Farmers make wine on a stop of the Grand Tourīetween the late 15th century until the rise of relatively affordable train travel in the mid-19th century, young men, and nearer to the end, young women of means and status would set sail from England and arrive on continental Europe to undergo a period of formative education. Its form, content and modus operandi have drastically altered over time, but before the onset of mass tourism and comfortable travel, young men of affluence were embarking on cultural pilgrimages through the cradle of Western civilisation: Europe. This desire to learn through exploration is nothing new. Gap year, Erasmus, study abroad: common periods in a young person's life when they embark on travel for education even as we get older, vacations and adventures are often tailored around experiencing a culture. Italy was the final stop on the tour as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome. Travelling by carriage, and in some portions by foot, these tourists explored the cradle of Western civilization to learn about the art, architecture and culture of antiquity and the Renaissance. The Grand Tour was a cultural pilgrimage undertaken by young people of means in a time when the world was much less connected than it is today.