Arts and Gardens of Philadelphia and New York

This morning we depart for the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, the cultural heart of Philadelphia. We have a guided tour to discover a phenomenal collection of art by great artists such as Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso to name a few. The museum was originally chartered in the late 19^th century and now houses over 240,000 objects from European, American and Asian origin and includes sculptures, paintings, prints, drawings and decorative arts.

Later we have a city tour exploring the sights of this historical city and will be accompanied by a local guide.

Today we have a full day exploring America’s largest and longest-running horticultural event, the Philadelphia Flower Show. This event of epic proportions showcases breathtaking displays by the world’s leading floral and landscape designers. We have early access to the show including a two-hour guided tour through the exhibits.

Our day starts at the Masonic Temples of Philadelphia, a National Historic Landmark which features a Normanesque-style exterior. As we enter, we are greeted by a mixture of stylistic references from the Middle Ages, Renaissance-inspired corridors and 19^th century ‘eclectic revivalism’ which can be seen in the lodge rooms. We enjoy a guided tour of this fascinating building with one of the on-site knowledgeable Pennsylvania Freemasons.

Later, we head to Philadelphia railway station where we board the train for our journey to the ‘Big Apple’ – New York.

Upon arrival we will transfer to our hotel where the remainder of the evening is at leisure.

After breakfast this morning, we head to the Bronx and the New York Botanical Garden. Established in 1891, the 250-acre garden, the largest in any city in the USA, is a National Historic Landmark and comprises of 50 speciality gardens and collections which are home to over one million plants. We enjoy a guided tour which may include the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, the Native Plant Garden, which celebrate the diversity of plant life to be found in northeast America, and the 30,000 distinguished trees some of which are over 200-year-old.

This afternoon we head to the Museum of Modern Art (known as MoMA), which is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world. Since its opening in 1929 it has been instrumental in developing and collecting modernist art and today its collection includes works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books and artist's books, film and electronic media.

Following breakfast, we head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (known simply as ‘The Met’), one of the world’s largest and finest museums where we have a guided tour. Represented in the permanent collection are works of art from classical antiquity and Ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from nearly all the European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art.

The Frick Collection was assembled by the industrialist Henry Clay Frick and is housed in his former residence overlooking Central Park. Here we can see an impressive collection of masterpieces by Bellini, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Gainsborough to name but a few. Painting and sculpture are integrated carefully with antique furniture, Chinese porcelains, Limoges enamels and Persian rugs.

This morning the Met Cloisters is on the agenda, first opened to the public in 1938 is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Fort Tyron Park, Northern Manhattan. Here we have a guided tour discovering the vast collection of over 3,000 works of art dedicated to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe, dating from the 9^th through to the 16^th century

This afternoon is at your leisure to explore some of the sights of New York.

Today we will visit the High Line, an abandoned stretch of elevated railway line on the West Side of Manhattan, which has been converted into a linear park and naturalistic garden.  We are joined by a local guide to learn about its history. The planting designer is legendary Dutchman Piet Oudolf, whose cutting-edge garden designs will be familiar to many. Oudolf has taken his inspiration from the self-seeding plants that quickly re-colonised the abandoned track bed, symbolising the power of plants to recover waste areas.

The remainder of the day is at leisure before we catch our overnight flight to London.

We arrive in London.