Normandy and Paris
Day 1
Leaving Saturday evening you will land at Paris CDG airport Sunday morning where your tour director will welcome you.
Your hotel for the next three nights is located in the Saint Germain/Latin Quarter district. Very Parisian and very comfortable it is surrounded by shops, restaurants and art galleries.
Upon availability: Le Senat, Les Grands Hommes, Le Panthéon all charming and well located.
If you were lucky to get some sleep in the plane you can start meander the neighborhood streets and get acquainted with parts of the 5th, 6th and 7th districts (or “arrondissements”). Pick up a bike (or “Velib”) at one of the many stations to ride freely around Paris, perfect on Sunday, when the traffic is less frantic.
If not, a two or three hour nap will help you to get in shape for our first dinner in a Parisian bistro or brasserie.
Dinner and first night.
Day 2
If this is your first time in the “City of lights“, a Froggytravel representative will help you to plan your day and to discover Paris. At breakfast, explanations about subway and bus system will be provided if needed.
There are more than 100 museums in the city itself. Le Louvre and Orsay are the two “big ones”, a must if this is your first visit.
Other museums and sites are Montmartre, Arc de Triomphe, les Champs Elysees, Le Palais Royal, Place des Vosges, Le Marais, Notre Dame, museums Carnavalet, Delacroix, Invalides, Cluny, Sainte Chapelle, the Opera, etc. You know, you will have to come back!
Lunch and dinner on your own.
Second night in Paris
Day 3
A 45 minute subway ride will bring us to Versailles for an entire morning visit of the famous castle and park.
Lunch in Versailles.
If shopping is on your program, department stores Galeries Lafayette or Le Printemps and the small exclusive shops of the Marais, Opera, Bastille, Saint Germain, Faubourg Saint Honoré or Avenue Montaigne districts are waiting for you today.
Day 4
Leaving Paris early our first stop will be for the small village of Giverny along the Seine River for a visit of Monet’s house and garden.
The charming Normand harbor of Honfleur is a perfect stop for lunch.
We should be in the small town of Bayeux with enough time to see the wonderful Reine Mathilde tapestry. Superbly displayed at the abbey, the 250 feet long work is the first historical “comics”; waived in the 1100’s it depicts the conquest of England by Guillaume le Conquerant (William the Conqueror).
Our home for the next two nights will be the hotel Churchill*** a simple but very comfortable hotel in the heart of Bayeux.
Dinner in town.
Day 5
After breakfast, a historian guide will join us for our day on the WWII beaches, sites and museums, from Arromanches to Pointe du Hoc and many famous spots, including Omaha beach, Juno beach, German and the American Cemeteries.
Lunch in a village on the coast.
Dinner on your own. Last night in Bayeux.
Day 6
A two hour drive will bring us to the Mont Saint Michel.
We will spend around 4 to hours to explore the 11 century abbey, still standing in the middle of the bay. A guide will accompany the group.
The rest of the day will be a discovery of the rough Brittany coast after a stop by Saint Malo, old walled city of merchants and corsairs before the charming small towns of Dinan and Dinard, very different places with similar names. The first is a medieval city while the second was a famous family vacation spot for the wealthy of the late 19 and early 20 century. If they are not spectacular or flashy, the “bourgeois” houses are very sought after.
The next two nights are at the wonderful Hotel Lan Kerellec in the village of Trebeurden located on “la Cote de Granit Rose” (Pink Granit coast).
Dinner at the excellent hotel’s table
Day 7
Along the rough Brittany coast, our leisurely daily drive will bring us to the old town of Morlaix perfect for a coffee stop before heading to Carantec for a lunch facing the Chateau du Taureau in the middle of the superb Bay of Morlaix. The old town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhanging houses constructed of stone and timber. Many have religious and secular sculptures on their façades. One of these houses is the “Duchess Anne’s house”, which is now a museum. Built in 1520-30 it is said to be one of the oldest in the town.
We will drive back to our hotel by following the coast via the fishermen villages of Tregastel and Locquirec.
Dinner and Last night at Lan Kerellec.
Day 8
For our last day we will focus on late medieval times.
Very special to this part of Brittany are the “enclos paroissiaux”, an approximate translation could be « enclosed parish ». The enclos must have at least five of the following nine elements: a church, an ossuary, a chapel containing relics, a Calvary, a surrounding wall, a triumphal gate, a cemetery, a fountain and finally a placitre (free, unconstructed space). Rare are the edifices which can actually be called “Enclos Parroissial”.
Following the international maritime trade of the Bretons, enclos were mostly erected in the 16 century, always away from urban areas.
Ste. Thegonnec will be an example.
Lunch on the road.
A guided visit of Locronan is our last stopover. Built at the foot of a hill, Locronan was granted town status in 1505 by Anne de Bretagne.
Since the 15th century, hemp has been blossoming in Locronan’s surroundings, making the town quite prosperous.
Locronan’s hemp used to be shipped around the world, and was also vital for rigging the shipping, both commercial and military, that operated from Brittany’s many ports. It was at this time that the Saint Ronan church was built as well as the small chapel of Penity.
Dinner and night at a Brest airport hotel for a worry free morning departure via CDG airport and arriving home in the afternoon.
Day 9
Froggytravel services end at departure in the morning.
