The Paris of Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers

Trip Overview

During the very formative years of the United States of America, many of our Founding Fathers ventured thousands of miles from home to Paris. Preeminent among these leaders were Benjamin Franklin, the first American diplomat who served from 1776 to 1778; Thomas Jefferson, who spent five years in Paris, mostly as American Minister to France; and John Adams, who had a consequential presence, but was often overshadowed by Franklin’s charisma. All three were in Paris at a fascinating and volatile time, with the winds of reform buffeting the ancient royal court, although few imagined the cataclysmic events of the French Revolution that were just around the corner. While in Paris, they exchanged ideas with distinguished French thinkers and experts about political economy, the fine arts, agriculture, trade, and fine food and wine.

Experience the Paris in which the Founding Fathers lived—tracing their footsteps, reliving their encounters and triumphs, retelling personal anecdotes in the very places they occurred and visiting the places that inspired them. Take excursions to key places in the Parisian stays of our early diplomats—Versailles, the Hôtel de Salm, the palace where the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the Revolutionary War, even the locations of the homes of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Paul Jones. With three specialized lectures by Annette Gordon-Reed and custom-created tours meant to further enhance your learning, you will be immersed in late 18th-century Paris all the while enjoying beautiful four-star hotel accommodations and memorable meals.

Schedule by Day

• May 30: Depart U.S. for Paris, France
• May 31: Paris
• Jun 1: Paris' Left Bank
• Jun 2: Paris' Right Bank / The Louvre
• Jun 3: Versailles
• Jun 4: Marly Estate / Desert de Retz
• Jun 5: La Roche-Guyon
• Jun 6: Depart Paris for U.S.

Pricing

• $7,595 per person double occupancy
• $8,790 single occupancy (Wait List Only)

Accommodations

6 nights accommodations in the four-star Hotel Rochester in Paris