Fabled Andalusia and the Imperial Cities of Morocco

April 6–15
Explore the glorious civilization that sprang up in northern Africa and in Spain’s Andalusia when most of Europe was shrouded in the Dark Ages. The period when Moorish kings ruled this area was a rare moment in history when members of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity worked side by side to build a sophisticated society and produce a cultural legacy that has endured through the centuries. This voyage, operating round-trip from Seville aboard the Corinthian II, features most of the historic cities of southern Spain and Morocco, including Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Granada, and Gibraltar. A team of study leaders will be onboard the ship, including Terah Walkup, Woman’s Board Fellow in the Art Institute’s Museum Education department and an expert on cross-culturalism in the region.

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Private Villas, Gardens, and Art Collections of the Italian Lakes District

April 22–29
Explore one of Italy’s most ravishing regions—one whose incredible natural beauty has long inspired painters and poets, architects and gardeners, counts and cardinals—with popular Art Institute tour leader Barbara Geiger, a landscape educator and historian. Itinerary highlights in the Lake Como and Lake Maggiore region include lunch with a gregarious count in his historic home surrounded by stunning Baroque gardens; visits to the gardens and interiors of Villa Carlotta, Villa Balbianello, Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori, and Isola Madre; a wine tasting at a private home in the mountains above Bellagio; and a private guided tour of Villa Panza di Biumo which houses the most important collection of American post-war artworks outside of the U.S., including installations by Dan Flavin and James Turrell. Our home for the week will be the four-star Grand Hotel Menaggio, a perfect base for a week on the lakes.

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Waterways of Holland and Belgium

April 27– May 5
Experience the pinnacle of Holland’s natural beauty and explore the culture and history of the Low Countries during seven nights aboard the deluxe M.S. Royal Crown. Enjoy a full day at FLORIADE 2012, the world’s largest global horticultural exhibition, held only once every 10 years, and walk among the more than 1,000 varieties of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths at renowned Keukenhof Gardens. Marvel at Dutch ingenuity past and present with visits to the legendary windmills of Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the engineering feat of the Delta Works. See the region’s rich artistic legacy, exemplified by Dutch masters of the Golden Age, at the Rijksmuseum and the Kröller-Müller Museum, and tour Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges. To further enhance your voyage, there is a two-night pre-cruise option in the Hague.

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