In Transit: Overnight in transit

Morning: Arrivals at Charles de Gaulle airport and independent transfers to the program hotel in Paris. Please note that rooms are not generally available until early to mid-afternoon, so you should plan to drop off your luggage at the hotel and then take some time to explore Paris or relax and have a leisurely lunch (on your own). There are Paris maps available at the hotel, and your Group Leader and hotel staff will be present to provide recommendations and directions.

Afternoon: Check in at your hotel and take the afternoon to unpack and relax. In the early evening you will meet with your group at the hotel for introductions, a review of the program itinerary and site orientation.

Dinner: at local restaurant

Lodging: Villa Luxembourg

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: At hotel restaurant

Morning: Field trip by coach for an overview of Paris. General orientation of major monuments and quarters: this excursion will bring you to The Opera, Place Vandôme, Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Invalides, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower… Field trip to the Louvre museum to discover one of the biggest museums in the world holding great masterpieces such as: the Louvre foundations, the Vénus de Milo, the victory of Samocrathe, the Joconde…and French paintings, from Fouquet to Delacroix, Monet, Watteau, Boucher….

Lunch: At local restaurant

Afternoon: Walk through the Tuileries Garden outside the Louvre where the big wheel of Paris stands. Enrichment activity: Ride the big wheel and have a breathtaking view of Paris at the top of the wheel. Departure by metro. Field trip to the Eiffel Tower also called the “iron lady”, one of France and Paris’ major symbol. Lecture (on site) : Gustave Eiffel's life and works”. Back to hotel by metro - free time

Dinner: On your own to explore local restaurants

Lodging: Villa Luxembourg

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Departure by foot to Ile de la Cité Field trip to Notre Dame Cathedral: visit its archeological crypt, presenting elements from the successive buildings constructed on the site from ancient times to the 19th century..Continue by metro to Montmartre, a place haunted by impressionist painters in the 19th century. Take the funicular to go up-hill. Excursion to the Sacred Heart Basilica, which was built from 1875 to 1919 and admire its mosaic ceiling in the apse, marble sculptures, stained-glass windows and its impressive organs. Lecture (on site) “The specifics of Montmartre in Paris”.

Lunch: at famous restaurant "La bonne franquette" in Montmartre , (famous for having been the meeting point of artists : Pissarro, Sisley, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Monet, Zola and Vincent Van Gogh

Afternoon: Enrichment activity: Enjoy a treasure hunt in Montmartre. In order to find the “treasure, you will have to solve enigmas scattered in different places on the hill (2 or 3 teams will be made out of the group). Back to the hotel by metro. Free time.

Dinner: On your own to explore local restaurants

Lodging: Villa Luxembourg

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel + Packing

Morning: Departure by coach to Versailles.Lecture (on bus): “Louis XIV and the French Monarchy”. Field trip to the Château de Versailles: explore the state apartments of the royal palace and learn about the daily life in the time of Sun King…Wander in Versailles gardens designed by Le Nôtre

Lunch: On your own at the chateau

Afternoon: Coach back to Paris. Stop at Pont Neuf (bridge). Enrichment activity: embark for a 1 hour boat cruise on the river Seine and discover the many different bridges of Paris and their history. Free time

Dinner: At local restaurant

Lodging: Villa Luxembourg

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Departure by coach to Caen, in Normandy. On the way, stop in the village of Giverny. Field trip to Claude Monet's house and gardens: the house is pink crunched brick, just like at the time Claude Monet lived there (1883-1926). The gardens are a rectangular “Clos Normand” offering, from spring to autumn, a palette of varying colors of the painter-gardener who was “ecstatic about flowers’ site of « the Water Lilies »; a water garden with the famous Japanese Bridge, wisteria, azalea and pond, which inspired the pictorial universe of the water lilies.. Lecture (on site): « Monet and the Impressionists » Quiz on Monet in Giverny for the grand-children.

Lunch: At local restaurant

Afternoon: Continue by coach to Caen. Arrival at hotel. Settling-in Free time to relax. Enrichment activity : Enjoy a journey on board of a little train for an overview of Caen (45 mn)

Dinner: On your own to explore local restaurants

Lodging: HOTEL MODERNE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Free time in Caen Departure by coach to a nearby local farm. Lecture (on coach): " Introduction to Normandy region"

Lunch: at local farm. Enrichment activity: Taste made in Normandy products and watch farm animals.

Afternoon: Continue by coach to the village of Camembert. Field trip to a Camembert cheese farm Lecture (on site) “Camembert cheese - an AOC made in Normandy” Coach back to Caen ( 1hour ¼ drive )

Dinner: Enrichment activity: Home visit and dinner at French families in Caen area. Meet with local coordinator and French families at the hotel lobby.

Lodging: HOTEL MODERNE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel + Packing

Morning: Departure by coach to the Memorial of Caen.Meet local instructor: Andre Heintz, former member of the resistance Movement in WWII. Field trip to the Mémorial of Caen: the American Memorial museum, and underground H.Q. Lecture (on site): World War II and the American allies by Andre Heintz Watch a movie on D Day”

Lunch: At Memorial’s restaurant

Afternoon: Departure by coach to the Landing Beaches with Andre Heintz. Field trip to the Battlefield Museum at Saint-Mère l’Eglise. Discover the airdropping of the 82nd and 101st American Airborne Division which made this place the first town liberated in France. Field trip continues to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. Take coach back to the hotel

Dinner: On your own to explore local restaurants

Lodging: HOTEL MODERNE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Departure by coach to Saint Malo, in Brittany.On the way, stop at the Mont Saint Michel.Field trip to the abbey and the old town. Lecture (on site): Unique character of Mont Saint-Michel's bay and abbey?

Lunch: on your own and free time at Mont Saint Michel

Afternoon: Continue by coach to Saint Malo. Arrival at hotel. Settling-in. Free time to relax. Field trip on foot along the ramparts and in the old town of Saint Malo, Including Saint Vincent Cathedral burial place of Jacques Cartier. Lecture (on site): “Famous characters from Saint Malo: Surcouf, the corsair; Jacques Cartier, who discovered Canada; Chateaubriand, the French writer ..”

Dinner: At local restaurant

Evening: Tradionnal celtic music and dances

Lodging: HOTEL DU LOUVRE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Departure by coach for an all day field trip to Paimpol, on the Gold coast".Lecture (on bus): "Celtic heritage in the Breton culture: Language, traditional costume, music, legends". Continue by coach to Arcouet harbor. Take the boat (10mn) to the island of Brehat

Lunch: On your own on the Brehat island

Afternoon: Lecture (on site): “Preservation of the local environment” Field trip on foot across the island. Free time and optional swimming in the sea.Take the boat back to Arcouest then continue by coach back to hotel.Free time to relax

Dinner: Demonstration on how to make traditional Breton Crepes and Galettes and taste them for dinner!

Lodging: HOTEL DU LOUVRE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel

Morning: Departure by coach to Cancale, a typical fishing harbor, near Saint Malo. Field trip to the maritime farm. Discover the “savoir-faire” and maritime history of the region. Enrichment activity: oyster tasting Lecture (on site): “Oyster breeding: a local tradition”

Lunch: On your own to explore local restaurants

Afternoon: Free time (and pack for tomorrow’s departure)

Dinner: Farewell dinner at local restaurant

Lodging: HOTEL DU LOUVRE

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel + Packing

Morning: Transfer from St Malo to Rennes airport.

Meals Included: Breakfast