​​France, History and Tradition

​DAY 1 - LISBON OR PORTO / PARIS / AMIENS 
Arrive at the airport 120 minutes before departure for boarding formalities. Departure on a scheduled TAP Portugal flight to Paris. Arrival and assistance from our private Portuguese-speaking guide, who will accompany you from the arrival airport to the departure airport. Departure for Amiens and panoramic tour, highlighting the Gothic-style Notre-Dame Cathedral. Transfer to the Campanile Amiens Centre Gare *** Hotel or similar. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel. 

DAY 2 - AMIENS / ROUEN / CAEN 
Continental breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Rouen, the capital of Normandy, where beautiful Norman Gothic buildings and more than 700 typical houses stand out around the church of St. Maclou. But it was during the Hundred Years' War that the city contributed one of the most important episodes in French history: at only 19 years of age, Joan of Arc was tried and burned alive here in the Old Market Square. After lunch at a local restaurant, we travel through endless fertile lands with Caen as our destination. Brief overview of this martyred city of the Battle of Normandy, one of the most dramatic of World War II. Dinner and accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Caen Côte Nacre **** or similar.

​DAY 3 - CAEN / NORMANDY BEACHES / MONT SAINT-MICHEL / RENNES 
After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, we set off for the Normandy coast. Here, the traces of the largest sea invasion in human history are anchored in the landscape and perpetuate in our memory the bloody D-Day when 135,000 men began the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule on the French beaches. Stop at Arromanches-les-Bains, one of the many beaches immortalised on 6 June 1944. Here, we visit the D-Day Museum, a poignant testimony to this bloody event in 20th-century history. We continue to Mont Saint-Michel where lunch will be served at a local restaurant, after which we will visit on foot the architectural complex, commonly referred to as "the Wonder of the Western World", which, according to history, was erected at the request of the archangel Saint Michael in the 8th century to the bishop of Avranches. We continue to Rennes, the stimulating capital of French Brittany, whose rich heritage is due to the great diversity of styles and decorations. The panoramic tour highlights the old part of the city, which escaped the great fire of 1720, the Rennes Opera House, the Saint-Yves Chapel and the Palace of Justice. Arrival and accommodation at the Mercure Rennes Centre Parlement **** Hotel or similar. Dinner included.

​DAY 4 - RENNES / SAINT-MALO / DINAN / RENNES 
After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Saint-Malo, a typical Breton town whose monuments and ramparts stretch along a coastline of extraordinary beauty. Enjoy a panoramic tour, accompanied by a local guide, of one of the most beautiful and unique towns in France. We highlight the ramparts - whose construction began in the 12th century - which remained intact after the bombings of 1944, the Saint-Malo Palace and the Aleth Viewpoint. Lunch at a local restaurant. We continue to Dinan to visit the medieval town where the Dukes of Brittany once resided. Return to Rennes to enjoy the well-preserved medieval quarters. Due to the rich forests surrounding it, the city has always had one of the largest clusters of wooden houses in perfect condition. Although its inhabitants speak mainly French, the preservation of Breton culture and ancient Celtic traditions is one of the city's characteristics. Accommodation at the hotel. Dinner included.


​DAY 5 - RENNES / LOIRE VALLEY / TOURS 
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. We leave Gaulish Armorica, made famous by the stories of Asterix, and head towards the Loire Valley, the longest river in France, and the small village of Amboise, lazily overlooking the river. Lunch will be served at the Château "Le Choiseul" restaurant, one of the many places where history and refinement merge into one. In the afternoon, we will walk up to the Royal Castle (interior visit) where the Renaissance aura of Leonardo da Vinci, whose remains rest here in the chapel of St. Humbert, still lingers. Our journey continues to Tours, the robust and sophisticated city that grew up between two rivers, the Loire and the Cher. Dinner at a local restaurant. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Tours **** or similar. 

DAY 6 - TOURS / CHEVERNY / CHAMBORD / PARIS 
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Departure for a visit to the interior of Cheverny Castle, which inspired Hergé for his Tintin comic strip. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, we visit the interior of Chambord Castle, one of the finest examples of the French Renaissance. Impressive in size with 440 rooms, Louis XIV was one of its famous guests and Molière premiered his play "Le Bourgois Gentilhomme" here in 1670. At a time to be agreed, we continue towards Paris, the timeless city of light, with the placid River Seine running through its veins. Accommodation at the Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel **** or similar. Dinner at a local restaurant.

​DAY 7 - PARIS 
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. The morning will be filled with a half-day panoramic tour, with a local guide, of the most extraordinary European metropolis, where, as if by magic, it has been possible to reframe each monument in a setting where the famous boulevards and bridges over the River Seine often allow for visual perspectives of several monuments simultaneously, with a richness and balance that is difficult to match. Highlights include the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, the Place de la Concorde, the Opera district, the Place Vendôme, the Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, the Montparnasse Tower, the Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the areas of Bohemia (Pigalle), Montmartre, Sacré-Coeur, and Place du Tertre (Street Painters' Square). Dinner at a local restaurant. Accommodation at the hotel. 

DAY 8 - PARIS / LISBON OR PORTO 
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. At a time to be agreed, departure for the airport. Boarding formalities and departure on a scheduled TAP Portugal flight to Lisbon or Porto. Arrival at the destination airport. END OF THE TRIP