7-day Small Group ALL Normandy D-Day Castles & Burgundy Wine Trip from Paris.

7-day Small-group ALL Normandy & D-Day — Brittany — Loire Castles — Burgundy wine tastings by Mercedes minivan

A very nice designed 7-day Live-guided Small-group tour for four to six people by 4 star hotels and Mercedes minivan to the most important sites of Normandy like Mont Saint-Michel, Giverny’s Claude Monet’s house, Etretat chalk cliffs, Honfleur with its pictoresque harbour, Calvados tasting, most important D-Day sites including Caen memorial, Normandy American cemetery, Omaha beach memorial, Pointe du Hoc, Brittany’s famous attractions Saint Malo, Pointe du Groin and Oysters Capital Cancale with Oysters tasting, Six most important Loire Valley Castles, Five wine tastings in Chablis and Beaune by Nobel Wine houses and more and more.

ROUTE: Paris — Giverny — Etretat — Honfleur — Calvados — Bayeux — Caen Memorial — Arromanches — Normandy American Cemetery — Omaha Beaches — Point du Hoc — Mont Saint-Michel — Cancale — Oysters tasting — Pointe du Groin — Saint Malo — Angers — Château de Chenonceau — Château d'Amboise — Chateaux Clos Luce — Chateau de Chaumont — Chateaux Blois — Chateau Chambord — Chablis — Wine Tastings — Chateau de Pommard — Beaune — Hôtel-Dieu — Wine Tastings — Paris

Paris — Giverny — Etretat — Honfleur — Calvados — Bayeux

08:00 Pick up and Departure to to Giverny

08:00 Pick up from Your Hotel. Departure to Giverny - the country home of Claude Monet. The Guide will welcome You and give on the way You general Information about the French history and Impressionism. There are 70 km to drive from Paris to Giverny. It takes about 1,15 hours.

09:30 - 11:00 Giverny

09:15 - 11:00 Arrival in Giverny and visit of the Claude Monet's house to admire the nature that inspired one of the most famous French painters and founder of Impressionism. Visit the house and Norman flower gardens and Claude Monet’s studio.

11:00 Departure to Etretat. It take 2 hours (150 km).

13:00 - 15:30 Etretat. Lunch time. Walking to the famous Cliffs

13:00 - 15:30 Arrival at Etretat. Lunch time and Walking to the famous Cliffs. You will enjoy breath taking views and relax. Short Walking tour to the beach & Cliffs and Free time for Lunch. Étretat is famous for its chalk cliffs, including three natural arches and the Needle, which rises 70 meters (230 ft) above the sea. Etretat was a popular spot in the past for impressionist artists including Claude Monet - the founder of French Impressionist painting. Today it is a classical seaside resort nestled between two sets of chalk cliffs. You can walk on the beach or climb for excellent views.

15:30 Departure from Etretat to Honfleur. It takes 50 minutes (46 km).

16:30 - 19:00 Walking tour in Honfleur. Calvados tasting

16:30 - 19:00 Walking tour in Honfleur with its famous port. Calvados tasting. Honfleur - the main defensive port of Normandy of the XV century, transformed into a charming resort town with a picturesque Bay, much-loved by the artists of the XIX century. Honfleur was first mentioned in 1024, when it belonged to the Norman Duke Richard III. The owners of the city changed several times during The Hundred Years ' War. In the XV century, there were French pirates - corsairs who ravaged the English coast. A little later, in the XVII—XVIII centuries, the city became significantly rich in trade with the American colonies. After the port was closed, the city's economy declined and Honfleur became a suburb of Le Havre. Today it is one of the most known tourist cities in Normandy.The walking city tour takes about 1 hour.

19:00 Departure to Caen/Bayeux area. It takes about 1 hour (80 km). 20:00 Arrival Bayeux/Caen.

20:30 Arrival Bayeux/Caen. Hotel Accommodation.

