The Best of France's Loire Valley and Normandy - Tour Overview

Castles, Calvados, D-Day Beaches, Chartres Cathedral, Paris.  Join us as we visit the Loire Valley and Normandy.  We’ll meet up in Paris and spend one night there getting to know each other and having our first French dinner together.  Although it will be a short time in Paris, it will be sweet and we love our centrally located hotel.

The next day, we’ll board our coach bus and head to Monet’s garden, a green paradise on the way to Normandy.  Claude Monet lived here for forty-three years,from 1883 to 1926.

Following the Seine river, we’ll make our way to the north coast of Normandy to the enchanting port town of Honfleur.  Our delightful little hotel is an oasis of calm and beauty; it's set away from the bustle of the port but within easy walking distance of the center with its beautiful timbered houses and shops.

In Normandy, we’ll explore Honfleur,  visit a calvados distillery and for those who wish, feast on the traditional Norman seadfood platter.  We’ll sample Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l'Evêque and Neufchâtel, Normandies home cheeses.

We will spend a day honoring the memory of those who fought and those who perished on the landing beaches on D-Day.  We’ll visit Omaha beach and the American cemetery and other D-Day sites, learning the history from our guide.

We’ll return to our hotel and end the day with a glass of Calvados to warm our souls.

On day four, we’ll move on the Loire Valley.  On the way, we’ll stop in Chartres to see the famous cathedral.

“Long renowned as "one of the most beautiful and historically significant cathedrals in all of Europe,"  it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, which called it "the high point of French Gothic Art”  and a "masterpiece"... the majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century” - Wikipedia

Our next hotel is located in the heart of the authentic and picturesque Royal City of Amboise. A stone's throw from the pedestrian and shopping streets as well as the Royal Château of François 1er, Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the recently renovated Château Gaillard. This large manor house is a complex dating back to the 17th century, with its stables converted into living areas. The old porch, the large terrace and the park with its hundred-year-old trees. The swimming pool is nestled among the rose bushes and cedars, where you can relax to the sound of birdsong.

From here,  we will visit the castles and villages of the Loire Valley: Chinon, Villandry, Chenonceau, Chambord.  And for those who wish, we’ll take an early morning hot air balloon over the Castle of Chenonceau, followed by a Champagne breakfast in the orangery of the Castle for everyone!

We’ll return to Paris and our same sweet hotel.  For our last night, we’ll take a dinner cruise on the Seine where we’ll see the major monuments from the river as we watch the city of lights come alive at night.