Art Cities of Flanders

A 4 night/5 day tour to Antwerp by coach

Tuesday 23 - Saturday 27 September 2025

The rich art and architecture in the cities of Antwerp and Ghent reflect their historic trading wealth and prestige. Numerous glorious churches, splendid decorative and fine arts museums and an astonishing array of civic buildings are a testament to the country’s role as the great meeting place of Western Europe. Traces of the Austrians, Spanish, French and Dutch are to be found in the eclectic mix of architectural styles, beginning with the Romanesque and culminating in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco of the 20th century. These beautiful and largely unspoilt cities also conceal an astonishingly rich collection of works of art. The Flemish school of painting is, of course, well represented through a wealth of masterpieces by van Eyck, van der Weyden, Brueghel and Rubens, and our 5-day tour includes visits to churches and galleries to see some of these works in situ.

TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2025

We will depart from our local pick-up point by coach and travel to Folkestone for a late morning Eurotunnel crossing to Calais.

On arrival we will continue the journey onto Antwerp in Belgium, where we will check into the Leonardo Hotel Antwerp the Plaza (4 star) for 4 nights on a bed and breakfast basis. After some time to freshen up a welcome drink and dinner will be taken together in the hotel restaurant.

WEDNESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2025

After breakfast at the hotel we will meet our local guide for a full day of visits in Antwerp. The chief city of Flemish Belgium, Antwerp boasts numerous and diverse churches, many museums and fine art galleries, and a historic town centre where notable buildings include the 16th century Town Hall on the Grote Markt.

We will embark on a walking tour with our guide to include a visit to the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady which houses several important works by Rubens, notably The Raising of the Cross and the Descent from the Cross. Following the visit there will be free time to take lunch.

After lunch we will visit the Saint Charles Borromeo Church. Built between 1614 and 1621 by the Jesuit order, hardly a square foot was untouched by art works amongst which were 39 ceiling paintings by Peter Paul Rubens. These were unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1718. The church was subsequently rebuilt and opened its doors again. The facade of the church is impressive, with sumptuous decoration also partly attributable to Peter Paul Rubens. The church was rededicated to Saint Charles Borromeo in 1779.

We will end the day with a visit to the Museum Plantin-Moretus, the patrician home of Christoffel Plantin and former printing establishment. Plantin transformed the craft-based art of printing and publishing into a pre-industrial business on an international scale and transformed the city on the Scheldt into the leading centre of international printing and publishing. The Museum has an exceptionally rich art collection, displays of books, historical documents and typographic material, drawings, woodcarvings and copper engravings.

We will return to our hotel by coach and the remainder of the evening will be at leisure.

THURSDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2025

After breakfast at the hotel we will transfer by coach to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The Museum reopened in 2022 followed a 19 year restoration programme. It was originally built as a temple for the Arts to exterior designs by the architect Jan Jacob, and was one of the main buildings of the 1894 Antwerp World Exposition. The renovated building houses a collection of paintings from the 14th century to the present day and includes works by many of the great masters. Antwerp’s most prominent artists - Rubens, Van Eyck and Jordaens make up an important part of the museum’s very rich collection in addition to 10 new rooms dedicated to contemporary works. We will have a guided tour of the highlights of the collection with a resident guide.

We will rejoin our coach and travel to the north of Antwerp to visit the Arboretum Kalmethout. It was founded in 1856 as a nursery but sold in 1952 to the brothersGeorgesandRobertDeBelcher. Theirintention was to create a private botanical garden but the project resulted in a beautiful arboretum with natural looking gardens with perennials, creepers, shrubs and trees. The garden is a partner garden with the RHS, and has one of the most diverse plant collections in Europe offering colour and interest all year round. A light lunch will be taken together on arrival, followed by a “Behind the Scenes” guided tour with a resident guide.

We will return to our hotel by coach and the remainder of the evening will be at leisure.

FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

After breakfast at the hotel we will meet our local guide and travel to visit the Museum Mayer van den Bergh.

The former home of the art dealer and collector Fritz Mayer van den Bergh (1858-1901), the museum houses paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, drawings, and tapestries from antiquity until 1800, including Dulle Griet (1562) by Bruegel. There will be free time to take an early lunch in Antwerp.

After lunch we will continue on foot to the The Snijders&Rockox House. The Rockox House was the home of a former mayor of Antwerp, Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640). He was an avid collector of the arts, and works of Rubens sit alongside Breughel, Van Dyck, Jordaens and others.

