Trips & outings
DEPARTURES 2023 ARE GUARANTEED
JEWELS OF MALTA AND GOZO – from Sunday 1st until Friday 6 October 2023
Blond as honey, Malta is full of discoveries. On the World Heritage List of the UNESCO, Valletta has many monuments, like the Grandmaster’s Palace, the ‘Auberge des chevaliers français’ and its archaeological museum, the ‘Auberge d’Italie’ and its Fine Arts Museum fully restored, the St John Co-Cathedral with the tombs of the Knights and the famous Caravaggio paintings, the new City Gate by Renzo Piano. On the island, the megalithic temples join greatness and refinement. The palaces of Mdina shelters the noble families of the island, the Domus romana in Rabat, roman antiquities. In addition to the temples from the neolithic of Ggantilla in Gozo, there are the ancient saltworks and the Blue Grotto, at the foot of the cliffs, with its water aquamarine coloured.
Ref. 3635 – WAITING LIST, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
SORIA, THE ESSENCE OF CASTILLE – from Monday 16 until Friday 20 October 2023
Our guide Javier brings us off the beaten track to discover Soria, the city of the poets and its captivating region. We’ll visit the cloister of San Juan de Duero with its oriental inspiration, the Romanesque church of Santo Domingo, the Numantino museum displaying the Celtiberian culture, and the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Huerta. From the water-cure hotel of El Burgo de Osma, hosted in a 16th-century university, we’ll discover the imposant castel of Gormaz, the superb Romanesque frescos of San Baudelio. We’ll visit the picturesque village of Catalaňazor and Medinaceli, the ‘City of the Sky’ of the powerful dukes of the 16th century. From the Parador of Sigüenza, nested in a 12th century castle, we’ll visit the small medieval village with its red roofs in a wonderful setting of fawn-coloured mountains.
Ref. 3664 – WAITING LIST, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
DIRK BOUTS IN LEUVEN – Thursday 9 November 2023
The M museum in Leuven is devoting an international exhibition to Dirk Bouts (about 1415-1475) who has achieved in his works a stupendous synthesis between Jan van Eyck virtuosic technique and Rogier Van der Weyden innovative visual language. Close by, the University Library puts Dirk Bouts in his time by assembling precious manuscripts, printed gems and contemporary art in a surprising combination. We’ll also visit the St. Peter church, for which Dirk Bouts painted «The Last Supper» and «The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus».
Ref. 3665 – Price: 135 €, coach, lunch, entrance fees and guidance.
EGYPT, FROM GIZA TO ABU SIMBEL – from Friday Novembre 24 until Sunday December 3 – 2023
The pyramids in Giza, the mastabas in Saqqara are real miracles. The new Museum in Cairo is a treasure chest for its sumptuous collections. The elegant temples in Luxor and Karnak, the sites of the Theban necropolis are bewitching. A cruise on the blue waters of the Nile will lead us to Assuan in the fascinating world of the Nubians with an unforgettable discovery of the royal colossus springing up from the mountain in Abu Simbel.
Ref. 3636 – 5.165 €, plane, coach, full-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
Consult the program => PROGRAM EGYPT 2023
TENERIFE BETWEEN ART AND NATURE – from Tuesday 19 to Sunday 24 March – 2024
An endless spring illuminates the island’s grandiose landscapes, sometimes volcanic with
strange lava flows in the Teide Park listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, sometimes
tropical with exuberant vegetation and golden dunes. Superb colonial towns like La Laguna
offer palaces and historic homes with Baroque facades. Contemporary art is highlighted in
Santa Cruz, with the TEA, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, featuring surrealism, and the
Auditorio, a large white sail designed by Calatrava. The Musée des Beaux-Arts, with its
16th-century Flemish paintings, recalls the golden age of trade between Antwerp and
Tenerife.
Ref.3735 – 1.850 € (until October 31, later 1.975), plane, coach, half-board accomodation, entrance fees and guidance.
Consult the program => PROGRAM TENERIFE 2024
JORDAN, CRADLE OF CIVILIZATIONS – from Thursday 11 to Thursday 18 April 2024
Jordan boasts splendid vestiges of numerous civilizations in extraordinary and varied sites:
the Roman city of Jerash, the Crusader fortresses, the Umayyad desert castles, the site of
Bethany where the first Christians were baptised, and the marvellous Petra, the rose city
carved into the rock by the Nabataeans. Amman, the white city, is best discovered from the
citadel with its gigantic Roman theatre and prestigious Jordan Museum, which traces the
country’s history through an exceptional collection in a fascinating scenography.
Ref. 3736 – 3.275 € (until December 31, later 3.475 €), plane, coach, full-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
Consult the program => PROGRAM JORDAN 2024
NAPLES AND CAMPANIA (2nd trip) – from Monday 29 April to Saturday 4 May 2024
With many Renaissance and Baroque palaces and churches, and a maze of picturesque
alleyways, the old Naples and its beautiful bay will not fail to seduce you. The Archaeological
Museum recounts the ancient history of Campania through mosaics, statues and frescoes,
while the Capodimonte Gallery devotes entire rooms to Titian, Masaccio, El Greco and
Flemish painting. Pompeii, Herculaneum, Anacapri, Villa Poppea in Oplontis and the temples of
Paestum, are all opportunities to marvel at the luxuriance of Greco-Roman civilization in an
idyllic setting.
