Gap Year & Grand Tour

The Gap Year A gap year is a term that refers to a prolonged period between a life stage. Traditionally they are seen as time out to travel between school and university

The Origins Of Gap Year The origin of the 'Gap Year' concept came in the decade following the Second World War The first 'Gap Years' actually started in the UK in the 1960s. In the 1990s there was the boom of gap year.

The Different Type Of Gap Years Some students spend the time travelling, others spend the time working or doing international Volunteering. Another growing trend for “gappers” is to register in global education programs.

Travelling Gap Year Usually the gappers choose economic accommodation, means of transport by road and an individual organization. He could stay in a tent, or in the Hostels. One of the most famous type of Gap Year is the “Round The World Ticket”

The Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by mainly upper- class European young men. The custom flourished from about 1660. The Grand Tour enabled the publication of books that contained personal experiences. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was coined by Richard Lassels in his book “An Italian Voyage”.

The traveller during his journey not only studied and received a liberal education but he could also buy some souvenirs that increase his prestige. The Grand Tour usually cost about 300 pounds per year for the traveller but he had to add 50 pounds per servant. From the second half of 19th century for the education of women, which belong to the Upper classes, the Grand Tour consisted in a fashionable trip to Italy.

Travel Itinerary The most common itinerary of the Grand Tour went through the main European cities: usually the traveller began in Dover, England and crossed the English Channel to Calais in France. From Paris he would typically go to Switzerland, often to Geneva. Then the traveller would have a difficult passage through the Alps into northern Italy, such as at St. Bernard Pass.

They visited the most important Italian cities such as Venice, Rome and Naples. Then they went in Germany and visited Berlin and the university in Munich before returning in England.

Grand Tour On Television In 2005, Brian Sewell produced a for a 10 part television series 'Brian Sewell's Grand Tour' that shown the Grand Tour, across the Italy by car stopping off in Rome, Florence and other important cities that finished in Venice. The BBC in 1998 produced a series about a travel from Madrid to St. Petersburg.