Amsterdam & Rotterdam: Dutch Collections from “The Golden Age” to Today, an 8-day art and cultural experience with Giulia Bernardini (October 11-19, 2025)

Soak up highlights of major and less-known Dutch art collections with experts and enjoy private viewings, visit a Dutch home, and take in the symphony. Heaven. 

• Treat yourself to eight days in the Netherlands staying at two centrally located, locally owned hotels: the enchanting Hotel Estheréa in historic Amsterdam and at the chic, streamlined Morgan & Mees in innovative Rotterdam
• Steep yourself in iconic artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Van Gogh, Mondrian and countless more at world-class institutions from the famed Rijksmuseum to the cutting-edge Boijmans van Beuningen
• Look more closely at private viewings of prints and drawings normally unavailable to the public thanks to Wonderfeast’s collaboration with Dutch scholar Hilbert Lootsma
• Enjoy day excursions by train and private bus to Haarlem, The Hague, and Kinderdijk, among other destinations
• Delight in a variety of culinary experiences from Indonesian-inspired rijsttafel to a relaxed apéritif in a private home to an exquisite, locally sourced haute cuisine lunch in a national park
• Feast your senses on a concert at Rotterdam’s De Doelen, a canal tour in Amsterdam and more

Meet Your Host, Giulia Bernardini

I am a multi-cultural, multi-lingual Italian-American art educator and the founder of Wonderfeast. My passion for art, architecture, and literature comes from an early desire to understand the cultures I encountered growing up in Europe. I studied art history at Mount Holyoke College, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and received two master’s degrees in art history and in museum studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I taught for 15 years in the Humanities Program. I am a regular guest lecturer at the Denver Art Museum on Italian, French, and early 20th century modern art and, this past academic year, I’ve moved my family from Colorado to live in my native Rome, Italy. My hope is that this tour can satisfy your appetite for art history, travel, food, and friendship – the most delicious things in life.

Itinerary Highlights 

• Daily art visits by Giulia and carefully-selected local guides
• Poring over the ink strokes of a Rembrandt drawing at a private viewing
• Chartered bus trip to an outstanding modern painting and sculpture collection
• An apéritif in the chic home of a Dutch host
• The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra playing Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique

See the full itinerary.

Price per person (as of 5/24/2025; subject to fluctuation)

**$200 discount when you register by Friday, July 4th**

• Classic (Amsterdam) + Comfy (Rotterdam) double occupancy: $5969 $5769
• Deluxe (Amsterdam) + Extra Comfy (Rotterdam) double occupancy: $6137 $5937
• Classic (Amsterdam) + Comfy (Rotterdam) single occupancy: $7259 $7059
• Deluxe (Amsterdam) + Extra Comfy (Rotterdam) single occupancy: $7587 $7387

Trip price includes 4 nights in Amsterdam, 4 nights in Rotterdam, 8 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners, private transfer from Amsterdam airport to hotel, admission to all museums and attractions listed on itinerary, tips and gratuities, transportation during scheduled activities, museum visits with Giulia, Hilbert, and local guides, insider list of recommendations for your free time, and a recommended reading list. Does not include flights, meals not included in itinerary, alcohol beyond what is served at events, airport transfer at end of trip, required medical and cancellation insurance.

Important Details

• The trip will have a maximum of 12 guests (plus Giulia and guides).
• Our itinerary will involve significant daily walking, including stairs and along uneven cobblestone streets. It is necessary that guests are physically fit so they are comfortable and can keep up with the pace. 
• Free time is built into the itinerary to spend as you’d like and you are welcome to skip scheduled events or meals if you wish to do something on your own. 
• If you plan to come as a solo guest but would like to share a room to secure the double room rate, let us know. We will do our best to accommodate you, as interest from other guests allows. 
• Flights should not be booked until the trip is confirmed. This will happen as soon as we have 8 participants registered.

