Belle Époque: A Women’s Art Journey Through Paris April 6 to 14, 2025. Co-hosted by Giulia Bernardini from Wonderfeast and Susan Heinrich from Midlife Globetrotter

How does a week of iconic art, delicious food, and relaxing company in the City of Light sound? Parfait!

If you adored art history in college or dream of being escorted through Paris by a professional historian who grew up in Paris and speaks fluent French then this eight-day women’s trip is for you. It’s an art history seminar woven into an upscale tour — an immersive journey through French art, culture, and cuisine.

Art historian and academic Giulia Bernardini and travel writer Susan Heinrich have curated an unforgettable itinerary to show you the best of Paris — and some lesser known gems. Soak in the city’s delights along with a small group of like-minded, inquisitive women with the daily details taken care of by Giulia and Susan.

• Stay in chic comfort at the award-winning boutique Hôtel Signature St. Germain des Prés (4*),ideally located on the left bank, at the intersection of the sixth and seventh arrondissements.
• Enjoy mouth-watering French cuisine at some of Susan and Giulia’s favorite restaurants, take a private cooking class, cruise down the Seine at sunset and take a day trip to Normandy to see Monet’s garden in Giverny and visit Rouen and its famous Notre-Dame Cathedral. 
• Visit the iconic Musée d’Orsay, Louvre, Marmottan Monet, Orangerie, Rodin, Montmartre, Pompidou and Monet’s Garden at Giverny. Thanks to Giulia’s vast knowledge and passion, art works will be brought to life with stories of the individuals responsible for changing the face of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Paris and beyond. In museums and monuments, brasseries and cafés we’ll see the influence of the city on the art being made and learn how the artists, architects, photographers, musicians, and collectors of the Belle Époque built the foundations for twentieth century modernism. See the full itinerary here.

Meet Your Hosts 

Giulia Bernardini is an Italian-American instructor of humanities and art history. Multi-cultural and multi-lingual, her passion for the art, architecture, and literature that she teaches – and for travel and gastronomy – comes from an early desire to understand the cultures she encountered growing up in Europe. Giulia studied art history at Mount Holyoke College, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and received two master’s degrees in art history and in museum studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006. She continued at CU Boulder as a senior instructor in their Humanities Program until 2023. In addition, Giulia is a regular guest lecturer at the Denver Art Museum on Italian, French, and early 20th century modern art. She has recently embarked on a new adventure, leaving Boulder  to live in her native Rome, Italy. Her hope is that this tour can satisfy your appetite for art history, travel, food, and friendship – the most delicious things in life.

Susan Heinrich is a Denver-based writer, originally from Toronto, Canada. Her passion for travel was sparked on a self-guided trek of Nepal’s Annapurna region in her 20s. Her writing career began in daily journalism as a reporter with Canada’s National Post; she later pivoted to freelance writing while raising her sons. In 2020, Susan launched “Midlife Globetrotter,” a website and community to help women over 40 follow their travel dreams to new places. She aimed to redefine midlife as a period brimming with opportunities, and as an avid traveler, to inspire women to see travel as a way to imagine new possibilities for themselves. Some of Susan’s recent solo adventures have included a safari in Botswana, and attending  French-language school in Lyon, France. Paris is her favorite city — she is passionate about French art, culture, food and wine. 

Susan and Giulia met on a tour Giulia led celebrating the birth of impressionism at the Denver Art Museum. Realizing they shared an abiding amour for Paris, they had an energizing lunch and began confabulating. Thus was born Belle Époque: A Women’s Art Journey Through Paris. 

Itinerary Highlights 

• Daily art seminars given by Giulia and local guides as we explore Paris
• Eiffel Tower visit
• Cooking class and lunch
• Day trip to Giverny and Rouen in a private minibus
• An aperitif in the home of a Parisian host
• A Seine river cruise at sunset

See the full, day-by-day itinerary here.

What’s Included

8 nights in a centrally-located, four-star hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris’ 7th arrondissement (district); 8 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 3 dinners; Private transfer from the Paris Aiport to our hotel; Champagne reception; Admission to all museums and attractions listed in the itinerary; Tips and gratuities; Transportation during scheduled activities, including a private minibus for our day trip; 15 Paris Métro tickets; Fully guided tour with Susan and Giulia; An insider list of our favorite Paris recommendations for time spent on your own, or future trips; A Recommended Reading List by Giulia.