We will also visit the nearby Sint-Jacobskerk. The Baroque church of St James is a former collegiate church built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela. It remains a pilgrim’s church to this day and is known for its traditional masses. Please be aware that Sint-Jacobskerk is currently undergoing restoration works and there may be limited access to areas of the church at the time of your visit.

A final dinner will be taken together this evening in a local restaurant in Antwerp.

SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2025

We will check out of the hotel after breakfast and travel by coach to Ghent, the capital of the province of East Flanders that rose in importance during the Middle Ages due to the enormous wealth of its cloth trade. It was the principal seat of the Counts of Flanders, and its wealthy and influential burghers were granted privileges and influence as early as the late 13th century. Today, the remnants of the city’s prosperity are much in evidence, and its imposing castle and magnificent cathedral are testimony to the city’s former importance as a major trade centre.

We will meet a local guide for a walking tour of the lively, historic centre with its network of waterways which traverse the inner town. We will visit the Cathedral of St Bavo, which houses one of the great masterpieces of Flemish painting, Van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. There will be free time for lunch in Ghent.

We will rejoin our coach for the return journey to Calais and onward travel by Eurotunnel to Folkestone, arriving back in the evening.

Please note that as this tour has been planned many months in advance, the final itinerary may vary slightly from the above.

The Arts Society Greenwich

Art Cities of Flanders Practical Details

TOUR PRICE
£1,375 per person sharing a twin/double room £200 single supplement

PRICE INCLUDES

Executive coach travel throughout
Return Eurotunnel crossings (Folkestone/Calais)
4 nights' bed and breakfast accommodation in Antwerp City tax
Welcome drink in the hotel
Dinner on the first evening in the hotel restaurant.  Dinner on the final evening in a local restaurant.  Light lunch at Arboretum Kalmethout
The services of local/resident guides as per the itinerary All entrance charges and booking fees
VOX audio headsets

HOTEL DETAILS

Leonardo Hotel Antwerp The Plaza (4 star) Charlottalei 49, 2018 Antwerp

For further details please visit their website:

www.leonardo-hotels.com/antwerpen/leonardo-hotel- antwerp-the-plaza

PASSPORT & VISA REQUIREMENTS

British Nationals should be in possession of a valid 10 year passport: visas are not required for travel to Belgium. Other Nationals should contact the Belgian Embassy to confirm current visa requirements. We will update participants if there any changes to travel requirements.

MINIMUM NUMBERS

The price of the tour is based on a minimum of 20 paying participants.

FINANCIAL PROTECTION

ABTOT provides protection for your booking as set out in the Financial Protection clause of our Booking Conditions.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

It is a condition of booking that each tour participant carries full travel insurance and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have adequate insurance for this tour. We have arranged a scheme with specialists Brokersure Limited who are fully authorised and regulated by the FCA (firm reference number 501719) full details of which can be found on the FCA website www.fca.org.uk. Please call Brokersure on 0330 880 3625 for a quote. Please ensure that any policy has adequate cover for CO VID-19 related issues.

PAYMENT DETAILS
A deposit of £375 per person is due as soon as possible and no later than Friday 21 February 2025. As places on the tour are limited, bookings will be accepted on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. The final balance will be due by Tuesday 01 July 2025.

BOOKING & FINAL TRAVEL DETAILS

To reserve your place on the tour, please send your completed booking form and deposit to Heritage Group T ravel. Y ou will receive a confirmation of your booking combined with an invoice for the final balance. The final travel details (itinerary, hotel details and luggage label) will be available approximately 10-14 days prior to travel.

Charlotte House, 12 Charlotte Street, Bath BA1 2NE
Tel: 01225 466620

Monday 23 September - Friday 27 September 2024

Based in central Glasgow, our tour will showcase some of the finest museums and collections in the city, and includes visits further afield to the 18th century Dumfries House, designed by the Adams Brothers, and the privately owned late 18th century Ardgowan House.

TOUR PRICE: £945 per person sharing a twin/double room (excluding train tickets)   

£195 single room supplement

PRICE INCLUDES: 

4 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in Clayton Hotel Glasgow City (4 star)

Two dinners and three lunches

Tour includes the House for an Art Lover (Mackintosh 1900), Willow Tea Rooms, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Dumfries House, Culzean Castle, Ardgowan House, Burrell Collection and The Hill House.

