Whether this is your first visit to France or a welcome return, you will almost certainly want to tick at least one iconic destination off your wish list. So a tour with Authentic Europe from Paris to Normandy, the Loire Valley and Bordeaux could be the perfect solution. Three of France’s most popular holiday regions in one easy trip.
Iconic tour of western France with Authentic Europe
With transport by train and minibus, you can customise your own itinerary for a minimum of nine days, adding on as many extra nights as you like if you want to explore in more depth. The tour is self-guided for ultimate freedom and flexibility, and you can set off any time you like between spring and autumn, but full support is just a phone call away 24/7.
By the end of your holiday, you will have enjoyed the cultural sights of the French capital and the moving memorials of Normandy’s D-Day Landing Beaches, plus key chateaux in the Loire Valley and elegant Bordeaux with its surrounding vineyards.
Paris
Arrive by plane or train at a time to suit you and settle into your choice of ‘Silver’ or ‘Gold’ accommodation. Paris was dubbed ‘The City of Light’ in recognition of being amongst the first major cities in Europe to use gas street lighting in 1820, and you can expect world-famous views and unique buildings to come thick and fast in this most romantic of cities. The Eiffel Tower. The Louvre. The Seine. You may want to take in a museum, stroll down the Champs-Elysées, or just chill out at a pavement café and soak up the unique ambiance of this beguiling city.
Optional extras include private transfers from airport to hotel, a 1-day Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour; and a guided cruise excursion on the Seine. For foodies, there are specialist tours and cookery classes, wine and cheese tastings, and dinner cruises. Or go off piste with a tour of the catacombs, the city’s covered passageways, or a shopping tour round the fashion boutiques of the stylish Marais district.
Bayeux and Normandy’s D-Day sites
From Paris, you will take a morning train through the Normandy countryside, your base for exploring the D-Day Landing Beaches where Allied troops landed in June 1944 at the start of Operation Overlord. Many special events and exhibitions will take place this year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the operation, so expect site closures on 6 June when official ceremonies take place.
Bayeux still retains much of its medieval charm, so you can spend the afternoon visiting Notre Dame Cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry that graphically depicts the story of William the Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066. But prepare for a surprise. This wonderful medieval stitching is not in fact a tapestry, but an embroidery in wool on linen!
Next day after breakfast, your English-speaking guide will meet you for a full-day tour of the key American D-Day sites. Walk the broad sands of Utah and Omaha beaches, once bloody battlegrounds but today fringed with low-key seaside resorts. Find out the story of the airman whose parachute became caught on the tower at Sainte-Mère-Eglise and visit Pointe-du-Hoc promontory where American Rangers scaled sheer cliffs to neutralise German guns. And finally visit the beautiful American Cemetery and visitor centre, last resting place of more than 9000 soldiers.
Add on an extra night and you can add in an optional guided excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel, set on a mound rising out of a shallow bay. Fancy some gentle exercise? Then visit the site by e-bike or take a half-day e-bike tour to Arromanches to see the remains of the artificial harbours and visit the newly revamped museum.
Chateaux of the Loire Valley
After a leisurely morning in Bayeux, take the lunchtime train for the four-hour journey to Tours in the heart of the Loire Valley, famous for its Renaissance castles and high quality wines.
Next day, take a full-day guided excursion through the tranquil countryside surrounding France’s longest river. Listed by UNESCO for the combination of its built and natural heritage, this section of the Loire is a delight to anyone who loves river scenery and vineyards, flamboyant castles and landscaped gardens. Your tour will take you to two of its architectural gems. First Chenonceau, a fairytale castle that spans the river Cher, a tributary of the Loire. Tour the sumptuous rooms, always decorated with wonderful flowers, and learn about the two famous ladies who lived here at different times, one of them the king’s mistress, the other his wife. Then stroll through their formal French gardens overlooking the river.
Stop for a wine tasting and enjoy free time over lunch before heading to Chambord, a magnificent turreted property built by young king François I in a vast park, purely for hunting parties and entertaining. Hard to believe, but the castle was often empty for weeks on end. Then drive back to Tours for an evening at leisure.
Bordeaux
Your 2-hour train journey from Tours delivers you in Bordeaux in plenty of time for a afternoon exploring the elegant avenues, museums and river banks of this world-famous wine city. Discover wines from all over the world at the Cité du Vin, finishing off with a glass of your favourite vintage at the rooftop Belvedere for panoramic views over the Garonne. Then maybe try a different wine over dinner at one of Bordeaux’s many restaurants – reputedly one for every 285 inhabitants!
Next day, you will discover some of Bordeaux’s most prestigious wines on a full-day guided tour through the vineyards to Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. Wine history and production secrets, soil geology and climate conditions … they will all be part of this educational and enjoyable day which of course includes tastings at three different wineries. And if you want to add on an extra day in Bordeaux, you can join an optional full-day guided tour to the vineyards of the Médoc. Think Pauillac, Margaux and Saint Julien with the welcome bonus of not having to drive home!
Return to Paris
By now you will probably have thought of all the things you still want to see in Paris, so if you have added an extra night or two onto your holiday, you will have time to fill in some of those gaps. Impressionist fan? Visit to the Musée d’Orsay. Iconic view? Take the lift up the Arc de Triomphe to see the multiple avenues leading off the huge roundabout in star formation. Or maybe join a full-day tour to Versailles, palace and gardens designed for ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV, or a Champagne day to Reims and Epernay.
On your final day, you leave your hotel after breakfast for your next destination. Home for some, but why not add on another iconic French destination? After all, Nice and the French Riviera are only a train ride away. Just saying …!
For more information, visit Authentic Europe
