Grand Tour of France (4780)

Check into your hotel. Tonight, meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers.

Drive first to the fine old city of Rouen and walk through its center, rich in gothic architecture. Next, stop in lovely HONFLEUR before reaching Caen for an overnight.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast, Dinner

Time to see Caen before a visit to the legendary beaches where the Allied troops landed more than 70 years ago. The highlights are Arromanches, St. Laurant, and the AMERICAN CEMETERY at Omaha. Next, journey to Bayeux, where you can admire the famous TAPESTRY (entrance fee extra). Then, southwards to the unique beauty of Mont St. Michel, which stands on an island reached by a causeway.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

Time this morning to enjoy a visit of MONT ST. MICHEL before a mid-morning departure to Angers to visit its CATHEDRAL. Then, along the banks of the Loire River to reach your hotel for two overnights. A chance this evening to join an optional dinner at a local restaurant.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

Time at leisure or join the optional excursion to see some of the most spectacular castles of the Loire, steeped in the history of noblemen and kings since the 11th century. Gothic spires, medieval turrets, great fortresses, and beautiful châteaux make for splendid panoramas.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast, Dinner

Travel on the comfortable Autoroute L’Aquitaine. Next stop is the picturesque town of La Rochelle, situated on the Atlantic coast. Continue eastwards into the world-famous Cognac region to visit the HENNESSY MUSEUM in Cognac. Then, journey to Bordeaux for an orientation walk.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast, Dinner

Today drive into the heart of one of France’s most scenic regions, the Dordogne. Stop in the dramatically located medieval town of Rocamadour, perched high upon a cliff. Southwards by way of Cahors to Toulouse for an overnight.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast, Dinner

Drive this morning along the Autoroute des Deux Mers for an orientation walk in Carcassonne. Then, continue eastwards to Nîmes, an elegant city famed for its busy boulevards shaded by lotus trees. Get a view of the Maison Carrée, one of the bestpreserved Roman temples in the whole of France. Short picture stop at the famous PONT DU GARD, before reaching Avignon for an overnight.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

South this morning to visit Arles, the most famous of all the Provence towns, known the world over by the paintings of Van Gogh. Visit the famous Roman AMPHITHEATER. Stop in Aix-en-Provence to see its main street, the COURS MIRABEAU, lined with plane trees and its 17th-century palace, houses, and fountains. Finally, to the French Riviera on the shores of the Mediterranean. Don’t miss the optional evening excursion.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

Take the opportunity today to enjoy all the amenities of the French Riviera.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

First to Grasse for a visit to a PERFUME WORKSHOP. See more of Provence and follow one of France’s great panoramic routes, the one Napoleon took on his return from Elba in 1815. From Grenoble, join the expressway to the Lyon area.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast, Dinner

Travel through the picturesque vineyards and fields of Burgundy to medieval Beaune, the region's wine capital since Roman times, where you visit the famous HÔTEL-DIEU before returning to the French capital and “City of Light,” Paris. Don't miss the optional evening cabaret show, a real Parisian spectacle.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

In the included sightseeing with a local expert are many of the best-known Parisian sights: Notre Dame Cathedral, La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides, and Champs Elysées. Optional excursions are also available to the Palace and Gardens of Versailles and, to celebrate the success of your tour, a French farewell dinner might be just the ticket.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.

Meals & Drinks : Breakfast