Please note that all of the itineraries listed in our web site are actual private tour itineraries we have prepared for clients over the past 12-18 months. By the very nature of what we do, each private tour itinerary is custom, exclusive and unique unto itself. Our over-riding goal is to create lifelong memories that you and your family will forever carry deep within your hearts. Overview 12 Days Among the most culturally rich countries in the world, France brings together world class museums, various art attractions, natural beauty, and a unique leisure aesthetic. The romantic, scenic walks in the artsy Left Bank of Paris is a nice contrast with the idyllic, verdant countryside of Provence. Based on our family s recent travels in France, our most loved properties are the Right Bank Peninsula Paris, the Left Bank Pont Royal, the Provincial Domaine de la Baume, and, of course, the magnificent Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes. FRANCE Temperature Range Highs: High 70 s Lows: Mid 30 s Area 543,965 SQ KM 210,026 SQ MILES Population 62.6 Million Language French Capital Paris Currency Euro Day 1 Fly to Paris Through our sister company, premium air provider TRAVNET, we may assisted with your international airfare, as well as with mileage points conversion. Day 2 Arrive Paris Upon arrival in Paris, you will be privately transferred to the Left Bank, 4-star Pont Royal Hotel or the Right Bank 5-star Peninsula Paris. Hotel Pont Royal (RL) With 65 rooms/10 suites, The Pont Royal is perhaps our favorite 4-Star hotel in the aesthetically-pleasing Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th Arrondissement/ West Bank. Following WWII, the hotel was home to one of the first cocktail bars in Paris hence, the likes of Hemmingway, Fitzgerald and Miller became frequent patrons. Another big plus of the Pont Royal is its walking distance from Musée d Orsay. The hotel s Salon Mosaique breakfast room is a nice morning retreat, opening up to a quaint Japanese garden. If up to it after a Sunday breakfast, we recommend an early morning walk around the surrounding Latin Quarter neighborhoods. Between 6-8AM Sunday, the streets are quite empty and you may experience a beautiful stillness in your Paris morning walk. Peninsula Paris The Peninsula's location in the noteworthy 19th century Hausmanian building is quite auspicious, in terms of its deep, rich history. At one time the structure served as offices of France's defense ministry and later as the headquarters of Germany's high command in Paris during WWII. In 1973, it was the venue of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, marking the end of the Vietnam War. With a total investment of approximately 800 million euro, the 234-room Peninsula Paris has almost overnight become the Premier 5-star hotel among the city's illustrious list of high-end properties. Located in the 16th Arrondissement, many of the Peninsula's rooms offer striking views of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Despite our preference for the more intimate, walkable areas of the Left Bank, we feel the Peninsula's many attributes more than make up for its Right Bank location. 1
Day 3 Paris Full Day Private Touring After breakfast, you will take a tour of some of the most notable sites in Paris. Your touring begins with the Notre Dame Cathedral, not just a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture but was also the focus of Catholic Paris for seven centuries. You will walk down the Rue de la Huchette, one of the oldest streets along the River Gauche, before contemning on to Les Invalides, a massive complex of museums and monuments related to the military history of France including various Napoleon memorabilia. Continuing, you will visit the Louvre, the world s largest palace, and the greatest museum housing such notable works of art as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Your touring ends at the Eiffel Tower where you will ascend to the top of this renowned monument. Meals: -- Accommodations: Pont Royal Hotel or Peninsula Paris Day 4 Paris Full Day Private Touring After breakfast, you will take a tour of Paris 4th and 17th Arrondissements. Starting with the 4th Arrondissement, Marais, you will explore the city s long-established Jewish quarter ( Pletzel ) with expensive, fashionable boutiques juxtaposed with quaint Jewish stores, bookshops, kosher grocery stores and butcher shops. Your next stop is the northern 17th Arrondissement of Montmartre, with a bohemian vibe, Paris hilltop neighborhood in many ways is quintessentially French petite cafes, serene squares, and art around every corner. You will continue to Pere Lachaise Cemetery in the 20 th arrondissement, a notable +100 acre cemetery, home to the graves of such notables as Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Proust, and Jim Morrison! Later on in the day, you will head back to Paris city center to explore the bohemian Latin Quarter, followed by an amble in Luxembourg Gardens. Accommodations: Hotel Pont Royal or Peninsula Paris Day 5 Versailles Private Touring (A 1-hour drive from Paris) Following breakfast, you will be met by your guide and transferred to Palace of Versailles. Versailles is beyond compare: seven hundred rooms, 67 staircases, 352 chimneys, 2,153 windows, 6,300 paintings, 2,100 sculptures and statues, 15,000 engravings, 5,000 decorative art objects and furnishings. When the Château was built, Versailles was a simple country village. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682 until Louis XVI and the Royal Family were forced to return to Paris in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles has become a symbol of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. Most impressive here are the spectacular gardens covering 1976 acres!, designed by André Le Nôtre in 1661. Accommodations: Hotel Pont Royal or Peninsula Paris Day 6 Paris/Provence via first class high-speed TGV train 2
