Title: Europe within Reach
Description: Transl. by Diane Webb. In 'Europe within reach' Gerrit Verhoeven traces some sweeping evolutions in the early modern travel behaviour of Dutch and Flemish elites (1585-1750), as the classical Grand Tour was slowly but surely overshadowed by other types of travelling. 0Leisure trips to Paris, London or Berlin, a cours pittoresque along the Rhine, domestic trips in the Low Countries and a series of other destinations gained ground, while new sorts of travellers cropped up: female and middle-class travellers, domestic servants, children, youngsters and the elderly. Verhoeven does not only trace these evolutions, but also explains why Netherlandish travellers gradually turned into art connoisseurs; why they were spellbound by sites of memory and by rugged landscapes; or why all sorts of fashionable gadgets and thingies were bought on the way.
Subjects: Elite (Social sciences), Flemings, Description and travel, Dutch, Travel, Grand tours (Education), History, Europe, description and travel
Places: Europe, Belgium, Netherlands, Flanders
Time periods: 17th century, 18th century