Paris, Loire Valley & Champagne

Tour not offered in 2008 ~ Available for Custom Tours

ITINERARY

Day 1-2
Spend two nights in an elegant, charming Left Bank hotel with breakfast each morning. You are free to see Paris on your own if you have favorite places you want to return to. Or you can let us be your guides and take you around to our favorites. On one day we have an optional trip to Giverny, Claude Monet's famous home and magnificent gardens.

Day 3
We leave Paris and we head for the Champagne region...Here we see a different way of life, where champagne producers completely dominate small villages, and where with the exception of perhaps flowers, champagne is king. We stay in a beautiful small hotel in the tiniest champagne village along the "Route touristique du Champagne", surrounded by rolling vineyards. We explore this enchanting region, touring large and small cellars and educating our palates to learn what makes Champagne's product so unique.

Day 4
In Epernay, Champagne's unofficial capital, we drive up the splendid Avenue de Champagne to visit a famous, traditional champagne cellar and of course have a tasting. After lunch we drive along the Route du Champagne to the picturesque village of Hautvillers, where we pay homage to Dom Perignon, inventor of champagne, by visiting his 17th century tomb. Next we take a barge ride on the Marne River, passing beautiful little villages so peaceful it's hard to imagine this was the center of some of the worst fighting in World War I. In the evening we enjoy a gourmet dinner in a beautiful 17th century château.

Day 5
Today we visit Reims, with its magnificent cathedral where the kings of France were crowned for centuries. We have a tour of Château Pommery, one of Champagne's oldest cellars, where barrels are still kept in the deep caves dug by the Romans for the same purpose. In the afternoon we follow the Route du Champagne along beautiful rolling vineyards to the tiny village of Oeuilly, where we visit a family owned champagne winery. If we're lucky we'll meet the owner, his son, his father, and his father. We'll have a champagne happy hour in the garden of our hotel followed by another gourmet dinner.

Day 6
After visiting a monolithic monument to the veterans of World War I in Mondémont, we spend the day in the fascinating medieval city of Troyes. Next we head south toward the Loire Valley, stopping overnight near the town of Chablis to sample some very fine Burgundy wine with a gourmet dinner.

Day 7
Our first stop in the Loire Valley is Chambord Château, the first Renaissance château to be built in France, and a masterpiece of 16th century architecture. We spend the next five nights in a beautiful 16th century manor house in the country village of Truyes in the heart of the Loire Valley. This is an ideal location to serve as a base from which we can visit several magnificent châteaux, stopping in medieval picturesque towns along the Indre, Loire, and Vienne rivers, and exploring ancient streets where our French guides tell us stories of the kings and queens who once walked there. The Loire Valley is also known for its many fine wines, and our explorations take us to several private wine tastings in the small caves only the local Tourangeaux know about. Pascal and Dominique, who run our manor house, are warm, charming, and add greatly to our experience..

Day 8
After visiting the lovely Renaissance château Azay-le-Rideau, we have lunch at the home of some friends, Lionel and Françoise. Françoise always cooks us something devine, and Lionel proudly serves us wine from his brother-in-law's neighboring vineyard. In the afternoon we have a guided walking tour of Chinon, steeped in history from the days when the Plantagenet King Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine had their largest castle here to the time of Joan of Arc, when she came here to try to convince the Dauphin Charles to take the French crown. On the way home we stop at a small Chinon winery where the owner joins us for a tasting of several of his best wines.

Day 9
This morning we visit the medieval town of Loches and its historic château where so much changed in France's history. Most exciting is the Donjon with its display of outrageous torture instruments. In the village of Loches we shop in the market for many varieties of local cheeses, hams and salami, olives, pâtés, French pastries, fruits, and wine. Then Pascal takes us to a wonderful, idyllic hidden spot for an authentic gourmet French pique-nique. In the afternoon we visit the most famous château of the Loire Valley, Chenonceau. We round off the day with a visit to a fabulous Montlouis winery, where the owner joins us for a thorough tasting.

Day 10
Today we take a scenic drive along the Loire River to one of the oldest châteaux, Langeais. This impressive fortress, surrounded by a moat, is furnished with medieval antiques and tapestries. The room where Anne de Bretagne and Charles VIII were married in the 15th century is set up with wax figures in authentic costumes to make you think you are at the wedding. We have lunch in a charming creperie overlooking the river, and then visit an interesting troglodyte (underground) village. We can see many troglodyte houses built into the cliffs as we drive through the countryside. We'll stop for another wine tasting on the way home. Dinner tonight is a gourmet affair at a magnificent 16th century château.

Day 11-12
Today we visit the historic city of Tours, ancient capital of Touraine. We'll see the Basilica where St. Martin was supposedly buried in the 4th century and a tower built by Charlemagne when he was crowned in 815. Dominique and Pascal will show us the markets where the best bargains are to be found, and we'll have lunch in a medieval square, Place Plumereau, surrounded by half-timbered houses. We return home to Dominique's kitchen, where she gives us a first rate gourmet French cooking class. Pascal supplies the wine during intermission. For our grand farewell dinner their friend entertains us on the accordian. In the morning Pascal and Dominique take us to the train station where we take the high speed TGV train to the Paris airport for the return flight home. We leave the Loire Valley with a deeper understanding of the 16th century philosophy of France's beloved François Rabelais who urged all to drink more wine to gain a better appreciation of life. Vive Rabelais!