France Sample Itinerary
Day 1: Paris
Your driver will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel or apartment. Tonight take one of our restaurant recommendations and get into the Parisien spirit with a wonderful dinner of traditional cuisine.
Day 2: Paris
Today, your guide will meet you at your hotel and take you on a "get to know” Paris Tour. See the Effiel Tower, Notre Dame and learn the metro system with the help of your private guide. After lunch and a short rest your guide will meet you at your hotel to take you on a 2 hour private tour of the Musee d'Orsay. You will discover Impressionism in this wonderful museum housed in a converted railway station. The building itself is a work of art. You will see masterpieces by Manet, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and many others. Also, learn more about the great and popular era of art history called Impressionism. This afternoon spend some time at Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. You'll have wonderful photos and memories to take home with you.
Day 3: Paris: Bruges Excursion
6:30 a.m. Depart with guide and driver to discover Bruges, a true jewel of architecture. The market is in the heart of Bruges, with a Belfry Tower that dominates the town center. See the Town Hall (built in the 14th century). Bruges is also known as the "Little Venice of the North" because of its beautiful canal. Return to Paris about 6:30 p.m.
Day 4: Paris
This morning your guide will meet you at your hotel and
take you on a 3 hour private tour of the Louvre. The Louvre is said
to be the largest museum in the world. Under the Grande Louvre project
of the 1980's and 90's, it's exhibition space doubled. With it's renovations
came the addition of the controversial I.M.Pei glass pyramid entrance
and superb glass covered courtyards displaying French sculpture.
With your guide you won't feel overwelmed by the size of the Louvre.
You will spend as much or as little time exploring its vast collection
of art. Your guide will help you see all the greatest hits in this
amazing museum: Caravaggios, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and the Venus de
Milo!
Iin the afternoon stroll along the Champs-Elysées, wander through
the streets of Montmartre, tour Napoleon’s tomb and Les Invalides,
find the best café and bakery in your neighborhood, window-shop
through the Marais, Paris’s hippest new district. Finish by feeding
the pigeons and people-watching in what may be the most beautiful square
in Europe, Place de la Vosges!
Day
5: Paris: Bike and Picnic at Versailles
This morning you will meet your guide and take the Metro to Versailles together. Once there, you'll first visit the village market to buy baguettes, cheese, ham, wine or whatever you desire for a picnic later in the Chateau's gardens. Spend most of your day riding through the tree-lined gardens that the average Versailles tourist doesn't get to see. Highlights of this tour include: The Versailles Gardens, The Hall of Mirrors – site of the signing of the treaty that ended World War I, The King’s State Apartments – bedrooms of both King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet – the quaint village she built herself in order to escape her court by pretending to be a peasant girl. Return to Paris about 5 p.m.
Day 6: Avignon
Today, your driver will pick you up and take you to the train station. The 10:20 a.m. train departs Paris Gare Lyon and arrives Avignon at 12:57 p.m. Take a taxi to your hotel and have lunch. At 3:00 p.m. meet your Provence guide for a guided walking tour of Avignon's top sites, including its famous bridge and the Popes’ palace. There are many other marvels to discover, all protected within its 14th century ramparts: treasures of architecture, exquisite museums, gastronomy restaurants, wine and local crafts, shady café terraces, and a charming square.
Day 7: Avignon
Today, enjoy Avignon on your own. Great shopping too!
Day
8:Eze
Today, take a taxi to the car rental agency and pick up your car. Drive to the French Riviera! On the way, we highly suggest a stop in Arles for lunch at the Van Gogh Cafe. This evening wander around your wonderful village! Perched 1,500 feet above the Mediterranean Sea, Eze is one of the most charming hilltop stone villages in France.
Day 9: Eze
Today on your own. Suggestions are to explore Eze or nearby town, St. Paul de Vence, or other local villages. Or, you might enjoy a scenic hike on The Nietzsche Path from Eze village to Eze Bord-de-mer. Tonight, you can drive down into Monte Carlo/Monaco for a night on the town.
Day
10:Antibes
Today drive to Antibes and check into your hotel. This old Mediterranean town has a quiet charm unique on the Côte d'Azur. Its little harbor is filled with fishing boats and pleasure yachts, and in recent years it has emerged as a new "hot spot." The marketplaces are full of flowers, mostly roses and carnations. If you're in Antibes in the evening, you can watch fishermen playing the traditional Riviera game of boules. Take the day to explore the town or head to the nearby beaches.
Day 11: Antibes
Today we suggest a visit to one the world's best Picasso museums. Picasso came to town after the war and stayed in a small hotel at Golfe-Juan until the museum director at Antibes invited him to work and live at the museum. Picasso spent 1946 painting here. When he departed, he gave the museum all the work he'd done: 24 paintings, 80 pieces of ceramics, 44 drawings, 32 lithographs, 11 oils on paper, 2 sculptures, and 5 tapestries. In addition, a gallery of contemporary art exhibits Léger, Miró, Ernst, and Calder, among others.
Day 12: Departure
Today, we can arrange a transfer to the airport for your flight home or to your next destination.