France in Style

This tour takes in cultural, culinary and geographic highlights of France while staying at the country's most luxurious hotels. Arrive in Paris. Stay three nights within walking distance of superb restaurants and major attractions. Enjoy private city touring and explore the city at your own pace. First-time visitors to Paris may wish to visit major attractions such as Notre-Dame, St-Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower, the Luxembourg and Tuileries Gardens, and major museums such as the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Other possibilities include an epicurean tour of specialty chocolate shops, fromagerie, copperware stores and tea sellers; walking tours through the exclusive residential streets on Ile St-Louis, the old Jewish quarter in the Marais, the former art colony of Montmartre, the medieval streets of the Latin Quarter, or to Left Bank cafes made famous by poets and philosophers; and shopping for antiques in flea markets or haute couture in fashionable boutiques.

Transfer by private car to the Beaujolais wine region, just outside Lyon. Spend three nights at the spectacular Chateau de Bagnols, a meticulously restored 13th century castle of golden stone, antique furniture, wall paintings and Gothic fireplaces. En route, tour the beautiful medieval town of Beaune, the capital of Burgundy wine country. Beaune is an excellent place to taste and buy the region’s superior wines, including Puligny-Montrachet and Pommard. Explore the vineyards, ancient villages and chateaux of the hilly Beaujolais, stopping to sample local food and wine along the way. Also visit Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France and a center of the silk industry, to dine at some of the country's best restaurants and explore the Roman ruins, Romanesque churches and museums throughout the city.

Next, you will be transferred through the picturesque Rhone Valley, passing through the beautiful hills of the Ardeche and Drome regions, an area of hilltowns, Roman ruins and nature reserves. The Rhone Valley is also the oldest wine producing region in France—Greeks planted the first grape vines here. Tour the walled city of Avignon before arriving in Aix-en-Provence. Stay two nights at luxurious Villa Gallici, a manor house set in large manicured gardens. Explore this "city of a thousand fountains," wandering past 17th and 18th century mansions and shopping at produce and flower markets perfumed with wild thyme and lavender. With your private driver-guide, explore the town and visit such attractions as the atelier of hometown artist, Cezanne.

Continue on to Menerbes and spend three nights at La Bastide de Marie, a luxurious farmhouse in the heart of the Luberon Valley. Take a full-day private excursion, exploring the surrounding countryside—some of the most picturesque in Provence—and stopping in rocky hill towns such as Bonnieux, Lacoste, Gordes and the ocher-colored Roussillon, farm villages such as Lourmarin and Menerbes, and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a town spread across several islands in a river.

Transfer by private car to Eze, a hamlet clinging to the rocky coast of the Cote d'Azur. Spend three nights at the luxurious Chateau Eza, enjoying spectacular views of the Mediterranean. Stroll around the medieval village center and relax in the lush Jardin Exotique. Browse at art galleries, boutiques and artisan shops. During a leisurely half-day excursion with a private driver, explore luxurious villas, sheltered bays and beaches along the Cote d'Azur.