10:00 - 12:00 Visit of The Caen Memorial and Museum

10:00 - 12:00 Visit of The Caen Memorial and Museum, located in the British Sword Beach sector. Caen Museum is the best World War II museum in France. You will get an overview of the battle of Normandy as well the sense of the personal lives of the people who took part in it. An excellent 19-minute film documents this battle with original historic footage.

12:00 Departure to Arromanches-les-Bains. It takes about 0,5 hour (30 km) on the national roads crossing beautiful countryside and small villages.

12:30 - 13:30 Stop for Lunch in Arromanches-les-Bains

12:30 - 13:30 Stop for Lunch and visit of Arromanches. The way from Caen Memorial to the Arromanches-les-Bains is about 30 km and takes just half an hour. Arromanches is a small seaside town famous for its former artificial Mulberry Harbour. Located in the center of the Gold Beach landing zone it played an invaluable role in the D-Day landings. The Allies built here an artificial temporary harbour for unloading of vehicles, materials, and people. Mulberry Harbour had, by June 12, 1944, helped bring 300,000 men, 54,000 vehicles, and 104,000 tons of supplies to Europe.

13:30 Departure to the Normandy American Cemetery & Visitor Center. It is just half an hour drive (20 km).

14:00 Normandy American Cemetery & Visitor Center

14:00 Arrival and Visit of the Normandy American Cemetery & Visitor Center, located in Colleville-sur-Mer and overlooking Omaha Beach. It contains 9,387 U.S. soldiers, most of whom were killed during the Normandy Landings and the Wall of the Missing with the names of 1,557 soldiers missing in action. The cliffs leading down to the beaches contain the remnants of the German defences, including concrete casemates with memorials to the soldiers.

At Normandy American Cemetery you’ll see as well the semicircular memorial colonnade with the sculpture “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves” and large maps of military operations; and the most beautiful, idyllic spot on Planet Earth.

15:20 Departure to Omaha Beaches. It takes just 10 minutes (5 km).

15:30 Omaha Beaches

15:30 Arrival at Omaha Beaches. Learn about the huge sacrifice made by the 34 000 men who landed here on D-Day. Omaha Beach is the most popular travellers destination of the D-Day Beaches.

16:00 Departure to Pointe du Hoc. I takes 15 minutes (10 km).

16:15 Pointe du Hoc

16:15 Arrival at Pointe du Hoc, a prominent cliff between Utah and Omaha Beach. This point was important because it was the highest land between Omaha and Utah beaches and could thus fire upon both of them. The site was a gun battery, fortified with concrete casemates and gun pits, forming part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall defences. Visiting the Pointe du Hoc You will learn about the 2nd Ranger battalion sacrifice to take this crucial gun battery on the cliffs of Omaha Beach on June 6th 1944. Many of the original fortifications and bunkers remain on the site and are open to the public, including the fire control casemate, on top of which there is a monument to the 2nd Ranger Battalion.

17:30 Departure to Mont Saint-Michel area. It takes about 1,45 hours (140 km).

09:00 - 12:00 Mont Saint-Michel and visit of the Benedictine Abbey.

09:00 - 12:30 Arrival at Mont Saint-Michel and visit of the Benedictine Abbey. Your guide will bring you up the narrow streets of the medieval village toward the top of the Island. You can admire panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and bay and enter the Benedictine Abbey. Entrance tickets into the Abbey include audio-guides in many languages.

The whole island with the Bay is classified by UNESCO as a world heritage site. It remains practically the same since the Middle Ages as it was the goal of pilgrims from all over the world. Mont Saint-Michel remains the most visited site in France. Free time for Lunch and visiting of the city and the Bay.

12:00. Departure to Cancale. It takes about one hour drive.

13:00 Cancale - the Oysters capital of France

13:30 Arrival in Cancale - the Oysters capital of France. Visit of the Oysters market where You can taste fresh local oysters. Free time for Lunch.

