DETAILS
Step into a beautiful region that has shaped American history since colonial times in New York’s Hudson River Valley. Experience why landscape artists flocked here in the 19th century, witnessing the region’s spectacular rolling hills, sweeping forests, and blooming wildflowers that inspired America’s first major art movement. Go behind the scenes of the extravagant Gilded Age estates built here by wealthy New York families like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers.
- Pricing from
- $6,599
- Trip Type
- Closer to Home, Group Travel Tour
- Departure Dates
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Apr 22, 2025 - Apr 27, 2025
MIRBEAU INN & SPA, RHINEBECK, NY
Balancing wellness with indulgence, the Mirbeau combines Old World Parisian chic with modern comforts. Enjoy accommodations in their Signature Rooms, with a variety of features including a fireplace and a large bathroom equipped with a walk-in shower, soaking tub, and double sinks. Relax in the spa, with its aqua terrace and 12 treatment rooms in the lower level. This hotel’s location is in the heart of Rhinebeck and within walking distance of numerous shops and restaurants.
CASTLE HOTEL & SPA, TARRYTOWN
This stunning historic property, resembling a medieval castle, offers breathtaking views of the Hudson River, elegant accommodations, fine dining, and a world-class spa. Enjoy its many other upscale amenities, including a seasonal outdoor pool and beautifully landscaped gardens.
If you would like to arrive the night before and stay nearby Central Park, our best recommendation would be The Surrey. This 5-star hotel that has never failed to impress and it is just a 15 minute walk through iconic Central Park from the New-York Historical Society.
TOUR MAP
ITINERARY
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day 1
NEW YORK CITY/RHINEBECK
After your independent arrival in New York City in the morning, gather at Penn Station’s Amtrak lounge for your scenic train journey to Rhinebeck, a charming Hudson Valley town dating to 1686. Transfer to the Mirbeau Inn and Spa, which was inspired by Claude Monet’s home in Giverny. Settle into your room this afternoon and join the group for a welcome reception at the hotel this evening.
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day 2
RHINEBECK / CATSKILL / HUDSON
This morning, meet an expert for an inside look at the roots of America’s major art movement. In Catskill, go behind the scenes at Cedar Grove (Thomas Cole House), the 1815 Federal-style mansion once home to the British-born founder of the Hudson River School of painting. See some of Cole’s original paintings that inspired this movement of 19th-century landscape artists and take a perusal of the studio where he painted many of his canvases. Afterwards, transfer to Hudson, a former whaling port founded in 1785, and enjoy free time to explore Warren Street’s 19th-century architecture. Browse Hudson’s antique shops housing treasures from 18th-century furniture to mid-century modern pieces. In the afternoon, join a guided tour of yet another spectacular historic residence of a Hudson River School artist: Frederic Edwin Church. Visit Olana, his hilltop mansion that strikingly blends Victorian, Moorish, and Persian architectural styles. Admire its Persian-inspired exterior with its intricate patterns and colors. Inside, view Church’s paintings and furnishings, then stroll the 250-acre grounds, taking in the same Catskill Mountain views Church painted. Savor a special dinner at a local restaurant this evening
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day 3
RHINEBECK / HYDE PARK
Today, venture to Hyde Park for an immersion of the world of one of America’s most storied political families, the Roosevelts. Rise for a guided morning visit to Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s modest personal retreat and the only National Historic Site dedicated to a First Lady. Tour the stone cottage where she wrote, entertained world leaders, and developed her social initiatives. Alternatively, take a guided tour of Springwood, the lifelong home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Explore this 1826 Federal-style mansion filled with family heirlooms and political mementos. Take a glimpse inside FDR’s boyhood bedroom and the room where he was born in 1882. Stop for lunch at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, a premier chef training school since 1946. Then travel to the Roosevelts’ family church, St. James Episcopal Church, built in 1811. View the pew where FDR worshiped and the graves of Roosevelt family members in the churchyard. Enjoy an evening at leisure in Rhinebeck.
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day 4
RHINEBECK / HYDE PARK / NEW PALTZ / TARRYTOWN
This morning will be devoted to one of America’s most prominent Gilded Age dynasties with a guided look at the Vanderbilt Mansion, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece designed by legendary architectural firm McKim, Mead & White between 1896 and 1899. Explore 54 lavishly furnished rooms, including the two-story dining room with its 1,000-pound table. Admire the mansion’s Italian gardens, including a rose garden with more than 2,000 vintage bushes, and Hudson River views. Cross the Hudson River to New Paltz, founded in 1678. Enjoy lunch at your leisure in this college town known for its eclectic eateries. Then walk Historic Huguenot Street, a 10-acre district preserving 300 years of history, including seven stone houses dating from 1705. Check into your hotel in Tarrytown this evening and gather for dinner at a local restaurant.
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day 5
TARRYTOWN / IRVINGTON / SLEEPY HOLLOW
In Irvington, go behind the scenes of Villa Lewaro, the 34-room, the 20,000-square-foot mansion built in 1918 for Madam C.J. Walker, a Black woman who became America’s first female self-made millionaire. Admire the Italianate-style architecture designed by Vertner Tandy, New York’s first Black licensed architect. Learn about Walker’s hair care empire in this mansion that hosted Harlem Renaissance icons like James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Langston Hughes. A highlight in this sprawling residence will be the music room with its Louis XV-style furnishings and Estey pipe organ. After lunch, meet your expert guide for a breathtaking look at Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival castle designed by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1838. Walk through rooms filled with original furnishings, including an 1859 Herter Brothers parlor suite. See the country’s first steel-framed conservatory and the 1894 bowling alley. Then prepare to be dazzled on a guided tour of Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate completed in 1913. Explore the six story Beaux-Arts house, viewing rooms adorned with Tang Dynasty ceramics and 18th-century European porcelain. In the basement galleries, see Nelson Rockefeller’s world renowned collection of 20th-century art, including Picasso tapestries commissioned between 1955 and 1975. Stroll through terraced gardens featuring more than 70 sculptures by artists like Calder, Noguchi, and Moore. Later, gather for a festive farewell dinner.
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day 6
TARRYTOWN / NEW YORK CITY / RETURN
After breakfast and checking out of the hotel, transfer back to New York City for your return home.
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