Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera - their life and work - sightseeing tour in Mexico City

FOOTSTEPS OF FRIDA KAHLO & DIEGO RIVERA
An exclusive De Luxe sightseeing tour dedicated to the life of these great artists in Mexico City

	Day 1 Transfer from the Mexico City Airport to our deluxe hotel FIESTA AMERICANA Grand Chapultepec in central Mexico City. Our professional guide, well trained and educated in history and art, will welcome you with a sign with your names. Transfer to your luxury hotel Fiesta Americana Grand Chapultepec in the heart of the city. Welcome cocktail and short introduction of your guide. Accommodation.

Day 2 CITY TOUR PREHISPANIC ROOTS AND CATHOLIC TREASURE We start the day with a delicious buffet breakfast. We leave the city to the north to the archeological site of Teotihuacan which represents the foundation on which all of Diego and Frida's work is based. We will visit the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, Temple of the Feathered Butterfly will be the further highlight of this day, our guide will give you detailed description. Lunch close to the pyramids. On our way back to the city we pass by the Basilica of "Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The present church was constructed on the site of an earlier 16th-century church that was finished in 1709, the Old Basilica. When this basilica became dangerous due to the sinking of its foundations, a modern structure called the New Basilica was built nearby; the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is now housed in this New Basilica. Then we will visit the Plaza de las 3 culturas, this plaza is influenced by Aztec, Spanish and modern Mexican cultures and is the location of the remains of Tlatelolco, an old Aztec city. Return to hotel and accommodation.

Day 3 Frida's TOUR Buffet breakfast then it is Frida's day. We drive to Coyoacan where we will have the chance to see her actual home the Casa Azul, collections and furniture, where she was born, grew up and later lived with her muralist husband Diego Rivera, from 1941 until her death at age 47 in 1954. Fascinating not only for the collections and personal effects of the two great artists it contains, the museum also affords a window on the lifestyles of affluent Mexican bohemians during the first half of this century. We will then see the Trotsky's House Museum. We invite you for lunch in one of the typical restaurants of Coyoacan, e.g. on the main Plaza Hidalgo. To relax after lunch we have a short walk through Frida Kahlo´s park. On the way to Dolores Olmedo House Museum with its private worldwide largest collection of Frida and Diego´s work, we will pass the Museo Diego Rivera ANAHUACALLI, where we can admire the privat collection of prehispanic idols of Frida's husband Diego Rivera and his studio. Return to hotel and accommodation

Day 4 DIEGO's TOUR DIEGO RIVERA (1886-l957), muralist painter, was one of the greatest artists in the XXth century. Born in Guanajuato Mexico, in 1892 he moved to Mexico City with his family. Buffet breakfast then depart for a tour of the Zocalo Square, the symbol of power and the heart of the country: Mexico City's Cathedral is a synthesis of art in New Spain that let us enter the ethereal half-light of this hallowed shrine, with its naves, side chapels, and its sacred religious icons and monumental organs. We visit the National Palace with its historical court yards and Mexican life depicted with Diego Rivera Murals and we will visit the only archeological zone in the center, the Templo Mayor. We will then pass by Frida´s high school (San Ildefonco), where she first met Diego in the heart of Mexico City. Afterwards visit of the Ministry of Education, where Diego Rivera made some of his more interesting murals. We invite you for lunch at the local Mexican style restaurant Hosteria Santo Domingo, to have "Chiles en Nogada", the delicious national dish of Mexico. After crossing some streets we stop at the National Museum of Art, where some of Frida´s and Diego´s works can be seen. In the afternoon we visit the Palace of the Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes) - of the many public buildings begun during the Porfirio period, the Palace of Fine Arts is Mexico City's grandest and most conspicuous. (The theater is only open on wednesdays evening - you can take an optional visit of the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico - entrance fee US$ 25-45 per person plus transport). We will then see DIEGO RIVERA MURAL MUSEUM Diego Rivera's Mural painting "Dream of a Sunday afternoon at popular grove". The National Institute of Fine Arts has occupied the great domed building since 1947. Its collection includes paintings by Rufino Tamayo and Mexico's most famous trio of muralists including Rivera and Orozco, and Siqueiros -- and its theater is a central venue for national and visiting arts companies. Return to hotel and accommodation. Optional wednesdays night (not included in price): Ballet Folklorico in the Palace of Fine Arts: Entertaining audiences of all ages for more than 25 years, the Ballet Folklorico Mexico continues to be internationally recognized as one of the most exciting traditional dance groups. Enjoy the fun and thrilling journey throughout Mexican history by way of rhythmical dances and colorful costumes. This performance weaves history with choreography and seduces the senses with sights and sounds from the thunderous opening until the climatic closing.



Day 5 "Diego and Frida´s Common Life" Tour After breakfast we start our tour at the National Anthropology Museum, one of the most famous museums in the world and full of the pre-colonial art that so influenced both artists. It is one of the finest museums of its kind in the world. It is enormous in size, with a capacity to accommodate large number of visitors in a single visit. The ground-floor halls are dedicated to pre-Hispanic Mexico, and the upper level covers the way modern Mexico's indigenous people, the descendants of those pre-Hispanic civilizations. In the entrance hall we can see murals of contemporary muralists, e.g. Diego´s student O´Gorman and Chavez Morado. We will then drive to the traditional neighborhood of San Angel. On the way to San Angel we will pass the UNAM (National University) where we can admire O´Gorman´s work and Diego Rivera´s decoration of the Olympic stadium. After arrival in San Angel, we enter Diego Rivera's Studio one of the first Functionalist houses built in the city and now an art gallery and cultural center. Its main object is to show, investigate and preserve the painter's work and personal collection. San Angel is also home to many excellent restaurants, as well as boutiques offering fine handicrafts. After lunch at restaurant SAKS in San Angel we have time to visit the Modern Art Museum with works of both, Frida and Diego. On our way back to the hotel we visit the Chapultepec Park, the focal point of this city of such tremendous population growth that an airy expanse of green is absolutely vital. It is complemented by important cultural centers including museums, amusement parks, a zoo and lakes, and is crisscrossed by access routes. Accommodation.

Day 6 depart/ airport transfers. Total programm: 6 days and 5 nights including: luxury room in Fiesta Americana Grand Chapultepec including welcome cocktail daily luxury breakfast buffet 4 Mexican style lunches during sightseeing private transfer in/out service and entrance fees to all mentioned museums, incl. taxes English spoken certified guide with special education of history and art transportation in airconditioned mini bus (minimum 2 persons) Price per person in double room: from USD 995 Price per person in single room: from USD 1295 CONTACT US FOR RESERVATION Discounts for groups of more than 4 Special offer: Stay at the following hotels during your stay and receive a discount of USD 150 in double room and USD 250 in single room Mision Zona Rosa or Gran Melia Reforma