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MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL LTD
Voysey House,
Barley Mow Passage
London W4 4GF
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8742 3355
USA: 1-800-988-6168
Canada: (647) 382 1644
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Voysey House,
Barley Mow Passage
London W4 4GF
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8742 3355
USA: 1-800-988-6168
Canada: (647) 382 1644
Australia: 1300 55 95 95
New Zealand: 61-7-3377-0141
French Gothic - Cathedrals of Northern France
- Perhaps the most coherent and consistently excellent group of great buildings in Europe.
- The key monuments in the development of Gothic, with a whole day for Chartres.
ITINERARY
DAY 1
Travel by Eurostar at c. 1.00pm from St Pancras to Lille. Continue by coach to Laon and the hotel, in an attractive lakeside setting. First of three nights near Laon.
DAY 2
Noyon, Laon—one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals (c. 1150), Noyon’s four-storey internal elevation marks the transition from the thick-walled architecture of the Romanesque to the thin-walled verticality of Gothic—Laon is spectacularly sited on a rock outcrop—begun c. 1160, the cathedral is the most complete of Early Gothic churches and one of the most impressive, with five soaring towers.
DAY 3
Rheims, Soissons—Rheims Cathedral, the coronation church of the French monarchy, begun 1211, is a landmark in the development of High Gothic with the first appearance of bar tracery and classicizing portal sculpture—at the church of St Rémi the heavy Romanesque nave contrasts with the light Early Gothic choir—Soissons Cathedral is a fine example of the rapid changes which took place in architecture at the end of the 12th century.
DAY 4
St Denis—on the outskirts of Paris, the burial place of French kings, St Denis was an abbey of the highest significance in politics and in the history of architecture—in the 1140s the choir was rebuilt, and the pointed arches, rib vaulting and skeletal structure warrant the claim that this was the first Gothic building—100 years later the new nave inaugurated the Rayonnant style of Gothic with windows occupying the maximum possible area—first of two nights in Chartres.
DAY 5
Chartres—the cathedral at Chartres, begun in 1145 and recommenced in 1195 after a fire, is the finest synthesis of Gothic art and architecture—sculpture and stained glass are incorporated into an elaborate theological programme, creating a whole which is far greater than the sum of its parts—the full day here provides time for unhurried exploration of the building and space to relax, reflect and absorb—see also the church of St Pierre—overnight Chartres.
DAY 6
Mantes-la-Jolie, Beauvais, Amiens—12th-century collegiate church at Mantes-la-Jolie—Beauvais Cathedral, begun 1245, was, with a vault height in the choir of 157 feet, the climax in France of upwardly aspiring Gothic architecture and the highest vault of mediaeval Europe—finally to Amiens, whose cathedral is the classic High Gothic structure, its thrilling verticality balanced by measured horizontal movement—overnight Amiens.
DAY 7
Amiens. The cathedral in Amiens is the classic High Gothic structure, its thrilling verticality balanced by measured horizontal movement. Drive to Lille for the Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 6.00pm.
DATES & PRICES
TOUR CONTAINS
TESTIMONIALS
Our lecturer was outstanding. He is very knowledgeable and is a natural teacher.
G. & J. M., Gloucestershire
Three very different hotels but all very comfortable. Very good locations for all three.P. & M. W., South Yorkshire
Our lecturer’s love of the French cathedrals was obvious and infectious.J. D., Lincolnshire
We benefited from the careful thinking of whoever put the itinerary together – the order we saw the buildings in was important.J. D., Lincolnshire
It was marvellous to cover so much of the subject matter ‘on site’ in so short a time. M.R. & N.R., Aberdeenshire
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