Country Roads of France

As the name says, it includes country roads enabling more interesting vistas. The route covered lots of different places

Lived up to its name of COUNTRY roads. Well paced. Plenty of walking which we enjoyed but those with less mobility struggled at times. Loved Chamonix so two nights instead of one would be a suggestion.

It was missing local cultural experiences. Except for the Moulin Rouge and Paris, the experience and atmosphere did not reflect being in other parts of France. This did not compare to our last trip, country roads of Italy, where it was livelier and more enjoyable. Every day seemed to be more of the same. Issues: We were supposed to enjoy a lesson in Petanque in Provence but did not. Instead of The Petit Train de Cahors, we visited 2 medieval villages. Unfortunately, No big wow. It took about 5 days to fix the sound system in the coach where it was difficult to hear the director. No French music in the coach. The breakfasts were repetitious, more of the same each morning. Compared to our previous trips, the final highlight dinner in Paris was not up to Insight standards. It was not a memorable evening as in the past. However, we really enjoyed the visits to Annecy, Chamonix, Aix-en-Provence and Dordogne. The hotels were well situated and the "optionals" complimented the itinerary.

Fantastic scenery, lots of medieval villages and interesting points of interest as well as many major cities.

A large variety of cities and walled cities, beautiful southern areas of France, wine country and the alps.

Excellent itinerary. Everything was thought of. Good amount of time in places and free time to explore on your own. Hotels were excellent as was the tour director, Laurant and driver. Could not fault the tour at all. France is a spectacular country and worth visiting.Loved every minute of it.

You haven’t seen France with out seeing the country road of France. Fantastic tour

This tour had so much potential. The city of Paris is divine, and the French villages are stunningly beautiful. However, how does a tour include Paris and not offer an excursion or even an extra day to Versailles? It was a huge miss. The itinerary should include longer stays in places like Chamonix, Monte Carlo, St. Paul de Vence and Sarlat La Canada rather than Troyes, Beaune and Grenoble. There were also changes made to the itinerary that appeared last minute ie not visiting Arles and Cordes Sur Ciel, not experiencing a visit to a vineyard and watching the wine making process, and communicating to tour members in Chamonix at the last minute that they were own on their own, the cable car activity was “sold out” and not offering other suggestions. The hotel accommodations were good except for Le Meridien Paris Arc de Triomphe where our tiny room was like a train cable car with a broken chair, scratched paint on the bathroom walls, and hard mattresses on wheels! The food experience could have been better. We were taken to places where the food selection was poor, the food was cold or over cooked and only offered regular or vegetarian menus, no exceptions. Last, but not least, unfortunately the tour director appeared tired, lacked communication skills adding confusion at times, and exercised poor judgement and poor decision making. Overall it felt like a missed opportunity for greatness since the majority of the locations were spectacular.

Well designed itinerary that allows you to become acquainted with the variety and richness of life in French regions.

We saw and visited some great places, with a busy itinerary. Our Tour Director was great, she was very knowledgeable, organised and personable. The Hotel rooms ranged in size /quality, but overall we're very good. The food was good, especially at the included meals.

The itinerary is great but too many of the experiences were ‘optional extras’ making it a very expensive tour. Also some options were missed due to them being booked out - changed from the original info we received and because the tour guide didn’t book ahead knowing it was peak season etc. Disappointing.

We were in absolute awe seeing the majestic and beautiful castles, medieval villages and chateaus The overall experience was wonderful.

Grenoble should not be on the itinerary. It is one of France’s top 10 unsafe cities. Number 6 to be exact. You should feel safe to walk at night.

The itinerary has been designed to not include any small villages in the Alsace region which is so beautiful and regrettable. Where the Chamonix Mt Blanc is located nearby which is en route to these small villages. The Arles was skipped due to traffic jam is not reasonable because rest of that day 10 was at leisure already and tomorrow day 11 also a full day freetime in Albi which becomes too many leisure time unnecessary. Feedback is for you to make it good the itinerary not to tell other people. I choose this tour because I like Chamonix Mt Blanc and Annecy.

The majority of the itinerary was very good. I would however like to see Grenoble replaced with a nicer choice. We were only there overnight and I am sure there would be better options in the region

Jam packed fun!! Loved this trip and our guide !! The most knowledgeable guide, he knows ALL of France like the back of his hands.

Just loved this tour that took us away from the cities to vthe villages, towns churches, castles and the country beauty of France. And a good pace with not obscene (lol) "bags out" times. The included dinners were delicious except for the last in Paris.. I could haveveasily hopped on the coach and enjoyed the journey again.

Loved the small cities we visited. There was so much to see and learn about. The optional tours were great. I often wished for more time in the towns, but who wouldn’t. Sarlat was beautiful and Albi too.

Interesting local parts of France

Lots of great experiences and amazing places.

Very interesting sites and scenery. Chamonix Mt Blanc was a favorite as was Nice, Monaco, Rocamadour, the Alps and others but all good. Great driver and Tour Director. Hotels were wonderful and some with pools (or the Mediterranean). We had fabulous food at the hotels and restaurants. Very happy I took this trip

Both the tour director and driver did a excellent well done job. However, there are 2 hotels which would take out one star (*). One hotel does not have air conditioning; and the other does not have a minibar. This tour would have had 5-star (*****) if these hotels had improvements.

