• 7 Dinner (D)
• 15 Breakfast (B)

• Saint-Paul-de-Vence: Join a pétanque player to learn the secrets behind this traditional French discipline. Steady your hand and get ready to test your newfound skills in a game. End with a glass of pastis, a French apéritif.

Visit the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco to see aquariums devoted to Mediterranean and tropical seas. Exhibits also explore marine research, including the challenges of working in polar environments.

The museum reflects Monaco’s longstanding association with ocean science. Choose this included Insight Choice experience instead of the Prince’s Palace State Apartments for a visit focused on sea life, scientific discovery and the environments researchers seek to understand.

See the Pont du Gard spanning the Gardon River and take in the scale of this three-tiered Roman aqueduct bridge. Its arches form one of the most recognisable ancient monuments in southern France.

Built nearly 2,000 years ago as part of a water supply to Nîmes, the UNESCO-listed structure demonstrates the precision of Roman engineering. The river setting makes its height and carefully balanced stonework striking to view.

Browse and taste your way through a Cahors market, encountering seasonal produce and local delicacies. See the Pont Valentré, the town’s distinctive medieval bridge, during the visit.

Cahors is also known for its deeply coloured Malbec wines, historically nicknamed Black Wine. Market flavours and the bridge’s fortified towers offer two perspectives on this Lot Valley town: its living food culture and its medieval heritage.

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Insight Vacations

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star stays

Meet your Travel Director and fellow guests over dinner at a local Paris restaurant. Cuisine inspired by fresh, homemade recipes offers a welcoming introduction to dining in the French capital.

Sharing a table gives the group a chance to connect before exploring France together. Rather than a routine hotel meal, this hosted welcome dinner is a distinctly social start to the journey.

Explore Troyes’ medieval Old Town, where colourful half-timbered houses line narrow streets, and taste Champagne in the region that gives the sparkling wine its name.

The surrounding vineyards change from spring green to autumn gold. Troyes’ preserved streets reveal the city’s long history as a trading centre, while a glass of the region’s celebrated wine connects the visit to the landscape around it.

Explore Dijon with your Travel Director and discover the streets and architecture of Burgundy’s historic capital. The orientation introduces a city known for mustard, wine and its powerful ducal past.

Handsome buildings recall the era when the Dukes of Burgundy ruled a wealthy court that rivalled the kings of France. The walk offers a way to recognise the city’s heritage beyond its best-known culinary exports.

Explore the streets of Chamonix beneath Mont Blanc and the high peaks of the French Alps. This mountain town pairs a lively resort atmosphere with close-up views of the surrounding Alpine landscape.

Chamonix has drawn climbers and mountain travellers for generations. Look up from its shops and cafés to the steep valley walls and snowy summits that have shaped its identity as a centre of Alpine adventure.

Visit a perfumery in Èze to discover how fragrances are created and explore scents presented by perfume experts. Sample different notes as you consider which combination might become your signature scent.

Perfume-making is closely associated with southern France, where aromatic plants and long-established craft traditions have helped shape the industry. This visit brings that heritage to life through the textures and aromas of fragrance.

Drive along part of Monaco’s Grand Prix circuit and explore the old town with your Travel Director. See the Prince’s Palace and yacht-filled harbour, and step inside Monaco Cathedral, where Princess Grace is buried.

The circuit runs through city streets rather than a dedicated racetrack, giving the drive its distinctive character. Above the harbour, the old town offers another perspective on the principality’s ruling family and history.

Explore the State Apartments of the Prince’s Palace and admire their Italian Renaissance frescoes. This included Insight Choice activity offers a closer look at the ceremonial rooms of Monaco’s princely residence.

Set above the old town, the palace remains closely tied to the principality’s ruling family. Choose this palace visit instead of the Oceanographic Museum; the two are alternative included experiences, not visits promised together.

Walk through Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a hilltop village of winding lanes, stone walls and views towards the Riviera. Join a local player to learn and play pétanque, testing your aim in this traditional French game.

The village’s light and setting have long attracted artists. A glass of pastis, an anise-flavoured French apéritif, rounds out an experience rooted in the sociable rhythms of Provencal village life.

See the mansions lining the Cours Mirabeau, the broad, lively thoroughfare at the heart of Aix-en-Provence. Their facades offer a glimpse of the city’s elegant architectural character.

Aix is known for its shaded streets, fountains and café culture. The Cours Mirabeau brings those features together in a public space where historic townhouses frame the everyday bustle of a Provencal city.

Walk Avignon’s medieval Old Town towards the Palais des Papes and view the Pont d’Avignon beside the Rhône. Narrow streets and imposing Gothic architecture reveal the city’s historic importance.

Avignon was the seat of the papacy during the 14th century. The vast exterior of the Palais des Papes reflects that period of religious and political power; this experience is a city exploration, not a stated admission to the palace.

Explore the groves of an organic olive mill near Les Baux-de-Provence and learn how olives are grown and pressed using sustainable practices. Meet the owners and taste artisanal olive oils, comparing their aromas, colours and textures.

