Tour Overview
Welcome to Normandy and the Loire Valley! A land of plenty first settled by Viking Norsemen, Normandy has an eventful history and embraces rich, pastoral farmland, a striking coastline, and great monuments. Explore Normandy and the Loire Valley on our exciting 7-day private journey. Start off from Paris and stop to see Monet’s home and stunning gardens. Visit the medieval city of Rouen and it’s famous cathedral before reaching Normandy. Here you will explore the D-Day landing beaches. Visit Pointe du Hoc, where American troops scaled the cliffs to capture German defenses. Travel to Arromanches, where parts of the floating harbor are still visible. We can even arrange for a guest speaker- a military history expert and Major General- to visit your hotel for a personal presentation on D-Day! Take in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont St Michel, perched on a rock off the Normandy Coast and explore the beautiful Loire Valley- all by private car!Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Paris- Giverny- Rouen- NormandyThis morning depart from Paris and transfer to Normandy with your private vehicle and driver-guide. En route you will visit Giverny, to see Monet’s home and the stunning gardens that feature in many of his paintings. You will also see the medieval city of Rouen, famous for the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral and the giant Renaissance Clock, Grosse Horloge. You will then be taken to your hotel. You will be confirmed for three nights at the Chateau d’Audrieu in a standard room, including full breakfast. The Chateau d’Audrieu has existed for more than 200 years and has been excelling as a hotel for nearly 30 years. Rooms vary in style, shape and décor, although an elegant French style runs throughout. The hotel is proud of its elegant gourmet restaurant and there is also a bar. A perfect ambience is created in the formal gardens and the English-style park with trees more than 300 years old of many varieties-beech, oak, ash, chestnut and cedar. There is also an outdoor swimming pool.
Chateau d’Audrieu Day 2: D-Day Landing Beaches
This morning you will meet your private vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide for a full day (8 hours) sightseeing tour of the area. First you will visit Pointe du Hoc, where American troops scaled the cliffs with rope ladders in order to capture the German defenses. Travel to Arromanches, where parts of the floating harbor are still visible. Here the Landings Museum and 360-degree circular cinema tell the story of Operation Overlord. You then head via Omaha Beach to the American Cemetery and Memorial, a moving tribute to the fallen. When touring by private car with a driver-guide, we use an experienced driver-guide who will give commentary en route and maybe do some guiding although generally they are not permitted to guide within museums and certain historical sites. For the evening, we can arrange for a military history expert to visit your hotel and give a talk about the history of D-Day. The Major General first experienced a battlefield tour of Normandy in 1975 and met some of the key Allied and German participants on D-Day and between June and August 1944. The Major General is also a founding director of the “D-Day and Battle for Normandy Academy”, a research and education center which is being established in Normandy. The lecture is illustrated and usually lasts about 90 minutes, including questions.
Chateau d’Audrieu
Breakfast Day 3: Mont St Michel
This morning you will be met by your private vehicle and English-speaking driver-guide for a full day (8 hour) sightseeing tour of the area. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mont St Michel, which perches on a 264-foot rock just off the Normandy Coast and is only accessible by a causeway. You will visit the famous Abbey via narrow cobblestone streets, which took over 500 years to build, from 1017 to 1521 and according to local legend, was inspired by a visit from Archangel Michael to the Bishop of Avranches.
Chateau d’Audrieu
Breakfast Day 4: Normandy- Loire Valley
Today you will meet your English-speaking driver-guide for a full day transfer by private car to the Loire Valley. You will travel through beautiful hills and valleys of “La Suisse Normande”, or Swiss Normandy, as it is known, towards the Loire. Continuing your journey southwards, you will travel via Sees, Alencon and Le Mans to your hotel in the Loire Valley. You will be confirmed for three nights at the Domaine de Beauvois in a standard room, including full breakfast. The Domaine de Beauvois is a 16th century château standing in 150 acres of secluded parklands. The hotel has a gastronomic restaurant, and in summer, a poolside bar. There is also an outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, fishing lake and bicycles, which are available to guests. It is also possible to enjoy wine tasting as the hotel’s cellar, hewn out of rock, boasts a collection of over 10,000 bottles.
Domaine de Beauvois
Breakfast Day 5: Loire Valley
Today you will be met by your private vehicle and English-speaking driver-guide for a full day (8 hours) sightseeing in the Loire Valley. You will visit the Château de Chenonceau, which straddles the river and is one of the best-known châteaux in the region. Continuing on to Amboise, you will visit the Clos Luce, a handsome Renaissance manor where Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years and the museum contains working models of some of da Vinci’s inventions. In the afternoon you will have the opportunity to explore the Anjou region of the Loire Valley.
Enjoy a guided tour through the “caves” and experience life underground, as Loire Valley farmers have chosen to do since the Middle Ages. The two farms include a wine cellar, barns, cowshed and even a village hall and were inhabited until the 20th century. There is also an example of a modern troglodyte, which shows how these traditional houses can still be used. Optional: Son & Lumiere Show at Château de Chennonceau. During the summer months a night visit to the Château de Chennonceau can be arranged, to see the amazing combination of traditional and modern elements in the ornamental gardens. The show takes the form of a play of light and shadow orchestrated by Pierre Bideau, the designer of the illuminations at the Eiffel Tower.
Domaine de Beauvois
Breakfast Day 6: Loire Valley
Today spend a second day with your English-speaking driver-guide for a full day (8 hours) of sightseeing in the Loire valley. Visit the famous gardens at Villandry, which were created in the 1920’s as homage to 16th century formal gardens.
Continue on to Azay-le-Rideau and visit the stunning château and enchanting Private Park. In the afternoon you will visit the historical town of Chinon, birthplace of the author Francois Rabelais.
You will also follow part of the Wine Route and visit the clos de L’Echo vineyards. Learn about the ancient art of wine making and at the end, enjoy a tasting at Couly-Dutheil’s Clos de L’Echo and Chinon wines- beautiful wines made from Cabernet Franc grapes.
Domaine de Beauvois
Breakfast Day 7: Loire Valley- Chartres- Paris
This morning you will be met by your English-speaking driver-guide and be privately driven back to Paris. En route, you will stop at Chartres to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose original foundations date back to the 10th century. The cathedral has been a center for pilgrims since the Middle Ages and is renowned for its famous stained glass windows, which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. You will also visit the Château de Rambouillet, once a favorite resting place of the French monarchy, and now one of the French President’s summer residences. The park contains the famous “La Laiterie de la Reine: a dairy built for Marie-Antoinette who used it as a place to escape from the court politics and intrigue of Versailles. Your tour ends at the end of the day in Paris.
Breakfast
