Summer History Program for High School Students in Europe

Abbey Road Programs:
Abbey Road Programs offer the academic and cultural immersion trip of a lifetime for high school students in Grades 9-12. If your child has a keen interest in European history, philosophy, art, archaeology, and mythology, our History of Western Civilization summer program offers all this and more. The trip combines travel, adventure, history and cultural immersion as students spend 6 nights each in Rome, Florence, Athens, and Paris, traveling and exploring alongside our staff of expert instructors, who specialize in European history from Ancient Greece to Renaissance Rome.

History of Western Civilization Cultural Immersion Program for High School Students (Grades 9-12)
Our 4-week History of Western Civilization Course gives students a unique opportunity to discuss European history in the places where it all happened. Discuss Athenian daily life at the Ancient Agora right underneath the Acropolis in Athens, marvel at Michelangelo’s works in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria, contemplate Louis XIV’s idea of Absolutism while sitting in the gardens of Versailles, and walk in Caesar’s footsteps in the Roman Forum. Watch European history come to life!

Daily Schedule:
With four cultural capitals on our itinerary we have our work cut out for us. Lucky for you, we are expert professionals in the fields of travel and cultural immersion. We create a balanced daily schedule each day that gives you the opportunity to learn about, explore, and experience the local culture in many forms.

Mornings include guided tours and on-site lessons at monuments and museums while afternoons and evenings are dedicated to optional cultural activities and excursions, free time for exploration, and nightly group meals. Whatever the historic theme scheduled for the day may be, we strive to balance structure and spontaneity to ensure you get to see the “popular” sites, lesser-known “local” spots, and pursue your personal interests.

Athens (Week 1)
Our adventure begins in ancient Greece as you read important works by influential Greek thinkers, explore key monuments and discuss Athenian society and its greatest philosophers, artists and political leaders: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pericles and Alexander the Great of Macedonia.

Rome (Week 2)
Our journey continues with a visit to the 2,000 year-old town of Pompeii. A true snapshot of Roman society, preserved at the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius, it provides a perfect introduction to the Roman era. We then continue to Rome - the Eternal City, where you will learn about emperors from Augustus to Constantine, with excursions to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican and visits to other relics of their legacies. Evenings provide ample opportunities to delight in the beauty of the city’s twinkling lights, and also to learn the idiosyncrasies of the culture that inspired the ever-so-popular phrase, “When in Rome…”

Florence (Week 3)
The home of the Italian Renaissance, magnificent Florence welcomes you with open arms for the third part of our program. 

Paris (Week 4)
We couldn’t imagine a better place to end our journey than in The City of Lights. Visits to the Bastille, Versailles, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Arc de Triomphe and other landmarks open up a discussion on the Middle Ages, the era of absolute monarchy, the French Revolution, and the French Enlightenment.