Best of France Holiday Tour
From Paris to the Cote d’Azur
3 – 26 June 2026
The tour we are putting together for June 2026 will travel from Paris, through Burgundy to the French Alps, and then on to Provence, through the Var and on to the Riviera. We have wanted to put together a “perfect holiday tour” to some of the magical destinations in France. Maybe some of these places you have visited before, but nothing is better than seeing and spending time again in places we love!! We don’t want to hurry! We’ll be flexible and experience the local life and beauty of each area.
Our Tour Summary and Plan
We are going to start our travel in Paris, seeing the repaired Notre Dame Cathedral and many other of our personal local treats. We will then drive through to the heart of Champagne and Burgundy, before heading to the breath-taking French Alps near Annecy, before driving to Provence (in the Rhone Valley) for a full week. For our week in Provence, we will be staying in a luxury villa with pool (all with ensuite bedrooms) on the outskirts of a beautiful village. We will then drive through the mountains of the Var, then end our holiday on the French Riviera.
For your arrival in to Paris you may consider arriving earlier as the Roland Garros French tennis Open is on during the week leading up to our start date, and this may have been on your “bucket list” perhaps?
The following tour will bring you all the best experiences of the areas, offering you a complete balance of beauty, magical places, memorable meals, mountains, lakes and sea, but more importantly companionship. We want this to be a special and memorable holiday! You deserve it!
3 – 5 June 2026
Paris
Our tour will begin by spending two nights in Paris.
As mentioned, you may choose to arrive in Paris even earlier? One of our highlights we hope will be a visit to the newly repaired Notre Dame Cathedral – all the world wants to experience this!!
5 – 7 June 2026
Champagne
A short distance to the east of Paris is the Champagne region. While here we will visit both leading and local Champagne houses and cellars from the town of Epernay to Reims. What better way to start our holiday!?
7 – 10 June 2026
Burgundy
For the next three days we will explore the very picturesque wine growing countryside of Burgundy. We are going to spend time with a leading wine specialist who will entertain us with the history of this area, and introduce as to one of the oldest wineries and underground cellars (wine tastings optional). We will have walks through the glorious and expensive vines of this pinot noir growing region as well as potter in lovely villages and towns.
10 – 13 June 2026
French Alps
For these three days we are going to base ourselves on the very picturesque Lake Annecy.
We are going to head deep into the mountains and include a ride on the cableway to the summit of the Aiguille de Midi from Chamonix, with sensational views over the peak of Mont Blanc. The town of Annecy is so picturesque, and we will have time to potter in this lake-side gem.
13 – 20 June 2026
Provence Perfection
Following the peaks of the French Alps we are heading to the heart of Provence near the town of Avignon.
For our stay here we have chosen to stay in a heavenly villa for the next week. Staying here we are well positioned to visit local village markets, and to buy produce to prepare Provencal treats back in our “home”, enjoying pool-side evening dinners.
You will have the flexibility even, should you choose, to stay behind for a restful day in our garden by the pool to make the most of “home” for the week. Being within walking distance of the village of St Remy de Provence you will be free to wander off to make your own discoveries, or just sit at a bar! We are so well located for exploring the pleasures and treasures of this rich region; from the markets of St-Remy-de-Provence and Isle sur la Sorgue, to the fishing port of Cassis, to the city of water, Aix en Provence, and many more. We have so many fabulous places to visit, at the end of your time here you’ll be ready to write your own version of “A Week in Provence” (sorry Peter Mayle).
20 – 23 June 2026
Var Mountains
Today we are moving to the heart of the Var region – midway between Aix en Provence and Nice, up in the mountains.
This region is like nothing else in France – small local villages that never see tourist buses, and still retain the rhythm of another age.
One of our highlights while here is visiting the impressive Gorges du Verdon, which is the French equivalent of the Grand Canyon (US). This is a rural experience, of truly breath-taking beauty.
23 – 26 June 2026
Cote d’Azur capers
We will finish our holiday staying in our favourite fishing port of Villefranche sur Mer, a short distance from Nice! We will be having three nights here which gives us plenty of time for all the fabulous experiences from beaches, to art, to magnificent views and local secrets.
For those up to it, we will have some walks around the coast, and then visits to the Vieux Nice market nearby. Of course, no trip to Nice is complete without a visit to our friend Jan’s Michelin starred restaurant or his brand-new bistro!!! If you’ve never been here before we will see as many highlights as possible, and if you are familiar with the area, how lovely to get to savour this special corner of France one more time!
Friday, 26 June 2026
Au Revoir
Today our holiday together comes to an end! If you’re returning to NZ there are direct flights out of Nice airport via Dubai for Auckland or Sydney. Otherwise, all flights leave from Paris! Paris is accessible by train or plane from Nice.
At this stage it is important to express your interest, or not, in joining us on this tour. If you are at all interested I will forward you the pricings for this tour.
Andy and I both look forward to hearing from you, and hope you might be able to come along for some fun and relaxation!