How to visit France country side in 8 days ?
You can hire a dedicated driver to accompany you to see the best places around Paris, enjoy small breaks on the road, stay in Relay & Chateau Hotels and book some visits and tastings along the way.
Here is my map for the detailed itinerary to visit Roche Guyon and Champagne
Do you have enough time to enjoy an 8 days trip around the city of Paris?
Day 1 - Arrival at airport CDG + Check in + Rest
First, I will come pick you up for the Airport transfer
On the road to the hotel in Paris, we will make a small detour to see the Eiffel tower by Car and do a very quick city tour.
I will drive you to the Hotel Pavillon de La Reine for the Check in.
Le Pavillon de la Reine is a five stars Hotel.
This discrete and secret Hotel, is located at Place des Vosges. It has a long and charming history. I was actually built in 1612 by the King Henry the 4th of France.
The hotel’s name was in honour of Queen Anne of Austria who used to the Hotel while she was in Paris.
You will be next to Place des Vosges, which used to be the centre of Salons, debates of the high society in Paris.
Located at the very hearth of what we call today, "Le Marais", the hotels shines as one of Paris’ gems!
At night, you can have a Gastronomic dinner at the restaurant Le Pavillon de la Reine ***** in the heart of the Place des Vosges
Menu : Click here
Reservation (From Wednesday to Sunday) : Click here
Go to the Louvre (2 hours ) and book a highlights tour with Flora, a certified tour guide in Paris.
You enjoy a small break, then go to Orsay Museum (1hour) and learn about the impressionism movement.
After the tours, you tour guide Flora will have a nice frenchy lunch in an elegant bistrot called Café Marly, located next to the Louvre Tuilleries garden
Later, from 2pm, we will take a city tour by car to see all the monuments of Paris. I will drop you at your hotel at 6pm.
My first choice is Mystery Cuisine : For dinner, discover a culinary journey, in an intimate atmosphere by the Vietnamese chef Thu Ha and the French chef Édouard Desrousseaux.
Location : Le Marais, few blocks from your Hotel Pavillon de la Reine
Reservation are in French, so we can help you. The bookings can be made by me or by Serge, my partner.
We can customize the itinerary by adding/removing a museum and keeping the must experience such as : The Louvre with a tour guide, a lunch in Tuilleries Garden when it is sunny...
For dinner I offer a second choice to taste fresh Sea Food with a cold glass of French White wine (if you are a fan) in the same neighborhood of Le Marais.
For a younger ambiance, try to go to the fun and local Oyster Club in le Marais, Rue François Mirrand, click here, and don't forget to enjoy a glass Champagne with your fresh oysters.
Day 3 AM : Shopping / boating + Departure to Roche Guyon
Discover the luxury shopping center La Samaritaine and enjoy the French architecture and the know-how of haute couture houses. Located 1km from the Latin Quarter. I invite you to pass by the bridge of Arcole to pass in front of the cathedral Notre Dame
Or boating on the Seine:
However, by cancelling the shopping or the visit of the morning I can propose you a luxury lunch on a "bateau mouche" of 1h30.
Only on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 pm. Click here for more information
Even better, you can book a Yacht if you have the budget in Paris.
Historic district of the city full of history. The small streets (the winding old ruellles) can be visited on foot with a guide because the access to the car is limited in these preserved areas of old center of Paris
You will be very close to the Ile de la Cité and the Notre Dame Cathedral. (1-2h)
2PM : Departure for La Roche Guyon
3h-3h30PM : Arrival at La Roche Guyon and visit of the castle of La Roche Guyon and its magnificent gardens (1h-2h)
For Lunch : Let yourself be guided by Flora or seduced by one of the many traditional restaurants that you can find in the pedestrian streets of the Latin Quarter.
Otherwise I personally recommend the traditional brasserie "Comme Chai Toi" with a view on the Notre Dames cathedral. Discover it by following this address :
For booking, contact my partner Serge
Day 3 PM : Arrival at La Roche Guyon
We can make a stop in Giverny to see Monet House on the road to La Roche Guyon.
3h30-5h30PM : we will need not more than 2 hours to Visit the castle of La Roche Guyon and its magnificent gardens (1h to 2h)
Historic district of the city full of history. The small streets (the winding old ruellles) can be visited on foot with a guide because the access to the car is limited in these preserved areas of old center of Paris
You will be very close to the Ile de la Cité and the Notre Dame Cathedral. (1-2h)
This is a Relai & chateau with a Michelin Starred restaurant. The domain has perfectly appointed rooms that awaits for us with a love of detail which is characteristic for a pure classical French style.
Breaks during our Road Trip
Trip
The roadtrip can seem long and heavy. We can take break or simply remove some destinations.
This is just a real example of a trip that we did with our clients before 2019.
You are of course unique and you can customize the trip to make easier and more efficient for you.
