Musical Cities:
Paris & Berlin

• Enjoy a curated selection of 8 performances of opera, ballet and orchestral music, featuring celebrated conductors and singers such as Christian Thielemann, Klaus Mäkelä, Sonya Yoncheva, Ekaterina Gubanova, Nicole Car, and many others

• Get the most out of the performances with talks by tour leader Robert Gay

• Rediscover Paris’ rejuvenated gems, including Notre Dame and the Marais’ outstanding Musée Carnavalet

• Admire great collections of art, antiquities and decorative arts, from The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and the bust of Nefertiti, to the nineteenth-century masterpieces of the Musée d’Orsay

• Understand modern Berlin, from the historic Wall to the contemporary architecture of Norman Foster’s re-imagined Reichstag

SUNDAY 03 MAY – ARRIVAL (CANAPÉS, DINNER)

The tour begins in the hotel at 5.30pm, when you meet tour leader Robert Gay for welcome drinks and canapés. Afterwards, we walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner together. First of five nights in Paris.

MONDAY 04 MAY – JOSEPHINE’S MALMAISON & PERFORMANCE 1 (B, L)

Tour leader Robert Gay gives a talk this morning introducing us to all four of our Paris performances. Afterwards, we travel to the Château de Malmaison, the elegant estate created by Joséphine de Beauharnais. Enduringly remembered for its rose garden, Malmaison was the Empress’s personal retreat after her divorce and was carefully restored in the twentieth century. Lunch is in a nearby brasserie, before we return to our hotel for time at leisure. In the evening, we transfer to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, an elegant Art Deco venue that is the scene for tonight’s performance of Cavalli’s La Calisto. Afterwards, we return to the hotel.

Performance details
Venue: Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Program: Francesco Cavalli, La Calisto
Performers: Sébastien Daucé (conductor), Jetske Mijnssen (director), Lauranne Oliva (Calisto), Milan Siljanov (Giove/Diana)

TUESDAY 05 MAY – MUSÉE D’ORSAY & PERFORMANCE 2 (B)

This morning we walk via the Tuileries Gardens to the Musée d’Orsay. The celebrated collection of paintings here offers a window onto the nineteenth century, one of Paris’ most fertile times for innovation in the visual and performing arts. There is ample time to enjoy outstanding works by Renoir, Manet, Cézanne, van Gogh and Degas. The afternoon is at leisure. This evening, we make the short journey by metro to the Opéra Bastille to see Dvořák’s Rusalka, a Slavic folk tale about a lovelorn water nymph, sung on this occasion by Nicole Car. After the performance, we return to the hotel by coach.

Performance details
Venue: Opéra Bastille
Program: Antonin Dvořák, Rusalka
Performers: Kazushi Ōno (conductor), Nicole Car (Rusalka), Sergei Skorokhodov (The Prince), Ekaterina Gubanova (The Foreign Princess), Jamie Barton (Ježibaba)

WEDNESDAY 06 MAY – IN THE MARAIS & PERFORMANCE 3 (B, L)

This morning we travel to the Marais, walking through the beautiful Place des Vosges to visit the Musée Carnavalet. This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris and contains a vast collection of artefacts which trace the city’s development from the Gallo-Roman period through to the redesign of the city under Baron Haussmann in the mid-nineteenth century. Predictably, there is a particular focus on the French Revolution and subsequent Napoleonic period. After our visit, we enjoy lunch in a typical local restaurant before returning to our hotel for some time at leisure. This evening we have a private transfer to Paris’s new main concert hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, designed by Jean Nouvel and situated on the outskirts of the city. Here, the charismatic Finn Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Orchestre de Paris in a program of works by Grieg and Mahler.

Performance details
Venue: Philharmonie de Paris
Program: Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto; Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano), Orchestre de Paris

THURSDAY 07 MAY – THE GLORIOUS MIDDLE AGES & PERFORMANCE 4 (B)

This morning we travel by metro to the Musée de Cluny, where we have a guided introduction to the magnificent collections of fine and decorative art. These include seventh-century Visigothic crowns, a superlative collection of Romanesque ivories, and the beautiful Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. There will also be time for you to explore the treasures of the museum independently. After free time for lunch, we walk along the Seine to Notre Dame. Having recently risen phoenix-like from the ashes of its disastrous 2019 conflagration, the great cathedral once again crowns the Gothic architecture of medieval Paris, returning to its rightful place as one of the city’s most beloved icons. This evening, we walk to the nearby Palais Garnier to see renowned choreographer John Neumeier’s 1978 ballet La Dame aux camélias, based on Dumas’ tragic love story and using the music of Chopin. Final night in Paris.

