More things than the color of leaves change in the fall. So do museum art exhibits, which go up, and airfare, which typically goes down. To take advantage of these fall changes and kill two birds with one stone, here's a short list of the museum art exhibitions and the some deals on traveling to their locations.
The National Gallery London (tel. 020 7747 2885; www.nationalgallery.org.uk) brings a retrospective by the Spanish master Velazquez, or more formally, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez, to Britain for the first time from October 18, 2006 to January 21, 2007. The Seville-bred artist captured his subjects with rich brushstrokes, bringing their personalities to life in the color of their gowns, the angle of their grimace or the despair of their realistic situation. To get you there, Gate One Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) offers an air/land six-day trip to London in the fall starting at $499 with travel good from November 1, 2006. If you get to London this summer, the National Gallery has a stunning exhibit on the Artist as Rebel and Martyr, capturing self-portrayals and portraits of artists as outcasts.
Want to go Paris? The Musee D'Orsay (tel. +33 (0)1 40 49 48 14; www.musee-orsay.fr) has a special dual exhibition of the painting and photography of French-artist Maurice Denis. For lovers of all genres of art, this exhibit allows the viewer to follow the relationship between an artist's work and his photography, and see how a new technology or art impacted an older form. Also, Denis, a great friend to artists and writers of the time, catalogued his friends and family religiously with the camera. Like its London trip, Gate One Travel has a six-day air/land Paris trip covering accommodations and daily breakfast starting at the same $499. If you want to combine the two destinations, Gate One has you covered there as well with a London-Paris package which includes train transportation between the two European capitals. This trip that splits three nights in each location starts at $699 for fall travel.
In the United States, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (tel. 215/763-8100; www.philamuseum.org), one of the finest art museums in the world, continuously offers some of the more outstanding exhibits throughout the country. Running from September 20 to December 31, 2006, the museum presents "Tesoros/Treasures/Tesouros: The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820," a collection of 260 works from the discovery of the new world to its present day. The works of Mexican, Peruvian, Central and South American artists will be on display in this exhibit that traces the path of art from realism to South American surrealism. To get to Philadelphia and take advantage of some of those great eats and historical sites, Go Phila (tel. 800/537-7676; www.gophila.com), the Official Visitor Site for Greater Philadelphia, has hotel deals, directions, and information on discounts and savings all over the City of Brotherly Love. In addition to pre-made itineraries covering history, family fun, shopping, and museums, the site also has a section for tour packages. A "Silly Philly" package costing $154 includes one-night at the Best Western Hotel Independence Park, afternoon tea for two, a deluxe breakfast for two and overnight parking. Check back at the site in the fall to see if there are any packages directly related to the art museum. Some packages even include admission to the exhibits. If you love photography and want to visit Philadelphia before the end of the summer, photographs from the unparalleled collection of collector Julien Levy are on hand. Works by Walker Evans, Man Ray, Lee Miller, and Henri Cartier Bresson are up for viewing through September 17, 2006.
Head south to Raleigh NC this fall when a retrospective of crowd pleaser Claude Monet comes to town on October 15. Showcased at the North Carolina Museum of Art (tel. 919/839-6262; www.ncartmuseum.org), the exhibit features 50 paintings from the master Impressionist. This show is quite the big deal for this southern town, and tourism officials have constructed affordable packages to lure travelers to their neck of the woods. Look to www.visitraleigh.com/monet (or call 800/849-8499) to learn about the "French Getaway Experiences" package promotions, which include reduced rates at 25 area hotels, a discount shopping card, a free phone calling card, and a 20% discount on Amtrak fares to Raleigh. The show and the associated specials run through January 14, 2007.
In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (tel. 212/535-7710; www.metmuseum.org) will hold three exhibits that may spark further interest to travel to the Big Apple this fall. "Cezanne To Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde," shows the incredible collection of art-dealer's Vollard as he bought, sold and exhibited in his gallery the works of the greatest of the artists of the late 19th and early 20th century. Running from September 14, 2006 to January 7, 2007, the works of Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Picasso will be on display. Running almost simultaneously, a comprehensive retrospect on Chinese calligraphy traces the history of the written art form from its inception in the 4th century to its current form. Lastly, a small 20 photograph exhibit of "New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs of Robert Polidori" memorializes Hurricane Katrina's devastation one year later.
While you might think getting to New York can be expensive, Travelocity's Last Minute Packages (tel. 888/872.8356; http://travelocity.lmdeals.com/?Service=TRAVELOCITY) are an excellent way to see the city quickly and for less money. A two-night trip to New York from Dallas, Texas, for example, from a Friday night to Sunday, costs approximately $565.76 per person with airfare and hotel accommodations. You just have to select the city you're leaving from, select New York as a destination, and then the days you want to arrive and depart and where you want to stay, and you're done. The nice things about Last Minute Packages are that you can decide to go at the last minute and still keep things affordable. Some great three-star hotels are available including the Club Quarters in the Financial District and the Hotel Wolcott, not far from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and those eye-catching exhibits.
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