What’s Excluded 

Flights; Meals not mentioned in the itinerary; Alcohol beyond what is served at included events; Airport transfer at the end of trip (Susan will assist everyone to get a taxi or Uber); Medical & cancellation insurance (Required)

Price

Important Details

• The trip will have a maximum of 12 guests (plus guides).
• This Belle Époque itinerary will involve significant daily walking, including stairs and along uneven cobblestone streets. It is necessary that guests are physically fit so they are comfortable with the pace. 
• While the itinerary is designed to maximize what you experience during 8 days in Paris, there will be some free time. And you are welcome to skip a scheduled event or meal if you wish to rest or do something on your own. 
• If you plan to come as a solo guest but would like to share a room to secure the double room rate, let us know. We will do our best to accommodate you, as interest from other guests allows. 
• Flights should not be booked until you hear from us that the trip is confirmed. We will do this as soon as we have a minimum of 8 participants registered.

Frequently Asked Questions 

• Is this trip suited to me as a solo traveler? Absolutely, yes. The small group size guarantees that we’ll get to know one another as we share our adventure. Giulia is always very proud of the camaraderie and, often, lovely friendships that are formed on her trips. In addition, during unscheduled time, Susan and Giulia will take interested travelers to visit unscheduled sites, go shopping, or have an apéritif at one of Paris’ many cafés.
• I like time to myself. Will there be downtime or is every day fully booked? While we do have a couple of full days, most are planned so that you will have time to relax and digest all the wonders we’ll have seen. Also, keep in mind that this is your trip so you can elect to take a break from the planned activities whenever you like.
• I have dietary restrictions or allergies. Might this be a problem at meals? Not at all. Just let us know of any intolerance, allergies, or dietary restrictions so that we can accommodate you seamlessly throughout the trip.
• Will not knowing much about art and history make me feel lost or out of place? You needn’t worry! Giulia is passionate about ensuring that you’ll have a meaningful, enriching experience no matter how much exposure you’ve had to the history, art, and architecture of Paris.
• What if something comes up and I have to cancel? Can I get my money back? Per the Cancellation Policy below, you have 90 days before the trip start date to receive a full refund of any payment made.

Wonderfeast Testimonials

“It was magic. You organized the trip with accuracy, efficiency… mixed with fun, freshness and openness. All your efforts to put it together proved very successful. I look forward to receiving an invitation for another Giulia adventure.” – Carolina Morales, Mexico City, Mexico

“I am NOT an organized tour sort of person. I’ve traveled a lot everywhere and always independently. So the Rome trip was a first for me. And then.. I went on two more!! It’s so much more than an art lecture tour. It’s such an immersive experience; an incredibly rich experience.” – Alice Craig, Boulder, Colorado

“If you have considered going on a Wonderfeast trip with Giulia Bernardini–you should. She adds so much history, life and character to her cities through all your senses. Naples is now one of my favorite cities. Paris is my next choice.  Even though I have been to Paris at least 15 times, after hearing Giulia online cover various artists, their backgrounds and what was happening at the time socially and politically, I  realized that I had only barely scratched the surface.  Her choices of restaurants and a cooking class will be the icing on le gâteau!” – Patrice Koen, Taos, New Mexico

How to Reserve

To secure your spot on the trip, contact Giulia (giulia@wonderfeast.com) and specify which accommodation option you prefer at Hôtel Signature Saint-Germain-des-Prés. You will then receive an email with a registration form and service agreement to be completed and signed and an invoice for a 50% deposit to guarantee your spot on the trip. We will send you a second invoice for the balance of the trip, minus the early registration discount, in early January.  

Cancellation Policy

• 100% of total trip cost refundable up to 90 days before seminar start date of April 6th.
• 50% of total trip cost refundable if cancellation occurs between 89 and 31 days before trip start date.
• No refunds if cancellation occurs within 30 days of trip start date.
• Should trip be cancelled by Wonderfeast and Midlife Globetrotter entire cost of trip paid by guest to date will be refunded.

Why the Belle Époque (or “The Beautiful Era”)?

Throughout the 1800s until the eve of the Great War, France experienced intense socio-political tension and transformation. Against a backdrop of imperial and republican struggles for power, Paris grew into a sprawling urban center of glittering cafés, concerts, elegant parks, and shop-lined boulevards populated by laboring and bourgeois classes with expendable income and leisure time, as well as often opposing ideas about modern society and politics.

Positing themselves as society’s cultural pioneers opposite the ‘academic tradition’ were the artists of the Parisian Belle Époque‘s avant-garde: the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Symbolist, Fauvist, Cubist, and Orphist, painters, sculptors, architects, musicians, and authors whose self-imposed task it was to translate this new state of modernity into their chosen media. It was a tumultuous and exciting period of transformation. 

Join us for this unique, unmissable experience. Contact Giulia at giulia@wonderfeast.com or click on ‘Contact Us’ below for more information.

We look forward to seeing you at the banquet…

Giulia and Susan