
Notes From the Road: Portugal Biking
Rest of EuropeLast year I was invited by B&R to plan a trip in Alentejo and my heart started pumping with happiness and pride. B&R is coming to my native ...
READ MOREBefore Butterfield & Robinson had 50 years under our belt, traversed six continents, had affairs with over 80 countries (sorry, Canada) and made more friends than we could count, it was a trio of university students: Toronto law student George Butterfield, his high school roommate Sidney Robinson, and his wife Martha Butterfield (Sidney’s sister, of course). Like all young Europhiles, they had a dogged determination to be abroad, a love for the food, languages and culture, a sense of adventure, and no money.
“We decided the only way we could afford to get back to Europe was to develop a student tour program,” George now admits. “Our idea was to visit great cities, arrange history seminars and spend some time biking and hiking.” It worked, and a company – not to mention an entirely new way to travel – was born.
What doesn’t get said, but bears keeping in mind, is just how damn crazy this idea was in 1966...
B&R's brand voice and distinct visual style was established by our co-founder Martha Butterfield, who wrote and oversaw the design of our earliest brochures. (Those distinctive brochure covers are all her doing.) Her passion for good design set the bar incredibly high and continues to permeate all aspects of the company; from our brand identity to our website to the personally tailored bespoke adventures we craft today. Scroll through the covers below to see how our emphasis on design has influenced our brochures over the past 50 years.
Last year I was invited by B&R to plan a trip in Alentejo and my heart started pumping with happiness and pride. B&R is coming to my native ...
READ MOREThe first time I visited the island of Mallorca in August 2010, for the first of many tours that I was to lead here, I was immediately enchanted by this amazing ...
READ MOREPerhaps the most important thing you need to know about Denmark is that this is a nation that believes there is no such thing as bad weather, only people poorly ...
READ MOREFor years when travellers asked me where they should go next, I would respond immediately and emphatically: the Dolomites. ...
READ MOREMy heart quickens as I think of this hidden corner of southwest France. Its dramatic cliffs and perched medieval villages a remove from modern life. ...
READ MOREBali: one mention of the place is enough to set most peoples’ minds into vacation mode. From pristine beaches to lush jungle, sleepy villages to bustling markets, it admits of the most appealing kinds of ...
READ MOREWhat is it about this place that exerts such a draw? Explorers, naturalists, adventurers, outlaws and fortune seekers have found themselves pulled here for centuries, sometimes never to ...
READ MOREWhile it all worked out pretty well in the end, when you really stop to think about it, George Butterfield had one hell of a ...
READ MOREMany years ago – about 50 of them, in fact – the bicycling world of Butterfield & Robinson began in Starnberg, Germany, in postcard-perfect Bavaria. ...
READ MOREWhile a steady diet of good food, great wine and miles of biking has kept us feeling sprightly, we can't deny the truth: we're about to turn ...
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