History of Art 101
Go on a journey through the history of art.
"Breathe Paris in. It nourishes the soul."
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InquireThroughout the 1920s, Paris was a hotbed of intense artistic and literary creativity. People flocked from all corners of the world, attracted by the city’s low rents, abundant wine and frenzy nightlife.
This live-streamed tour will take you to Montparnasse, a Paris neighborhood where those not yet famous artists and writers lived, worked, and played. Together, we’ll see the Dingo Bar where Ernest Hemingway met Francis Scott Fitzgerald for the first time, then stand outside the house where Gertrude Stein, the art collector, supported the rise of the young Picasso and Matisse and eventually pass by the Coupole, both restaurant and dancing hall, where the lost generation, night after night, made Paris an everlasting feast. Enjoy this one-hour tour from the comfort of your home.
Walk through the city’s most beautiful, covered passageways. Built in the first half of the 19th century as connecting thoroughfares between newly developed neighborhoods, the light reflecting mirrored walls of the passages soon welcomed the socialites of the time, eager to see and be seen in those fashionable shopping galleries. The passageways remained the epicenter of Paris business activity until Haussmann’s giant transformation works in the 1960s.
Who hasn’t dreamed of walking along the overflowing floral alleyways in Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny or stepping into his first atelier where copies of his favorite paintings still adorn the walls, or the dining room where he and his guests dined for hours? Monet’s passion for horticulture began as a young man and was often a great source of solace during the difficult moments of his life. Like many of us, he also collected and saved seeds from season to season. Prior to arriving at Giverny this allowed him to ‘take’ his garden with him when he was forced to change residencies and find cheaper housing. While the initial garden at Giverny in 1883 was filled with fruits and vegetables to feed his second wife and 8 children, as soon as he could afford to rent land elsewhere in the village for these practical purposes, he began planting more and more flowers. What started as a passionate hobby, became a laboratory of color, light, and reflections where his greatest chef d’oeuvres were conceived and executed. Please join me for a virtual visit of all this flamboyant and historical location until the sanitary conditions allow us to enjoy it in person!
Do you have French ancestors? Did your father or grandfather land at Normandy Beach…or own a textile company with fabric made in France? You’ve got pictures or items that lead to specific places you’ve meant to visit but with COVID, you can’t get there to see it yourself, in person. But we can! Share those items or stories with us and we will go treasure hunting. We’ll do the research, visit those places live, on camera and ZOOM you in for an intimate dive into your family history.
You get an interview, you share your memorabilia, we prepare an itinerary, fix a date, and stream our findings with you on a private tour.
InquireJoin Hemingway Descendent, Claudine Hemingway, and Videographer Krystal Kennedy, every Sunday for LIVE virtual tours of Paris over Zoom. Claudine is an expert historian who gives all the fun facts of the area, while videographer Krystal uses her excellent camera skills to bring Paris to you. Imagine walking the streets of Paris while in the comfort of your own home!
Check out their website for more information by clicking here. Tours are $14.99 per household and are at 4pm Paris, 10 am EST, and 7 am PST. If you are unavailable for the live session, you can still book and watch the recording later!
Walk about the City of Tours with Simon, our local French guide. He will bring you an authentic experience brought straight from there to your home, in real time. The two hour session includes a gourmet box of Loire specialties, a virtual trip to the Farmer’s Market, an indoor market and historic highlights of the city. And the best part: you chose your own ending! You can wind down with a conversation over wine and cheese OR end up in the kitchen of a local restaurant for a special treat OR enjoy a hands-on private cooking lesson curated just for you.
Spend an hour and indulge in the authentic taste of Paris in this virtual wine tour. Led by our fabulous French wine scholar, you’ll be guided through wines you might think of as ‘pas cher,’ talk about the French wine regions, different types of grapes, and learn what the award labels on wine bottles mean. Good wine is available everywhere in France— and probably in your neighborhood too (!). …we’ll help you discover your favorites!
We’ll introduce you via email to our delightful and knowledgeable Professor. Speaker. Wine Judge. Wineaux. She’ll suggest some wine you can purchase locally (or have delivered). Once you have a day/time established, we’ll set up the video link.
Tour Length: 1 hour
"If you can't go to France take this Virtual Wine Tour"
Debbi knows a lot about cheese. A self–proclaimed foodie and a certified cheesemonger, Debbi has been living in Paris for 20+ years, offering our guests a unique opportunity to learn everything they ever wanted to know about cheese… where it comes from… why it looks, feels, and smells as it does, as well as how to display it, slice it and pair it with wines, bread, and fruits. We’re offering a delicious selection of cheeses to choose from, delivered to your home et Voila! sit back, sample a bit of Paris, and enjoy a lively conversation all about French cheese.
We’ll introduce you via email to our amazing and smart Cheese Ambassador. Connoisseur. Gourmet. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll arrange for the cheese delivery and set up the video link for your 1h 30m cheese-tasting
Tour Length: 1 hour and 30 minutes
"Amazing Afternoon with Debbie ... Thanks Leslie at American Concierge!"
From 1776 to 1800, France and the newly established nation of the United States of America developed mutually, in theory and practice a set of political values and ideals that have served as the foundation of our countries ever since. Our conversation will celebrate some of the actors in this historic drama when the history and the respective destinies of our countries were changed, forever. Names like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, George Danton and Maximilien Robespierre, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, John Adams, and Thomas Paine that resonate as part of our common heritage. Journey into the past during this 1-hour conversation… into the former lives that still inspire us, and enrich us.
