Rome: Hotel de Russie

Hotel de Russie is a fitting starting point. The property has a long association with the arts and occupies a prime position on Via del Babuino, between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps. Its history dates to the early 19th century, when architect Giuseppe Valadier designed the palazzo and its terraced garden — now known as the Secret Garden. Past guests have included Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Sergei Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky, lending the hotel a genuine cultural pedigree.

For the Kandinsky itinerary, Hotel de Russie has partnered with Stellavision Travel on an experience beginning with private access to the Palazzo Bonaparte exhibition. From there, a historian-led walk moves into Flaminio and Parioli, two neighborhoods offering a different angle on Rome’s creative history and contemporary scene. The experience closes back at the hotel’s Stravinskij Bar — named for another avant-garde titan — over a Stravinskij Spritz, a small toast to the ongoing link between artistic tradition and present-day creativity.

Even without the special itinerary, the hotel makes a compelling art-focused base: Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps and Via Margutta are all close at hand, the Secret Garden offers a quiet retreat between excursions, Le Jardin serves Italian cuisine in a garden setting, and the Stravinskij Bar is ultra-atmospheric.

Munich: The Charles Hotel

The second chapter unfolds at The Charles Hotel, where the story shifts from Rome’s galleries to the city that shaped Kandinsky’s artistic philosophy. The hotel sits between the Old Botanical Garden, Karlsplatz and Königsplatz, close to Munich’s Maxvorstadt museum quarter. Built in 2007, the five-star-superior property has 160 rooms and suites — starting at 40 square meters — with interiors designed by Olga Polizzi, sister of Sir Rocco Forte.

Its proximity to the Lenbachhaus makes it an ideal base for tracing Kandinsky’s Munich years. The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Blue Rider art, a group that grew substantially with Gabriele Münter’s 1957 donation of more than 1,000 works, including roughly 90 Kandinsky oil paintings alongside watercolors and drawings. Kandinsky founded the movement alongside Franz Marc, Münter, Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin; their 1911 and 1912 exhibitions in Munich became landmark moments in modernism’s development.

Rocco Forte’s Munich itinerary includes a private visit to the Lenbachhaus, with the Pinakothek der Moderne offered as an additional stop for guests who want to go further. Back at The Charles, the theme continues at Florio Bar, where the Kandinsky’s Spirit cocktail takes its cue from the artist’s expressive palette — Aperol and Mondino for bittersweet notes, fresh lemon and vanilla, finished with a velvety Sarti cream.

Classic Rooms, at 40 square meters, feature contemporary artwork and views toward Munich’s historic buildings and the museum district; Deluxe Panoramic View Rooms look out over the Old Botanical Garden and, on clear days, toward the Alps.