Students on The Cambridge Tradition and The Oxford Tradition can opt to spend an additional week in Paris as part of The Paris Connection.

The Paris Connection offers an irresistible opportunity for students who are already just a train ride away from Paris to discover the wonders of this magnificent city. The program consists of educational visits to the city’s famous monuments, introductions to some of the world’s greatest art collections and architecture, and guided tours of Paris’ historic neighborhoods. In addition, students can enjoy a meal in a traditional French restaurant, relax with fellow students in any number of enchanting parks, stroll along the picturesque Seine, and engage in enlightening discussion with their group leaders. Our goal is to give participants a meaningful experience of Paris and French culture, and past participants have found that The Paris Connection complemented their time in England perfectly.

Our students stay right in the heart of Paris, in a stunning, converted 17th- century hotel particulier located on the Right Bank in the Marais district. Traditionally the Jewish quarter and now one of the chicest areas of Paris, the Marais is renowned for its fashionable boutiques and cafés, and is also home to such attractions as the Picasso Museum, Victor Hugo’s house, and the spectacular Place des Vosges. The residence is also walking distance from the Bastille, the Louvre, and the Pompidou Center. Other celebrated sites visited by the students during the program include the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Pantheon, Père Lachaise Cemetery, and the Catacombs, as well as the historic neighborhoods of Montmartre and the Latin Quarter.

PARIS ITINERARY

Day 1
Arrive early afternoon and check into residence. Dinner in residence and walking tour by the Seine in the early evening. Free time to explore the Marais neighborhood.

Day 2
Tour of the Bastille and Place des Vosges in the morning followed by a guided tour of the Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame, and the Ile St Louis in the afternoon. Dinner out at an authentic French restaurant followed by a sunset cruise on the Seine.

Day 3
Guided tour of the Rodin Museum in the morning followed by lunch. Students may choose between a visit to the bohemian Montmartre district or the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte at Les Invalides. Dinner out followed by an evening at the French cinema.

Day 4
Early morning departure for Chartres Cathedral where students have a guided tour with historian Dr Malcolm Miller. Arrive back in Paris in time for dinner out and free time in the evening to explore.

Day 5
Students can choose between a guided tour of the Catacombs or a trip up the Eiffel Tower in the morning. After lunch, students meet back at the residence to be escorted on a guided tour of the treasures of the Louvre.

Day 6
Morning departure for Versailles where students have a guided tour of the chateau and then spend the day enjoying the extraordinary formal gardens with dinner by the lake. Return to Paris in the evening for a quick visit to a local creperie for dessert.

Day 7
Students can choose between guided tours to the Catacombs, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Picasso Museum in the morning. The last evening is spent enjoying the summer fair in the Tuileries Gardens, sampling French‘street food,’ and riding the Ferris wheel.

STAFF

Dr Richard Michaelis. BA (Hons) University College London, MPhil, DPhil, Oxford. Richard is an expert on war and diplomacy in France and is completing a book on Robespierre, the best-known leader of the French Revolution. He was born and educated in French-speaking Switzerland. He is the Director of our student program in Paris.

Dr Thomas Kiely. BA (Hons) Liverpool University, DPhil Oxford. A European Rhodes Scholar, Thomas is also a prize-winning scholar of ancient history and archeology. He has introduced students to Paris’ fascinating archeological past on the Paris Connection for many summers and has many years of teaching experience on The Oxford Tradition.

Victoria Staveley. BA Memorial University of Newfoundland. Victoria is a Canadian Rhodes Scholar and Senior Warden at St Clare’s International College in Oxford where she teaches the International Baccalaureate. A specialist in Renaissance poetry and politics, she has taught for Oxbridge Academic Programs for fifteen years.

Dale Wardlaw. Dale spent over seventeen years at The Spence School in New York teaching music. He also served as Music Director for Swingshift, a popular vocal jazz quartet, as a private piano and vocal coach, and as a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was a Dean of Students on the Oxford Tradition for three years and now lives full-time in Paris teaching music and directing choirs.

PARIS CONNECTION FEES AND DETAILS

For students in Oxford, The Paris Connection begins on Sunday July 27 and ends on Sunday August 3. For students in Cambridge, The Paris Connection begins on Sunday August 3 and ends on Sunday August 12. These Connections are separate; they do not combine. Students should book their flight home from either of the Paris airports, Charles de Gaulle or Orly.