SEPT-DEC 2023 ISSUE - Flipbook - Page 44
TOP ALTERNATIVES TO PARIS FOR YOUR NEXT STUDY TRIP
By Kate Erskine, Head of Diversity Study Trips
If you’re planning a 2024 trip to Paris for
a school, college or university group,
you need to rethink. The Paris Olympics
in July next year means that group
accommodation is already fully booked
in and around the city from March
through to September.
Preparation for the Games will be in
full swing by the Spring, with staff,
volunteers and support teams
preparing each area for the arrival of
the competing athletes. They all need
to stay somewhere and this means that
the hotels and hostels used by groups
are all unavailable.
Paris is an ever-popular destination
for educational groups simply
because there are so many reasons to
visit. Whether a group is looking for an
immersion into fashion, architecture,
history, politics, culture, art, food tech
or language then a trip to Paris ticks all
the boxes.
Throw in cafe culture, famous
landmarks and the ease of getting
there from the UK by train, coach or
plane and it’s a destination that is
always memorable.
That’s why it makes up approximately
10 per cent of the bookings we make
for school, college and university
groups at Diversity Study Trips. These
are mostly for Year 10 and above, with
the most popular trip being four days/
three nights.
So, if that was on your radar for 2024,
let us give you some inspiration for
alternative destinations that will give
your group a truly memorable study
trip experience.
Start by really focusing on what the
purpose of the trip is. For all of Paris’
brilliance as a destination, it’s not the
only place in Europe that can offer
students the exposure to their topic.
At Diversity Study Trips, the most
popular types of trip we send groups to
Paris on are...
• Culture (museums, galleries)
• Fashion
• Architecture/built environment
• Politics
• Language
When we look at the best alternatives,
some are more obvious than others.
For instance, as a swap for a culture trip,
another capital city might be seen as
a safe option and the likes of Madrid,
Rome and Vienna all offer culture in
abundance. However, France’s second
city - Marseille - deserves to be up for
consideration.
Long thought of as a gritty, edgy, port
city, Marseille has transformed in recent
times and was European Capital of
Culture in 2013. It boasts brilliant art
galleries and last year saw the opening
of the Cosquer Méditerranée, a new
museum that replicates the prehistoric
underwater Cosquer Cave and its
Palaeolithic artwork.
Well served by budget airlines, it is fully
deserving of a place as a valid cultural
alternative to the well-trodden
boulevards of Paris.
If your student group is keen to learn
more about the world of fashion, then
Milan might be the first obvious choice
after Paris for an immersive study trip.
However, what about Berlin?
The city is home to a thriving scene
of young and established designers,
has a buzzing section of the city called
Mitte which is very fashion-centric and
also hosts an annual Fashion Week. We
have a number of tours guided by local
fashion professionals, as well as fabric
and fashion workshops we can arrange
for your group.
When it comes to museums, the
Kunstgewerbemuseum has an extensive collection of European fashion
designs and accessories. While the
Deutsche Historisches Museum displays
textiles and costumes from the middle
ages to present day.