We’ll introduce you via email to our brilliant and charming Resident Academic Historian. Recontour. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll set up the video link.
Tour Length: 1 hour
"Stephen's wealth of knowledge on the subject truly makes this tour very special."
Hemingway said: In France the 20th century will remember only three names: de Gaulle, Picasso and Chanel. The first female entrepreneur of France, Chanel started her life in an orphanage and ended at the Ritz. Was she really a spy for the Nazis during WWII? On this one-hour private tour, you’ll see the places where Coco used to live and to love. Discover Chanel intimate world with your guide Edith de Belleville, an authentic Parisian woman who only wears black.
You’ve heard about Emily in Paris, the über popular Netflix series seen by 58 million people in only one week. Well, behind this popular series there is an interesting phenomenon: talented American women have always come to Paris.
Soooo why did Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Roman Brooks, and Janet Flanner decide to live in Paris? And then there’s Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. What did intellectuals like Susan Sontag and Angela Davies find in Paris that they couldn’t find at home? Even “Rose,” the mother of the fictional Mrs. Maisel, decided to come to Paris to save her marriage.
Grab your gal pals and discover what the Paris effect is on American women… and learn how Paris can change your life too!
We’ll introduce you via email to our amazing and smart Cheese Ambassador. Connoisseur. Gourmet. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll arrange for the cheese delivery and set up the video link for your 1h 30m cheese-tasting.
Tour Length: 1 hour and 30 minutes
"Put your little black dress and celebrate Coco and all the American women who love Paris"
Rosemary Flannery, author, and photographer of Angels of Paris*, will lead you through a fascinating virtual tour to view extraordinary angels in architecture: carved in stone, imaged in mosaic, cast in bronze, painted on panels and sculpted in sandstone throughout the city. Appearing from the time of the Crusades to the 20th century, the angels reflect every artistic movement – from gothic to Renaissance, from the 2nd Empire to Art Nouveau, Art Deco to WWII. You will virtually tour the streets of Paris, viewing the creations of renowned artisans and sculptors on monuments, chapels, sundials, lightning rods, and more.
We’ll introduce you via email to our creative, smart, and accomplished writer. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll set up the video link.
Tour Length: 1 hour and 30 minutes
"Get ready to be taken down a street of history that's rarely visited, but oh so fascinating."
Travel back in time for an hour with a descendant of the great American author, Ernest Hemingway. During this private virtual tour, Claudine Hemingway will share the colorful and correct details of his life in Paris. The life of this American author was filled with adventure and tall tales, and it all started in Paris. From his first arrival as a young newlywed with Hadley to his return and his stories of Liberation, it’s all covered.
We’ll introduce you via email to the very smart, talented, and creative Claudine and together you will pick a time and day for this virtual tour to take place via ZOOM.
Tour Length: 1 hour
"It was fascinating to have a glimpse of Hemingway's adventures in Paris."
Krystal Kenney, an American in Paris, will teach you how to shoot with your smartphone or DSLR camera! She has over 10 years of experience as a full-time photographer in the city of light and can give you all the details on how to take better photos as well as the best places to shoot in Paris on your next trip!
We’ll introduce you via email to our creative and experienced photographer. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll set up the video link.
Tour Length: 2 hours
"I never felt bored during our course and her passion shines through in every lesson."
Giuseppe, a Sicilian living in Paris, teaches a new Italian dish in this fantastic online cooking class! There are firm favorites like spaghetti carbonara, pizza, and gnocchi as well as tasty desserts like cannoli, lemon cake, and tiramisu. But he is open to teaching you whatever Italian treat you desire. The class includes spectacular Eiffel Tower views from his Paris apartment kitchen. Cooks of all levels are welcome, you will receive your shopping list of ingredients and have a lovely evening learning Sicilian cooking traditions!
Classes are 90 minutes long.
We’ll introduce you via email to our amazing at-home chef. Once you have a day/time established, we’ll set up the video link.
Tour Length: 1 hour and 30 minutes
"The amaretti cookies are delicious!"
If you have a favorite photo of a shared moment you’ve already had in Paris, our resident artist, Rosemary, can turn a portrait photo into a keepsake drawing, suitable for framing …
Portraits by RosemaryExplore the world of one of the hottest shows on Netflix right now, seeing exactly where iconic scenes of the show take place. You’ll find a feeling of familiarity and adventure that you can only experience in Paris.
$15 PER USER
InquireSketching Spain is the perfect hybrid of art and travel! Learn the charming art of travel journaling, using the world-class destination of Spain as a palette.
The Barcelona Online Course includes 7 video tours and demos of Spain, and 10 “how to” art travel journalling videos that complement the tours and demos. Learn how to cook the classic Tortilla Española, then a demo on how to sketch a recipe card using simple pencil, pen and watercolor techniques. Take a virtual lively walking tour of the Barcelona Gothic Quarter, followed by a demo on how to capture the moment in a travel journal. And so much more! This unique virtual experience is for anyone who loves Spain and wants to learn simple artistic ways to create a travel journal.
Register hereOur friends at Totally Tailored in the UK have created a virtual learning platform, giving you the chance to have private, fun and interactive lessons from British tour guides. They are offering 4-week course in topics from Art History to Harry Potter.
Learn more Inquire