Modern Art in Germany

• Experience dOCUMENTA in Kassel, one of the world’s most cutting-edge visual art festivals, only held every five years

• Explore Münster’s Skulptur Projekte, an avant-garde sculpture festival that takes place every ten years in this historic town

• Enjoy Frankfurt’s superb museums and galleries, from the Städel’s Old Masters to the dynamic Museum of Applied Arts

• Get to know Dusseldorf, the epicentre of postwar German art, and exceptional galleries including K20/K21 and the Langen Foundation, in a Tadao Ando-converted NATO missile base

• Discover Cologne, famous for its cathedral and excellent museums, and the UNESCO-listed Zollverein Industrial Complex, now transformed into an art space

WEDNESDAY 09 JUNE 2027 – ARRIVAL (CANAPES)
At 3.30pm this afternoon, we meet in the hotel for an introduction to the tour followed by a walking tour of Düsseldorf’s arts precinct. In the evening we enjoy welcome drinks and snacks at a local café, a haunt for Düsseldorf’s artistic luminaries including Joseph Beuys. Please note that no arrival transfers are included in the cost of the tour; there are regular connections to Düsseldorf airport from European and Middle Eastern destinations, as well as high-speed train arrivals from Frankfurt and Amsterdam central stations. Overnight Düsseldorf.

THURSDAY 10 JUNE 2027 – DÜSSELDORF’S ART MUSEUMS I (B, D)
Düsseldorf has been the centre for modern and contemporary art in Germany throughout the second half of the twentieth century, with its institutions led by the likes of Joseph Beuys and Bernd and Hilla Becher, and a stream of alumni from Gerhard Richter to Sigmar Polke, Anselm Kiefer and Candida Höfer. Its art museums are similarly filled with masterpieces by the greats of modern German art. Today we enjoy a selection of exhibitions at the city’s leading institutions, such as the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen’s modern and contemporary galleries (K20 and K21), and at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. (Our selection of exhibitions will be finalised when these museums formally announce their programs.) In the afternoon we enter the local art scene, visiting contemporary galleries accompanied by Düsseldorf artist Kai Richter, who will also conduct a visit of his large studio. In the evening, we enjoy dinner together at one of the historic beerhalls for which Düsseldorf is renowned. Overnight Düsseldorf.

FRIDAY 11 JUNE 2027 – COLOGNE (B)
Cologne has been a cultural centre since its foundation as a Roman colony protecting the Germanic border; indeed, it is here that we find some of the best evidence of a fusion Germano-Roman culture. Cologne’s significance continued throughout the Middle Ages, as evidenced by its magnificent cathedral, and in the Renaissance it was the first autonomous city state in the Holy Roman Empire. This morning, after taking the short train trip to Cologne, we have a walking tour of the city centre, unpacking the many layers of history from the ancient through to the modern. Our tour includes visits to the medieval market squares, such as Heumarkt, the Romanesque church of Great St Martin and the City Hall, symbol of the independence of Cologne’s citizens in the Renaissance. We conclude our tour at the cathedral, which contains a masterpiece of medieval metallurgy – Nicholas of Verdun’s gigantic Reliquary of the Three Kings – as well as stained-glass windows created by Gehrard Richter. After lunch – and time to sample the local Kölsch – we visit the Ludwig Museum, a private collection which has the third largest collection of works by Picasso in the world, as well as an exceptional collection of West German and American postwar art. This latter collection brings out the interactions of artists across the Atlantic in the decades following WWII. Returning to Düsseldorf by train in the late afternoon, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Düsseldorf.

SATURDAY 12 JUNE 2027 – THE LANGEN FOUNDATION & HOMBROICH ISLAND (B)
This morning we have free time in Düsseldorf, and you may wish to visit the city’s vibrant Saturday markets or visit another museum or two with your tour leader. After an early lunch, we meet at the hotel to visit an unexpected art site: a former NATO missile base that has been transformed into an art site by the Langen Foundation. Here numerous architects, including Tadao Ando and Álvaro Siza, have created novel museum spaces that house rotating exhibitions from the modern and Japanese art collections of Marianne and Viktor Langen, as well as exhibitions of contemporary art. After our visit, we return to Düsseldorf, where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Düsseldorf.

