Download - Private Tour Metropolitan Museum
About Us
Professor Andrew Lear combines a love of travel with a passion for gay history, and he brings both of those attributes to Oscar Wilde Tours.Professor Lear brings all those qualities to Oscar Wilde Tours, along with twenty years of experience organizing and leading group tours. With his vast cultural background, his detailed knowledge of gay history and his long experience of travel, Professor Lear strives to provide our guests with a vacation that is intellectually stimulating, culturally rewarding and, above all, fun!
About Us
Why did we choose to name our company Oscar Wilde Tours?
Oscar Wilde is arguably one of the most recognizable figures in gay history. After all, who doesn’t know at least something about Wilde, as raconteur, dandy, author, or martyr?Probably the greatest wit in the history of the English language, Wilde perfected the art of conversation, producing countless brilliant epigrams that still astonish and amuse today. Who, after all, but Oscar could have coined the brilliantly paradoxical line, “I can resist everything except temptation”? He also produced an astonishing range of writing: reinventing the fairy tale and the short story; creating, in Dorian Gray, one of the modern mythic figures on the level of Don Juan and Dracula; and penning the most insightful (and screamingly funny!) society comedies in English history.
Gay Italy
The splendor of ancient Rome…the glory of the Renaissance…the magnificence of the Baroque—Italy is the artistic treasure house of Western civilization. But there is a side to Italy’s story that most people aren’t aware of: from the Caesars to Michelangelo to Visconti and Pasolini, Italy is also a storehouse of gay history—and many of its artistic treasures celebrate same-sex love.
From Caesar to Michelangelo and beyondNext Tour: October 9-19, 2016
Group Size: Maximum 18
Gay Italy
Gay London/Gay Paris
The gay side of Europe’s two great citiesNext tour: August 20-28, 2016
Group Size: Maximum 18
From Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde to King Henri III and Yves Saint Laurent, London and Paris play an outsize role in gay history. Embark on a marvelous discovery of gay identity in two of the world’s greatest cities, with Oscar Wilde Tour’s Paris and London tour. Over eight days we will lead you on a fascinating tour of gay history from the Renaissance to the modern age.
NOTE: Each half of this tour can be purchased separately as a shorter “city break,” if so desired.
Gay London/Gay Paris
Gay Greece
Homeland of democracy, philosophy…and same-sex loveNext tour: May 20-29, 2016
Group Size: Maximum 18
The ancient Greeks are important to all of us because they are the inventors of so much in our culture—democracy, philosophy, theater and art. Yet they are even more important to gay people—because they practiced same-sex love and associated it with positive values such as education, loyalty and courage.Discover your roots on this eye-opening tour of ancient Greece. Our trip starts in Athens, the cultural center of the Greek world both then and now.
Gay Greece
The Oscar Wilde Celebration Tour
Luxury…that dares to speak its name!Next Tour: October 2017Group Size: Maximum 18
Dedicated to our patron spirit, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, this tour is the most special and exclusive of all our company’s offerings. With the elegance of a gay cruise and the cultural elevation of an Ivy League alumni tour, it is the trip of a lifetime for connoisseurs of history, art and (let’s be frank) luxury.The tour follows Wilde’s life from his birthplace in Dublin to his tomb in Paris’ Père Lachaise cemetery. Two days in the Irish capital let us explore his early life, against the backdrop of Irish history.
The Oscar Wilde Celebration Tour
Included
Group transportation between cities, and to sights that are not reached on foot; accommodations each night in accordance with the tour itinerary.Breakfast each day on multi-day tours; dinners and lunches that are specifically indicated in the itinerary.Wine at welcome and farewell dinners and where mentioned in the itinerary.Entrance fees for sightseeing; special events where noted in the itinerary, such as receptions, lectures, and theatrical performances.All hotel service charges, government taxes, porterage, and gratuities for included meals.
Not Included
International airfare (unless indicated in itinerary).Transportation from your arrival point (e.g. airport, train station) to your hotel.Transportation from your hotel to your departure point (e.g. airport, train station).Travel insurance.Alcoholic beverages other than wine at welcome and farewell dinners and other times specifically mentioned in the itinerary.Personal items, such as snacks, laundry, and telephone calls.Gratuities for bus drivers and local guides.
Single Travelers
At Oscar Wilde Tours we recognize that the social aspect of travel is as important as any other.That is why we do our utmost to create a warm and welcoming experience for our single travelers.Indeed, this is one reason why we limit our group size to 18. We believe that an intimate group is a welcoming and convivial one, and with Oscar Wilde Tours you will never feel lost in a crowd.Oscar Wilde single travelers have the choice of a private room at the single-supplement tariff, but for those who would prefer to share a room instead, we will strive to match you with a fellow traveler who shares your interests and tastes—providing yet another way to make lasting friendships during the tour.
New York Walking Tours
Everyone knows that gay liberation began on a summer night in June 1969, with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village. But who knows that Mae West was arrested in Manhattan for producing a pro-gay-rights play in 1926? Or that Walt Whitman read his homoerotic poems to friends at a bar on Broadway?New York is bursting with gay lore and gay history—and Oscar Wilde Tours is bringing it all out of the closet.
Museum Tours
Join us for an entirely new concept: an exploration of homoerotic art in the Metropolitan Museum. On this tour, we discover some of the Met’s queer treasures, from ancient Greek nudes and erotic vase-painting (on which Professor Lear is a world expert) to homoerotic paintings from the Renaissance—as well as a panoply of modern works, some by LGBT artists, some portraying LGBT people and some expressing same-sex desire.
Contact Us
Address: 1202 Lexington Ave., #141
New York, NY 10028Phone:
(646) 560-3205Email:
