LATEST NEWS
Regularly check this page for updates about present and future tours. There is some great news for travellers on our tours!
DECEMBER 2011 UPDATES
Spring Music in Norway and Iceland
Book by 23 December and save up to AUD 900 per couple!
Details are now available for our tour with Mairi Nicolson to Oslo, the Bergen International Festival and the Reykjavik Arts Festival in May – June 2012.
The tour will begin in Oslo for a concert by the highly respected Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste with violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and a new work by Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance Company in the stunning new opera house on the waterfront.
Then enjoy a full week at the Bergen International Festival, with performances by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the North German Radio (NDR) Symphony Orchestra, the Truls Mørk Trio and French Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants. Soloists include acclaimed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and French violinist Renaud Capuçon.
Continue to Iceland for the Reykjavik Arts Festival, including the Iceland Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven’s’ Symphonies 6 and 7 in Reykjavik’s brand new performing arts centre, Harpa.
For more information click here
Japan by Rail
All aboard!
With over 20,000 kilometres of track and 26,000 departures per day there is surely no better way to explore Japan than by rail. Epitomised by the famous Shinkansen (‘bullet trains’) and busy metro lines, the Japanese rail story also comprises numerous private railways, vintage diesel railcars on scenic local branch-lines and a number of immaculately maintained heritage and steam railways, such as the ‘Paleo Express’ and the Ban’etsu C57 180 Steam Locomotive.
In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, this tour will reveal many of Japan’s less visited cities such as Hikone, Kanazawa and Sendai. For a change of pace, we have arranged overnights in a ‘ryokan’ in the foothills of Mount Fuji and at a resort overlooking Hakodate Bay. For many, the highlight of the tour may well be the three days in Sapporo, your base for exploring the natural beauty of Hokkaido.
To expedite your train travel, your luggage will be transferred between the major cities by separate luggage truck, leaving you free to enjoy the ride. Whether you are a rail enthusiast or just love travelling by train, this tour entirely by rail will reveal one of the most fascinating countries in the world.
For more information click here
Cutting Edge China
Hurry, selling fast!
Following the sell-out success of the October 2011 tour, join John McDonald on a second tour to China in May 2012.
Over the past two decades China has emerged as the most innovative force in international contemporary art. In the mid 1980s the Chinese said goodbye to Maoism and entered an age of reforms, but the past died hard. There have been three distinct waves of activity, as artists came to terms with the legacy of Modernism, exorcised their memories of Mao and the Cultural Revolution, and embraced a new individualism.
This tour will focus on the galleries and studios that are driving this new revolution, including major arts complexes such as 798 in Beijing, and Shanghai’s Moganshan Lu. In addition, we will visit the private studios of well-known Chinese artists, and witness the extraordinary scale on which they are working.
The tour will include visits to historic landmarks such as the Great Wall, Summer Palace and the Forbidden City and major institutions such as the Today Art Museum and the Shanghai Museum. There will be opportunities to shop, to explore, to sample a range of Chinese cuisines, and savour the atmosphere of two of the world’s largest, most vibrant cities.
For more information click here
Renaissance Tours and the Barbara May Foundation ...
Thank you greatly for your support!
Earlier this year we learnt about the extraordinary work being done by volunteer Australian doctors at Maternity Africa, a local charity in Ethiopia supported by the Barbara May Foundation in Australia. The Barbara May Foundation seeks to support health services in the developing world to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia.
The Barbara May Foundation has funded the building of a new maternity hospital established in the Afar region of Ethiopia under the direction and guidance of an Australian midwife, Valerie Browning OA who has been living and working in the horn of Africa since 1974. The Foundation plans to continue to fund the hospital and give financial support to volunteers.
At Renaissance Tours, we’ve decided to help. So, for all new bookings received during November 2011, we pledged to donate AUD100 per person, per booking (AUD50 for domestic bookings) to the Barbara May Foundation.
During November we received over 40 new international bookings and over 20 new domestic bookings. So, we are delighted to be able to donate AUD5, 000 to the Barbara May Foundation.
You can also help this worthy cause by making your own donation.
To learn more, visit www.maternityafrica.org