SUNDAY 13 JUNE 2027 – TO MÜNSTER, VIA ZOLLVEREIN (B, L)
This morning we depart Düsseldorf by coach for Münster, stopping en route to visit another part of Germany’s heritage: the UNESCO-listed Zollverein, once the largest colliery in the world. This unique complex preserves numerous Bauhaus-era buildings in which form and function integrate beautifully, while also exemplifying Europe’s industrial history. Today the site has been repurposed as museums, art spaces and designer boutiques. We start with a tour of the vast area that has been designed as a site-specific audio-installation by the Leipzig composer-musician duo Nadelør, before free time to visit the heritage and design museums. We then continue to Hülshoff Castle. After a picnic lunch in the grounds of the castle, a guide introduces us to its history, including its Renaissance and Art Nouveau manor houses and long association with German literature. Continuing to Münster, we check in and, after an orientation stroll of the historic centre, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Münster.

MONDAY 14 JUNE 2027 – MÜNSTER SKULPTUR PROJEKTE (B)
Münster Skulptur Projekte occurs every ten years and was conceived in the 1960s as an event to explore new possibilities for the art of sculpture. Its last instalment in 2017 included many sculptural media which were then in their infancy – including sound-sculpture, digitally augmented sculpture (accessed through wifi networks and QR codes) – as well as traditional media, with makers pushing conceptual, rather than material, boundaries. This morning we explore Münster Skulptur Projekte around the city on foot: many works from previous editions are still present in the city’s public spaces, and will be accompanied by new works from the 2027 edition. After a break for lunch, we continue exploring Skulptur Projekte, with the option to extend the walking tour with your tour leader or to take it at your own pace with a map in hand. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Münster.

TUESDAY 15 JUNE 2027 – LWL & PICASSO’S LITHOGRAPHY (B)
The concentration of art museums and collections in north-west Germany reflects the postwar boom in this region. This is evident in the two collections we visit today in the relatively small town of Münster. Our first visit is to the Westphalian Museum of Art and Cultural History (LWL), whose rotating exhibitions include archival works documenting Skulpture Projekte, in addition to well-regarded monographic art exhibitions. After a guided visit and free time to explore LWL, we continue to the Art Museum Pablo Picasso, whose collection of over 800 lithographs is unique. The collection, which embraces almost all of Picasso’s lithographic output, provides different insights into this lesser-known technique employed by the artist across his long life. The later afternoon is at leisure, and you may wish to continue exploring Skulptur Projekte or visit some of the small but wealthy city’s other cultural sites. Overnight Münster.

WEDNESDAY 16 JUNE 2027 – TO KASSEL VIA MARTA & CORVEY (B, D)
We depart Münster for Kassel by coach today, and our journey takes us to two fascinating but very different sites. The first is a rather unexpected museum of art at Herford, a small town in East Westphalia, designed by Frank Gehry. A particular strength of the museum is how it creates a playful interaction between large-scale works from its own collection – such as Cai Guo-Qiang’s Flying Carpets or Panamarenko’s brightly coloured Zeppelins – and Gehry’s architecture. After a guided visit of the museum, and time for lunch at leisure in town, we continue to another unexpected gem: the UNESCO-listed Princely Abbey of Corvey. This Benedictine Abbey, founded in the ninth century, has some of the best-preserved Carolingian architecture. In later centuries the abbey was expanded from its Carolingian core, as it had grown wealthy as a principality in the Holy Roman Empire. After a guided tour, we enjoy coffee and cake at the abbey’s café before continuing by coach to Kassel. This evening we dine together in the hotel. Overnight Kassel.

THURSDAY 17 JUNE – dOCUMENTA 16 (B)
dOCUMENTA was founded in 1955 by artist and designer Arnold Bode, who wanted to create an international art exhibition in West Germany to redress the repression of intellectual and artistic life during the Third Reich. The strong response to the first exhibition among Germans, Europeans and Americans led to the formation of the dOCUMENTA we see today: an international art exhibition that is primarily interested in the social and cultural contexts of art and of the roles art plays in shaping societies. In 2027 Naomi Beckworth, the Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, is the Artistic Director of dOCUMENTA, and her ability to work with diverse artists and audiences promises yet another excellent edition. dOCUMENTA takes place at numerous venues and locations around Kassel, and our visits will involve a selection of these that showcase the breadth of work on display. Each exhibition, however, also adds to the city of Kassel. Site-specific works remain in situ; some, such as Jospeh Beuys’ avenue of trees, or 7,000 Oaks, continue to grow; and yet others, such as Horst Baumann’s once revolutionary Laserscape Kassel (1977), remain part of Kassel’s urban heritage. We begin today with a guided walking tour following the history of dOCUMENTA in Kassel and the artworks around town by artists including David Harding, Lois Weinberger, Thomas Schutte Walter de Maria that speak to how art and documenta have evolved across the decades. In the afternoon, we visit a selection of dOCUMENTA venues, and we’ll update you about our exact program when more information has become publicly available. In the evening, we enjoy the chance to talk through what we have seen today over drinks in the hotel. The rest of the evening is at leisure. Overnight Kassel.

