Grand Tour

An extended journey through Europe (France, Italy; Spain, Switzerland, Flanders, Germany) that become customary for young upper class men (sons of the nobility, later of the wealthy bourgeoisie) in the 17th and 18th centuries. A rite of passage and an important part of the aristocratic education, which included knowledge of the arts and culture of the classical antiquity and contemporary Europe. A way of defining one's own cultivation and distinguishing oneself from one's social inferiors who could not afford such long travels. Apart from gaining cultural knowledge and many useful contacts, young men often used the Grand Tour to sow their wild oats.