Just reading this, and no I'm not a Daily Heil reader but it was bought to my attention on another site and found the article fascinating none the less. I love these old travel guides, accounts of people's adventures to far flung places and above all the photographs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2733416/The-riotously-PC-travel-guides-The-informed-detailed-authoritative-unguardedly-rude-Baedeker-Guides.html



And before English feathers are ruffled, we have the accounts of Mrs Mortimer for balance. But at least Baedeker actually went to the places he wrote about, unlike Mrs Mortimer.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4698196

All in all very funny, but in their own way also informative. Not only in how various countries were, but also the mindset and common attitudes of people in the 19th century.

BBC have made a number of series based on the Victorian railway guide books of George Bradshaw:

Thomas Cook's first tour was a railway outing organised for the Temperance Society in 1841.

This advert is from 1850, as Thomas became more ambitious.



http://www.thomascook.com/thomas-cook-history/

The Italian poet, Petrach, claimed to be the first man since antiquity to have climbed a mountain for fun;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascent_of_Mont_Ventoux

Could these people be classed as tourists?

I've been pondering the history of tourism and it seems that whilst it has been around for centuries it wasn't until the 19th century that people actually began to travel for the pleasure of travel itself. Before that travel usually involved a purpose, spiritual (pilgrimages), medical (health spas) or just plain business. It could even be said that Marco Polo had a purpose for his wanderings, that of discovery?

Islanddawn wrote:

I've been pondering the history of tourism and it seems that whilst it has been around for centuries it wasn't until the 19th century that people actually began to travel for the pleasure of travel itself. Before that travel usually involved a purpose, spiritual (pilgrimages), medical (health spas) or just plain business. It could even be said that Marco Polo had a purpose for his wanderings, that of discovery?

 Islanddawn,

I has a lot to say as about Goethe and the Grand Tour and the ladies' travelling...but have first to elaborate the Salian Franks for Nordmann...and perhaps then too late...nearing midnight on the European peninsula...

Kind regards and with esteem for the always interesting subjects that you introduce on this forum from Paul.

Islanddawn wrote:

I've been pondering the history of tourism and it seems that whilst it has been around for centuries it wasn't until the 19th century that people actually began to travel for the pleasure of travel itself. Before that travel usually involved a purpose, spiritual (pilgrimages), medical (health spas) or just plain business. It could even be said that Marco Polo had a purpose for his wanderings, that of discovery?

 Islanddawn,

did some research about tourism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/traveling/index.pl?page=2;read=1700


I think the first travels for pleasure were the Grand Tours. And even those, as they had the purpose of bringing youngsters from the British nobilty to maturity while introducing them to arts (including Paris and the rest, not only arts) and clasical monuments...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour

 I did a lot of research for "The Italian Journey" of Goethe, which was for Goethe quite an episode in his life, but apart from the omnipresent Wiki I didn't find that much.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Journey


And then: the women...who said that women...
About woman travellers:
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/essay-07-07.html


I saw in the time a documentary...better a dramatized historical account...about Gertrude Bell...certainly the equivalent of Lawrence of Arabia...


And more about female travellers:
http://www.munseys.com/diskeight/wote.pdf
http://ontheluce.com/2013/11/08/a-celebration-of-female-travel-pioneers/


Kind regards and with esteem,

Paul.