Cote d’AzurProvenceBurgundyNormandyLoire ValleyBordeauxparis

Embark on a breathtaking 30-day journey through France’s enchanting landscapes and rich heritage. From the sun-drenched shores of the Côte d’Azur, where the azure sea meets the golden sands, to the lavender fields of Provence that burst into vibrant hues, each destination promises a unique cultural experience. Explore Burgundy’s exquisite vineyards and Normandy’s historical charm, where tales of the past come alive. Wander through the picturesque châteaux of the Loire Valley, savour the world-renowned wines of Bordeaux, and finally, immerse yourself in the timeless allure of Paris, the City of Lights.

Itinerary Highlights

  • Explore magical cities
  • Localised Food Tours
  • Taste the wine and meet the growers
  • Visit UNESCO World Heritage sites
  • Learn the art of French cuisine

What’s included

  • Private tours for most included activities
  • Meet & greet airport service
  • Luxury or boutique accommodation at your chosen level
  • Expert guides in each destination

flexibility

This is an example itinerary. It is fully flexible; you can add or detract days and include hotels at your chosen budget. It departs daily.

29

Nights

Price Guide

$17,500 to $35,000+ per person

Our quotes are bespoke for your customised trip. The prices displayed are indicative only, read more

Day 1

Arrive in nice

plan line
Day 1

Nice – St Paul de Vence

Upon arrival at Nice Airport, your local representative will welcome you to France in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel, where you will be assisted with check-in procedures.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 2

Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze & Monaco

Today, meet your expert local guide and private vehicle for a full day (8 hours) sightseeing tour of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze, and Monaco. You are driven along the famous Corniche road to Beaulieu-sur-Mer to visit the Villa Kerylos, a Belle Epoque mansion built in the style of Classical Greece, next to Eze, a village perched dramatically on the cliff top and affording splendid views along the coast. Upon arrival in glamorous Monte Carlo, sightseeing includes the extravagant Palais Princier, the royal family’s residence, and the Oceanography Museum with its famous aquarium.

Day 3

Gourmet Tour of Nice & Cap Ferrat

This morning, you are met by your private vehicle and English-speaking driver to be transferred to Nice. Upon arrival, spend the morning tasting delicacies in the Old Town, learn all about Provençal olive oils and have a light Mediterranean meal prepared with only the freshest ingredients from the market. Your guide is a food critic and cookbook author fascinated with Nice and its unique culinary tradition, a product of its history and climate. This afternoon, visit the port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and the beautiful Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 4

Cannes & Antibes

Today meet your local guide and private vehicle for a full-day (8 hours) sightseeing tour along the Côte d’Azur. Travel to the glamorous town of Cannes with its stylish boutiques and elegant “La Croisette” seafront. Also see the picturesque old town known as Le Suquet, which sits on the original Roman settlement.

Later discover the pretty town of Antibes with its ancient stone ramparts, cobbled streets and colourful market selling the freshest of local produce. Visit the Picasso Museum which is housed in the Chateau Grimaldi. Picasso stayed and painted there from mid-September to mid-November 1946. He later donated 23 paintings and 44 drawings to the town of Antibes.

Day 5

St Paul de Vence

Spend your final morning in the Cote D’Azur close to your hotel in the beautiful medieval village of St. Paul de Vence. You visit the Fondation Maeght with its world-famous collection of Modern Art. Here you may also like to enjoy lunch (not included) at the exclusive Colombe d’Or, a hotel with its priceless collection of paintings.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 6

St Paul de Vence – Nice – Avignon

Today you are met at your hotel and privately transferred to Nice railway station where you board the train for your Concierge Rail journey with pre-reserved 1st-class seats.

Upon arrival at Avignon railway station you are met by your representative and privately transferred to your hotel, where you are assisted with check-in.


Day 7

Avignon & Orange

Meet your local guide for a half-day walking tour (4hrs) in the magnificent papal stronghold of Avignon. Visit the Clock Square before entering the huge Palais des Papes, where seven exiled popes lived between 1309 and 1377. The main rooms are decorated with some excellent 14th-century frescoes.

