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In the first decade of the twentieth century two Flemish authors visited Paris. The Catholic, lower middle class, countryside-based and unexperienced traveler Stijn Streuvels did so in 1903, the liberal, urban, well-traveled son of a wealthy industrial Cyriel Buysse in 1910. In this contribution the travelogues they published are analyzed and compared by making use of notions and insights from tourism studies: the tourist gaze on the one hand, and identity politics informed by the opposition between travelers and tourists on the other. The comparison between the two authors makes clear that their travelogues share several characteristics: they both embrace the identity of the traveler in various ways and their authenticity-seeking tourist gazes are similar. There is, however, a clear difference between them as well, more specifically in their evaluation of the act of traveling itself, which can be connected to the very different backgrounds of these writers. To Buysse and his class going abroad is something evident, whereas Streuvels extensively needs to legitimize his trip. Nevertheless, there are signs that Streuvels aspires Buysse’s position and that his case forebodes the drastic changes in traveling behaviour of the interwar period.