Grand Tour

An extended journey through Europe (France, Italy; Spain, Switzerland, Flanders, Germany) that become customary for young upper class men (sons of the nobility, later of the wealthy bourgeoisie) in the 17th and 18th century. A rite of passage and an important part of the aristocratic education, which included knowledge of the arts and culture of the Classical Antiquity and contemporary Europe. A way of defining one's own cultivation and distinguishing oneself from one's social inferiors who could not afford such long travels.