Call 1-800-387-1483 or email us
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Discussing The Paris Deception on site with the author
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Learning art restoration techniques at the Atelier du Temps Passé
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Preparing French cuisine during a cooking class
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Exploring Les Invalides with a WWII-history expert
SIGNATURE MOMENT
Sipping vintages at various Champagne houses in Champagne

Art and Resistance in WWII Paris and Champagne

May 15-24, 2025

10 days | France | Literary Adventures

We're putting the finishing touches on this exciting tour. Please email Abbie to make sure you're among the first to get the Detailed Itinerary.
 
This brand-new tour will be a moving and unforgettable journey to an extraordinary moment in French history. Our tour centres on real-life figures and events depicted in Bryn Turnbull’s best-selling novel The Paris Deception. As Nazi forces stole art from Jewish families and others they deemed enemies, they funnelled these stolen works through Paris’s Jeu de Paume museum. From here, thousands of works were sent to Reich-controlled areas, exchanged, or destroyed. But others were saved, and we will explore the stories of the people who saved them.

We are thrilled to have two very special guests with us on the tour. Bryn will be travelling with our group, sharing her experiences of researching and writing her gripping novel. And our longtime partner in Paris, novelist and storyteller Lisa Pasold, will guide us through what it was like to be in Paris during WWII. On her custom walks, Lisa will share stories of the dangers people faced, the acts of courage — and of cruelty — they committed, and the hopes they held on to.

From Paris we will take a short train ride to Champagne, where we will spend a few days exploring the historic towns of Reims and Épernay. The region’s signature beverage needs no introduction, but what is perhaps less known is that Champagne was an especially active area of resistance. Through walking tours and visits to places like the Museum of the Surrender (Musée de la Reddition) in Reims, we’ll get a nuanced understanding of how so many men and women of Champagne fought for freedom. We’ll also take time to enjoy extraordinary Medieval and Renaissance architecture as well as taste various champagnes.
Literary Adventures Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
US$6695 incl. taxes and gratuities
Group Size:
12 - 18 participants

What’s included: Accommodation in double occupancy, based on hotel listed or similar; meals as specified in the itinerary; all activities as specified in the itinerary; all entrance fees local; English-speaking guides; literary discussions; books and readings gratuities for local guides, drivers, hotel staff, and group meals; taxes fully escorted by Discussion Leader Melanie Blake and author Bryn Turnbull

Lisa is so knowledgeable and
enthusiastic and a pleasure to be
around. She was always well prepared
and happy to answer questions.”
– Past traveller
Melanie juggled many roles with a
smile and a can-do attitude. I was
impressed.” – Past traveller

Itinerary at a Glance

DayActivity
1Arrive to Paris
2Atelier du Temps Passé presentation / Le Marais
3Left Bank (Rive Gauche) walk / Cooking class near The Panthéon
4Montparnasse walk / Musée de la Libération
5Place Vendôme, Concorde, & Jeu de Paume / Les Invalides
6Train to Reims / Free time
7Reims heritage tour / Pommery and Villa Demoiselle tour and champagne tasting
8Reims heritage tour, cont’d / Épernay
9Drive through Champagne countryside / Hautvillers & Pressoria
10Departure

Your Tour Leaders

Bryn Turnbull is a bestselling author of historical fiction. Her debut novel, The Woman Before Wallis, is at the centre of our tour. She wrote about imperial Russia in her second novel, The Last Grand Duchess and she has a new novel, The Paris Deception, out now.

Lisa Pasold is a Canadian writer who divides her time between Paris and New Orleans. She is currently the host of Discovery’s travel show, “Paris Next Stop.” She has published a novel and three books of poetry.

Melanie Blake is the executive director of Classical Pursuits and organizer of the annual Toronto Pursuits cultural salon. She studied English and French at Fordham University and the Université de Montpellier, and has an MA in literature and linguistics from the University of Nottingham. She loves languages, cocktails, and the unexpected.

Samuél Lopez-Barrantes will lead two custom walks in Paris. He is a novelist who lives in Paris, where he has taught creative writing at the Sorbonne, hosts literary salons, and leads historical walks on modernism, existentialism, and the Nazi Occupation of Paris. His second novel, The Requisitions, is a historical metafiction set in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Literary Adventures Worldwide Explorers Club
Tour Cost (per person):
US$6695 incl. taxes and gratuities
Group Size:
12 - 18 participants

What’s included: Accommodation in double occupancy, based on hotel listed or similar; meals as specified in the itinerary; all activities as specified in the itinerary; all entrance fees local; English-speaking guides; literary discussions; books and readings gratuities for local guides, drivers, hotel staff, and group meals; taxes fully escorted by Discussion Leader Melanie Blake and author Bryn Turnbull

View More Trips In...
Download the Detailed Itinerary
Download the Detailed Itinerary

This Detailed Itinerary is still in the works! We’ll send it to you as soon as it’s ready.

Please fill in the following information and you will be directed to download the detailed itinerary.

First Name *
Last Name *
Phone
Email *
Confirm Email *
Address
Address 2
City
Province/State
Postal Code/Zip
Country
Where did you hear about Worldwide Quest?



Reserve My Spot!

Thank you, your adventure awaits! We will be in touch very soon.

Please fill in the following form and we’ll get back to you soon to confirm your booking.

First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Confirm Email *
Phone *



Please enter your Name
Please enter your email
Travel Interests
Please select a mailing list