In the footsteps of Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera

Day 1. Mexico
Transfer from the airport to the deluxe hotel Four Seasons in central Mexico City. Your professional guide, trained and educated in history and art, will introduce the programme.

Day 2. City tour - Prehispanic roots and Catholic treasures
After breakfast, you will leave the city to the north to the archeological site of Teotihuacan which represents the foundation on which all of Diego and Frida's work is based. A visit to the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, Temple of the Feathered Butterfly will be the further highlight of this day. Lunch close to the pyramids. On our way back to the city you will pass by the Basilica of "Our Lady Of Guadalupe", Patroness of the Americas. The present church was constructed on the site of an earlier 16th-century church that was finished in 1709, the Old Basilica. When this basilica became dangerous due to the sinking of its foundations, a modern structure called the New Basilica was built nearby; the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is now housed in this New Basilica. A visit to the Plaza de las 3 culturas, this plaza was influenced by Aztec, Spanish and modern Mexican cultures and is the location of the remains of Tlatelolco, an old Aztec city. Return to your hotel.

Day 3. Frida's tour
After breakfast, drive to Coyoacan where you will have the chance to see her actual home the Casa Azul, collections and furniture, where she was born, grew up and later lived with her muralist husband Diego Rivera, from 1941 until her death at age 47 in 1954. Fascinating not only for the collections and personal effects of the two great artists, the museum also affords a window on the lifestyles of affluent Mexican bohemians during the first half of this century. You will then see the Trotsky's House Museum. Lunch in one of the typical restaurants of Coyoacan, e.g. on the main Plaza Hidalgo. To relax after lunch, you will have a short walk through Frida Kahlo's park. On the way to Dolores Olmedo House Museum with its private worldwide collection of Frida and Diego's work, you will pass the Museo Diego Rivera ANAHUACALLI, where you can admire the private collection of pre-Hispanic idols of Frida's husband Diego Rivera and his studio. Return to your hotel.

Day 4. Diego's tour
Buffet breakfast then depart for a tour of the Zocalo Square, the symbol of power and the heart of the country. Mexico City's Cathedral is a synthesis of art in New Spain that allows you to enter the ethereal half-light of this hallowed shrine, with its naves, side chapels, and its sacred religious icons and monumental organs. You will visit the National Palace with its historical court yards and Mexican life depicted with Diego Rivera Murals and you will visit the only archaeological zone in the centre, the Templo Mayor. You will then pass by Frida's high school (San Ildefonco), where she first met Diego in the heart of Mexico City. Afterwards a visit to the Ministry of Education, where Diego Rivera made some of his more interesting murals. Lunch at the local Mexican style restaurant Hosteria Santo Domingo, to have "Chiles en Nogada", the delicious national dish of Mexico. A visit to the National Museum of Art, where some of Frida's and Diego's works can be seen. In the afternoon, a visit to the Palace of the Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes) - one of the many public buildings begun during the Porfirio period, the Palace of Fine Arts is Mexico City's grandest and most conspicuous. (The theatre is only open on Wednesday evening - you can take an optional visit of the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico ). A visit to see the DIEGO RIVERA MURAL MUSEUM.
The National Institute of Fine Arts has occupied the great domed building since 1947. Its collection includes paintings by Rufino Tamayo and Mexico's most famous trio of muralists including Rivera and Orozco, and Siqueiros -- and its theatre is a central venue for national and visiting arts companies. Return to your hotel. Optional Wednesdays night (not included in price): Ballet Folklorico in the Palace of Fine Arts: The Ballet Folklorico Mexico continues to be internationally recognized as one of the most exciting traditional dance groups in the world.

Day 5. "Diego and Frida's Common Life" Tour
After breakfast you will start your tour at the National Anthropology Museum, one of the most famous museums in the world and full of the pre-colonial art that so influenced both artists. It is one of the finest museums of its kind in the world. The ground-floor halls are dedicated to pre-Hispanic Mexico, and the upper level covers modern Mexico's indigenous people. In the entrance hall you will see murals of contemporary muralists, e.g. Diego's student O'Gorman and Chavez Morado. After the tour, continue onto the traditional neighbourhood of San Angel. On the way to San Angel you will pass the UNAM (National University) where again you can admire O'Gorman's work and Diego Rivera's decoration of the Olympic stadium. After arriving in San Angel, you will enter Diego Rivera's Studio, one of the first functionalist houses built in the city and now an art gallery and cultural centre. Its main object is to show, investigate and preserve the painter's work and personal collection. San Angel is also home to many excellent restaurants, as well as boutiques offering fine handicrafts. After lunch at restaurant SAKS in San Angel there will be time to visit the Modern Art Museum with works of both, Frida and Diego. On your return back to the hotel, you will visit the Chapultepec Park, the focal point of this city of such tremendous population growth that an airy expanse of green is absolutely vital. It is complemented by important cultural centres including museums, amusement parks, a zoo and many lakes. Return to your hotel.

Day 6. Mexico
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your return flight home.

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