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MONMARTRE MOVEABLE FEAST…another combo tour that combines a 3 course lunch at 3 different restaurants with a lively lecture on the fascinating history of the area where Van Gogh, Picasso and Toulouse Lautrec lived and worked. This lunch is an excellent way to try several restaurants, each featuring food from a different region of France, plus appropriate wines. Our guides for our literary tour and Versailles are expats and friends who have lived in Paris for decades. David leads us to the best jazz in Paris. Beatrice is a former Vogue editor and worked for Dior. Let’s discuss the Paris fashion scene with her over lunch following our Versailes Marie Antoinette morning. PULSE OF PARIS ITINERARY:
Day 1 We always keep activity to a minimum on your day of arrival. We’ll visit the Louvre for just an hour where I will show you the museums key masterpieces including the: Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa. You may want to stay longer on your own or come back another time. We recommend a short visit, on your own, to the Musee D’Orsay which is a longish walk from The Louvre. New at the Louvre…Video guides on portable consoles with commentary on 700 masterpieces. A new Islamic Art Wing is marked by a wavy golden canopy. Day 2 11am…Pick up for our 1 hour drive around Paris’ monuments, museums and most famous arrondisements in the comfort of our private car. WRITERS IN PARIS: David Burke authour of this new book, will lead us on a tour of the St. Germaine des Pres area, chronically many of the writers who hung out in its cafes and lived here including Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Colette, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Hemingway,James Joyce and many others.
Day 3 Montmartre Moveable Feast… Lunch at 3 restaurants sampling food from 3 different regions of France accompanied by appropriate wines. Plus the fascinating history of the area. Evening…Possible special event by Paris Insights a company that puts together all kinds of events from movies, author lectures, music and on and on. Not included in tour price. If no event on this night we will switch to another night. Day 4
Versailles is spectacular and seeing it all in one day would be daunting. There are many different Versailles tours: a half day tour of the gardens only , a half day tour of the interiors of the Chateau. We do Versailles with a Marie Antoinette focus only. Our special guide loves the controversial Queen and her lecture covers all aspects of her history. We take a train from Paris…just a half hour trip, then connect with a shuttle bus that takes us to the Petit Trianon where we see Marie Antoinette’s favorite rooms: a secret grotto and her magnificent dining room. Then on to the Hamlet, a group of informal thatched roof cottages with a vineyard and a watermill. It was the Queen’s favorite place to escape the demands of court life. 6pm…Champagne Cruise on the Seine…sample 3 champagnes on a 1 hour Seine cruise. Boat is small; not your crowded Bateaux Mouche
Day 5 Morning walking tour of the Marais, one of Paris most intriguing neighborhoods, ending at the beautiful Place des Voges. The Marais chronicles the fascinating history of Paris during the 17 & 18th centuries. Afternoon: Fashion Show at the Galeries Lafayette Late afternoon spa treatment at the beautiful spa at the Four Seasons Hotel. We include a deluxe warm manicure (cost $116) or a deluxe warm pedicure (cost $130). Either is included in the tour price. You might prefer a more expensive treatment such as a facial or a massage. Just figure these treatments are twice the cost of a manicure (you would get a credit of $116 toward another treatment).
Day 6 Return home or stay an extra day on your own. I urge you to stay on.
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