14:45 Pointe du Grouin

14:45 Arrival at Pointe du Grouin. This rocky outcrop, the last limit before entering the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel, is a magnificent observatory, exposed to the wind. This wild landscape dominates the 40-meter coastline and offers spectacular views. Dominated by a lighthouse built in 1861, the rocky promontory offers a breathtaking view of the coasts of Normandy, the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel and the Emerald Coast.

15:45 Departure to Saint-Malo.

16:00 Walking tour Saint-Malo (Brittany)

16:00 - 18:00 Walking tour Saint-Malo. Saint Malo is a historic French port in Brittany on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. Saint-Malo was once the city of corsairs and the birthplace of the discoverer of Canada, Jacques Cartier and the poet Chateaubriand. We will have a walking tour with a tour of the Old Town, surrounded by high walls, with narrow cobbled streets and buildings of the 18th and 15th centuries.

18:00 Departure destination Angers. It takes about 2,5 hours (200 km).

20:30 Angers. Hotel Accommodation

20:30 Hotel accommodation in the city center of Angers.

08:00 Departure to Loire Valley

08:00 Departure from Angers to Loire Valley It takes about 2 hours (160 km).

10:00 - 12:00 Visit of Château de Chenonceau

10:00 - 12:00 Arrival and visit of Château de Chenonceau with Guide. Chenonceau Castle nicknamed the "ladies’ castle", remarkable for its feminine history of famous women of France such as Catherine de Medici as well as for it’s stunning architecture as well as unique aches over the River Cher. The Renaissance-style gardens Gardens of Chenonceau with their more than 130,000 flowerings plants will impress You as well. You will also get a brochure with explanations of each room. Free time to walk around the gardens.

12:00 Departure from the Chenonceau castle destination Amboise City. It takes about 20 min (14 km)

12:15 - 14:00 Amboise city and Lunch

12:15 - 14:00 Arrival in Amboise city and Lunch break. There are many cafes and restaurants at the main walking street of Amboise near the entrance to the Castle. So You will have the best choice for Lunch. We can as well make a reservation at a good restaurant.

14:00 to 15:30 Visit of Château Royal d'Amboise

14:00 to 15:30 Visit of Château Royal d'Amboise with Histopad explaining to You the history of this Castle and of each room. Amboise is the grand 15th- century residence of King Charles VIII and an example of the transition of Gothic to Renaissance architecture. Learn the history of the castle Amboise which is known as birth place of princes, the reign of Kings, and the death of the greatest Renaissance master, Leonardo Da Vinci! You can see his grave in the chapel.

15:30. Walking of about 400 meters to Leonardo da Vinci castle Clos Luce

15:45 - 17:30 Visit of Chateaux Clos Luce

15:45 - 17:30 Visit of Chateaux Clos Luce with Parc Leonardo da Vinci. In this castle Leonardo da Vince spent last three years of his life. Clos Luce is of top 100 extraordinary destinations to explore 2021 by Time magazine. Free time in Amboise city.

17:30 to 18:30 Visit of the local Vinery with Wine Tasting

17:30 Wine Tasting at a local family winery existing since many centuries. You will learn how wines have been making for centuries and have afterwords the wine tasting of local wines with explanations. We will present You red, rose and white wines.

19:00 Hotel accommodation

19:00 Hotel accommodation in Amboise.

09:00 - 11:30 Chateau de Chaumont

09:00 - 11:00 Arrival and visit of Chateau de Chaumont. The castle Château de Chaumont was founded in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 15th century by Charles I d'Amboise. Protected as a monument historique since 1840, the château became the French state ownership and is now open to the public. Catherine de Medici forced in 1559 Diane de Poitiers, to accept the Château de Chaumont in exchange for the Château de Chenonceau. Diane de Poitiers spent here last 3 years of her life. Departure to Blois city. It takes about 0,5 hour.

12:00 - 13:30 Lunch break in Blois city

12:00 - 13:30 Arrival in Blois city. Lunch break. We will recommend You a good restaurant.

