Mix & Match: Normandy & the Loire Valley

Welcome to France. On arrival at Paris airport you will be met for a private transfer to your hotel, leaving the rest of the day free to begin discovering the city at your own pace. Depending on your arrival time, you may wish to make your way to the Champs-Élysées for its shops and pavement cafes, or head north to Montmartre, where the streets climb to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and its views across the rooftops of Paris. A walk along the Seine is a fine introduction to the city, taking in the bridges, the bookstalls along the quays and the towers of Notre-Dame. This evening is at leisure. There are plenty of bistros and brasseries within easy reach of the hotel for a first taste of French cooking, before an early night ahead of the journey south tomorrow. Special Information Arrival airport transfers are included as part of your package. You will be met upon arrival at the airport and transferred to your hotel. If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.

Spend the day at leisure exploring Paris at your own pace, with a full day to give the city the time it deserves. Begin on the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame Cathedral stands at the heart of the old city, then cross to the quieter Île Saint-Louis for its riverside lanes and ice cream shops. From here it is a short walk into the Marais, where the streets escaped the nineteenth century rebuilding of Paris and the Place des Vosges remains the oldest planned square in the city, lined with arcades and shaded by lime trees. Across the river, the Jardin du Luxembourg is laid out around its palace with gravel paths, fountains and chairs set out beside the ponds, and the cafes of Saint-Germain-des-Prés are a short walk away. Three optional tours are available today for those who would prefer a guided experience. Otherwise, the day and the evening are yours to enjoy at leisure.

This morning, after breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the train from Paris to Bayeux, crossing the farmland, orchards and hedgerows of Normandy on the way north west. Bayeux came through the Normandy landings of 1944 almost untouched, and its medieval streets, timber-framed houses and water mills along the River Aure survive as a result. Spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the town on foot. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux rises above the rooftops with a Romanesque crypt beneath a Gothic nave, and it was here that the Bayeux Tapestry was displayed for centuries. The town is small enough to cover slowly, with the old quarter, the mill race and the botanical garden all within a short walk of one another. Special Information Your travel time today will be approximately 4 hours. Your train tickets and step by step directions to the station will be included in your final documentation.

Spend the day at leisure in Bayeux or join one of two optional excursions into the surrounding countryside and coast. The Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England running close to seventy metres in length, is the town's best-known sight and is displayed a short walk from the cathedral. Nearby, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Baron Gérard holds porcelain, lace and paintings in the former bishop's palace, and the Bayeux War Cemetery on the edge of town is the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France. For those wishing to travel further, a half day tour of the American landing sector and Omaha Beach takes in the beaches, batteries and cemeteries of the 1944 landings, while a full day excursion crosses the bay to Mont Saint-Michel and its abbey. Otherwise, the remainder of the day and the evening are at leisure.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the train south to Tours, leaving Normandy behind for the Loire Valley. Tours sits on the Loire at the centre of a valley whose châteaux, gardens and vineyards are listed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city itself was largely rebuilt after the war, but the old quarter around Place Plumereau kept its timber-framed houses, and the square is now given over to cafe tables. Spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure. The Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, a short walk east, took some four centuries to complete and carries Gothic work of every period, with a Renaissance cloister alongside it. Special Information Your travel time today will be approximately 6 hours.

Spend the day at leisure in Tours or join one of two optional excursions into the Loire Valley. The old quarter is compact and flat, running between Place Plumereau and Rue Nationale, with a covered market at Les Halles and the Basilique Saint-Martin, built over the tomb of the fourth century bishop whose shrine drew pilgrims from across Europe. The Musée des Beaux-Arts occupies the former archbishop's palace beside the cathedral, with a cedar of Lebanon in its courtyard, and the banks of the Loire are a short walk north for a view along the river. For those wishing to head further afield, an afternoon wine tour visits the vineyards and cellars of Vouvray on the slopes above the river, and a full day excursion takes in the château of Chenonceau, built out across the River Cher, and Chambord with its roofline of turrets and chimneys. Otherwise, the rest of the day and the evening are at leisure.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the train back to Paris for your final night. The remainder of the day is at leisure. With Normandy and the Loire behind you, this is a chance to return to anything in Paris you did not have time for at the start of the tour, or to spend a quiet afternoon in the covered passages of the Right Bank, the glass-roofed arcades built in the nineteenth century and still lined with booksellers, print dealers and tea rooms. This evening is at leisure, and a good opportunity for a final dinner in the city. Special Information Your travel time today will be approximately 3 hours.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel. A private transfer will collect you and take you to Charles de Gaulle Airport, where your tour comes to an end. Take with you the memory of a journey by rail from Paris to the Normandy coast and the châteaux of the Loire, and of the towns, markets and countryside along the way. Thank you for travelling with Inspiring Vacations. We hope you had a memorable experience. Special Information Departure transfers are included as part of your package. You will be collected from your hotel at the appropriate time and transferred to the airport to meet your flight. If you choose to extend your stay (e.g., departing after the final tour date) and have booked your additional accommodation independently, this included service will be forfeited and no refund will be issued. If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.