City of Lights
ITINERARY
1
Paris
City
When you arrive in Paris, you’ll be met by your driver and taken to your hotel, the Hôtel Etoile Saint Honoré. Located near to the Champs Elyseés and Arc de Triomphe in the upscale 8th arrondissement, it’s a good place to begin your explorations of the city. This evening take a cruise on the Seine River. A gentle introduction to the night time splendor of Paris, you’ll cruise through the heart of the city, past the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and Île de la Cité, finishing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

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2
Paris
Activity and Adventure
Today you’ll get under the skin of Paris with a guided tour of the city in a vintage Citroën 2CV ‘tin bug’. You’ll drive along the Champs Elysées and past classic sights including the Pompidou Centre, the Trocadéro and the Place de la Concorde. Your 2CV adventure will end at the district of Montmartre, former home of Picasso and Dalí, where you can find a host of locally run restaurants with tempting fixe Prix menus and a wine list as long as your arm. The rest of the day is at leisure so you can linger in Montmartre. We recommend a visit to the Sacre Cœur, the Roman-Byzantine Basilica which overlooks Paris’ 18th arrondissement.

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3
Paris
City
Start your day at Les Invalides, a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement, originally built by Louis XIV as a hospital for sick or retired soldiers. Here, you can visit the tomb where Napoleon Bonaparte is interred. As well as the Hôtel des Invalides itself, which still houses a small number of military veterans, you’ll also visit the French Military Museum, the Musée des Plains-Reliefs, a collection of military models, and the Musée Historie Contemporaine; a contemporary history museum.

Tonight, we have booked dinner for you at Le Procope, the oldest café in Paris previously frequented by writers and intellectuals including Rousseau and Diderot.

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4
Paris
City
A day for art lovers, you will spend the day at the revered Louvre and Musée d’Orsay galleries. Accompanied by a private guide, you’ll start at the Louvre – the largest art gallery in the world covering over 70,000 square meters and displaying 38,000 objects. You could spend a week here! You’ll no doubt spot the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo.

Tearing yourself away from the Louvre, you’ll take a walk through the Jardin des Tuileries. This expansive public park has a rich history dating back to the late 1500s when Catherine de’ Medici commissioned an Italian Renaissance garden on the banks of the Seine. Here, you can wander past statues created by Rodin and Giacometti and visit the Musée de l’Orangerie where the dreamy, panoramic displays of Monet’s Waterlilies are housed.

Last on the agenda today is the Musée d’Orsay. You’ll cross the Seine on foot, before exploring this extensive gallery housed in the former Gare d’Orsay railway station. Your guide will take you through an extensive collection of French art, including the largest collection of impressionist masterpieces in the world, by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Sisley.

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5
Paris
City
You’ve seen the classics – now it’s time to get to know Paris like a local. With your guide, you’ll make your way to the trendy Canal Saint-Martin area. The iron footbridges and treelined quays were the backdrops of the film Amélie, and the canal is lined with bohemian bistros and chic bars. Your guide will take you to a selection of these places where you can try wine, pastries, and cheese, and chat with the locals.

After an easy, food-filled morning, you’ll head to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. One of Paris’ more quirky attractions, this vast cemetery is the final resting place of literary luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, and musicians including Chopin and Jim Morrison.

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6
Paris
General Tour
The Palace of Versailles awaits you today. Starting life as a hunting pavilion, the French Court and government were installed in the palace in 1682 by Louis XIV. Since then, it has grown in size and housed a succession of kings, until the French Revolution when Louis XVI was forced to leave. Now, the Palace of Versailles is a museum dedicated to French History. Spend the day exploring this stunning French classical palace, and its extensive gardens. You’ll see the Royal Apartments, each ceiling meticulously painted to depict the planets and their associated Roman deity; and the spectacular Hall of Mirrors, extending over 70 meters, and lined with mirrors, it is an awe-inspiring sight. After a busy day of exploring Versailles, you will return to Paris.

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7
Paris
City
Today is at leisure – you can use it to further explore Paris, do some shopping, or just take a relaxed walk around the city. Tonight, to celebrate the end of your stay, you’ll take an evening ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower where you can toast your last night with a glass of champagne.

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8
Paris
City
On your last morning, you will be met by your driver and transferred to the airport. Bon, voyage!