Depart this afternoon for a half-day (4 hours) sightseeing tour to Orange, home to some magnificent Roman relics. This historic town contains two of Europe’s finest Roman monuments: the Roman theatre, constructed at the beginning of the Christian era, and the Arc de Triomphe, which celebrates Julius Caesar’s conquest of the Gauls.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 8

Luberon & Forqualquier

Aside from inspiring the book “A Year in Provence”, the Luberon is one of the most delightful regions of Provence, with rolling hills and a verdant nature dotted with churches and rural communities. Drive first to the great 12th-century Cistercian Abbey of Sénanque to admire the magnificent architecture (the interior is closed on Sundays). Enjoy the beauty of the abbey’s setting, surrounded by lavender fields, before continuing to the delightful village of Gordes, whose cobbled lanes and sweeping views over the surrounding countryside are truly enchanting. You may choose to have lunch under the shade of the large plane tree in the little main square before continuing to an open-air museum of the strange “bodies” – stone huts that are typical of this region and some of which are over 500 years old and served as refuges for shepherds.

Drive through the delightful countryside to the old town of Forqualquier, where you visit an old distillery that makes the signature aperitif of Provence – pastis. Enjoy a visit and a tasting, perhaps!

Day 9

Le Baux & Saint Remy

Explore Les Baux-de-Provence and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence with your driver-guide (8 hrs). The medieval village of Les Baux is dominated by the ruins of a magnificent fortress hidden between the craggy hilltops. You also visit St-Rémy-de-Provence, with its Roman antiquities.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 10

Avignon – Dijon – La Bussière Sur Ouche

Today you are met at your hotel and privately transferred with your representative to the Avignon railway station to begin your journey to Dijon. You are met upon arrival and privately transferred to your hotel.

Day 11

Dijon

This morning you meet your driver and wine expert for a full-day (8 hour) sightseeing tour. Travel to Dijon, the historical capital of Burgundy, and enjoy a walking tour of the Old Town, with its splendid half-timber houses. Burgundians are truly obsessed with good wine and food and there is nowhere better to experience this than the local market (Tuesday & Friday, on Thursday the market is only inside the Halles), where you can sample the wonderful local delicacies and produce. Continue to the impressive Fine Arts Museum, housed within the Palais des Ducs, to admire its collection of Flemish masters and treasures from the reign of the former Dukes of Burgundy.

This afternoon explore the surrounding countryside of the Côte de Beaune, where some of the world’s most sought-after white wines are produced. Visit Château du Clos Vougeot; recognised worldwide as one of the jewels of Burgundy’s vineyards, it is the largest single vineyard entitled to the Grand Cru in the Côte de Nuits, most famous for reds made from the Pinot Noir. See some of the working buildings built by the Cistercian monks in the 12th century, the winery that houses four huge presses, and the cellar built to accommodate 2,000 wine casks. End the day in the village of Vosne-Romanée, which produces the finest and most expensive Pinot Noir wines in the world, and boasts no fewer than eight Grand Cru vineyards.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 12

Beaune & Meursault

This morning you meet your driver and wine expert for a full day (8 hour) sightseeing tour to Beaune & Meursault.

World-renowned as the capital of the Côte D’Or wine industry, Beaune is also famous for its tiled roofs and charming Flemish architecture. Considered the wine capital of Burgundy, it was here that special wine merchants, known as négociants, settled in the mid-18th century. Visit the famous Hôtel-Dieu, an impressive 15th century building and a remarkable example of Burgundian medieval architecture. Originally built for the poor or sick seeking a place to shelter, it now houses a museum retracing its past. The most notable item is the famous polyptych of the Last Judgment, produced by the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden.

To the south of Beaune and the Côte de Nuits, you find another wine road which includes the Côte Chalonnaise. This gentle landscape is more agricultural, and the vineyards are interspersed within the rolling countryside. The vineyards date back to Roman times and, after they were almost wiped out by a pest in the 19th century, the area finally got its own appellation: Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise. Four grapes are used to produce wines here: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté and Gamay.

Day 13

La Bussière Sur Ouche – Vezelay – Reims

oday enjoy a full-day (8 hours) sightseeing transfer to the Champagne region.

You may also enjoy a visit to the “holy hill” of Vézelay whose 12th-century abbey is considered one of the greatest religious monuments in Europe. It was here that the Pope called for the Second Crusade in 1146 and the carvings on the stone capitals are a marvel to behold. Enjoy time to wander the pretty medieval streets around the abbey.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 14

Reims & Champagne Region

Today, you are met by your driver and privately transferred to Modena, where you will meet your local guide. In addition to the city centre’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status, Modena is well known for its opera heritage and balsamic vinegar. Discover its splendour in the graceful historic centre, learning about its in-depth and interesting history. Visit Modena’s monumental treasures including the cathedral, which is one of the finest masterpieces of European Romanesque architecture and Piazza Grande, with its Palazzo Comunale. Your tour includes a stop foThis morning meet a local guide for a sightseeing tour (8 hours) in Reims and enjoy a visit to the Palais du Tau, the former Archbishop’s Palace that was built by Mansart and Robert de Cotte in 1690. Today it houses the cathedral’s museum with tapestries, sculptures and artifacts from the kings’ coronations. The “Salle du Tau”, once used as a banqueting hall after coronations, is most significant.

