Welcome to France!
Travel on a customized concert tour of Paris. Bring your choir, band, or orchestra to explore the splendor of the “City of Light.” From famous landmarks and world-class museums to legendary cuisine, Paris is surely a travel destination on almost everyone’s bucket list. The intermingling of intimate charm and magnificent grandeur makes Paris certainly a visitor’s dream.
Throughout history, Paris has been a magnet for performing artists and musical luminaries. Classical musicians who blossomed in Paris include legendary composers Hector Berlioz and Claude Debussy as well as George Bizet, who composed the famous opera, Carmen. Live music performances, whether concerts, operas, or cabarets, are an integral element of Parisian culture. Come to Paris, France and be a part of the magic as you perform in stunning venues for appreciative audiences.
Enjoy a concert tour of France. Bring your choir, band or orchestra to be immersed in all that Paris has to offer. Above all, perform in beautiful venues and share your music with the local people.
Itinerary
Depart North America for Paris, France. Bon voyage!
Welcome to Paris!
Enjoy an introduction to France’s vibrant capital with a guided tour of Paris including iconic sights such as the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a famed thoroughfare lined with chestnut trees, cafés, and luxury shops, and the Arc de Triomphe, an impressive landmark commemorating French military victories.
Conclude your tour in Montmartre, a charming hill district offering panoramic Parisian views.
Check in to your hotel and take time to relax and refresh.
Rehearsal can be arranged this afternoon.
Tonight, a welcome dinner of local specialties is served as your tour manager previews the week ahead.
Begin your first full day in Paris with a morning concert at a local venue such as the magnificent Notre-Dame Cathedral, perhaps the finest example of French Gothic architecture in the world.
Next, visit one of the city’s renowned museums. Choose between the Musée du Louvre, whose treasures include Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, or the Musée d’Orsay, known for its impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Van Gogh.
Tonight, an evening cultural activity such as cabaret or opera can be arranged.
This morning, visit the Eiffel Tower; ascend to the monument’s second floor observatory with spectacular views of Paris below.
Midday, discover the city’s Latin Quarter, its bohemian, intellectual center once filled with writers, artists, poets, and musicians such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Cole Porter.
Later, join a local ensemble for an evening friendship concert followed by time to mingle and exchange.
Start the day with a morning concert at a historic Parisian venue such as La Madeleine, a striking neoclassical temple dedicated to the glory of Napoleon’s army.
This afternoon, visit a Parisian market; shop for souvenirs and local culinary delights as you experience a quintessential part of French culture.
This evening, a festive farewell dinner of classic French cuisine is served to your ensemble.
An evening river cruise along the Seine River can be arranged as a perfect finale to your time in Paris. Admire the glittering “City of Light” as night falls and it becomes illuminated.
Depart for a Paris airport and your return flight to North America.
Concert Tour Highlights
FRIENDSHIP CONCERTS IN PARIS
Our friendship concerts are a featured experience on our tours and are at the heart of our mission to foster cultural connections through music. We benefit from a vast international network in the choral world built over our thirty years' experience of helping choirs share their music both in the United States and abroad. Your choir will share a venue and a concert program with a host choir from the region. Your singers will have the chance to hear their host choir's repertoire (often showcasing local musical styles) and to share your own repertoire in turn. Fellowship time usually follows the friendship concert, giving both choirs the chance to mingle and enjoy the camaraderie of creating cross-cultural connections through a shared love of music.
NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL
Notre-Dame Cathedral, known locally as the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, is one of Paris' most recognized landmarks. As an active church and a pilgrimage destination, the famous cathedral is the focal point of Catholicism in France. Located in the fourth arrondissement on Île de la Cité, a natural island in the Seine River, Notre-Dame is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world. Just as Notre-Dame opens its doors for tourism, worship, and pilgrimage, it also opens its doors for music; the church hosts choirs to sing for weekend masses or weekday morning concerts. As your voices resonate among the cathedral's famed arches and stained glassed windows, singing in Notre-Dame is certain to be an unforgettable experience.
LA MADELEINE
La Madeleine, a church dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, is situated in the eponymous Place de la Madeleine, near Palais Garnier and Place de la Concorde . Designed as a neoclassical temple to the glory of Napoleon's army, this Roman Catholic church has a commanding presence in Paris' eighth arrondissement. 52 imposing Corinthian columns, each over 60 feet high, encircle the building. This majestic space has hosted prominent French musicians throughout history; composers Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Urbain Fauré both served as organists at La Madeleine, and their memorials, along with that of Frédéric François Chopin, were held here. The church also hosts year-round classical music concerts.
THE LATIN QUARTER
The Latin Quarter, known locally as the Quartier Latin, is a neighborhood in Paris' fifth and sixth arrondissements revered for its bohemian beginnings. It is bisected by Boulevard St. Michel and Boulevard St. Germain, the neighborhood’s two main arteries, from which hundreds of smaller streets labyrinth. The Latin Quarter was home to the Jazz Age in Paris, spanning from 1914 to 1941, when expatriate musicians, socialites, and entertainers converged there. Major jazz talents such as Josephine Baker, Cole Porter, and Sidney Bechet were among the many who gravitated to and flourished in the Latin Quarter. The creative and romantic spirit of the Jazz Age is ever present in the Latin Quarter today.