Day 4 : Reims and Champagne
Morning : Visit of Reims cathedral & historical center (2-3h)
This is where Reims kings of France were crowned. The cathedral is very majestic and beautiful, it hosted the baptism of Clovis (King Louis) around the year 498, and so kingdom of the Franks (France) was born in Champagne. This made Reims the chosen city to crown kings
Lunch : At the 2 Michelin stars restaurant of the domain "Le Parc **".
OPENING HOURS
- Lunch: from Thursday to Sunday from 12:15am to 1:30pm.
- Dinner : from Wednesday to Sunday including from 7:15pm to 9pm.
Around 4-5PM : Direction to the medieval village of Provins (1h30-2h)
Provins is known for its well-preserved and original fortifications from the 12th century, such as the the Caesar Tower and the city walls.
Visiting Champagne Region
We can drive around in Champagne Region.
the visit is available in English, remember to book your visit directly with one of our Day trip tour guides.
Hotels in Provins region
6h30 : Arrived at the hotel, I have selected 3 traditional hotels :
Charming hotel in the heart of the medieval city of Provins. Traditional exterior with old world charm, and modern interior. Great positive points :Location & indoor spa area with possibility of privatization (Hammam, sauna, pool ...)
Building (luxury apartment hotel) with the charms of the old, decorated with many works of art.
We called the Tourist Office of Provins, and they recommend these 3 most beautiful establishments as well.
Diner in the oldest restaurant of France
At La Croix d'Or, built in 1270, this inn is the oldest in France and
has never stopped working. This has earned it a place in the Guiness Book of Records. In addition to its history, the tourist office confirmed to me that it is the best place in town to eat well.
Day 5 : Provins + Beaune
Morning : Visit of the medieval village of Provins.
This place full of history can be visited in 3-4 hours because it is not very big. If you want to see the main historical places, I advise you to buy tickets to visit the main places of the city (Tower, museums ...)
Lunch : At the end of your morning visit, I invite you to eat in one of the many
restaurants in the historic center of the city. You will find many inns. To help
you, the tourist office recommended me the restaurant "Les Bistrophiles"
which will serve you traditional French meals.
Around 2h30PM : Direction to the city of Beaune (2h43 drive)
5PM : Arrival at Hostellerie de Levernois near the city of Beaune.
This is one of my favorite Relai & Chateau.
Hostellerie de Levernois : discover this Provincial Style 5 stars hotel in the middle of nature.
Rest & Diner : Dinner at the gourmet restaurant of the Hotel Hostellerie de Levernois to enjoy the beautiful location and excellent food
Welcome to the most beautiful village of France : Beaune!
Multicoloured roofs, glazed tiles, Burgundy wineries landscapes are waiting for us!
- Morning activity 1 : Visit of the historical city center, around 1h30 to see the city center + ramparts.
- Morning activity 2 : Tasting and discovery of wine cellars, two choices :
Visit of a small cellar focused on the tasting of wines from the region. Small cellar with the possibility of privatizing the place while tasting the wines with an expert who will explain the characteristics of each wine. Duration 1h30.
Discover the largest wine cellar in Bourgogne, this activity is access 50%/50% visit and tasting.
Just like the first activity, this one is highly recommended by the tourist office that I called. Duration: 1h30.
Lunch : Discover the restaurant Le Caveau Des Arches where you will have the opportunity to eat in an old white stone cellar! The place is beautiful and very recommended for the quality of its dishes. It will be for you the occasion to taste the Real "Beef Bourguignon" a dish of the region and probably one of the most known and appreciated dish in France.
Around 2PM : Direction to the city of Macon (1h)
3PM-5PM : Discovery of Macon, plan 1h30-2h for a tour of the historic center. The tourist service has put at the disposal of travelers a 1h30 tour with all the things to see, we can cruise the city by car together.
Night & diner : 25mn from Macon, discover the Georges Blanc Parc & Spa *****
This is the ideal place to relax and enjoy the swimming pool or massages after a day of visit. In the evening, the gastronomic restaurant Georges Blanc : 3 Michelin stars.
I personally recommend City of Chartres on a sunny day. The historical city center is incredibly clean and beautiful. I really enjoyed walking through the paved pedestrian streets, ending up at the first cathedral of France.
The city center being quite large you can easily walk around for 3 hours, while taking few breaks to enjoy a coffee on the terrace.
La Picoterie, a crêpes restaurant, offers you a large choice of
crêpes every day as well as a gourmet crêpe of the day. Located in the
earth of the old city center. Place : 36 rue des Changes
Night : I recommend these two 4 star hotels, they are the two most
beautiful hotels in the city.
They are decorated with tasteful pieces of art.
My suggestions for the night.
- Discover Le Grand Monarque Hotel & Spa + indoor French Cooking Class.
- Discover Hôtel Jehan de Beauce.
Diner : For dinner, discover the restaurant "Le Georges" (1 Michelin star) of the hotel Le Grand Monarque. This gastronomic restaurant is very well known in the region.
Morning : Rest + continental Breakfast
Then we drive back to Paris with a detour to Versailles
