Quebec City
Montreal
New York
Chicago
New York City’s Times Square, the Crossroads of the World, at dusk (above) and from top to bottom at right, the Statue of El Cid at the entrance to the Hispanic Society of America, students visiting the Cloisters, and live jousting at the Spanish Medieval Castle Count Don Raimundo II.
If the idea of Spanish or French field trip to New York seems novel to you, we hasten to note that some of the Spanish and French cultural icons of North America reside right in New York City.
(At right: One of the two massive pools, surrounded by 30-foot waterfalls, in the footprints of the World Trade Center towers at the newly opened 9/11 Memorial)
VISIT CANADA pioneered the concept of short domestic bus trips for students of foreign languages with its short, affordable trips to Montreal and Quebec City (by motorcoach) for students of French, and eventually, with its groundbreaking programs to New York City and Chicago for students of French and Spanish.
The theory was (and still is) that unless your students get interested, early, in the history and culture of the places where the languages they are studying are spoken, they will not stay interested in studying vocabulary and syntax in the long run.
For years, the solution to this problem had been to take language students overseas, but for every student who can afford to take a trip to Spain and France (and for every teacher who can take two weeks away from their families to take them there), there are 25 or more who cannot.
Fortunately for students and teachers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, many of the French and Spanish cultural icons of North America reside, not surprisingly, right in New York City.
Why learn Spanish? Mildred A. “Ma” Ferguson, the first female governor of Texas from 1925 to 1927 reputedly said, while defending her opposition to teaching Spanish in Texas’ public schools, “If the King's English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the children of Texas!" We respectfully disagree.
For our SPANISH GROUPS, the stunning, panoramic “Vision of Spain” murals of Joaquín Sorolla at the Hispanic Society of America are simultaneously an unforgettable lesson in the art, history and culture of Spain. Then, there are the Central and South American Peoples’ Exhibits at the renowned American Museum of Natural History.
Your bilingual guide will take your group to dinner at a remarkably authentic Cuban restaurant just steps away from Times Square, and/or to the Spanish Castle of Count Don Raimundo II for dinner and an evening of sorcery, pageantry and horsemanship in 11th Century Spain.
Why Learn French? "To be acquainted with the French tongue is become a part of polite education and, to a man who has any idea of mixing in a large circle, absolutely necessary." George Washington, 1771 (in a letter writen to the headmaster of the school where his stepson, Jacky Custis, was enrolled). We wholeheartedly agree!
For our FRENCH and SPANISH groups, there is the Metropolitan Museum of Art where a visit begins with a short orientation in the Patio of the 16th century Spanish Castle of Vélez Blanco Patio, then students view paintings by Goya, El Greco and Velázquez and the works of the French painters, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Delacroix and Degas, among many others from the museum’s the large collection of European paintings.
And, our French and Spanish groups always enjoy a visit The Cloisters, a 12th century European monastery reconstructed from a monastery in the northeastern Pyrenees that, at various times, had been in both France and Spain as the border moved back and forth during periods of hostilities between the two countries.
Finally, most groups find the time to visit the Statue of Liberty (a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States) and Ellis Island, in addition to the obligatory stops such places as at Central Park, Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
For our GENERAL EDUCATIONAL GROUPS, it is not hard for us, given what we know about the care and feeding of kids from the fifth through the twelfth grades on overnight class trips, and about the rhythm and pace of these class trips, and about the topography of New York City in general, to operate trips that make the most of every minute spent at the destination. In short, planning a three- or four-day trip to New York City, when we know the business as well as we do, is a matter of deciding what not to include.
In short, planning a FRENCH and/or SPANISH or GENERAL EDUCATIONAL trip to New York City becomes a matter of deciding what NOT to do.
Each VISIT CANADA trip is priced individually. Our motorcoach trips originate in school parking lots in hundreds of large and small communities throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, served by scores of bus charter operators, and it is just not possible to price all of these trips in advance.
However, our New York trip prices range generally from about $550 to $625 for a three-day motorcoach trip. Prices depend, more than anything else, upon the distance and bus charter costs from your school parking lot, and the number of students sharing those costs (tour prices go up and down as the number of paid participants go down and up).
Our prices include the following: transportation by chartered motorcoach, very nice hotel accommodations, breakfasts and dinners daily, comprehensive trip cancellation and medical insurance, all admissions, the services of licensed professional guides throughout each day, and dedicated security guards in the hotels overnight.
There are never any registration or enrollment fees, and no hidden charges.
Your trip your own, and unless you arrange to travel with another nearby school (which we are happy to facilitate), we do not combine groups. Each trip unique and priced accordingly.
For further information you can CONTACT US by email, or better yet, by calling us at 800.456.5552. We love to talk to our clients and we’re certain that you will find a brief telephone conversation well worth the effort.
Get Started on your unforgettable experience today!