13:30 - 15:00 Visit of Chateaux Blois

13:30 - 15:00 Visit of Chateau Blois. The Royal Château of Blois is located in the center of Blois city. It was a residence of some French Kings, Joan of Arc also went there by 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to battle against the English. The castle comprises several buildings of four different architectural styles. There are 564 rooms in the castle, including 100 bedrooms with a fireplace in each, and 75 staircases.

15:30 - 17:00 Visit of Chateau Chambord

15:30 - 17:00 Visit of Chateaux Chambord. The Guide will tell You the history of the Castle and its construction. The Château de Chambord is one of the most popular castles because of its French Renaissance architecture. The building was constructed from 1519 to 1547 by Francis I (Francois 1-er) and is nowadays the biggest castle with its 440 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 84 staircases. The castle is also known because of its open double-spiral staircase. The two spirals ascend the three floors without ever meeting. Leonardo da Vinci may have designed the staircase.

17:00 Departure to the Chablis Village. It take about 2,5 hours minutes (231 km)

19:30 Chablis village.

19:00 Arrival in Chablis village area. Hotel accommodation.

09.30 - 11.00 Visit of Jean-Marc Brocard Domaine

09:30 - 11:00 Arrival in Chablis area. Visit of Jean-Marc Brocard Domaine surrounded by the vineyards with Cave visit and wine tasting of 5 wines with cheese: Chablis, Chablis 1-er Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. The experienced staff will give You all explanations about the process of wine making in Chablis and point out the differences between Chablis, Chablis 1-er Cru and Chablis Grand Cru.

11:30 - 12:30 Chablis village. Second Wine tasting

11:30 - 12:30 Arrival in Chablis village. We offer the second Wine tasting by one of the local Chablis wine producers with 5 to 9 wines: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru.

12:30 - 14.00 Free time in Chablis. Lunch time

12:30 - 14.00 Free time in Chablis village. You can enjoy the small town or we reserve for You a good Restaurant.

14:00 Departure destination Chateau de Pommard close to Beaune (135 km). It takes 1,5 hours.

16:00 - 17:30 Visit and Wine tasting at Chateau de Pommard

16.00 - 17:30 Arrival at Chateau de Pommard - one of the most famous domaines of Burgundy, close to Beaune and surrounded by the vineyards. Wine tasting of a selection of 5 wines from Château de Pommard and Famille Carabello-Baum "La Route des Grands Crus" with a professional sommelier. You will learn how Burgundy’s star grapes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay express themselves across Burgundy’s villages and terroirs. You will learn about: the 5 subregions of Burgundy and their specialties, about the famous wine road La Route des Grands Crus, about how the natural factors do influence the taste and about Burgundy’s classifications.

18:00 Arrival in Beaune. Hotel accommodation.

09:00 - 10:30 Visit of Hôtel-Dieu

09:00 - 10:30 Beaune. Visit of Hospices de Beaune - Hôtel-Dieu a former charitable almshouse founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor. The original hospital building is one of the finest examples of XV century Burgundian architecture and one of the best-preserved renaissance buildings in Europe.

10:30 - 12:30 Wine tasting by Patriarch et Fils

10:30 - 12:30 Wine tasting with a professional sommelier of Burgundy wines in the cellars «The Patriarch and sons». The Caves Patriarche are located in the centre of Beaune. The 5 kilometers of tunnels that make it up run under the city and make it one of the largest cellars in Burgundy. It’s also a place full of history, founded in 1780, located in the former convent.

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch time.

14:00 - 15:30 Wine tasting in Beaune

14:00 - 15:30 Wine tasting by one of the Nobel Wine houses of Burgundy.

15:30 - 16:30 Free time.

16:30 Departure to Paris 312 km (highway). It takes about 3,5 to 4 hours. One stop at a rest area will be made.

20:00/20:30 Coming back to Paris

20:00 / 20:30 Coming back to Paris. Drop off at Your hotel.