Gap student in the UK often combine touring abroad with charity work,don't they?Or work expereince.

Obviously it is very dangrous to generalise ;-) ,but on the whole the Grand Tour was to Europe and it was for cultural reasons.,- principally to these cities-Paris,Rome, Venice, Florence,Naples.It may have included trips to Spa in Belgium for health reasons,and sometiems German and Swiss towns and countryside were included).

Many country houses are now full of items bought on the Grand Tour- for example Holkham Hall in Norfolk has a statuegallery filled with Roman statues bought on the Grand Tour, tables with tops made from mosaics from Hadrian's villa.