PALACES
AND CHATEAUX
Versailles,
Angevin Strongholds and Chateaux of the Loire
6 Days / 5 Nights
 This delightful short tour of the Loire, with soupcon of Brittany for added taste, will surely stimulate the travel palate! We’ve taken a good handful of the most luxurious chateaux of the Loire, mixed with some 12th century castles of Henry II and bride, Eleanor of Aquitaine, added the jewel of the Sun King’s Versailles, and topped off with some of the most magnificent cathedrals in northern France. Added to the blend is time in rural southern Normandy and the Breton border town of Fougères.
When mixed with
Back-Roads Touring Co’s traditional policy of finding things
behind the tourist façade, and a collection of excellent and
intimate accommodations, you have the perfect week’s holiday
to add to a few days in Paris.
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DEPARTURE
DATES & PRICES FOR 2008
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Tour
Code
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Depart Paris
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Return Paris
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CHAT
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Sunday
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Friday
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CHAT 1
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May 25
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May 30
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CHAT 2
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Aug 10
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Aug 15
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CHAT 3
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Sep 7
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Sep 12
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CHAT 4
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Oct 5
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Oct 10
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Price: GBP £895 pp twin share / GBP £100 single supplement
Australian dollar prices calculated at the time of booking
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TENTATIVE
ITINERARY
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NIGHTSTOP |
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DAY
ONE
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Departing Paris (central location pick-up) at 0.8.30, we commence our tour with a visit to a palace that perhaps best illustrates the wealth of pre-revolution France, Versailles. Both the gardens and interiors display an ornamentation and lavishness almost beyond the comprehension of the average person. That such incredible riches should have existed also boggles the mind (until we think of Bill Gates!).
We drive westward through lower Normandy stopping at some of the small towns and villages en route choosing from such as Évreux, with its fine stained glass cathedral windows and Roman ramparts, Sées, and the Orne forests around Bagnoles.
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Bagnoles de L'Orne |
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DAY
TWO
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Our second day sees us first in Brittany’s Fougères. It's dominated by a 12th century castle and, although this mighty structure was partly demolished by Richelieu, it is still an imposing fortress. Fougères has a pretty town centre and retains a distinctly different cultural feel to it, perhaps as a result of long being the border town between Bretons and Franks.
Our next major stop is Angers, once the capital of the great Angevin (Plantagenet) empire of the 12 century which extended from Scotland to the Basque country. Once again, an imposing castle dominates the mediaeval town.
Another highlight of our stop in this centre of tapestry will be the famed ‘Apocalypse Tapestry’. This amazing, hand-woven, work of art dates back to the late 1300s. There’ll be time here to enjoy a late lunch and to explore the narrow streets of the old quarter or visit museums.
And finally to Saumur, our nightstop.
A word about evenings in France: our dinners will be taken later than you’re perhaps used to. The French famously take their food seriously and you’ll find our three-course dinners spanning the evening. It’s a civilised time to enjoy not only the excellent food that you’ll find on one of our tours but also some dinner table conversation.
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Montsoreau
nr Saumur |
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DAY
THREE
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This is our first day on the Loire.
The pretty and peaceful town of Montsoreau makes an excellent base for our explorations of the eastern Loire. Our filled day will include a visit to the local wine caves, seeing the troglodyte hill dwellings, visiting the fine local chateaux at Saumur, and spending time in the wonderfully picturesque Chinon, the 16th century birthplace of the great comic writer, Rabelais.
Naturally, as this is a Back-Roads Touring Co. tour, you can expect a few hidden treasures despite this region being one of France’s most visited tourist regions.
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Montsoreau
nr Saumur |
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DAY
FOUR
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The Loire Valley is justly famed for its incredibly rich chateaux. In truth, there are almost too many to choose from! One we shall definitely be visiting today will be Villandry, justly famed for its magnificent gardens. And not far away is the château that reputedly inspired the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ story, Château d’Usee. Believe it or not, there’s even a local château with the largest collection of cadillacs outside of the USA!
We’ll also include the serene Azay-le-Rideau where the Renaissance exterior of the local château is a sight to behold.
The mediaeval Tours is also one of today’s jewels. Some tour participants will enjoy wandering at leisure around the old town, while others may simply find it a time ‘to sit and stare’. As ever, within the framework of a Back-Roads Touring Co. tour, there will be an opportunity of doing either with some ‘organised independence’.
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Beaugency |
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DAY
FIVE
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The whole development of secular French architecture, from feudalism to classicism, can be traced at Blois Château. Medieval towers, gothic roofs and walls, Renaissance interiors, sumptuous interiors. They are all here.
It’s almost unbelievable that just a few kilometers away is yet another at Ambois, and a few kilometers further Chambord, the first great, classical French palace. Or perhaps the jewel of Renaissance architecture, Chenonceau châteaux.
There’s even a small palace in Beaugency itself!
There can be little doubt that the palaces of the Loire, set as they are in some of the most splendid gardens, and these set amidst wonderful countryside, will have given you several never-to-be-forgotten days (and several rolls of film or hours of video footage!).
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Beaugency |
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DAY
SIX
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Our final day takes us first through the city of Orléans made famous, of course, by Jean, Maid of Orléans. We’ll only briefly visit this fairly modern city before driving on the short distance to Chartres.
Here you’ll have time to enjoy shopping in the ancient, picturesque streets. We’ll explore the St-André quarter and some of the fine houses and restored mill-races and laundry-houses.
The undoubted highlight, however, will be our visit to Chartres Notre-Dame Cathedral. Pilgrims have been coming here for eight centuries to admire and seek inspiration from the most magnificent, and certainly most extensive stained glass windows to be seen anywhere in the world.
You are dropped at a central Paris location.
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Paris
(not inc.) |
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