouveau Front populaire, la gauche réunie a tenu lundi soir son premier grand meeting unitaire pour faire passer un message : les querelles se régleront après. De son côté, le Premier ministre, Gabriel Attal, a lancé la campagne officielle du camp présidentiel en alertant face au risque de "catastrophe économique" qui pèserait, selon lui, en cas de victoire des "extrêmes". Voici le fil du 17 juin.

Publié le : 17/06/2024 - 07:16 Modifié le : 17/06/2024 - 20:42

L'essentiel à retenir

• La campagne éclair du premier tour des législatives a commencé officiellement .

Le procureur de la République de Nice a confirmé avoir ouvert une enquête préliminaire fin mai pour "détournement de fonds publics" visant notamment Éric Ciotti. Ce dernier dénonce "une manipulation politique évidente".

La gauche, unie au sein du Nouveau Front populaire, a enregistré lundi une progression avec 28 % des intentions de vote au premier tour des législatives, derrière le Rassemblement national (33 %) et devant le camp présidentiel (18 %), selon un sondage Ifop pour LCI.

Le parti Les Républicains a finalement investi un candidat face au ministre de l'Intérieur Gérald Darmanin dans sa circonscription de Tourcoing pour les législatives, une décision prise par les instances nationales mais contestée localement.

Chef de campagne de la majorité, le Premier ministre Gabriel Attal a lui aussi lancé la semaine en région parisienne, en soutien du député sortant Mathieu Lefèvre et du ministre-candidat Franck Riester. Il a alerté face au risque de "catastrophe économique" qui pèserait selon lui en cas de victoire des "extrêmes".

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• Législatives françaises 2024
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