Coopersmith's Style

COOPERSMITH'S garden, stately home, and fine arts tours are upscale without being ostentatious, energetic without being exhausting, illuminating without being academic. Here are some of the distinguishing features of our trips that have attracted discerning travelers of all ages, inspiring many of them to return year after year:

"Gardens Plus."Among our 2025 offerings are a tour that visits Waddesdon Manor, built for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the 1870s to display his extensive collections of Savonnerie carpets, Gobelins and Beauvais tapestries, Sevres porcelain, and Dutch and English paintings (Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire)  and one that features guided tours of Chartwell House, Winston Churchill's beloved country home, and Knole House, Britain's largest private residence and childhood home of Vita Sackville-West, who later went on to create the extraordinary gardens at Sissinghurst. For a change of pace, we'll visit magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, the oldest of England's great Norman cathedrals, dating back to the 11th Century (Kent and Sussex).

Small groups. A maximum of 16-18 people per tour*, depending on the tour. Unlike most of our competitors, we are able to operate most tours with as few as 5 or 6 participants.

Four-to-seven-night stays at charming country inns, elegant manor houses, and distinguished city-center hotels. On Buckinghamshire & Hertfordshire, a Luxury Edition tour, we'll spend a full week at Hartwell House & Spa, a Jacobean mansion that became a palatial refuge of the exiled Louis XVIII. Nowadays, it is a much-acclaimed hotel and spa set in lush gardens and operated by the National Trust. On our tour of North Wales we'll spend seven nights at Bodysgallen Hall, one of Great Britain's most prestigious hotels, boasting 90 acres of lush gardens and park-lands..

Large comfortable motorcoach. Unlike most other tour companies, we routinely use motorcoaches that are large enough to guarantee each passenger a window seat throughout the tour.

Gourmet meals. Yes, even in—and these days, it's more accurate to say, especially in—Great Britain!

Relaxed pace. If you are looking for an "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" type tour, we are decidedly not it. Instead, our tours are crafted in a way that enables you to savor, and remember, each day (see "What is a typical day like" in Frequently Asked Questions).

Topnotch tour leaders. This is what makes a good tour great. Our guides, who have lived and worked in the countries concerned, and have a minimum of ten years' experience in the field, are among the most knowledgeable and creative tour leaders anywhere! (See "Who leads your tours" in Frequently Asked Questions).

When clients return year after year, we know we are doing something right. Our rate of repeats has long been the envy of our competitors. In recent years, between 75% and 85% of our clients have traveled with us previously, some up to ten, fifteen, or even twenty times (or more!).

*We sometimes accept up to 2 extra members, to allow for cancellations.