Length: 7 days. Group educational tours for 12 or more students or adults. Self-designed custom tours typically led by teachers of high school juniors and seniors.
Highlights: London City Tour, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Caen Overview, D-Day Beaches Tour, Château de Chambord, Château Chenonceau, Paris City Tour, Notre Dame, Palace of Versailles, Louvre
Itinerary: London (2), Ferry (1), Caen (1), Loire Valley (1), Paris (2)
Day 1 – Depart
Fly through the night to London.
Day 2 – London
Your private bus and driver will escort you on a London City Tour. See Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. Also visit glorious Westminster Abbey, site of royal weddings and coronations.
Day 3 – London
Tour Windsor Castle, country residence of the royal family. Your afternoon is free to explore. Perhaps the British Museum, Harrod’s Department Store, or attend a session of the houses of Parliament. Option: Attend a West End theatre performance.
Day 4 – Portsmouth
Depart this morning for a visit to Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument estimated to have been assembled between four and five thousand years ago. Then travel to Portsmouth and board your overnight ferry for France.
Day 5 – Caen
Disembark on the Normandy coast and take a sightseeing tour of the D-Day region. See La Pointe du Hoc and visit a bunker from which Germany artillery fire rained down on Texas Rangers attempting to storm the cliff. Stop at Omaha Beach before your visit of the American Cemetery of Colleville Sur Mer. Your tour will end at Arromanches Museum where you will learn the details of the Landing Operations.
Day 6 – Loire Valley
Head inland to spend the night in the beautiful Loire Valley, known as the “garden of France.” Visit Château de Chambord, one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures and Château Chenonceau, perhaps the most beautiful castles in France. Arrive in the France’s glorious capital city of Paris and begin exploring the City of Lights.
Day 7 – Paris
On your Paris City Tour, see the Arc de Triomphe, the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries, and drive past haute couture boutiques nestled around the Place de l’Opera. Discover Notre Dame Cathedral with splendid rose windows and snarling gargoyles. This afternoon, tour the Musée du Louvre, the world’s largest museum. Originally constructed in 1200 as a fortress, the Louvre later served as the royal palace for monarchs.
Day 8 – Paris
Journey to the Palace of Versailles, where Louis XIV ruled in dazzling splendor. The Sun King remodeled this former hunting lodge into one of the most impressive buildings in the world. You’re free in the afternoon to explore Paris. Perhaps climb the Eiffel Tower or the magnificent Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées. Stroll by the Trocadero, Les Invalides, Palais du Luxembourg, the Opera, the Pantheon and the historic Latin Quarter. You may finish your stay by exploring Montmartre, birthplace of modern art, made famous by artists such as Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani, Gauguin and van Gogh. Walk through the artistic, cobblestone streets and see the lovely Basilica Sacre-Coeur, an integral part of the Montmartre landscape. Finish with a glorious farewell dinner.
Day 9 – Depart
Fly home today, with new knowledge and memories of all the history and art that fill the spaces between London and Paris.
London
- London city tour
- Westminster Abbey
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Buckingham Palace
- Changing of the Guard
- Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour
- West End play
- Shakespeare’s Globe tour
- Globe theatre performance
- Behind the Stage tour
- Thames River cruise
- Tower of London
- Covent Garden
- Greenwich
- London Eye
- Madame Tussauds
- Afternoon tea at Harrods
- London Dungeon
- Jack the Ripper tour
- British Museum
- The National Gallery
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Imperial War Museum
- Churchill War Rooms
- Charles Dickens Museum
Edinburgh
- Edinburgh city tour
- Edinburgh Castle
- Holyrood Palace
- The National Museum
- The National Gallery
- Scottish folk dinner show
- Witchery tour
- The Writers’ Museum
- The Royal Yacht Britannia
- Our Dynamic Earth science museum
Dublin
- Dublin city tour
- Dublin Castle
- Trinity College – Book of Kells
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral
- Dublin Writers Museum
- Guinness Storehouse
Limerick
- Rock of Cashel
- Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
- Adare Village
- Glenstall Abbey
Killarney
- Ring of Kerry
- Blarney Castle
- Muckross Abbey
- Ross Castle
- Torc Waterfall
Paris
- Paris city tour
- Paris by Night tour
- Notre Dame Cathedral
- Sainte-Chapelle
- Eiffel Tower (2nd or 3rd Level)
- Bateaux Mouches river cruise
- Seine River dinner cruise
- Louvre Museum
- Musee d’Orsay
- Rodin Museum
- Opera Garnier
- Pere Lachaise Cemetery
- Montmartre dinner
- Moulin Rouge show
- Sacre-Coeur Basilica
- Paris Catacombs
- Paris Sewers Tour
- Latin Quarter tour
- Le Marais tour
- Centre Pompidou
Saint-Malo
- Saint-Malo city tour
- Musée du Château
- Jacques Cartier Manor House
- Le Grand Aquarium
- Fort National
- St. Vincent Cathedral
Lyon
- Lyon city tour
- Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière
- Gallo-Roman Museum and Ruins
- St-Jean Cathedral
Aix-en-Provence
- Aix city tour
- Cézanne’s Studio
- Cathedral of the Holy Saviour
Nice
- Nice city tour
- Monaco city tour
- Eze perfume factory
- Language homestay
- Matisse Museum
- Le Chateau
- Theatre de la Photographie et de l’Image
- Russian Cathedral
- Nice Archaeology Museum
Caen
- Caen city tour
- Abbaye aux Dames
- Abbaye aux Hommes
- Musée de Normandie
- Musée des Beaux-Arts
Tours
- Tours city tour
- Tours Cathedral
- Musée des Beaux-Arts
- Château d’Amboise
- Château de Chambord
- Château de Chenonceau
- Château de Chantilly
Normandy
- D-Day tour
- Mont Saint-Michel
- Bayeux Tapestry
Marseille
- Marseille city tour
- Notre Dame de la Garde
- Mediterranean Archaeology Museum
- Longchamp Castle
- Château d’If
London
- Windsor Castle
- Leeds Castle
- Hampton Court Palace
- Kew Palace
- Kensington Palace
- Stratford-upon-Avon
- Shakespeare’s Birthplace
- Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
- Warwick Castle
- Stonehenge
- Bath
- Canterbury
- Salisbury
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- White Cliffs of Dover
Edinburgh
- Stirling Castle
- National Wallace Monument
- St. Andrews
- Glasgow
- Loch Ness
- Loch Lomond
- Trossachs National Park
- Lake District National Park
Dublin
- Malahide Castle & Dublin Bay
- Blarney Castle
- Cliffs of Moher
- Aran Islands
- Galway Bay
- Connemara
- Powerscourt Estate
- Waterford Crystal Tour
Paris
- Normandy WWII sites
- Arromanche 360 cinema
- Monet’s Gardens at Giverny
- Chartres Cathedral
- Palace of Fontainebleau
- Palace and Gardens of Versailles
- Disneyland Paris
- Loire Valley chateaux
- Intensive Language Classes
- Provins
Travel Resources
United Kingdom
- BBC Online
- The British Monarchy
- British Museum
- British Tourist Authority
- Cumbria-The Lake District
- Edinburgh Tourist Board
- Globe Theatre
- Guide to Dublin
- Interactive map of London
- Irish Tourist Board
- Irish Music, Museums and Heritage
- The Irish Times
- Killarney Online
- Visit London
- London Transport
- National Gallery
- Scottish Tourist Board
- Shakespeare’s Birthplace
- St Paul’s Cathedral
- Westminster Abbey
- London Theatre Guide