Normandy and Loire Valley Small Group Journey

Upon arrival to the Airport, make your own way to train station for Bayeux train. Upon arrival at Bayeux train station, you will be privately transferred to you hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

This morning, you will enjoy a scenic ride from Bayeux to Mont Saint-Michel. Visit Mont Saint-Michel Abbey and continue your discovery with the Chapter Room, the Refectory with its incredible stained-glass windows, the Guest Room and its huge fireplaces, and the doom - covered by amazing ribbed vaults with a succession of small chapels and crypts. (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, visit Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Omaha and Utah Beaches: These two names echo with tragic memories and victory. In the heart of the American sector, discovering Omaha and Utah Beaches takes you back to this frightening and also triumphant day of June 6, 1944. Continue with Pointe-du-Hoc,  30-meter (100 ft) high cliffs overlooking the sea, Pointe-du-Hoc is another dramatic and historic site. See the remnants of hundreds of craters, evidence of the massive bombing that took place before the landing. Pay a visit to the U.S Cemetery, the American soil right here in Normandy. Step inside the chapel, the Visitor’s Center-Garden of the Missing, containing the names of over 1500 soldiers who were never recovered. (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, you will depart for fast train from Bayeux to Tour. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel in Loire Valley. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (B)

Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel, begin your Loire Valley discovery with guided tour to Chateau of Blois. The chateau of Blois is unique in its combination of four styles: Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance and Classical. Home of Kings Louis XII and François I, it is where Joan of Arc received her blessings before setting out on her famous journeys. Continue with Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny wines tastings.  Visit Chateau of Cheverny and Chateau of Chambord with more than 400 rooms and and the double-spiral staircase. (B)

This morning, your discovery start with Château de Chenonceau visit.  Famous with its Renaissance Gardens, the “Chateau des Dames”, bridge built across the Cher is famous for the prominent women who lived in it (Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis…)  Enjoy wine tasting with a specialist in several matured Loire Valley vintages. After free time for lunch, you will continue with the Royal Chateau of Amboise, where you will discover discover perfect examples of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance styling, as well as the Saint Hubert Chapel which shelters the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci. After visiting  Chateau of the Clos Lucé, you will return to your hotel. (B)

Today visit chateau of Azay le Rideau, a perfect sample of Renaissance Architecture in the Loire Valley, relax in an organic local domain and taste some wine. Before end up the day, enjoy your tour of Chateau of Langeais, such a perfect representation of everyday life in the Middle Ages. Admire  one of the most spectacular gardens of Touraine, the Villandry:  You will be impressed by its diversity and originality (B)

After breakfast, you will be transferred to train station and to continue your next destination. (B)