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Experiences you have as you travel often hold the longest memories. As part of their research trips, our specialists seek out authentic ways to get to know France, and the best local guides. These activities reflect some of their best-loved experiences.
Spend the day exploring the history and vine-covered landscapes of France’s Champagne region by e-bike with a guide. You’ll stop at the village of Hautvillers, known as the birthplace of Champagne, visit two Champagne houses for tastings and enjoy a Champagne lunch in Épernay.
Explore France’s Champagne region with a private driver-guide. You’ll visit two wineries for tours and tastings, including a larger, well-known winery and a family-run boutique option. You’ll also visit historic Hautvillers, birthplace of Champagne, and pause for lunch paired with bubbly at a Champagne house.
A medieval city built around a hilltop castle and riddled with canals, Annecy is best explored on foot. On this walking tour, your private guide will reveal the history behind the rickety old buildings, fortifications and characterful cobbled lanes.
Discover the beauties of Provence on this half-day tour of its quintessential sights. Visit a medieval hilltop village, a rustic monastery surrounded by fields of lavender and a collection of traditional stone bories, dwellings of a typical Provençal style.
Cruise along the scenic shores of Lac d’Annecy on a private boat on this evening cruise. Visit a smuggler’s cave and admire the turquoise waters then sip an apéritif as you watch the sun set behind Annecy.
Discover why Lyon is known as the culinary capital of France on this private tour of its bakeries, markets, restaurants and delis. Learn about its renowned chefs past and present and sample some local delicacies such as praline brioche and coussin de Lyon.
A short hop from France lies the historic city of Geneva on the edge of its namesake lake. On this private guided walking tour, you’ll hear about Geneva’s international significance and its importance during the Protestant Reformation as you take in its old town on foot.
The alpine scenery of Chamonix is unveiled on this tour of the mountains and glaciers with a local guide. You’ll take in the views from the summit of the Aiguille du Midi and visit the ice cave in the Mer de Glace, France’s largest glacier.
Explore the very heart of medieval Paris on this guided tour, which takes you to the Gothic glories of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle, and to a quiet residential island in the Seine River.
Discover the medieval monastery and village set on a rocky outcrop in the sea. Tour the Romanesque and Gothic buildings with a guide before enjoying lunch overlooking the sea in a nearby town.
Explore the French oyster capital on the Bassin d’Arcachon, a lagoon-like inlet west of Bordeaux, on a private half-day tour. See the massive Dune du Pyla (Europe’s tallest), dine on fresh oysters and visit the traditional fishing villages of Cap Ferret.
Discover the secrets behind the Palais des Papes in medieval Avignon, learn about the regal life of the pontiffs and the political turmoil of their era on a guided walking tour of the old town's meandering cobbled streets.
Home to some of the world’s most celebrated wines, the Médoc is littered with chateaux, prestigious wine estates and handsome villages. Explore its treasures on a full-day tour that introduces you to its history and heritage, as well as some of its finest wines.
This full-day tour gives you the chance to explore the Beaujolais and Mâconnais wine regions. With your private driver-guide, visit the Côte Dorée and sample gamay wines before enjoying an indulgent lunch. In the afternoon, sample white Burgundies in Mâconnais.
Get out onto the trails and into the mountains around Chamonix on a full-day privately guided hike. You’ll ascend into the high meadows for panoramic views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding peaks, and return via another route passing a quiet mountain lake.
Explore the Côte d’Or region of Burgundy on this private, full-day tour. Your driver-guide will take you through the storied vineyards and prestigious appellations of the region, with pauses for tastings, lunch and a chance to explore an 11th-century wine cellar.
Explore the British and Canadian D-Day landing sites at Sword and Juno beaches on the Normandy coast. Visit war memorials, museums and cemeteries, as well as the chateaux used as tactical headquarters for both sides in the conflict.
Learn to make the classic French delicacy of macarons on a half-day course hosted by a professional chef. In a small group you're taught how to craft these much-loved treats with traditional techniques and classic fillings.
Explore three of the most impressive and dramatic of the Loire Valley chateaux on this full-day tour that takes in the romantic and politically charged Château de Chenonceau, fairy-tale Chaumont-sur-Loire, and the family-owned hunting lodge at Château de Cheverny.
Explore a Paris food market like a local, chatting to the stall holders, learning about Parisian shopping habits and food provenance, and choosing fine cheeses for a paired wine-and-cheese tasting at the end of your tour.
Learn about the secrets, traditions and strict rules behind the production of Champagne on a guided tour that offers the opportunity to meet local producers, visit vineyards and historic chalk pits, and sample some of these renowned sparkling wines.
Explore the Loire Valley wine region on a full-day tour that takes in two historic vineyards and a wine merchant's cellars. See the vines, learn about local grapes and vintages, and enjoy guided tastings.
Visit the poignant beaches of the D-Day landings on this full-day guided tour to Utah and Omaha Beaches, the American landing points in this brutal but pivotal battle. You also get a chance to visit the American Cemetery nearby.
Learn about the history of the former royal palace of the Louvre before enjoying a guided tour of the museum's vast collection of art. Then cross the river to the Musée d'Orsay to browse Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterworks by Renoir, Gauguin and Van Gogh.
Explore the coastline of the French Riviera aboard a private boat, admiring the rugged shores, mansions and quaint fishing villages of the region before stopping for a swim and a champagne toast in the setting sun.
Explore the rambling streets of Monaco on a guided tour that introduces you to the history of the tiny principality and its ruling family before taking you to the hilltop village of Èze to wander its winding, cobbled streets.
For an overview of the Paris landscape and its main sights, this fast-paced tour offers an introduction to the city's history and geography taking in the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées as well as Notre-Dame, the Sacré-Coeur and the fashionable Marais.
This full-day tour offers a comprehensive overview of Provence's charms taking in bucolic countryside, the arena and amphitheater at Arles, the medieval hilltop village of Uzès and the Roman aqueduct, the Pont-Du-Gard.
Explore the historical heart of Honfleur on a guided walking tour that brings you through the winding, narrow streets of the old town to see half-timbered houses, old salt warehouses and a remarkable wooden church inspired by the Vikings.
Explore the vast and extravagant palace of Louis XIV, the ‘Sun King’, on the outskirts of Paris. This lavish chateau is surrounded by seemingly endless formal gardens, while inside, no expense was spared in decorating its opulent rooms.
Explore the history of the Dordogne on this full-day tour which takes in the fortified town of Domme, Château de Castelnaud and Château de Beynac, as well as the troglodyte village of La Roque-Gageac and a leisurely cruise to see the region from a different perspective.
Discover the prehistoric cave art of the Vézère Valley in the Dordogne on a full-day tour that takes in Lascaux, Rouffignac and the National Museum of Prehistory with a private guide to bring the region’s history and significance to life.
Monet's house and beloved gardens at Giverny, just north of Paris, offer a delightful insight into the Impressionist painter and his works. See his studio and home and wander through the gardens that so inspired his opus.