After lunch at leisure, visit the city’s magnificent cathedral, The Cathedral of Our Lady, a masterpiece of Gothic art that dates back to 1211 and was the cathedral of the coronations for French kings in memory of the baptism of Clovis by Saint Remi, probably on Christmas Day 498.

This afternoon enjoy a scenic drive on the Route du Vin (wine road) and discover why the Champagne Region is a fantastic destination. Follow the great road along the steep slopes of the Montagne de Reims, through pretty wine villages such as Mailly-Champagne and Bouzy.

Day 15

Reims – Paris

Today, you are collected from your hotel by your driver and transferred to Reims train station, where you board your TGV high-speed service to Paris. On arrival, you are met by your local driver and driver and taken by private transfer to your hotel, where you are assisted with check-in.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 16

Paris City Tour & Louvre Museum

This morning begin with an overview tour, which includes famous Parisian sights such as the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées and the Ile de la Cité, where you visit the Sainte Chapelle, a pearl of Gothic architecture.

After your tour you have a lunch reservation at the Jules Verne restaurant (lunch payable directly). Classic French cuisine with chic and professional service is offered in this restaurant.

This afternoon visit the world-famous Louvre Museum. The Louvre is housed in a magnificent building, which was originally built for use as a royal palace for King Francis I. The main entrance is now covered by a large glass, steel rod and cable pyramid designed by the American architect I. M. Pei. It is home to one of the most important art collections in the Western world, spanning the period from remotest antiquity, through to about 1850.

Day 17

Food Tour & Versailles

Immerse your senses in the best gastronomic delights that Paris has to offer during a three-hour walking tour. Meet up with a local food enthusiast and explore some of the finest creations of French gastronomy in the city. There are a number of different speciality shops for you to discover and tips for what to look for, including the five families of French cheeses, the best place to buy saucisson (sausage) and the best way to navigate the shelves of any pâtisserie in Paris. Afterwards, indulge yourself in a picnic-style lunch with the treats you have collected on your food walk and, over a glass or two of wine, share your meal while talking more on the subject of French food and culture.

This afternoon you enjoy a half-day (5 hours) sightseeing tour to Versailles with your private vehicle and guide. Drive out to Versailles to admire the huge palace of the great Sun King, Louis XIV. Enjoy a tour of this Palace and later you may also like to stroll through the decorative gardens.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 18

Marais & Montmartre

Today you enjoy a full-day (8 hours) sightseeing tour with your private vehicle and local guide in Paris. Visit the Marais, one of Paris’s most historic districts. This area houses many former residences of aristocratic families, which have now been restored and are now museums.

Once a favourite of Henri IV and Louis XIII, the bourgeois district fell to ruin after the Revolution in 1789, but began its revival in the 1960s, having escaped the mass redevelopment of the city during the mid-19th century. Nowadays the Marais is a lively neighbourhood with plenty of bars, boutiques and the oldest part of Paris’ Jewish community. Explore the district’s narrow streets, dotted with splendid mansions. Stroll on to the Place des Vosges, formerly called Place Royale. This square is lined with pink brick and covered arcades, and is a unique example of early 17th-century architecture. One of France’s most famous writers, Victor Hugo, wrote a large part of Les Misérables whilst he lived here from 1832 to 1848.

Continue to Montmartre, the district which will be forever associated with the bohemian lifestyles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Parisians call it the ‘Butte’ (knoll) as it is the highest point in the city. Discover Montmartre’s charms along the winding back streets, small squares and terraces. You see many artists painting quick-fire portraits in the ‘Place du Tertre’ and enjoy stunning panoramic views from the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. Other famous landmarks of Montmartre include the ‘Moulin Rouge’, a 19-century windmill transformed into a world-famous cabaret and immortalized by the painter Toulouse-Lautrec, the ‘Place des Abbesses’, a picturesque square which is now a hub of the fashion world, and the Dalí Centre, a unique exhibition entirely devoted to the master of surrealism, and more particularly to his sculptures and engravings.

