Summer is the best time to be in Paris and this trip is the perfect opportunity to explore one of the most spectacular cities in the universe.
After mandatory croissant and people-watching at the corner café, our tour will take you to a different museum every day, where our resident art historian Sarah will lead us through some of the best art in the world.
The rest of the afternoon is yours to eat your way through the city, shop for underwear, take up a French lover, or stroll along the Seine river. We meet again at 6pm for yoga with Linda. These 1-hour yoga classes will cater to all levels and will help reset your body and will get you out in perfect time to enjoy the warm evening. The sun doesn't set until 11pm in July, giving us plenty of time to get into as much trouble as possible.
ABOUT LINDA
Linda is the founder and owner of YogaSource Los Gatos, Silicon Valley's premier yoga studio. She leads workshops, conferences and retreats in the US and internationally.
Linda has trained in both the US and India in Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Power, Pilates, Yoga therapeutics, Yin and Vipassana meditation. She is a student of modern Buddhism, Jungian psychology and functional movement. Her yoga classes are a playful and masterful blend of precision, elegance, and breath. Linda lived in Paris for 3 years and still believes it is the most beautiful city in the world.
ABOUT SARAH
Sarah is a devout yogi and a trained art historian who specializes in Italian Renaissance portraiture. Sarah has lectured at San Jose State University, UCLA, UCSD, the Renaissance Society of America, and was recently celebrated as a historian of honor at San Jose State University. Sarah formerly worked at the Institute of Contemporary Art before assuming her current role at UC Berkeley. She has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, a Bachelors Degree Art History and Visual Culture, and a Masters Degree in Art History.
ABOUT THE YOGA
Expect an all-levels 60-minute flow every day that will get your body feeling great and open your mind up to receive the gifts of the day. Yoga is the practice of paying attention and we will carry this curiosity through our explorations of the art and wonders of the city, making our explorations more potent and keeping our bodies well tuned. Some yoga experience will be helpful but not required.
ABOUT THE ART
Indulgence, abundance, naive freedom, radical, luxurious...These are just a few of the words we could use to describe three of the most influential periods in the history of Paris.
On our second visit to Paris as part of the Art + Yoga Tours, art historian Sarah Fullerton will reveal to us the intensely exciting history and stories of the reign of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI - from their life at Versailles, to their capture and imprisonment in what is now the Tuileries Garden, to the deadly end and the subsequent French revolution; the renewal of life, energy, discovery and artistic hot bed - the glamorous and famed Belle Epoque, which brought to life the Moulin Rouge; and the radical shift of the 1910's with Art Nouveau to the roaring 20's with artist salons and the rise of Gertrude Stein.
This tour is intended to help you feel and imagine a past world through the incredible art and history left behind. Rather than talking about the "textbook" version, art historian Sarah Fullerton, likes to indulge in the real accounts, the nitty gritty fun facts that mostly get left out of our history telling, but that make everything more fun (and scandalous). Join Sarah through bite-sized (1.5 hour) daily art tours that will be filled with exciting stories and interesting facts.
BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO GO WITH; SHOULD I STILL GO?
Yes! That's exactly why we are doing this! Being a part of the yoga and art activities, you will meet fantastic people from day one. Also we will send you the link to our WhatsApp group so that you can coordinate with a possible room mate, or start chatting with people ahead of the trip. We will try to organize several meals together before/after our museum outings and always in our trips, friendships arise in the most spontaneous way.
PAYMENTS
Trip cost is $995, due at registration.
Refunds until Feb 28:
A $100 administrative fee will be deducted from refund.
Refunds March 1 - June 1:
A $500 administrative fee will be deducted from refund. If documented medical emergency, the fee is reduced to $100.
No refunds after June 1st.
In the event of cancellation on our part, we will issue you a full refund.
One hour all-levels Flow with Linda in a fully equipped yoga studio to help ground the day and open us up to the possibilities ahead
Art is juicy and fun when you have the right guide and no one is better than Sarah to make it all come to life.
Your tickets are included so you don't have to stand in line, saving precious time for what you really want to do.
We wanted this trip to be super affordable or absurdly decadent, so we leave the lodging up to you. Once you sign up, we will send you our list of recommendations, all near our yoga space.
Airfare is currently $600 R/T from SFO!
Paris is the ultimate foodies' city, where even a $3 baguette sandwich will blow your mind forever.
Practice in a gorgeous boutique studio in the heart of St Germain. Our classes will tailor to all levels and will get your body moving and your mind beautifully open to receive the gifts of the day.
Of course, no trip to the City of Light is complete without a stop at the Louvre. The central landmark is instantly recognizable by the iconic I.M. Pei designed glass pyramids that sit out front. Inside, you'll find a massive collection of over 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art—including, yes, the Mona Lisa. We will shortcut through the best of them in a couple of hours.
Once a Beaux Arts railway station, this glass-ceilinged museum houses a permanent collection that ranges from neoclassicism to art nouveau—but the impressionist works by artists like Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, and Seurat are the crown jewel of Musée d'Orsay. Our personal favorite!
One of the most extraordinary churches you'll ever see, this royal medieval chapel with its impressive gothic architecture and stunning 13th-century stained glass windows, is not to be missed.
Next door to where we practice is the area of the Grands Magazins - the Large Stores, including Galeries Lafayette and Magazins Printemps where you will find everything from cool affordable brands to the highest of couture and everything in between.
Peruse the skylit arcades—Galerie Vivienne, Passage des Panoramas, Galerie Véro-Dodat, and Passage Colbert are all great options. They're the city's original shopping malls and full of tiny boutiques, bookstores, antique shops, cafés, and more uniquely Parisian spots.
The famous Jewish quartier is home to some of the best boutiques and boulangeries (bread and pastry shops) in Paris. A good spot to hit after Centre Pompidou or Musee Picasso.
In Paris, even the cheapest sandwich bought on the street is mind-blowing. Many gluten-sensitive Americans find their allergy disappear in France because of the different processing of flour. Or maybe it's a placebo but who cares- eat the bread and the cake too!
The ultimate left bank lunch spot, Café de Flore draws a style-conscious, bourgeois crowd—though at a time it was the place of choice for the likes of Picasso and Jean-Paul Sartre. Perfectly situated on the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain, it's prime real estate for people-watching. Just across the street, Les Deux Magots, once the go-to spot of Simone de Beauvoir and Ernest Hemingway, offers just as quintessentially French of an experience. Grab a table on their outdoor patios to take a break from shopping, sip some café au lait, and soak up the French-ness.
Just steps away from the Louvre is the elegant Belle Époque salon that's now home to Angelina, where you'll find the most decadent, velvety hot chocolate in all of Paris.
Make great friends and get in the best shape as you travel to the most beautiful destinations
