A gap year on steroids: 300 years ago, these 'Grand Tours' were a rite of passage for the super-rich

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In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Grand Tour was a rite of passage for elite young Englishmen with virtually unlimited money to burn — and their hedonistic adventures shaped how we view travel today.

"They tended not to learn much in the way of languages, not to learn much in the way of culture, but to have a lot of fun.

Disease was another threat — during his Grand Tour, writer John Evelyn nearly died of smallpox in Geneva. As time went by, those making the Grand Tour also became shoppers. They wanted to buy things they could later show off. The Grand Tour route taken by English novelist William Thomas Beckford, from London to Belgium, through Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy.

"So in a way they were creating the future 20th century tourism where people were visiting country houses as part of their leisure."Although Britons far outnumbered all others, Professor Zuelow notes that they weren't the only Grand Tourists.

 

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Not too many 'Grand Tours' at present. In hindsight all of us should have done them 300 years ago, except of course the majority who were poor. Give it another generation under current governments and the majority will be poor again.

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