Europe within Reach: Netherlandish Travellers on the Grand Tour and Beyond (1585-1750)

Abstract

Translated by Diane Webb. In 'Europe within reach' Gerrit Verhoeven traces some sweeping evolutions in the early modern travel behaviour of Dutch and Flemish elites (1585-1750), as the classical Grand Tour was slowly but surely overshadowed by other types of travelling. Leisure trips to Paris, London or Berlin, a cours pittoresque along the Rhine, domestic trips in the Low Countries and a series of other destinations gained ground, while new sorts of travellers cropped up: female and middle-class travellers, domestic servants, children, youngsters and the elderly. Verhoeven does not only trace these evolutions, but also explains why Netherlandish travellers gradually turned into art connoisseurs; why they were spellbound by sites of memory and by rugged landscapes; or why all sorts of fashionable gadgets and thingies were bought on the way.

Contents

The travellers. Elite travellers -- Objectives -- Servants -- Other travellers -- Halfway -- Destinations and activities undertaken en route. Culture -- History -- Landscapes -- Consumption -- Politics.