FRIDAY 18 JUNE – dOCUMENTA 16 (B)
Today we continue to explore dOCUMENTA 16 at its different venues across Kassel. Today’s program will include a combination of structured guided tours, briefings on smaller venues by your tour leader, and time for independent exploration. In the early evening, we enjoy drinks and a discussion of dOCUMENTA before an evening at leisure. Overnight Kassel.

SATURDAY 19 JUNE – TO FRANKFURT VIA WIESBADEN (B, Wine tasting)
We depart Kassel today by coach for Frankfurt. Our first stop is the new Reinhard Ernst Museum at Wiesbaden, whose collection of abstract art is rare, given the broader popularity of expressionist and figurative art in the later twentieth and twenty-first centuries. After a guided tour of the collection and its permanent exhibition, focusing on colour, we continue to historic Schloss Henkell for a cellar tour and wine tasting at this iconic German winery. Continuing to Frankfurt, we visit Atelier Frankfurt in the mid-afternoon. This large former warehouse has been converted into 150 affordable studios for artists and creative professionals, and provides a space for artists to work as well as to exchange ideas between artists and different creative industries. The Atelier’s director will guide us through the site, as we visit artist studios and exhibitions in the making. After checking in to the hotel, the evening is at leisure. Overnight Frankfurt.

SUNDAY 20 JUNE – ART IN FRANKFURT (B)
Frankfurt is often overlooked as an art destination – indeed, it is more frequently a transit hub for air and rail travel than a destination in its own right. Yet Frankfurt has played a vital role in German cultural life for centuries and over time its wealthy denizens amassed exceptional collections of historic art. We begin today at the Städel, whose collection spans van Eyck, Dürer and Vermeer, as well as Bacon, Bourgeois and Richter. After a guided tour, there is time at leisure to enjoy the collections and have lunch on the Museumsufer, or bank of the River Main, lined with museums, cafes and restaurants. In the afternoon we visit the Museum of Applied Art,  highly regarded for its novel ways of curating diverse collections as much as for the collections themselves. In the later afternoon, there’s the option to return to the hotel or to visit another of the museums on the Museumsufer with your tour leader. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Frankfurt.

MONDAY 21 JUNE – ART IN FRANKFURT II (B, D)
Frankfurt has multiple museums of modern and contemporary art, and they attract a consistently excellent range of exhibitions: major retrospectives, solo shows by up-and-coming contemporary artists, and conceptually rigorous thematic exhibitions. Today we will visit a selection of exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and the Shirn Kunsthalle. In the later afternoon, there is the option to visit the Kunstverein, the museum of Frankfurt’s private art society, with your tour leader. In the evening, we enjoy dinner at one of Frankfurt’s fine restaurants. Overnight Frankfurt.

TUESDAY 22 JUNE – DEPARTURE (B)
The tour ends in the hotel after breakfast this morning. Rail and air connections from Frankfurt are excellent, and your tour leader and hotel can assist you with arranging a taxi to the train station or airport.

The Wellem 4* Düsseldorf, 4 nights

https://thewellem.com

This historic Palace of Justice has been converted into a luxury hotel in the heart of Düsseldorf, with its own modern art collection and sculpture park.

Atlantic Hotel 4* Münster, 3 nights
https://www.atlantic-hotels.de/en/hotel-muenster/

A comfortable modern hotel in central Münster, providing easy access to the historic centre and the sites of Skulptur Projekte.

Schlosshotel 4* Kassel, 3 nights
https://www.schlosshotel-kassel.de/en/

A luxury hotel set in UNESCO-listed parkland, providing a quiet haven from the bustle of dOCUMENTA.

Lume Boutique Hotel 4* Frankfurt, 3 nights

https://lumeboutiquehotel.com/en/

A heritage-listed villa in central Frankfurt, carefully transformed into a modern boutique hotel.

NB: on this tour, twin rooms are available on request only. Contact us for more information.

• 13 nights’ accommodation at 4* and 4* Superior hotels

• All breakfasts and 4 lunches or dinners, including drinks

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, and tipping

• Entrances tickets and fees for dOCUMENTA in Kassel and Münster Skulptur Projekte

• Talks by and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout

Please note that no arrival or departure transfers are included in the tour price

A $2,000pp deposit is required at the time of booking to hold your place on tour.

A second deposit of $1,500pp is due on 09 February 2027.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 26 March 2027.

When you book on one of tours, we ask you to accept our terms and conditions. You can read our terms and conditions here.