-Day 1 Overnight flight to France (Paris)
Day 2 Bonjour Paris
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Enjoy a local snack
Details: Paris city walk
This city was made for walking. Stroll grand boulevards with sweeping views of the city, pristine parks with trees planted in perfect rows, and narrow streets crowded with vendors selling flowers, pastries and cheese. Then head to the Île de la Cité, a small island in the Seine, to see Notre Dame Cathedral.
Details: Notre-Dame Cathedral
View the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Work began in 1163 on a spot that had been a holy shrine since Roman times. Over the centuries, the cathedral has been the scene of some of France's most momentous occasions, including the coronation of Napoleon.
Details: Boeuf bourguignon dinner
The ultimate French comfort food, Boeuf Bourguignon is on the menu tonight. Sit down in a traditional brasserie to enjoy this dish made famous by Julia Child. This rich, red wine beef stew, cooked with onions, bacon and mushrooms, is served with pasta or potatoes. Bon appetit!
Day 3 Paris
Details: Paris guided sightseeing tour
What's that huge white arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées? The Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. Your licensed local guide will elaborate on this, and other Parisian landmarks. See some of the most famous sites, including the ornate 19th-century Opera, the Presidential residence and the Place de la Concorde, where in the center you’ll find the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt in 1836. Spot chic locals (and tons of tourists) strolling the Champs-Élysées. Look up at the iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. See Les Invalides (a refuge for war wounded) and the École Militaire (Napoleon's alma mater).
Details: Guided neighborhood foodie tour
Get a taste of Parisian gastronomie. Join a local guide for a tour of a neighborhood chocolate or cheese shop, where sampling is a must!
Details: Seine River cruise
See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.
Day 4 Paris
Details: Rungis Market tour
After an early breakfast in Rungis Market, you will experience the largest wholesale market in the world! This is where the best Parisian chefs come for their daily finds! This market is so big in fact, that a train station and highway exit have been built to accommodate all the meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruit, and fresh flowers that come in and out of the market each day. You will tour large halls, each home to a different fresh product such as the fruit and vegetable hall, the cheese hall, and- not for the faint of heart- the fish and game halls. By the end of the day, much of what you see here will be exquisitely prepared and served in the fine bistros of Paris. (Please note that this activity takes place very early in the morning around 5AM at the time when the market is open and bustling!)
Details: Marché des Enfants Rouges visit
Explore Paris’s oldest covered market, where global street food and local delicacies come alive in a bustling atmosphere. Discover the rich history behind its name, drawn from 17th-century orphans once clothed in red.
Details: Couscous dinner
Immigration from North Africa (particularly from Tunisia and Morocco), has given the French capital a colorful mix of cuisines. Couscous is one of the most popular dishes today in Paris. Join the locals at a traditional North African restaurant and enjoy an authentic couscous: semolina traditionally served with a fragrant meat and vegetable stew.
Day 5 Paris--Loire Valley
Travel to the Loire Valley
Troglodyte Village guided visit
Details: Loire Valley Châteaux excursion
France’s aristocrats began building defensive castles in the Loire Valley in the 11th century. A few hundred years later, their descendants created pleasure palaces among the lush green forests and wandering waterways. Today, sumptuous Renaissance castles stud the banks of the silvery Loire River, the longest in France.
Details: Dinner in Troglodyte Village
Dug by men from the XIIth century onwards to extract the stone, “the tuffeau” destined for building, The Cave aux Moines was used as far back as the beginning of the XXth century to cultivate mushrooms. The beginning of the cave and the first metres of the galleries were used by people to live; that kind of living was called the "troglodytes". Here people and animals lived as a community.