Ref. 3737 – 2.875 € (until October 31, later 2.995 €), plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
Consult the program => PROGRAM NAPLES & CAMPANIA 2024
MUNICH AND THE BLUE COUNTRY (with guide Laurence Dehlinger) from Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 May 2024
The reopening of the Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter House in Murnau invites us to discover
the magical landscapes of Bavaria, with museums dedicated to the artists of the Blaue
Reiter and castles built by Ludwig II, such as Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof. In Munich, we
will visit the Residence museum, the Marienkirche, the Town Hall Square, the marvellous
rococo chapel of the Asam brothers and superb museums: the Lenbachhaus, the
Pinakothek der Moderne and the Nymphenburg Palace with its delightful park.
Ref. 3738 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and
guidance.
THE UNKNOWN TREASURES OF BASILICATA – from Monday 3 to Saturday 8 June
2024
Nestled in southern Italy, Basilicata remains a peaceful region with majestic mountains,
dense forests and jagged cliffs. There are charming villages clinging to rock faces, home to a
historical heritage that is all too often overlooked. Ancient Lucania, which was in turn in the
hands of the Greeks, the Romans, Byzantines and Normans, offers a fascinating glimpse of
the country’s history in its archaeological vestiges, castles, churches and museums. The
major troglodyte site of Matera, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, is particularly
impressive.
Ref. 3739 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and
guidance.
DUBLIN AND SOUTH-EAST IRELAND – Mid-June 2024
Celtic under a classical exterior, Dublin is brimming with treasures: the Book of Kells at
Trinity College, Celtic jewels at the National Museum of Archaeology, the great masters at
the National Gallery, the exceptional collections of the Chester Beatty Library, and the
Impressionists at the Dublin City Gallery. The surrounding area boasts superb examples of
Palladian architecture such as Castletown House and Russborough House, castles with
sumptuous gardens such as Malahide Castle and Powerscourt Estate, monastic ensembles
in enchanting settings such as Glendalough at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, and
spectacular megalithic tombs in the Boyne Valley.
Ref. 3740 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and
guidance.
VENICE BIENNALE – Beginning of September 2024
Organised by the Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa, the Venice Biennale 2024 will aim to define the
art of today. Artists Denicolai and Provoost will represent Belgium with a project called
“Petticoat Government”, which sets the folkloric vision, symbolic and political weight of our
giants in motion, while the entanglements of our globalised existence will be explored at the
Swiss Pavilion by Guerreiro do Divino Amor. French Julien Creuzet will use music, video,
poetry and sculpture to describe the relationship between modern Europe and Caribbean
ancestry. Ghana-born John Akomfrah will defend the British colours with a work that
questions memory, postcolonialism and meteorological phenomena.
Ref. 3741 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and
guidance.
THE ART CITIES IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA – from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 28 September
2024
The gentle hills of Emilia-Romagna bathe Bologna, its lively capital with a thousand arcades,
the Torri pendenti and red brick churches, the Carracci at the Pinacoteca and the Morandi
museum. The River Po surrounds Ferrara, a jewel of art and urban development forged by
the Princes of Este. Ravenna, capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402 to 476,
fascinates visitors with the exquisite Byzantine mosaics of its churches listed as Unesco
World Heritage, as does Parma with its frescoes by Correggio, Stendhal’s favourite painter.
Ref. 3742 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and guidance.
VALENCIA AND CASTILLA-LA MANCHA – in the footsteps of Don Quixote (with guide Javier Diaz) – Mid-October 2024
Futuristic with Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia has not forgotten its past. An
important Roman city, ephemeral capital of the Cid, Muslim then Christian, the town’s golden
age came in the 15th century with beautiful stately homes, the cathedral, the wheat
warehouse, the merchant’s exchange… The Patriarch Museum and the Museum of Fine
Arts house sumptuous collections featuring Bouts, El Greco, Velasquez, Goya… A tour of
Castilla-La Mancha will take us to the beautiful Cuenca with its famous hanging houses and
Spanish abstract art Museum, the monastery and castle of Uclés, the eleven windmills of
Consuegra, the Casa de Dulcinea del Toboso, the magnificent 15th-century castle of
Belmonte and accommodation in the parador set in the castle of the fortified village of
Alárcon.
Ref. 3743 – Price to be determined, plane, coach, half-board accommodation, entrance fees and
guidance.
Please note : dates and destinations for the 2024 trips are subject to change.
For the travels and excursions, please contact Virginie Descamps
Phone : +32(0)2 639 4653 – Email : virginie@preference.be
The payment with your name and excursion reference number (BE92 7440 6349 9223) confirms the registration and is not refundable.
Preference Travel Team
Rue des Francs 79, boîte 4 – 1040 Bruxelles