Following breakfast at your hotel, you will be met by your driver and transferred to the Paris train station to board the high-class TGV to Provence, an approximate 3 hour ride. Upon arrival in Provence, you will be met by your private guide and transferred to the Domaine de la Baume, with the remainder of the day free to spend at your leisure. Domaine de la Baume This fully-restored 18th century 11-room guest house offers a truly sublime environment for relishing the beauty and aesthetics of our beloved Provence. Set amid its own 99-acre grounds, Le Domaine includes colorful French-style gardens, ponds, trickling streams, waterfalls, its own olive grove, and productive beehives. The property is also known as the last home of famed French Expressionist painter, Bernard Buffet. Enjoy the small spa, the hotel s classic Provencal meals, and horseback riding on the property s three horses. Proprietress Jocelyn Sibuet s unique designs are evident throughout with similar attention to detail and quality as the sister property, La Bastide de Marie. Day 7 Today you will be met by your private driver for a full day of Provence private touring beginning with St. Remy, originally known for its most famous son, Nostradamus, and home to the sacred archaeological Roman site Glanum, just outside the city. Two of our favorite stopovers here are Joel Durand Chocolatier (on the city s main boulevard, considered one of the top 10 chocolatiers in France!) and Le Bistrot Du Paradou (a small bistro 15 min outside the city with a cult following dating back to the 1980s). You will then continue on to Avignon, a small provincial town surrounded by a lavish countryside before visiting Bonnieux on your return drive to Domain de la Baume. From the 12th century Roman/Gothic Church Vielle Eglise at the top of Bonnieux, one can see sweeping views of the valley floor with its patchwork of orchids and vineyards. Day 8 Following breakfast, you will set out for L Isle-sur-la Sorgue, a unique medieval town well-known for its flea markets and high-quality antique shops. You will continue on to Gordes, famous for its stunning Lavender Route a wide blue-purple swath that connects over two thousand producers across the Drôme, the Plateau de Vaucluse and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Your Provence touring will end with a visit to Menerbes, a perched village in the center of the Luberon region of Provence, similar to much of the Luberon area s hill villages. Day 9 Drive Domaine de la Baume/Hotel du Cap 3
Following breakfast, you will be met by your private driver and transferred to the Hotel du Cap, with a few scenic stopovers along the way. Your first stop will be Marseille, Kissed by the Mediterranean, Marseille can claim an un-parisian combination of near-constant sun, miles of beaches and an ethnic mix French, North African, Italian, Corsican, Armenian that lends a flavor unlike anywhere else in the country. You will then continue to Aix-en-Provence, in contrast to the many villages/hill towns of the Provence countryside, Aix seems like a big city (although its population is only 145,000). Perhaps our favorite artsy city in all of Southern France, Aix has the feel of the Left Bank in Paris, with its chic, leafy boulevards and public squares lined with 17th/18th-century mansions. You will then have the remainder of the afternoon free to enjoy the amenities of the Hotel du Cap. Hôtel Du Cap-Eden-Roc Many believe the Hôtel du Cap to be the most sought-after summer retreat in the world, and our clients would agree. Yes, the Hotel du Cap is expensive, pretentious, home to global celebrities/jet-setters, AND, we feel, among the most beautiful hotels we have stayed anywhere in the world! Despite the Euro 55 cost of a cheeseburger at the Eden Roc pool grill; our Lynch family has fond memories of our last stay here. Located in Antibes, Hotel du Cap is 45 minutes to an hour away from St. Jean Cap Ferrat, which is just on the other side of Nice. The reputation of Hôtel du Cap is maintained in part because of its idyllic location but perhaps, more significantly, due to its reputation for high-touch, understated service. Owner/proprietress Maya Oetker personally decorates each of the 118 rooms and has maintained a level of excellence that is unimaginable, even by 5-star luxury hotel standards. Day 10 Free Day Enjoy the amenities of the luxurious Hotel du Cap. Day 11 Your touring begins with a visit to Grasse, with a population of approximately 53,000, this relatively small hilltop town is today one of the world s main assembly points for raw materials/components used in making perfume. To this day, in and around Grasse, Dior, Hermès, and Chanel all grow May roses and jasmine in protected flower fields, with the town exuberantly celebrating both of these fragrant blossoms with two festivals each year. You will then continue on to St. Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns in the French Rivera. Home to both Chagall and Picasso, the cobbled, narrow streets here are full of wonderful galleries, restaurants, and museums. Your final Provence stop will be Eze, named for the goddess, Isis, whose cult was supposedly worshipped in this place during the pagan era. Rising 1400 feet above the sea, the view from this idyllic place is truly breathtaking. 4
Day 12 Train Provence/Paris + Fly Home Accommodations: -- 5