France a la carte launches three new ‘mini-group’ tours for 2006
Added: (Wed Jan 11 2006)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Designed for the overseas visitor who wants to explore the South of France in a small group with a cultivated local guide, our 8 day tours take place in the low season – May, June, September and October.
Each tour is limited to 6 guests, travelling in comfort aboard a comfortable Minibus and accompanied by a qualified English-speaking driver-guide. A 7th passenger is possible. Distances covered each day are relatively short – there are rarely more than 2 hours a day driving time. And the small size of the group means that impromptu stops and changes of itinerary are always possible.
The two ‘Coast to Coast’ tours are designed to expose the traveller to the geographical and cultural diversity of a France that few tourists see: both depart from the wine capital Bordeaux on the Atlantic seaboard and wind through the the valleys and mountains of the South-West, through the Midi and Provence to end on the French Riviera at Nice.
The ‘northern route’ introduces our guests to the ancient cave paintings at Lascaux, the breath-taking villages of Rocamadour and St Cirq-Lapopie clinging to their rocky sites as well as the city of Albi with its fortified cathedral and Toulouse-Lautrec museum.
The ‘southern route’ concentrates on the Basque Country, the Belle Epoque jewel Biarritz and the mighty mountain range of the Pyrenees. A visit to the holy city of Lourdes and a run through deepest Gascony brings the travellers to the Midi where the 13th century citadel of Carcassonne and the Roman amphitheatre at Nimes are visited. Both these routes end up crossing beautiful Provence, exploring the Riviera and the magic city of Nice.
Out third tour is devoted to two very French products – French cuisine and wine. Starting in Carcassonne – at the apex of 4 french appellation contrôlée – visitors will discover the wines of La Clape, the Corbières, the Minervois and the sparkling wines of Limoux before heading on to the Quercy region for some serious encounters with real French cooking. After a hands-on culinary session with a top chef the tour takes in the Dordogne with its ‘Périgourdine cuisine’ (and the Caves of Lascaux) before finishing among the vineyards of the Médoc at Bordeaux.
Part of the charm of these tours is the quality of the accommodation – hand-picked bijou hotels, country auberges, chateaux and cosy guesthouses, all welcoming and … different.
Prices per person start at 1550 euros.
Bienvenue en France!