Getting lost in Trastevere

“Watching the students interact with the locals in the Trastevere district was glorious. They were using the language appropriately and navigating around the locals and the street vendors with ease, really embracing everything they’d learned. It changed them.” –Morgan, art teacher, Insider’s Italy 2015 Sun-soaked from a long day of sightseeing, you find yourself walking Read More …

Top 5 cities for biking in Europe

Europeans love bicycles—many cycle to work daily, wearing suits, dresses, even high heels, weaving through cobblestone streets at a leisurely pace. Cycling is an essential part of European culture, and a great way to sightsee without the hassle or pollution of a motor vehicle. That’s why a number of European cities are making strides to Read More …

The math that won the war

In most cinematic renditions of World War II, the main events are illustrated with explosions and guns and soldiers bunkered down on the Western front. Movies portray war heroes like General Patton, MI6 spies like James Bond. Yet not all of the Allied achievements were action-packed and explosive enough to grace the silver screen with Read More …

The immortalization of the Sagrada Familia

Even incomplete, the Sagrada Família will leave you breathless. The 558-foot-tall structure strikes an alien figure across Barcelona, contrasting the Medieval and Spanish Colonial architecture of the centuries-old Catalonian capital. Zoom in close and you’ll see the angular, hand-sculpted figures lining each of the façade, seemingly carved out of the stonework, illustrating scenes from the Read More …

The Hall of the Hundred Columns

Right from the entrance, you’re captured by the colors that zig-zag across 42 acres of chiseled vegetation and stone. As you sit on the famous Serpentine Bench—with its row of concave seats said to be formed by the park laborers taking a break in wet clay—you hear the pitch-perfect notes of a flamenco guitar. Following the music, you find a young man casually dressed, hunched Read More …

Inside the phantom’s opera

As you enter the Opera Garnier, you’re immediately struck by an aura of mystery. Crystal candelabras illuminate gilded cherubim with an ethereal, golden glow throughout the expansive halls, and you feel like you’ve stepped into a dream. You make your way to the iconic double staircase, climbing its white marble steps. As you take your seat, Read More …

Lunch on tour is on you

Business Development Manager Phil Todisco recently went on a Group Leader Training tour to Italy and shared some insights from his time abroad: Lunch on tour with Explorica is on you, and here’s why! Student travel is quickly becoming an affordable extension of today’s classroom. The opportunity to see new cities, cultures and countries is Read More …

Group Leader Spotlight: Christian

Christian never dreamed she’d be able to travel with her students. “I work at a special needs school,” she explains. “Our students are high functioning, but not everything in a standard catalog tour makes sense for us.” She researched a number of different companies and became frustrated that their itineraries were completely set. “Many of our kids are severely ADHD or on the Read More …

Finding Fusterlandia

  Step just a few miles outside Havana and you’ll find Jaimanitas, a seaside village full of fishermen, farmers and other working-class citizens. But this is no ordinary fishing village. Visitors come from far and wide to witness this unique, living village of art and to meet the artist himself, José Fuster. Jaimanitas wasn’t always a Read More …

Bringing Harry Potter to life

Move over, Disney World. Hogwarts is the new most magical place on earth. As you walk through the Great Hall for the first time, you see Dumbledore standing at the podium, flanked by the Hogwarts staff dressed in their best robes. The table is set for dinner, and you suspect that somewhere freshly baked pumpkin pasties are waiting to be consumed. Welcome to Hogwarts. Since Read More …