Sip & Savor France

“Bienvenue en France” or welcome to France! Upon arrival at the CDG International Airport, and after heading through customs and collecting your luggage, meet your personal driver in the arrivals hall who will take you to your apartment in Paris where you will spend the next few days in the most romantic city in the world.

Hit the streets of central Paris to sample some of the finest gourmet products in the city. On this morning’s mix of history, culture, fun and tastes, you’ll learn about the local gastronomy.

You’ll meet your day guide and small group in the Latin Quarter. Each tour is different, but you may enjoy delicious wine, bread, pastries and local delicacies such as foie gras.

Tenon Tip: Avoid using the Pyramid entrance of the Louvre during the busy season: go through the shopping mall entrance (under the awning on Rue Du Rivoli), go down escalators (or stairs), go past a few shops and coffee shops and buy tickets from the machines there, then head to the security line. This gives you a minimal wait time!

Enjoy breakfast this morning. Your driver-guide will pick you up at your hotel before heading to the Champagne region—about an hour and 40 minutes from Paris depending on the traffic.

Your tour today is a full-day, small-group tour that will allow you to sample regional wines. At the end of the tour, you’ll have the chance to sample local produce as well before heading back to Paris.

This morning, you have free time to explore independently. From shopping to a stroll through the neighborhood of Le Marais, there is plenty to keep you occupied! Our team will give you more recommendations based on your interests.

Tonight, you’ll cruise down the Seine River, taking in the sites of Paris while enjoying a
three-course meal. You’ll pass the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Notre Dame, Le Louvre, Le Grand Palais and the “other” Statue of Liberty while enjoying a delicious meal.

Check out of your hotel this morning and meet your driver-guide who will take you to Normandy. Your final destination today is Bayeux, but along the way you’ll make a stop in Giverny, home of the impressionist Claude Monet.

As small French towns go, Bayeux is possibly the one with the best-known name. Check into your hotel for the next three nights and head to the Bayeux Cathedral for a walk through 11th-century history.

For dinner this evening, try a nice Norman meal at P’tit Bistro near the cathedral. The menu borrows from tradition and adds its creative flair! Do try the hake with cauliflower mousseline and a shellfish with cinnamon emulsion, and be sure to book in advance. If you are looking for an after-dinner drink to toast your first day, head to the welcoming wine bar Le Volet qui Penche. You’ll taste fabulous wines, local cider and Poiret (pear sparkling wine)!

After breakfast, you’ll meet your private driver-guide at your hotel who will take you to discover some of the D-Day landing sites, including Omaha Beach (nicknamed “Bloody Omaha”) as it took 3600 casualties in the first 3 hours.

You will work together to see the sites you are most interested in along with the general history of the area during WW2, keeping in mind the drive time and work hours of the guiding and driving services. You’ll also have admissions to the Airborne Museum, located in the heart of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, a few kilometers from the landing beaches, facing the bell tower.

Today, meet your guide for a visit to Mont St. Michel: a magical island topped by a gravity-defying abbey.

After touring, you will return to Bayeux.

Meet your driver-guide this morning and make your way to the cobblestone streets of the port of Honfleur, where impressionism was born.

While here, you can visit the Seine Estuary or the Chapel of Notre Dame de Grâce. For a more adventurous activity, you can take a boat to the estuary or walk the Pont de Normandie bridge.

Your next visit is to Pays d’Auge, located in the heart of Normandy. The tourist route called “La Route du Cidre” (The Cider Route) explores the part of the area most suitable for making cider and calvados: the best terroir for apple trees is, in fact, the first slopes of the Pays d’Auge, between the Caen plain with its marshes to the West and the high hills to the East.

Your driver will take you to a distillery for a tasting where you will also enjoy some cheese.

Today, you have a leisurely morning in Bayeux. You will then meet your transfer driver who will take you to the station to connect with your TGV train to your CDG Airport hotel.

Enjoy your last night at your airport hotel before you depart tomorrow.

It is time to say goodbye to France! Check out of your airport hotel and head to the CDG to meet your departure flight home. Merci beaucoup and bon voyage, as the French would say!