“Just want to let you know personally how very much I appreciated your special care and arrangements for me in France. And please thank Jean-Pierre for me, too. He and the owner of the seafood restaurant in Ville Franche certainly went above and beyond the call of duty, and I know it was all your doing. The trip was beautifully planned and the accommodations were far nicer than any other tours I have taken. You did a wonderful job.”– BEVERLY

Destination: France

France has been the World’s #1 Tourist Destination for over 10 years, offering something for every traveler. From the prehistoric caves of Lascaux in the Périgord to the Ancient Roman sites of Provence to the exquisite Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque churches, a visit to France is a walk through history. [Read More]

Home to Van Gogh, Cézanne, Monet, Renoir and countless other world renowned artists, it is no wonder the country hosts a multitude of excellent art museums. The Louvre Museum is visited by more people than any other museum in the world. Photos of the picturesque countryside and villages cannot reproduce that special light these artists found in Normandy, Provence, and the Riviera. You must experience it with your own eyes. The wines and cuisine of France require no introduction. And even if the global economy brings these French products to the USA, why is it that the taste is more intense when experienced in the country of origin?

Paris is incomparable, warranting a stay of several days. Most of our tours include a day at leisure in the “City of Lights” to pursue individual interests since the city is visitor friendly with an efficient and economical public transportation system. Branching out from Paris, a traveler can visit nearly the entire European continent while staying within the borders of France: Brittany where the names of the towns and the dialect spoken in Quimper and other towns would lead you to believe you are in Wales. Alsace on the eastern border that was under alternating German and French control for two hundred years maintains a pleasant mix of the two cultures to be seen in the half-timbered architecture and heard in the Alsatian dialect.

Although Provence was for hundreds of years occupied by Ancient Rome, it is a soft Spanish influence that is felt there with bullfighting events happening in the remains of the Roman coliseums of Arles and Nîmes and the brightly-colored traditional costumes brought out for the numerous annual festivals. The people of southwest France feel very strongly about the Basque and Catalan cultures and maintain the language and traditions also followed just across the border in Spain. Encircling the French “hexagon” are miles and miles of beautiful shoreline.

And all of these sights, smells, tastes, and traditions are to be found in an area 2/3 the size of Texas, allowing for a tour of incredible diversity with limited bus hours and more time to soak up the local culture!

Be sure to visit the website of the French Government Tourist Office: us.franceguide.com
[Read Less]

Discover the Unspoiled Treasures

Tour Ideas

The tours listed below are just a few samples of the type of cultural journeys you can take in France – but the possibilities are limitless! We can create a tour around your group’s specific passion and ensure it is enriched by all the unique venues France has to offer!

Jazz Festival Performance Tour

France adopted jazz music in the early 1900s. Rich American oil and railroad tycoons built exquisite villas on the Cap d’Antibes of the Riviera and brought with them their love of jazz music. Listening to jazz was a form of passive resistance practiced by the French during the Nazi occupation of WWII when the music was outlawed. To this day, the French people maintain a love of jazz that can be experienced during a Jazz Festival Tour of France where students and non-professional groups perform on festival stages to packed audiences. A tour can include the festivals of Jazz à Juan and Nice on the Riviera, Jazz à Vienne near Lyon, and can be combined with festivals in neighboring countries: Montreux Jazz (Switzerland), Jazzaldia (Spain), and Umbria Jazz (Italy).

Art Appreciation Tour

Often sponsored by art institutes and universities of the U.S., an Art Appreciation Tour can be led by an artist or professor of art. The tour can include museum lectures and/or painting classes. Tour groups are often smaller due to size restrictions at museums and to allow for more personalized instruction. The most popular destinations for Art Appreciation Tours are Paris, Provence, and the French Riviera. A river-barge cruise chartered specifically for your group will take you past scenes which inspired many painters: home and gardens of Claude Monet, the Cathedral of Rouen, the fabulous city of Paris and her world-renowned museums, Rueil where Monet, Manet and Renoir came to paint the Seine River and Chatou where Impressionist painters met regularly. Or enjoy a week of painting and local exploration with lodging at a villa overlooking the Mediterranean and surrounded by gardens in the nature preservation area of the Esterel of the French Riviera.

Choir Performance Tour

The most exquisite churches are to be found in nearly every small town and village of France. The Church built beautiful structures to welcome and house the pilgrims of the Middle Ages who crossed France en route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and to Rome. This rich architectural heritage provides choirs with beautiful venues offering excellent acoustics. You may perform in Notre Dame de Paris but your most memorable performance may very well be in a small town of Provence. Cultural Tour Consultants maintains an impressive network of host choirs throughout France who are delighted to welcome visiting choirs. Receptions and buffet dinners often follow the performance when American and French singers become acquainted and continue the music in a relaxed setting enhanced by good wine!