Day 6 Loire Valley
Château de Chenonceau visit
Details: Vineyard visit
The Loire Valley is known for its numerous quality vineyards. Along the way, you will stop for a tour of one of these vineyards, and see how exquisite French wines make it from the vine to the glass. Mostly known for their crisp white wine made from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, there are also a variety of red, rosé, and sparkling wines that come from this region as well. Dating as far back as the 1st century, the Loire Valley has been known for the production of quality French wines. Adults on tour can enjoy a sampling of some of the vineyard favorites! À votre santé! Cheers!
Details: Cooking class and dinner
Embark on a culinary adventure in the heart of the Loire Valley. You will start your experience by learning about French produce and agriculture. In the workshop, you will practice what you have learned and will finish with a cooking class. You can then enjoy the 3 course French meal you have just cooked supervised by professionals. Bon Appétit!
Day 7 Loire Valley--Normandy
Travel to Normandy
Details: Dairy farm visit
Dairy farming is one of Normandy’s major industries, and you will get to see how it all works! A local guide will greet you when you arrive at Isigny Sainte-Mère. This world famous dairy farm, once known only for its milk, now boasts an array of mouthwatering fresh cheeses, such as ladled Camembert, AOP Pont l'Evêque, Red Label Mimolette, Brie and Saint-Paulin, to name a few! The innovative technology developed by Isigny Sainte-Mère also produces a wide range of baby formulas, and instant powdered milks. All products are born from the high quality milk collected right there on the farm. We can’t forget the best part- a sampling of farm fresh Isigny cheeses! Bon appétit!
Details: Arromanches D-Day Museum visit
Ingenious military engineering allowed the Allied forces to land at Arromanches on D-Day. Barges towed 600,000 tons of concrete across the English Channel, sinking them to create an artificial harbor, and then 33 jetties and 10 miles of floating roadways allowed the troops to land in France. Learn about this feat and other at the Arromanches Museum, where dioramas, interactive displays, and models detail the Allied landing.
Details: Normandy D-Day landing beaches
See the D-Day beaches where on June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied troops landed in an effort to recapture the coast from Germany. All along the beaches, deserted German bunkers have been turned into memorials and the stark white crosses and stars that mark the cemeteries are grim reminders of the war.
Day 8 Normandy--Paris
Travel to Paris
Chocolate Museum visit
Dinner in Montmartre
Details: Montmartre tour director-led sightseeing
If you’re coming to Paris, you absolutely need to take a walk in Montmartre! This area will wake the artist in you up. Its narrow alleys, windmills, little details, and soul are some of the things that make Montmartre so unique. As you walk in Montmartre, you will quickly understand how it has inspired so many artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh. As you walk up the hill make sure to take in all that surrounds you, because in Montmartre you are likely to find surprises around every corner!
Day 9 Flight home from Paris
Day 9 Start extension to Côte d'Azur
Travel to Nice on the TGV (one of Europe’s fastest train)
Day 10 Côte d'Azur
Details: Monaco and Èze excursion
Step into the dazzling world of Monaco, a tiny country bursting with luxury, history, and sunshine on the French Riviera. Learn how this unique principality became a playground for royalty and movie stars alike. Journey to the hilltop village of Èze to visit a traditional perfumery and discover how expert perfumers have blended scents since the 1700s.
Details: Nice tour director-led sightseeing
The Côte d'Azur's largest city spills down the hillsides to pebble beaches that line the shore. Your Tour Director will show you around the narrow pedestrian streets and tiny squares of "Le Vieux Nice" (Old Town), which is sprinkled with old palaces and mansions. Stroll down the Promenade des Anglais, which runs parallel to the water. Backed by Nice's grand hotels, the Promenade was built in the 19th century for the British who flocked here en masse.
Details: Promenade des Anglais
Stroll The Promenade des Anglais, named for the English who paid for it, is a seven kilometer walkway along the seafront. Called "La Prom" by locals, it's the best place to people-watch.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 7 overnight stays (9 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Full-time services of a professional tour director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- 1 Paris Métro carnet
- High-speed TGV train to Nice on extension
- Tour Diary™
- Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
- Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
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