The Cultural Tutor’s Grand Tour: The Story of Europe in Six Cities
In The Cultural Tutor’s Grand Tour, the ephemera of the everyday opens up to reveal a world of high art and low cunning – where a love affair can trigger a World War, a lamp-post can birth a cathedral, and a cup of coffee can take you on a journey of a thousand years
In the 18th Century, young English gentlemen would embark on Grand Tours – educational journeys to foreign climes, absorbing the sights, sounds and stories that defined them.
But we get it – you’re busy.
These days, all you need to see the world is a pair of headphones. And in this series, Sheehan Quirke is your curious guide to a tour of Europe in six incredible cities.
Posting to millions on social media as The Cultural Tutor, it’s Sheehan’s mission to seek out the beautiful stories hiding in the details of history.
Now, that philosophy comes to life in a funny, fascinating and occasionally moving jaunt through Europe’s past and present, on a roundabout route from one side of the continent to the other.
Presented in immersive Dolby Atmos sound, The Cultural Tutor’s Grand Tour takes you beyond the factoids and into the lives of the real people who shaped the world around us in unexpected ways.
Episode One: Paris
Bonjour and bienvenue! Our Grand Tour begins in the City of Lights, host to millions of tourists every year. But we’re not here for Cafe au Lait and the Tour D’Eiffel.
On this first leg of our journey, we’ll encounter marauding Vikings and a billion-dollar widow, strap in for the car chase that began all car-chases, and dredge an ancient King from the bottom of the Seine.
Along the way, we’ll learn how the Pharaohs shaped our perception of time, and get to the bottom of just how French ‘French-ness’ really is. How’s that for an entree?
Episode Two: Barcelona
Crossing the Pyrenees, the ruins of an ancient farmhouse unlock the secrets of the second stop on our Grand Tour – Barcelona.
This is a rebel town, with a long history of reinvention and a proud, singular identity. Walking across the city to the peak of Montjuic, we’ll take in the surprisingly seedy birthplace of Cubism, a very unusual Christmas tradition, and the unlikely Merseyside origins of FC Barcelona’s famous team colours.
In amongst these storied streets, you’ll meet the saints, scholars and visionary architects that make Barcelona mes que una ciutat – more than a city.
Episode Three: Naples
Va a Napoli! In Italy, that’s how you tell someone to get lost. Well, that’s the idea here – to lose ourselves in the labyrinthine streets of this ancient city, marveling at its countless contributions to the world of art, music and – lest we forget – food.
From the distant origins of pizza to the special chord that unites the Beatles and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Sheehan digs deep into the Vesuvian foundations of Naples to reveal tales of bravery, ingenuity and, naturally, Chinese horticulture.
You’ll also hear a firsthand account from history’s most famous volcanic eruption, discover what Virgil has to do with Welsh pharmacies, and go underground with Charles Dickens. Not bad for a day-trip.
Episode Four: Vienna
Once the heart of the half-forgotten idea of Central Europe, the Austrian capital is a mighty cultural powerhouse. From frothy coffee to psychiatry to minimalism, we feel its impact writ large in the world around us.
A journey through its pretty streets brings us to the coffee-house that hosted some of the 20th century’s most infamous figures, a life-or-death mission behind enemy lines, and the tragic afterlife of a Master Freemason.
We’ll also investigate the love-affair-cum turned-whodunnit that paved the way for a global conflict, and discover the winding chain of tutelage that links Beethoven and Batman.
Episode Five: Sarajevo
In the penultimate leg of our Grand Tour, we discover a city that has so much more to offer than the tragedies of the 1990s.
From a clocktower that reveals the secret of history’s 10 missing days, to a gravestone that sheds light on the perilous journey of a sacred Jewish text, our stay in Sarajevo brings us as far afield as Ancient Rome and the pre-history of the Steppe.
Then there’s the Bosnian poetess who helped us to understand Homer, the dark past and bright future of a bobsleigh track, and the ancient language that put the ‘M’ in a thousand words for Moon.
Episode Six: Istanbul
So here we are, standing at the bridging point between one continent and the next. Istanbul is the final stop on our Grand Tour, and as we look up at the minarets and seabirds rising over the Bosphorus, it’s time to take stock of everything we’ve seen so far – and discover more beautiful stories (and some much-loved felines) down at ground level
The Cultural Tutor’s Grand Tour: The Story of Europe in Six Cities
By: Cup and Nuzzle, Sheehan Quirke
Narrated by: Sheehan Quirke
Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
Release date: 03-12-26
Language: English
Format and Bitrate: M4B@125 kbps
Size: 231.18 MB
