Day 1: Arrive Paris
After arriving in Paris, check into your hotel. The remainder of the day is at your leisure to rest or explore your surroundings. Your Paris Visite pass becomes valid from the first use. Activate it when it's convenient for your schedule. The entire day is billed towards the duration time so it's best to activate the pass early in the day (NOTE: the Metro operates from 5:30am to about 1:00am). The pass for Zones 1-3 includes travel within central Paris including stops near all major tourist sites however, it does NOT include entrance fees. For dinner, your options are unlimited, whether it's an haute cuisine restaurant or a simple bistro. While canvassing the city, look at the menus posted, and if you find something appealing, have your hotel make a reservation for you. Not only do the French prefer that, more importantly it guarantees you a table.
Days 2-3: Paris
Day 2:
Today you'll be picked up at your hotel for your Morning City Tour plus Wine and Cheese Tasting with an English-speaking driving guide. You will be driven by most of Paris' classic monuments on the Right and Left Banks including the Avenue des Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, the Place de la Concorde, the Place Vendome, and Notre-Dame. Crossing over on the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, the tour finishes with a visit to the village of Montmartre on the Right Bank. Another 20-minute stop will be made to stroll around the Sacre Coeur Basilica and the Place du Tertre where the now famous Modernist artists and painters used to display their work. After the city tour you will be brought to a traditional bistrot, La Bonne Franquette, in the heart of the Montmartre neighborhood, where you will enjoy two glasses of French wine (red and/or white) and a plate of French cheeses. No return transfer to your Paris hotel so please remember to bring your Paris Visite pass with you so you can take the Metro to your next activity.
Day 3
After breakfast, use your Paris Visite Pass to take the metro to your cooking class.
Paris Cooking Class and Market Visit with Chef Marthe
Chef Marthe introduces you to the art of buying the best products in the market. Then you are invited to make with her a complete meal including an entree, a main course, and a dessert. Inspired by the great Chefs, improved over time by a thousand tricks, her recipes can easily be remade at home.
Day 4: Paris to Avignon
After breakfast, make your way to the rail station for a scenic trip to Provence. Arrival and overnight in Avignon.
Day 5-6: Avignon
Day 5:
After breakfast, enjoy a full day of cooking, touring, and tasting.
Cooking Lesson in Avignon plus Wine Country Tour with Tastings and Cellar Visits
Meet chef in front of the Les Halles (the main covered market in Avignon) at 8:30am. You will walk through the market with the chef to select the best products for the menu to be prepared. Walk back to his restaurant, The Jardin de la Tour, where you will have your cooking lesson (both demonstration and participation). Menu items will vary depending on the seasonal availability of items at the market but will always be based on traditional French cooking methods and recipes (you will be able to take home copies of the recipes of what you cook in the lesson). The chef will also discuss pairing foods with wines while you enjoy a glass of local wine during the lesson. After the meal is prepared, enjoy your lunch (with drinks included) with the chef.
Pick up by a minibus and English speaking driving guide and departure to the wine road. Wine-tasting in a cellar in Tavel, one of the first Rose wines in France, or, in Beaumes-de-Venise, with exceptional soil located at the foot of the majestic Dentelles de Montmirail and the Mont Ventoux. Continuation to Chateauneuf-du-Pape: visit and wine-tasting in a cellar. In each cellar, you will discover the history of the house and the guide or the wine owner will offer you a visit of the winery with explanations about the harvest, the AOC Cotes du Rhone...
Day 6:
After breakfast, enjoy a day of exploration at your leisure.
Day 7: Depart Avignon
After breakfast, continue on to your next Avanti destination!
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