Perfect Day(s). Revisiting Grand Tour Experiences

The constant image bombardment within travel banalisation and the loss of critical review makes it urgent to inquire about “learning by travelling” in the context of architecture. The embedded notions of the “Grand Tour” are convoked as the leitmotiv to reflect on the future of Architectural Travels from the perspective of those who embrace Architecture as a way of being. This essay is set on the premise of the Grand Tour as it has been experienced by the two Portuguese Pritzker Prize Laureates, Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura, hinged on two recent conversations. A critical and deepened reflection on these architects´ travel preferences and heightened experiences illuminates relevant themes to clarify the role of “learning by travelling” in today’s architecture education and practice.