The estate’s approach promotes biodiversity and responsible production. Seeing the trees and tasting the finished oils connects a familiar Provencal ingredient to the people, land and cultivation choices behind it.

Stroll through Arles with a Local Expert, viewing the Roman Arena and Roman Theatre while learning about the town’s ancient past. The walk also introduces streets and Provencal scenes associated with Vincent van Gogh.

Arles brings two histories into view: substantial Roman remains and the light that drew later artists. Seeing its monuments from the surrounding streets helps explain how the town’s everyday setting has inspired work across centuries.

Explore the fortified town of Carcassonne on an orientation that reveals its ramparts, towers and medieval keep. The walled skyline gives a vivid sense of the town’s defensive past.

The UNESCO-listed Cité de Carcassonne is among France’s best-known fortified ensembles. Its layers of stonework and commanding position help explain why this site became such an enduring image of medieval France.

Discover Albi with your Travel Director on an orientation of its key landmarks. See its imposing cathedral and views of the museum dedicated to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who was born in the town.

Albi’s cathedral dominates the historic centre with the presence of a fortress as much as a church. The walk introduces the town’s artistic connection and its monumental architecture without implying admission to either landmark.

Enjoy a farm-to-table dinner in the Dordogne, prepared with locally sourced ingredients and served with wines from the region. The meal puts the area’s produce at the centre of the experience.

The Dordogne is known for a strong tradition of regional cooking. Tasting ingredients grown or made nearby, alongside local wine, offers a direct introduction to the food landscape beyond a standard restaurant dinner.

Visit Lascaux II in the Dordogne to see faithful reproductions of the prehistoric paintings discovered in the original Lascaux cave. Animal figures and painted surfaces convey the skill of their Ice Age makers.

The original cave is closed to visitors to protect its fragile art. This replica makes it possible to encounter the world-famous images while preserving the originals, offering a rare connection to human expression from thousands of years ago.

Explore Sarlat-la-Canéda and its compact historic centre, where lanes are framed by golden limestone houses. The town offers a close look at the architecture of the Périgord.

Its preserved medieval core rewards attention to small details: stone facades, sheltered passages and the warm colour of local building materials. Visiting Sarlat adds an architectural perspective to the Dordogne’s food traditions and prehistoric heritage.

Join a guided tour of Chartres Cathedral, one of France’s great Gothic landmarks. Discover the scale and design of a building that rises prominently above the surrounding Beauce plain.

The cathedral is renowned for its medieval stained glass and the architectural ambition of its soaring interior. A guided visit provides context for the craftsmanship and religious history behind a monument that has drawn visitors and pilgrims for centuries.

Discover Paris’s landmark streets and riverbanks with your Travel Director. See sights including the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe, with views of the Seine and its bridges.

The route introduces layers of the capital’s history, from grand civic spaces to monuments associated with Napoleon. Sightseeing may be from the coach or a scenic vantage point; admission to landmarks and a river cruise are not stated.

Share a farewell dinner with your Travel Director and fellow travellers at a local Paris restaurant. Enjoy French cuisine paired with wine in the heart of the capital.

The hosted meal offers time to reflect together on the places, flavours and landscapes encountered across France. Its shared occasion and wine pairing distinguish it from a routine dinner.

Taste Burgundy wine and enjoy a traditional dinner in Fixin, a Premier Cru village near Dijon. This optional evening centres on the flavours of one of France’s most celebrated wine regions.

Fixin belongs to Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits, an area closely associated with Pinot Noir. The tasting offers context for the wines alongside a regional meal. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Ride a Chamonix cable car for panoramic views across the Alpine peaks and valley below. The elevated vantage point offers a different way to appreciate the mountain setting around Mont Blanc.

Chamonix’s steep-sided valley has long attracted people seeking access to high-mountain scenery. This suggested excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour; the specific cable car and operation may depend on local conditions.

Try a pierrade in a Chamonix chalet, cooking food at the table on a heated stone. The hands-on meal brings a sociable Alpine dining tradition into a mountain-resort setting.

Rather than a conventional plated dinner, pierrade invites conversation as guests prepare each bite to their liking. This suggested dining experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit the medieval village of Èze and its hilltop botanical gardens for sweeping views of the Côte d’Azur coastline. The village’s elevated position makes the climb through its lanes part of the scenic appeal.

Stone passageways open onto Mediterranean panoramas, while the gardens provide a viewpoint above the shore. This optional excursion is distinct from the included perfumery visit and is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the hilltop villages of Puycelsi and Castelnau-de-Montmiral on an optional excursion from Albi. The outing also includes a visit to a traditional French market.

These villages offer stone-built streets and elevated views across the Tarn countryside. Browsing market stalls adds a glimpse of local food culture to the historic village visits. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Attend a Paris cabaret show for an evening of staged performance and theatrical spectacle. It is an opportunity to experience a style of entertainment closely associated with the capital’s nightlife.

Parisian cabaret has a long tradition of music, dance and elaborate presentation. The particular venue and show are not specified for this tour. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.