Frequently Asked Questions 

• Is this trip suited to me as a solo traveler? Absolutely, yes. The small group size guarantees that we’ll get to know one another as we share our adventure. I am very proud of the camaraderie and often lasting friendships that are formed on Wonderfeast trips.
• I like time to myself. Will there be downtime or is every day fully booked? While we do have a couple of full days, most are planned so that you will have time to relax and digest all the wonders we’ll have seen. Also, keep in mind that this is your trip so you can elect to take a break from the planned activities whenever you like.
• I have dietary restrictions or allergies. Might this be a problem at meals? Not at all. Just let me know of any intolerance, allergies, or dietary restrictions so that I can accommodate you seamlessly throughout the trip.
• Will not knowing much about art and history make me feel lost or out of place? Not at all! I am passionate about ensuring that you’ll have a meaningful, enriching experience no matter how much exposure you’ve had to Dutch history, art, and architecture.
• What if something comes up and I have to cancel? Can I get my money back? Per the Cancellation Policy below, you have 90 days before the trip start date to receive a full refund (minus fees) of any payment made.

Wonderfeast Netherlands Testimonials

“Thank you so much for leading us on an unforgettable trip to the Netherlands. I had such a wonderful time feasting on all the beautiful art, sculpture, and yummy food. You are a great teacher and I learned so much about how to look at all those magnificent paintings in a deeper way. I appreciated all the research and effort you made to make our experience so meaningful.” – Liz Clarke, Colorado

“We just wanted to thank you for making our trip to Low Countries such a wonderful experience. Your knowledge of the art and the region made the experience all the more special. We had a marvelous time, met some very interesting people and your contribution was truly fabulous! Hopefully we can do another trip together sometime in the not so distant future.” – Eddie and Jane Johnson, Colorado

How to Reserve

To secure your spot on the trip, contact Giulia (giulia@wonderfeast.com) and specify which accommodation option you prefer (see above). You will then receive an email with a registration form and service agreement to be completed and signed and an invoice for a 50% deposit to guarantee your spot on the trip. In early August you will receive a second invoice for the balance of the trip, minus the early registration discount if you registered by July 4th.  

Cancellation Policy

• 100% of total trip cost minus credit card fees refundable up to 90 days before seminar start date.
• 50% of total trip cost minus credit card fees refundable if cancellation occurs between 89 and 31 days before trip start date.
• No refunds if cancellation occurs within 30 days of trip start date.
• Should trip be cancelled by Wonderfeast entire cost of trip paid by guest to date will be refunded.

Dutch Collections from “The Golden Age” to Today 

For eight rich and stimulating, art-, food-, and conversation-filled days, we will visit major and less-known museums and art collections in bustling cities and charming towns of the Netherlands.

We will learn how the inhabitants of this water-logged land put their differences aside to rise up against the Spanish Crown in the 16th century, proudly creating the Dutch Republic, and how they went on to create the redoubtable East India Company that brought back inestimable wealth through colonization and the trade of spices, textiles, and… enslaved human beings.

We will see how the immense, tainted wealth of the so-called “Golden Age” of the Dutch republic led to a boom in the production and trade of luxury goods and to a concomitant rise of major 17th-century artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Hals, Leyster, van Ruisdael and others in the open art market and how the art reflected Calvinist values of austerity and spiritual rectitude on the one hand while paradoxically displaying buyers’ wealth and social standing on the other. At the Van Gogh Museum, Kröller-Müller, and others, we’ll see how Dutch puritanism, industriousness, and love of the land shaped modern art and the collections where we find it. And finally, throughout our stay in The Netherlands, we’ll continue to probe how centuries-old values continue to shape – and at times clash with – contemporary society.

All of this will be accompanied by relaxing and memorable meals and restorative drinks in restaurants and cafés in the numerous historic city and town centers we’ll encounter.

I hope you’ll join me for this unmissable experience. Contact me to book your spot and for more information at giulia@wonderfeast.com or click on ‘Contact Us’ below.

I look forward to seeing you at the feast!

Giulia