An Amateur Artist Retreat

Paint Paris.Badly, on purpose.

Five days making art in the prettiest city on earth. No instruction, no skill required, no one grading you. Just show up and make something.

Thu Oct 1 → Tue Oct 6, 2026 5 nights 4–20 per group
Book your spot → $1,699 per person, $99 to book.
Worry-free booking

$99 books your spot. Cancel for a full cash refund any time before we confirm the trip on September 1, or for 30 days after you book, whichever is longer. The remaining $1,600 is paid in two installments of $800, and you can split either one further at checkout, interest-free with some payment providers. See the deets

What this actually is

A long weekend of making things, together.

A small group spends five days sketching in the parks, painting by the Seine, and chasing color around Paris, with group dinners, walking tours, and a couple of nights out. Nobody's teaching. You just make stuff. The point is the doing, not the masterpiece.

Ways to make art

A different way to make something, every day.

No skill needed for any of it. Just show up and try. Here's what you'll get your hands on:

Oil painting Acrylic painting Paint & sip Figure drawing Urban sketching Color hunting Performance art
What's in the trip

Everything but the flight.

5 nights, central Paris

Handpicked hotel, shared room, walkable to everything.

All the art stuff

Canvas, easels, paint, brushes, aprons. We buy it, you keep what you make.

Seine river cruise

The city from the water, at golden hour.

Daily hotel breakfast

Every morning after you arrive (day one, you're flying in, so the welcome dinner is your first meal with us). Lunches are on your own.

Dinners and an evening under the tower

A welcome dinner, a farewell dinner, and food and wine on the Champ de Mars during the paint & sip. The other nights are yours to explore.

2 walking tours

Le Marais & Montmartre, with guides.

A week of Métro travel

A Navigo pass for the whole stay, so the Métro and buses are covered once you arrive.

Two painting sessions

An oil figure-painting session on the Champ de Mars (ballerina + tower) and an acrylic paint & sip under the sparkling tower. All materials included.

Color hunt + sketch throwdown

Two low-key group activities. No winners, just fun.

A fine-arts museum visit

A group morning at the Petit Palais: Courbet, Monet, Cézanne, in a stunning Beaux-Arts setting.

A cabaret show

Performance art, Paris-style, plus a night out. All included.

Not included: Flights and airport transfers. Travel insurance, which we strongly recommend and don't sell. Visas or entry requirements. Any meal not listed in the itinerary. Personal expenses and tips. Optional add-ons on your free afternoons. Local hotel or tourist taxes if the property charges them at check-in.
The five days

Thursday to Tuesday.

Thu
OCT 1
Arrive

Land & settle in

arrivewelcome dinner

Fly in on your own schedule, check in, shake off the jet lag on a loose evening stroll. Then a welcome dinner in the Marais to meet everyone.

Fri
OCT 2
Performance art · Cabaret

Le Marais walking tour · Seine cruise · cabaret

walking tourcruisecabaret

A walking tour through Le Marais and its hidden courtyards. Free afternoon. A golden-hour Seine cruise under the Eiffel Tower, then a classic Paris cabaret show: performance art the way the city does it best, included.

Sat
OCT 3
Oil · Figure drawing

Free morning · figure painting on the Champ de Mars

free morningfigure paintingfree evening

Your morning is yours after breakfast: sleep in, wander, or go explore the Louvre on your own. In the late afternoon we set up on the Champ de Mars, where there is enough open lawn that everyone gets room to work without a crowd behind them: a ballerina poses with the tower behind her and you paint her in oil. Canvas, easels and paint provided, nobody teaching or grading. When it wraps, the evening is yours.

Sun
OCT 4
Color hunting · Photography · Acrylic · Paint & sip

Petit Palais, Montmartre color hunt & paint and sip

museumcolor huntwalking tourpaint & sip

A group morning at the Petit Palais, the City of Paris fine-arts museum: Courbet, Monet, Cézanne, in a gorgeous, uncrowded Beaux-Arts palace. Then up to Montmartre: break into teams, each chasing a different color through the streets with your cameras (no winners, just a fun way to really see the place), then a walking tour of the old artists' quarter. In the evening we head to the Champ de Mars with acrylics, wine, bread and blankets for a paint & sip: paint the tower while it sparkles, or put the brush down and eat. Both are fine. Included.

Mon
OCT 5
Urban sketching

Sketch throwdown & farewell

urban sketchthrowdownfarewell dinner

Sketch the Tuileries with the Louvre behind us, then the throwdown: everyone lays their sketchbooks out and we share the lot. A farewell dinner to close it out.