Day 19

Musee d’Orsay & Segway Tour

Housed in a stunning 19th-century converted railway station, the Musée d’Orsay is one of Paris’ most famed museums and represents all expressive forms of artistry from painting to architecture, and sculpture to photography. Boasting an extraordinary collection of Impressionist works, permanent exhibitions include works by world-renowned artists such as Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro and Monet. Combined with a stunning Post-Impressionist collection, which comprises works by van Gogh and Cézanne amongst others, the museum serves as a fascinating insight into the history of art culture of the western world since 1848.

There is no better way to get an overview of Paris than by Segway, cruising along its stunning tree-lined boulevard. Following a short transfer from your hotel, meet your local guide, who also shares a few helpful tips this afternoon on how to feel more comfortable on a Segway. As you glide effortlessly through the city’s impressive parks and sidewalks, absorb the city’s rich cultural heritage and major highlights, listening to informative historical snippets along the way. After your adventure, you are transferred back to your hotel.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 20

Impressionist Painters

Today meet your private vehicle and local guide for a half-day (4 hours) sightseeing concentrating on the Impressionist painters, starting with the lesser known, but exceptionally interesting, Musée Marmottan. In this museum you are able to admire the 60 odd paintings which Claude Monet owned, both those which he himself had painted and particularly treasured, and those he collected from his friends Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro and others. This afternoon visit the Musée de l’Orangerie, which houses Monet’s magnificent “Water Lily” paintings.

The rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 21

Paris Market & Louvre des Antiquaires

This morning meet your private vehicle and local guide to visit the St. Ouen ‘Flea Market’, the largest antiques market in the world, with more than 3000 stalls. A wide selection of goods is on offer: furniture, paintings, jewellery, chandeliers, trinkets, porcelains, objects d’art and decorations.

Return to Paris to spend the afternoon at the Louvre des Antiquaires, a stylish mall devoted primarily to antiques, with 250 different shops. It is the major centre of attraction for the whole French art and antiques world. The complex provides bars and restaurants, and exhibitions are held on the 1st floor.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 22

Port en Bessin via Giverny & Rouen

You are met this morning by your private vehicle and driver-guide for your transfer to Port en Bessin. En route you visit Giverny to see the house and gardens that inspired Monet. The house is decorated in the original color schemes Monet admired and, in the gardens, you see the famous Japanese bridge and water lily pond. You also stop in Rouen, a city rich in medieval buildings, to visit the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral and see the giant Renaissance clock, Gros Horloge.

Day 23

D-Day Beaches

The numerous monuments and memorials in the Normandy coastal area bear witness to the fierce fighting that took place here during and after the D-Day Landings of World War II. Your driver-guide takes you on a full-day tour of the American Sector to visit some of the most important sites of this pivotal point in the war. 

Your day starts inland at the strategically-important Sainte-Mère-Église, where the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions parachuted in to help the village become one of the first in France to be liberated. You join the famous coastline at Pointe du Hoc, which the US Rangers scaled, demonstrating a triumph of planning, training and execution by elite and well-led troops. Further east along the coast is the sector known as Omaha Beach, also captured by invading American forces, and where you examine several sites from both the German and US perspective. You also hear about Operation Aquatint, a failed 1942 British Commando raid on the area. Your day ends with a poignant visit to the US Military Cemetery and Interpretation Centre at Colleville-sur-Mer, the final resting place of over 9300 US soldiers located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 24

Mont St Michel

Visit one of France’s most recognisable landmarks, Mont St Michel, a village perched on a tidal island located in the mouth of the River Couesnon. Surrounded by water and sand flats, the granite outcrop is crowned by an abbey that took more than 500 years to construct. Legend has it that Archangel Michael appeared to the Bishop of Avranches in 708, inspiring him to build it here. Explore the steep, narrow, cobblestone streets and climb over 350 steps to reach the abbey, an outstanding architectural achievement whose spire is more than 500 feet high. You may also like to explore the narrow passageways, historic houses and little shops of the village.

(Please note that access to the Mont St Michel may require you to walk 900 metres/ 985 yards from the car park to the shuttle service, and the walking on the island is strenuous and requires a good level of fitness).  

Before returning to your hotel, time permitting, you might like to visit another town in the area, such as St-Lô, Bayeux, Avranches or Villedieu-Les-Poêles.