If you are interested, please contact Nancy Bettelley:

Email: nancy.bettelley@hotmail.co.uk     Mobile: 07931 444816  

25th - 29th September 2023

Valencia is fast becoming the must-visit city in Spain and our wonderful tour will show you exactly whey its burgeoning reputation is well-founded.  One of Europe's best and least known collections of Art Nouveau and Art Deco is augmented by Calatrava's stunning City of Arts and Science, added to a charming old town - right on the Mediterranean - it is a heady, sunny and attractive cocktail.  Excellent art galleries open until late and an excursion to the pretty coastal town of Segunto, dating back to Roman times, completes the picture.

5 days from *£995 pp (single occupancy supplement £200 pp)

• Return flight from London Gatwick to Valencia
• Four nights' bed and breakfast at the four-star Dimar Hotel in Valencia
• Three dinners at local restaurants
• Transfers, tours and entrance fees included

For more information:

Contact Nancy Bettelley: nancybettelley@hotmail.co.uk/07931 444816

Our “armchair travel” talk looks at the loveliest historic cities of Central Asia and is based around several visits made by our lecturer, Jane Angelini, in the last ten years.  At the heart of the ancient Silk Roads, Bukhara, the ‘Dome of Islam’, was for centuries a centre of artists, poets, scientists and scholars.  Its emirs resided in the austere Ark fortress, as old as the city itself.  No name is as evocative of the Silk Road than Samarkand, glorious capital of Tamerlane, which boasts the most magnificent central square in the Islamic world. From the 17th century Khiva rose to pre-eminence, with one of the most homogeneous collections of later Islamic architecture, a museum city, frozen in time.

Jane Angelini is a freelance lecturer for the Arts Society and other arts organisations. She runs her own art tours company, specialising in cultural visits. She speaks several foreign languages and has translated a number of works of 19th century Russian literature for Penguin Books and Oxford University Press. She has a BA in Russian Studies and an MA in Byzantine Studies.

Sadly, due to Coronavirus, this holiday was cancelled

A 4 night stay in Antwerp organsied by HERITAGE GROUP TRAVEL  

Monday 28 September - Friday 2 October 2020

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Riga

The Arts Society Greenwich continued its programme of annual cultural holidays in 2019 with a six-day trip to Riga, Latvia. It was the first visit to the country for most of the twenty two participants and, as anticipated, Riga and its immediate environs delivered a wealth of art, architecture and heritage sites.

Our local guide was outstanding with superb organisational skills (essential on these holidays) and a sound knowledge of the places on our itinerary. Latvia has had a turbulent past and his understanding of current affairs coupled with detailed historical knowledge brought everything to life and helped set things in context. The historic centre of Riga (a World Heritage Site) is a diverse mixture Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque and Neo-Classical styles but it is the Art Nouveau architecture which steals the show. Our morning walk revealed street after street of stunning apartment blocks, mostly built between 1904 and 1914, and in remarkably good condition. Finishing up at the Art Nouveau Museum we then had an opportunity to see how these wonderful buildings would have been furnished.

A visit to the 13th century Turaida castle provided a very different setting and gave us en route a chance to see rural Latvia with its farms and fields nestling amongst dense forests. For sheer grandeur one would have to travel north to see the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to find a rival to the sumptuous 18th century Rundale Palace – these buildings had the same architect. The gardens at Rundale were modelled on Versailles and our guided tour of the interior revealed a remarkable collection of paintings, furniture, woodwork and stucco decorations.

The trip provided something for all artistic tastes and included an organ concert in the Cathedral, a boat trip around Riga’s canal system (taken in good spirits in spite of inclement weather!) and even a bracing walk along the beach at the historic seaside town of Jurmala.

We stayed in a comfortable hotel in the centre of Riga and found a wide range of restaurants nearby serving quality food. Breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners were included in the cost of our holiday. The pace of the trip was measured with time available for members to pursue personal interests.

17-22 Sep 2018

• Urbino - guided tour
• Casa Natale di Raffaello
• Palazzo Ducale - guided tour
• Basilica of Sant' Apollinare at Classe
• Ravenna - guided city tour
• Mosaics of St Vitale & Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
• Sansepolcro & Museo Civico - guided tour
• Gubbio & Palazzo dei Consoli - guided tour
• Palazzo Ducale - guided tour
• Library of Malatestiana - guided tour

Included guided tours of Leipzig, the Bauhaus complex, the UNESCO listed castle at Wartburg, Weimar (with a focus on Goethe) and Erfurt (Martin Luther's spiritual home).