Performance details
Venue: Palais Garnier
Program: La Dame aux camélias
Performers: John Neumeier (choreographer and director), Markus Lehtinen (conductor), the Paris Opera Ballet

FRIDAY 08 MAY – TO BERLIN (B, D)

We check out of our hotel this morning and take a private transfer to Charles de Gaulle airport. The direct flight to Berlin Brandenburg airport lasts just under 2 hours, and we arrive in the early afternoon. On arrival, we travel by private coach to our hotel where there is time to check in and freshen up. In the later afternoon, there is a short orientation walk with your tour leader, followed by dinner together in a restaurant near our hotel. First of five nights in Berlin.

SATURDAY 09 MAY – ART & ANTIQUITIES OF MUSEUM ISLAND & PERFORMANCE 5 (B)

After a talk by Robert Gay in our hotel, we walk to nearby Museum Island where the neo-classical buildings preserve a staggering range of objects, from celebrated ancient artefacts such as the portrait bust of Queen Nefertiti in the Neues Museum to the fine painting collections of the Alte Nationalgalerie. There is time to explore the museums independently, after an introduction to the highlights. The later afternoon is at leisure before our evening performance.

Performance details
Venue: TBC
Program: TBC
Performers: TBC

SUNDAY 10 MAY – OLD MASTERS & PERFORMANCE 6 (B)

This morning we travel to the Gemäldegalerie, one of the most important collections of paintings by Old Masters in Europe. There is time to enjoy a coffee together before our guided introduction to the highlights. The collection is particularly strong in works from the Italian and northern European Renaissance, with Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Dürer and others all represented by some of their most important surviving paintings. After time for independent exploration of the gallery, we return to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. This evening, we walk to the nearby Staatsoper Unter den Linden for a performance of Bellini’s Norma. A classic tale of conflicting attractions and responsibilities, it features Sonya Yoncheva in the famously taxing title role.

Performance details
Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Program: Vincenzo Bellini, Norma
Performers: Giuseppe Mentuccia (musical director), Vasily Barkhatov (director), Sonya Yoncheva (Norma), Freddie De Tommaso (Pollione), Adalgisa to be announced, Staatskapelle Berlin

MONDAY 11 MAY – THE TWO BERLINS & PERFORMANCE 7 (B)

This morning, Robert Gay gives his third and final pre-performance briefing, after which we depart by coach on a guided tour of ‘East & West’ Berlin which offers the opportunity to better understand the city’s more recent history. We especially note remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall, one extended section of which has been repurposed as an outdoor art gallery. The afternoon is at leisure. In the evening, we meet for our penultimate performance, offered either by the Berlin Philharmonie, the Deutsche Oper or the fine Kontzerthaus.

Performance details
Venue: TBC
Program: TBC
Performers: TBC

TUESDAY 12 MAY – BERLIN FROM THE SPREE & PERFORMANCE 8 (B, L)

In the late morning, we take a relaxing cruise on Berlin’s River Spree, which presents familiar views of the city from quite a different perspective. After the cruise, we proceed to the Reichstag building, where Norman Foster’s redesign of the glass dome is still hailed as both a powerful symbol of Germany’s reunification and as an important example of environmentally sustainable architecture. We enjoy a farewell lunch together at the terrace restaurant before returning to the hotel for time at leisure. You might like to rest, do some last-minute shopping or pack your bags before we meet this evening to return to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden for our final performance. Richard Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman), is a fairly late work and his only true comic opera. It was composed to a libretto by the great Stefan Zweig, who was inspired by a play in English by Ben Jonson.

Performance details
Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Program: Richard Strauss, Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman)
Performers: Christian Thielemann (musical director), Jan Philipp Gloger (director), Peter Rose (Sir Morosus), Evelyn Herlitzius (His Housekeeper), and Aminta to be announced

WEDNESDAY 13 MAY – DEPARTURE (B)

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast in our hotel. Our partners at Mary Rossi Travel will be pleased to advise on your travel arrangements, including flights and comprehensive international travel insurance.

Hotel Edouard VII, 4*, 5 nights

https://www.hoteledouard7-paris.com/

An elegant 4* hotel located in the 2nd, only minutes’ walk from the Paris Opéra. Rooms have been recently renovated in a contemporary style. They range in size between 20 and 25sqm which, while compact, is a good amount for a centrally located Parisian property. The hotel has a restaurant and bar.

Hotel Hilton Berlin, 4*, 5 nights

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/berhitw-hilton-berlin/

A modern 4* property located within walking distance of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Rooms are furnished in a modern style and are 26sqm in size. There is a restaurant located inside the property.

Hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• Best available tickets to 8 performances in Paris and Berlin

• 10 nights’ accommodation in 4-star hotels

• All breakfasts, 4 lunches, dinners or suppers, plus welcome drinks and canapés

• Entry fees and tickets to sites as described in the itinerary

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrances, and tipping

• Talks by music educator Robert Gay throughout

• Services of an experienced tour manager throughout

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

A second deposit of $2,500pp is due on 04 November 2025.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 17 February 2026.

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