Marseille (four-day study tour)

Marseille was the European City of Culture in 2013. As part of this award, given to an already vibrant city which had growing awareness of the potential of culture to revitalise itself, there were highlights which included the opening of MuCEM, the Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Mediterranée which has become a great success. There was also the re‐opening of two museums in Marseille: the Musée des arts décoratifs, de la faïence et de la mode (Château Borély) and the Musée d’histoire et du port antique (centre Bourse). Our visit under the guidance of Dr. Gajewski gives the opportunity for a short but intense exploration of the city of Marseille, its history and culture.

Practical Details and Booking Arrangements

Once in the region we will stay at the Mgallery Grand Hôtel Beauvau Marseille Vieux Port. Travel will be arranged on Eurostar which is offering direct connections from summer 2017, with a return journey to be arranged in the afternoon on the final day of our tour which will leave an adequate amount of time for a reasonable amount of exploration on our final day.

Timings:

13th October, London St Pancras to Marseille, depart 7.15am (arrive 2.46pm)
16th October, Marseille to London St Pancras, depart 3.22pm (arrive 10.12pm)

There is, however, an option to make your own travel arrangements and meet the main party at the station or hotel to join the afternoon visit or assemble later for dinner at 8pm.

The total cost including travel will be £640 per person (£540 if making your own travel arrangements), which includes Eurostar, hotel accommodation, breakfasts, admission charges, dinner on two occasions, along with wine, water and coffee, tips for drivers and restaurant staff, and the services of the lecturer. The cost is calculated on the basis of shared twin rooms, and does not include lunches or dinner on one evening. There are a few single rooms available, however the net additional prices quoted by the hotels give rise to a single supplement of £150.

The Tour has been planned on the basis of 15 participants and the prices have been calculated on a non‐profit basis in accordance with the Society’s normal policy for foreign tours. This does enable us to provide an extremely attractive package with the best of hotels and guides. If there is sufficient interest, a maximum of 20 participants may be considered but this will be dependent upon the availability of hotel rooms. If only 10 participants expressed interest, we would consult those who have applied but, if the tour were to go ahead, there would need to be a supplement of about £75 per person to ensure that the Society does not incur a loss ‐ the tour would still be terrific value and have the bonus of being a very personal weekend.

Travel locally in the city will either be on foot or by bus/Metro/taxi. We hope participants will share taxi costs and have not budgeted for providing local transport, nor taxis. This will include the short journey on arrival and departure between the hotel and the Gare de Marseille Saint‐Charles.

NB To avoid fixing the cost at too discouraging a level no allowance has been made for a deterioration in the value of sterling against the euro. We therefore reserve the right to make a surcharge of not more than £100, to cover up to 10% of extra costs caused by a fall in the exchange rate. Any costs above that will be borne by The London Art History Society. The exchange rate used for these costings was £1 = 1.15 euros.

The above costs also include the services of a travel agent – Real Holidays – who provide professional booking services and ABTA cover. All travel and accommodation (Eurostar and hotels) have been arranged by Real Holidays, who will accordingly handle the financial side of the trip.

Bookings and any initial enquiries will be dealt with by Michael Pearson, The London Art History Society Study Tours Organiser, who may be contacted by email tours@londonarthistorysociety.org.uk or telephone 01799 521290.

Bookings can only be accepted if accompanied by a deposit of £200 per person, made payable to Real Holidays. All applicants and friends who travel with them must be current members of The London Art History Society at the time of the trip.

Booking forms are included with this posting, so if you do intend joining us, please complete the form and send it, along with a cheque made payable to Real Holidays, to:

attn. Michael Pearson
The London Art History Society,
c/o Tudor Cottage,
Stoke Prior, Leominster,
Herefordshire,
HR6 0LG

Your attention is drawn to the Real Holdays Terms and Conditions. It is essential that you take out travel insurance cover, and you should also obtain the European Health Insurance Card (which replaced the form E111) from a Post Office. Note that the EHIC is only valid for five years; please ensure that your card will be valid during the period of our tour.

The itinerary and locations are subject to unpredictable circumstances. We are visiting churches where funerals and weddings are held and choir practice and enthusiastic organists can disrupt our day. We shall try to work around these little problems but ask for your understanding should they occur. We would like to emphasise the fact that these cultural tours are organised for the benefit of members by an enthusiastic volunteer; they are not commercial operations and we will not be accompanied by a tour manager for the duration of our tour. We rely on participants to be self‐reliant and independent. Participants who feel that they may need help should make arrangements for a companion to accompany them who is prepared to give them assistance. All tours involve a significant amount of standing around in museums or walking, often over uneven cobbled streets. Participants on all tours should be able to walk at a reasonable pace and/or stand for at least thirty minutes without aid or requiring a rest. If you or any member of your party has any medical condition you are expected to know the limit of your abilities and be sensible. Where appropriate, you should consider using taxis or other independent transport.