Tue
OCT 6
Depart

Fly home

depart

Optional sketch-and-coffee for the early risers, then out on your own flights.

Ninety nine dollars holds your seat.

Book your spot

$1,699 per person, all in except flights. $99 books it. The balance comes in two payments of $800, the first 14 days after you book and the second by September 11. You can put either one on a card outright, or split it into installments through Klarna, Affirm, or Afterpay at checkout.

Open to travelers 25 to 39 who are based in the United States. Book on or after August 27 and the full balance is due at booking.

Book your spot for $99 →
How cancelling works You get 30 days from the day you book to change your mind, with a full cash refund of everything you've paid, or until September 11, whichever comes first. On top of that, you can always cancel for a full refund up until we confirm the trip is running on September 1, even if your 30 days would have closed sooner. Booking early never costs you the option to back out. After that window closes and up to September 11, back out for any reason and everything you've paid becomes trip credit that never expires, good on any future Co-Signed trip. Inside the last 20 days you forfeit 75% of what you've paid and the remaining 25% becomes that same credit. Miss a payment and you lose the spot, with what you've paid converting to credit. If we cancel the trip for any reason you get 100% of your money back. Full terms.

Booking runs in three steps.

Here's how you end up on it:

1

Put down $99

Takes a minute and it holds your seat. The two balance payments are invoiced to you by email, the first 14 days later and the second by September 11.

2

Take the survey

A few questions about how you travel, when you sleep, and how you like a room kept. It's short, and it's what decides who you room with.

3

Then just show up

Materials are included, so there's nothing to pack but clothes. We'll confirm the trip is running by September 1, and that's your green light to book flights.

EF Traveler Offer

Already done an EF trip? Take $250 off.

EF proved group travel is worth it. Co-Signed changes one thing: you spend the week making things instead of photographing them.

How to claim: Join Co-Signed and email us a photo of your EF trip confirmation or boarding pass. We'll apply $250 off your first Co-Signed trip, no questions asked.

Claim my $250 →
Good questions

The honest answers.

Do I need to be good at art?+
No, and that's the whole point. There's no instruction and nobody's judging. If you can hold a brush you're qualified. The trip is built for people who want to make things for fun, not improve a craft.
Who can book this trip?+
Travelers aged 25 to 39 who are based in the United States. It's a small group and the age range is what keeps it feeling like one, so we do check. Everything else is open: no art experience, no existing connection to anyone else going.
How do I get a spot?+
Put down $99 above and the seat is yours. The balance is $800 fourteen days later and $800 by September 11, both invoiced to you by email. Places are strictly limited, so seats go in the order they're paid for.
Why are flights not included?+
So you can use your own miles, fly from wherever, and arrive early or stay late. We'll give you target arrival and departure times. One ask: wait until we confirm the trip is running, which we'll email you by September 1, before you book. If you want to lock in a fare sooner, book a refundable one. Your money with us is protected either way, but a non-refundable flight isn't.
What exactly is not included?+
Flights and airport transfers. Travel insurance, which we strongly recommend and don't sell. Visas or entry requirements. Any meal not listed in the itinerary. Personal expenses and tips. Optional add-ons on your free afternoons. Local hotel or tourist taxes if the property charges them at check-in. Everything else is in the price: your room, your art supplies, the models, the guided sessions, the listed meals, and ground transport during the trip.
What if I need to cancel?+
You've got 30 days from the day you book to change your mind, or until September 11, whichever comes first: a full cash refund of everything you've paid, deposit included, no questions asked. And whatever those 30 days say, you can always get a full refund up until we confirm the trip on September 1. This trip runs when enough people book it, so your deposit is a refundable vote rather than a bet, and waiting doesn't buy you any protection you don't already have. After that window and up to September 11, back out for any reason and everything you've paid becomes Co-Signed trip credit that never expires. Inside the last 20 days you forfeit 75% and the remaining 25% becomes that same credit. Miss a payment and you lose the spot, with what you've paid converting to credit. If we cancel the trip, you get 100% of your money back. If you split a payment through Klarna or another provider, that plan is with them rather than with us, so their terms govern those installments. The full policy is on our terms page.
Anything I need to know about entering France?+
You'll need a valid passport, and the EU's ETIAS travel authorization may be in effect for 2026, a quick, cheap online form. Check the official requirements before you book flights; we'll remind you by email too.
Who else will be on the trip?+
Four to twenty people who wanted five days of making things and did not need a better reason than that. Everyone is 25 to 39 and based in the United States. Rooms are shared, twin beds, and we room people with the same gender. The survey is how we pair you with someone whose sleep schedule and habits line up with yours.