Day 25

Port en Bassin – Onzain via Falaise & Alençon

You are met this morning by your private vehicle and  driver-guide for your full-day (8 hour) transfer to the Loire Valley.  En route you pass through La Suisse Normande (“Norman Switzerland”), an area of hills and cliffs, before arriving in Falaise. Falaise, with its impressive medieval churches, was the birthplace of William the Conqueror, and the castle named after him towers above the town. Continue on to Alençon, a town famous for its lace, before arriving at your hotel in Onzain.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 26

Loire Châteaux

This morning you meet your expert local guide and private vehicle for a full-day (8 hour) sightseeing in the Loire Valley by private vehicle.

Visit the Château de Chenonceau that straddles the river and is one of the best-known châteaux of the Loire region. It is surrounded by impressive formal gardens and wooded grounds. You can wander through the beautifully furnished rooms or see the small wax museum that tells you the château’s history. Continuing on to Amboise, visit the Clos Lucé, a handsome Renaissance manor where Leonardo da Vinci spent the last four years of his life. The museum contains working models of some of Da Vinci’s inventions. 

You also visit the remains of Château d’Amboise, where you can still feel the splendour of the past. Your last stop today is the Château de Chaumont, set amongst woods on a hill above the river. Widely considered as a perfect example of a feudal castle due to its tall, white donjon and round towers, the building has never been tested in battles, so remains in immaculate condition. Return to your hotel after the tour.

Day 27

Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry & Tours

This morning meet your driver-guide for a full-day (8 hours) sightseeing tour in the Loire Valley by private vehicle. You travel to Azay-le-Rideau to visit the 16th-century chateau and its enchanting private park. Visit the famous gardens at Villandry, a French-style garden reflecting the 16th-century aristocratic style, before continuing to Tours. Here you may like to explore the medieval Old Town or enjoy some time for shopping.

France Grand Tour
France Grand Tour
Day 28

Bordeaux

Today you are met at your hotel and privately transferred to Saint Pierre Des Corps railway station to begin your Concierge Rail journey to Bordeaux.

Upon arrival to Bordeaux you have the opportunity to experience the historic city as you visit some of its famous monuments and buildings. Your guide shows you the 18th-century Place de la Bourse and riverfront. Spend some time visiting the 13th-century Cathedral of Saint André, now a World Heritage-listed monument. You also have a chance to admire the Neo-Classical facades of the Bordeaux Law Courts, St. André Hospital and the 18th-century Palais Rohan, now the City Hall. Your tour of Bordeaux ends at the magnificent Grand Theatre, built in 1773 by Victor Louis, and generally considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe. 

You are then privately transferred to your hotel outside of Bordeaux where you are assisted with check-in.

Day 29

St Emilion

Meet your private vehicle and guide for a full-day (8-hour) tour in and around St. Emilion. Spend the morning in the medieval town, overlooking the Dordogne valley and surrounded by its famous vineyards. See the monolithic church, the nave of which is supported by ten rough, ill-aligned pillars, as well as a number of remaining reliefs depicting winged angels and the signs of the zodiac.

Also visit the Ermitage Grotto, where Émilion lived. Émilion was the Benedictine hermit who first came to the area. His piety attracted a number of companions and he started a community on the site now recognised as St. Émilion. The Ermitage Grotto is a cave that over the centuries has evolved into a little chapel in the form of a Latin cross. St. Emilion is also famed for its fine Bordeaux Wines, and you have the opportunity to enjoy a tasting and visit to some of the local vineyards.

France Grand Tour
dot joiner for itins
Day 30

Fly home

A note on price

The prices outlined above are a rough guide to give you an idea of costs and enable you to budget for your trip.

Guide prices are generally for private arrangements based on twin share, in well located, good quality accommodation (excluding international flights).

Please note costs are indicative and may vary due to a number of factors such as; travel date, hotel choice, room category, number of people travelling and prevailing exchange rates.

Price Guide $POA

When to travel

jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec

France is a popular tourist destination throughout the year, but the best time to visit depends on your preferences and the region you plan to visit. Generally, the best time to travel to France is from April to June, or September to November when the weather is mild and the crowds are smaller. Summer months from July to August are the peak tourist season, with high temperatures, crowded attractions, and higher prices. Winter months from December to February can be chilly, but there are many indoor attractions to visit. The weather in France varies from region to region, so it is best to check the weather forecast for your destination before you travel.

Add on’s

There are a multitude of add-on holiday options to this France itinerary. For example, you could head to the romantic canals of Venice to the historic alleys of Barcelona, the array of possibilities is endless. Whether you’re drawn to the vibrant art scenes of the Netherlands or the breathtaking landscapes of Switzerland, each country beckons with its own stories and sights.
 

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