Program Fee includes:
• Round-trip airfare
• 13 overnight stays in first-, superior tourist-, or
tourist-class hotels
• Continental breakfast and dinner daily in carefully
selected restaurants
• Full-time services of a bilingual EF Tour Director
throughout your stay
• All transfers and intercity transportation
• 3 comprehensive sightseeing tours led by licensed local
guides
• 12 visits to special attractions
• EF walking tour and 6 additional sightseeing briefings led
by your EF Tour Director
• Seine river cruise
• Transfer via the high-speed TGV from Geneva to Paris
Click on one the following numbers to see the itinerary for that day.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Overnight flight to France • Soar across the Atlantic on your comfortable overnight flight to Paris, City of Light.
DAY 2, Paris
Arrival in Paris • Upon arrival, meet your EF Tour Director.
EP walking tour • Join a walking tour of the chic Opéra district, experiencing the haute couture of Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré. Stroll past the official residence of the president of France, through Place de la Concorde and Place Vendôme, and past the house in which Chopin spent his final days.
Visit to the Louvre • You'll also visit the Louvre. Built to defend the city in the 13th century, the museum safeguards one of the world's greatest art collections, including the Mona Lisa and the ancient Venus de Milo (Greek goddess of love).
DAY 3, Paris
Guided sightseeing of Paris • See the elegant Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Pass by the Conciergerie, les Invalides, and the Ecole Militaire. Marvel at the sheer size of the 6000-ton Eiffel Tower, and learn why the tower, once considered an eyesore by so many, was spared the wrecking ball in 1909.
Visit to the Notre-Dame • During your stop at the Notre-Dame, admire the graceful beauty of the cathedral's rose windows and flying buttresses. The cathedral stands on the same site where ancient Romans once worshipped Jupiter! Here Napoleon crowned himself emperor in 1804.
Optional excursion to Versailles • Join an optional excursion to Versailles, dreamhouse of Louis XIV. Tour the Royal Apartments and historic Hall of Mirrors, and stroll through landscaped gardens, designed by André Le Nôtre.
DAY 4, Paris • Loire Valley
Transfer via Chartres • In Chartres, visit Europe's grandest Gothic cathedral, which dates from the 13th-centruy and boasts the world's finest stained-glass windows.
Photo-stop at Chambord • Stop briefly outside of Chambord, the largest of all the Loire Valley châteaux.
Overnight in the Loire Valley • Spend the night in the magnificent Loire Valley.
DAY 5, Loire Valley
Château de Chenonceau and Azay-le-Rideau • On your excursion into the Playground of the Kings, first visit the spectacular Château de Chenonceau, straddling the River Cher. You'll also visit elegant Azay-le-Rideau, a Renaissance château on the banks of the Indre River. Then attend a presentation to learn about the age-old wine-making industry for which the Loire Valley is renowned during your visit to a wine cellar.
DAY 6, Loire Valley • Dordogne
Transfer to Dordogne • Arrive in the Dordogne region. During Europe's War of Religion, the Dordogne River served as a boundary between English and French territory.
DAY 7, Dordogne
Excursion to Lascaux II • In 1940, a group of locals, who were spelunking in the Lascaux caves, came across an amazing set of 17,000-year-old cave paintings. Although the original caves are open only to archaeologists, the prehistoric works of art found inside have been meticulously replicated in a nearby quarry called Lascaux II. You'll descend into the quarry for a close-up look at these fascinating sketches.
DAY 8, Dordogne • Carcassonne
Transfer via Rocamadour • Stop at Rocamadour, a beehive of crypts, chapels, and shrines, clustered against a vertical cliff that overhangs the Alzou Canyon.
Arrival in Carcassonne • Arrive in medieval Carcassonne, named after an extraordinary woman who rescued the town from the hands of Charlemagne.
DAY 9, Carcassonne • Provence
Guided sightseeing of Carcassonne • Relive medieval times as your professional guide leads you past the city's age-old ramparts. Carcassonne is also home to Europe's largest and most complete medieval fortress.
Travel via Aigues-Mortes • Travel by way of Aigues-Mortes, founded by St. Louis as a strategic point for the Seventh Crusade.
Overnight in Provence • Feel the tangible influence of the ancient Romans as you continue into the Provence region, where you'll spend the night. Here Crusaders once roamed!
DAY 10, Provence • French Riviera
Tour Director-led sightseeing of Nîmes • Your tour director acquaints you with the ancient Gaulish settlement of the Nîmes. Here you'll visit Nîmes' ancient amphitheater. Nîmes is also famous as the birthplace of denim, a fabric named for its origins: de Nîmes.
Pont du Gard • See the astonishing 2000-year-old Pont du Gard aqueduct that once supplied Roman villas with running water!
Tour Director-led sightseeing of Avignon and visit to the Popes' Palace • Join your tour director for a tour of Avignon, capital of the Provence region. Pope Clement V, a native of France, moved the seat of the papacy to Avignon in 1390. Stroll through the splendid sprawling Palais des Popes in which he and six successive popes resided: view the stunning Italian frescoes in the chapel, step inside the papal vestry, and see the hidden vaults where the Church's riches were stored.
Transfer via Aix • Transfer by way of Aix-en-Provence, the oldest Roman settlement in Gaul. This city of abundant trickling fountains derives its name from the Latin word for water, aquae.
Arrival on the French Rivera • Arrive at the spectacular coastline of the glamorous French Riviera — land of deep blue waters, waving palm trees, and sun drenched promenades.
DAY 11, French Riviera
Excursion to Monaco • A spectacular coastal drive takes you along the winding, cliffside roads of the French Riviera to royal Monaco. Pass by Prince Rainier's palace and the glamorous Monte-Carlo Casino.
Visit to Eze • Return to Nice via cliff-top Eze, where you will enjoy a guided tour of a perfume factory.
Tour Director-led sightseeing of Nice • Acquaint yourself with the palm trees and promenades of this exclusive seaside resort, and relax by the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean.
DAY 12, French Riviera • Annecy
Transfer via Sisteron and Route Napoleon • Soak in alpine mountains vistas as you journey along Route Napoleon, a winding, scenic road used by Napoleon to traverse the Alps. On the way, stop in Sisteron, a pre-Roman town settled by Celtic Gauls.
Arrival in Annecy • Continue on to picture-perfect Annecy, a town of cobblestone streets and flower boxes. Here you will spend the night.
DAY 13, Annecy • Paris
Transfer to Geneva • Arrive in sophisticated Geneva, seat of the Protestant Reformation.
Guided sightseeing of Geneva • Become acquainted with the center of international diplomacy; it was in Geneva that both the League of Nations and the Red Cross were founded. Begin with a visit to the Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the United Nations. Then stroll past the beautiful lakefront of Lac Léman.
Transfer to Paris • Board the TGV for your high-speed journey back to Paris.
DAY 14, Paris
Optional excursion to Giverny (seasonal) • Follow the Seine to Giverny, where Claude Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926. As you enjoy a stroll through the lush gardens surrounding his home and studio, absorb the intricate palette of colors that he so magically depicted in paintings such as his Water Lilies series.
Seine river cruise • A narrated boat cruise takes you down the Seine in the evening. Watch countless illuminated landmarks pan into view as your boat glides past Île de la Cité and under the graceful arches of the many bridges linking the city's Right and Left Banks.
DAY 15, Home
Return flight home.
The price will be $ 1695.
Go to http://www.eftours.com/tours/TourPFC.asp for more information and pictures of tourist attractions.