Arrive in Lyon on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), a private hotel transfer, accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

In the late-afternoon, join your tour leader CJ Johnson and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing followed by dinner.

(D)

Start the day with a talk by CJ on ‘The Art of Screen Storytelling’ at the Ancient Theatre of Fourvière, built in the 1st century BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus on Fourvière hill, in the heart of the Roman city. The theatre was dedicated to tragedies and comedies and could once seat 10,000 spectators.

Then, enjoy a guided tour of the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon-Fourvière, home to a wide-ranging collection of ancient artefacts found in the Rhône Valley as well as superb mosaics.

Enjoy lunch in one of the city’s famous bouchons (traditional Lyonnais restaurants), before embarking on a walking tour of the Mediæval and Renaissance district of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), whose remarkable preservation has seen it inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Walk through the narrow cobbled alleyways and the famous traboules (passageways) that reveal superbly renovated architectural treasures.

(BL)

Following a talk by CJ on the 2024 Festival Lumière, enjoy a guided tour of the Musée Lumière, located in the Art Nouveau home of brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière. The museum explores the process of the invention of cinema and gives centre stage to the Cinematograph, the Lumière brothers’ most famous invention, that screened the first ten films on 28 December 1895 at the Grand Café in Paris before the 33 spectators of the first fee-paying public screening.

In the evening, attend the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Festival Lumière at the Halle Tony Garnier. Since its creation in 2009, the festival has been paying tribute to the history of cinema and those who have dedicated their lives to the art and craft of film. In the presence of special guests and cinema professionals, the ceremony launches a week of film screenings and retrospectives dedicated to great filmmakers, restored prints on the big screen, cinema concerts, master classes and exhibitions at the Village Festival in the Lumière Institute. Every year, the Lumière Award is presented to a personality of the cinema for his or her entire body of work. In 2023, Wim Wenders received the Lumière Award. Other winners have included Tim Burton, Jane Campion, Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Fonda, Wong Kar-wai, Catherine Deneuve, Martin Scorsese, Pedro Almodovar, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Gérard Depardieu, Milos Forman and Clint Eastwood.

(BL)

After a talk by CJ, learn about the inner workings of cinema at the Cinema and Miniature Museum, located inside a striking 16th-century UNESCO World Heritage building. The expansive collection of this one-of-a-kind museum founded by miniaturist artist Dan Ohlmann is home to numerous cinematic paraphernalia, including animatronics, masks, prostheses, robots, costumes, creatures and monsters of all kinds. Discover the secrets of Superman’s special effects from the 1970s and see the strange and wonderful aliens of the Men in Black films, as well as a number of items from the Star Wars series.

The afternoon is at leisure to further explore Lyon at your own pace.

In the evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before a film screening at one of Festival Lumière’s venues (full program will be available about one month prior to the festival).

(BD)

Enjoy a full-day excursion to the picturesque city of Annecy, often referred to as ‘the Venice of the Alps’. Once a Gallo-Roman town and the seat of the Counts of Geneva until the 15th century, Annecy opens onto one of the best views of lakes and mountains in the French Alps. The city, renowned worldwide for its annual Animation Film Festival in June, is home to the Animation Film Museum, which presents the history and the processes of creation of the animated image.

In the afternoon, explore the charming Old Town on a guided walking tour and visit the imposing Château d’Annecy, former residence of the Counts of Geneva and the Dukes of Genevois-Nemours.

(B)

Today is dedicated to Lyon as the ‘Food Capital of the World’. Enjoy a morning talk by CJ on ‘Food in French Cinema’, before embarking on a guided tour of the historic covered market Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Learn about the country’s rich culinary culture, meet local producers and indulge in a variety of food tastings.

The afternoon is at leisure before another screening at one of Festival Lumière’s venues.

(B)

Depart Lyon for the beautiful walled city of Beaune, former residence of the Dukes of Burgundy until the 14th century. Visit the magnificent Hospices de Beaune, established in 1443 as a hospital to provide free care for the poor after the Hundred Years’ War. Incredibly, the Hospices carried on its medical activities until 1971.

Continue to Paris, arriving in the late afternoon.

(BD)

The morning is at leisure.

In the afternoon, attend a talk by CJ on ‘The French New Wave’. Then, spend the remainder of the afternoon at La Cinémathèque, housed in a striking, spacious cubist building designed by architect Frank Gehry and entirely devoted to cinema. The exhibition in Musée Méliès, within the Cinémathèque, takes you from the birth of cinema in 19th-century magic lanterns and optical illusions through to the first golden age of the Hollywood studios in the 1930s. Along the way are looped projections of silent films, a panoply of Kinetoscopes and Mutoscopes and a treasure trove of movie memorabilia collected by founder Henri Langlois.

(BD)

After a talk by CJ on ‘French Cinema Today’, embark on a walking tour of the Marais Quarter in the centre of Paris, where Mediæval Paris abuts pre-Revolutionary buildings and streets. Starting from the St Paul Church, stroll to the Place des Vosges, the centre of the Marais neighbourhood during the Renaissance, and pass by magnificent private mansions.

Then, join CJ and fellow travellers for a special farewell lunch.

The afternoon is free to further explore Paris at your own pace. You might want to take a walk along the banks of the River Seine; the right bank was historically associated with luxury, power and commerce, while the left bank was the traditional home of students and intellectuals.

This evening, attend a screening at one of the city’s iconic cinemas, such as Le Louxor (or similar, depending on screening schedules).

(BL)

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

For those returning home today, make your way to the airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including any additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

(B)