10 ways to follow in Van Gogh's footsteps this spring
The famed Dutch painter packed an awful lot into the 37 years of his life. Here, we suggest some notable highlights around Europe.
Right van man
The place to search for a figure who poured his soul on to the canvas is Amsterdam, where the Van Gogh Museum (vangoghmuseum.nl; €19/￡16) has displayed the mother lode of his work since 1973, including some of his Sunflowers. A three-night stay at Apollo Museumhotel, flying from London City on May 16, costs from ￡409pp with travelbag.co.uk.
Tate and style
It is a familiar refrain that we all utter on occasion. “When, oh when, oh when, will there be a major event related to Dutch paintbrush genius Vincent van Gogh?” So you wait forever – and then two come along at once. Which is typical.
Wednesday sees the launch, at Tate Britain, of “Van Gogh and Britain”, the gallery’s first major exhibition on the artist since 1947 (tate.org.uk; ￡22). This will focus on the largely happy period, between 1873 and 1876, when the artist lived in the UK – and will bring together 45 of his works. Friday, meanwhile, heralds the arrival in cinemas of “At Eternity’s Gate”, which dissects his period in Provence (and stars Willem Dafoe; ateternitysgate-film.com).
Fond memories
Van Gogh will forever be pinned to Arles, where the Fondation Vincent van Gogh (fondation-vincentvangogh-arles.org; €9) looks after this legacy. A three-night stay at Grand Hotel Nord-Pinus starts at ￡849pp with flights (kirkerholidays.com).
Scheldt out
When was the last time you turned to your partner and said, “Darling, we should spend a weekend in Antwerp”? Last week? I don’t believe you. Still, you should go. Not only is it a pretty place on the Scheldt river, but Vinny lived here in 1885 and 1886 (vangoghroute.com/belgium/antwerp). A three-night stay at the Hilton Antwerp Old Town, flying from Heathrow on May 9, starts at ￡225pp via expedia.co.uk.
First impressions
If you are going to Antwerp for the weekend, then it’s a 20-mile cinch to hop over the Dutch border for an afternoon in Zundert, where the artist was born in 1853. The Vincent van Gogh Huis (vangoghhuis.com; €6) is where he crafted his first masterpieces, such as Sleepless Night, Teething Trouble and Please Eat The Carrots. OK, not really. The museum uses multimedia tricks to look into his largely pleasant childhood.
Middle of the rodin
Considering that he lived there for three years (1886-1888), and that it boosted his growing brilliance, it is a surprise that Paris does not have a Van Gogh museum. But you can find a small selection of his work – not least his “Portrait of Pere Tanguy” (1887) – at the Musée Rodin (musee-rodin.fr; €12). A three-night stay at the Bellevue Paris Montmartre, with a train out on May 23, starts at ￡232pp via eurostar.com.
St Vincent
Van Gogh’s demons are well documented and it may be better to seek him out in brighter corners than at the end of the line. But the Auberge Ravoux (in Auvers-sur-Oise, within a 15-mile day-trip range of Paris; maisondevangogh.fr; €6) – the inn where he spent the last 70 days of his life – does a fine job of protecting the scene of his conclusive darkness. His room is preserved and you can still eat downstairs.
A week in provence
Arles was not the only part of Provence to host Van Gogh. Saint-Rémy witnessed a year of creativity (May 1889-May 1890) that was as prolific as it was unhappy. You can see it in a warmer light via the week-long Provence Prestige en Vélo cycling break sold by Belle France (bellefrance.com). From ￡2,261pp; flights extra.
Arles be back
If you think Provence provided the cornerstone of the Van Gogh tale (a fair point) then In Van Gogh’s Footsteps – a seven-day, self-guided walking tour offered by Sherpa Expeditions (sherpaexpeditions.com) – will take you to the heart of the matter, striding into Avignon, Arles and Saint-Rémy. From ￡780pp; flights or trains extra.
Dutch Class
The Dutch have a bit of form when it comes to art maestros. Guests of Martin Randall Travel (martinrandall.com) will admire a few of them (Rembrandt and Vermeer as well as Van Gogh) on a seven-day Art in the Netherlands group tour that is scheduled to start in Haarlem on October 20. It costs from ￡2,770 per person, including flights to Amsterdam.
Are you a Van Gough aficionado? Have you followed in Van Gough's footsteps and visited any of the attractions on this list? We want to hear from you in the comments section below.
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