You will be met at 9am by your guide in the lobby of your Paris hotel and driven by private luxury sedan or minivan North of Paris to Auvers sur Oise.
Auvers-sur-Oise, a quiet town nestled on a river with the remains of fortifications, is marked by history and art and perhaps most famous for being the final resting place of both Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. It is here that artists such as Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, and later Van Gogh, came to form one of the major movements of Western art: Impressionism.
Another of Auvers-sur-Oise's renowned residents from this period is Dr. Paul Gachet, who treated and befriended Van Gogh during his stay in the village. Dr. Gachet’s fame is in part due to being the subject of a portrait that Van Gogh painted of him, which became one of the highest-priced paintings ever sold.
The impressionists have left many reminders of their stay in
Auvers, such as the home of Dr. Gachet and the Maison du Pendu immortalized by
Cezanne. The surrounding area is
full of scenic beauty, thanks to the vast fields of corn that so inspired the Impressionists.
You will first visit the Church, which was
depicted by Van Gogh in one of his paintings now in the Orsay Museum and the cemetery where he and his brother now rest. We will then proceed to the House and
Studio of Daubigny, a landscape painter who settled in Auvers on the advice of
his friend Camille Corot, and who supported the works of artists such as
Pissarro, Renoir, Monet and Cezanne.
In 1890, Van Gogh painted Daubigny’s garden. The last morning visit will be to the Chateau d’Auvers, an elegant 17th century
castle built for an Italian banker of Marie de Médicis' family, recently
restored with an extensive audio-visual presentation of a on the Impressionists
who lived here and the works they painted here.
For lunch, enter into the Auberge Ravoux, with its charming turn-of-the-century
décor, which has been carefully restored. This is where Vincent Van Gogh stayed during the final months of his life. At street
level is the famous Commerce de Vins, where Van Gogh took his meals. In this same site, we will enjoy French
traditional cuisine at its finest, lively local wines, and French country
ambiance.
Time permitting, on the way back to Paris, we'll stop at L'Isle Adam - a picturesque village along the Oise river which became Balzac's "Paradise on Earth" and now has a Chinese Pavillion in the park, a lovely collection of Belle Epoque houses and riverfront walks.