Really enjoyed all the places in France that we visited

The tour took you many unique areas of France. The Tour Director was excellent. He was very personable, had a great sense of humour, gained quick access to popular venues esp into the Moulin Rouge, a great problem solver if group members had a problem and very knowledgeable about all facets of France. We could not recommend him highly enough!the tour bus had plenty of space and the driver was very competent and a very personable fellow also.

The itinerary is built around a highly comprehensive range of some of the most interesting sights and experiences available. Clearly it has been carefully curated to deliver maximum value and enjoyment with sufficient free time to deliver a well balanced program.

I’m definitely not a city person, so I absolutely loved going to the smaller sized towns. Chamonix and Nice were my 2 absolute favourite places by a long way! Definitely places I’ll be going to in the future!

Great route with interesting beautiful scenery. Each day was well coordinated which included well planned excursions and free time. Our tour guide worked extremely hard to give everyone on the coach details of all areas we visited and was so helpful. He had a great personality and was very approachable.

While you don't get to see big lavender fields featured in the tour documentation, the tour was very good. We traversed many 2 lane country roads where you really get to see the countryside. This tour is not focused on the big city attractions but did spend some time in Paris and Nice. The visit to Moulin Rouge was excellent. Tour Director and driver were outstanding.

The itinerary was marvelous. I enjoyed the town's and cities on the trip. My favorite cities were Albi and Chamonix. I would highly recommend the Country Roads of France tour to those who are interested in the culture, history, and scenery of France and Monaco

I saw places that I would never have found on my own. I also received valuable history from the informative tour director about the places I visited. Every turn was a nice surprise! Beautiful scenery. Mont Blanc was breathtaking. 3 hotels stood out as outstanding…Grand Hotel La Cloche Dijon, Hotel Aquabella Aix En Provence and Hotel Le Perigord La Roque Gageac. Wish we could have stopped to see the lavender fields like in the advertising photos! Maybe on my next visit ….

While there were outstanding places to explore there were some that we considered filler with little to no significance to enjoy. For example on our way to Dijon, the first stop for several hours was nothing more than a break. St Paul de Vence while lovely did not offer much other than shopping to be engaged with. Others like Carcassonne were spectacular.

It was great

Our tour director , was very knowledgeable accommodating and had a great sense of humor. We felt totally taken care of by . He was our best tour director of our four Insight tours thus far.

Love the different places we covered, the sights were amazing, the hotels very good & we had an excellent tour director & driver . Great company too with our fellow travellers!

West coast a little ordinary needed more overnight stops

The 14 day itinerary was both diverse and comprehensive, taking in the magical Alps, the French Riveria, the beautiful scenery of the Dordorgne region plus the vibrancy of Paris and all the charming cities and villages in between. A thoroughly enjoyable tour which I highly recommend.

Great trip with informative and friendly tour director Yannick .

Good variety of large and small towns, also mountains and beach. Tour guide was informative and enthusiastic. We also enjoyed traveling with many Aussies and Kiwis and made new friends.

Fabulous destinations on this relaxed tour. Two night stays at several hotels are always appreciated!

It was well paced with quite a few two night stays which was not as rushed every day. A good choice of optional tours although some could have been included in the package. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

Great itinerary, very knowledgeable guide, great optional visits.

You see some really nice little towns that you probably wouldn’t get to visit Some towns are worth more than a few hours visit and some towns are worth more than a one night stay

Loved the tour, lots to see and do, good people and experiences and tour leader was excellent.

The itinerary was jam packed, and sometimes too much - especially during the summer heat (expected or not). Getting up at 5 am to have bags out by 6 am or 630a doesn’t make for a fun holiday. Some of the venues were too hot to see properly, and were uncomfortably crowded. Some changes to accommodate the unforeseen weather conditions would have smart. Finally, some the hotels/rooms were horrible. Especially the last one in Paris. Mouldy bathrooms, broken furniture, stained towels. Not nice.

The hotel starting our tour should have been close to the central area like Uffizi gallery area.

See parts of France that tourists don’t usually visit

The itinerary worked well with free time to explore. There were many optional extras that were offered if you wanted. Chamonix was a favourite place but we had many a village that was a surprise to see and explore. Would highly recommend this tour.

Perhaps a little longer with a couple of nights on Skye and Orkney

Country Roads of France was incredible. We experienced amazing sights with a great group of fellow travelers. The pace was right and the variety of activities was perfect. The optional experiences added to the adventure. Best of all was our travel guide. was stellar. He was a wealth of information, a great teacher. His personal touch/flare with stories, music, facts, etc made the trip special. Always there to help and answer questions. He considered each travelers need and met it. This was our 4th trip with Insight and was the best. Looking forward to more trips with Insight.

With the extra options one gets to see a lot. As always ,a bit rushed in the mornings--no leisurely breakfast

There was so much to see! The country side was beautiful & all the villages were so quaint. Loved Monaco & Monet’s home & gardens. Paris was not to be missed especially ending with moulin rouge! My only complaint would be every room we had was facing an alley, another building etc. would have been nice to have a couple of views.

See response from my wife Cathy Heller. This is a combined response from both of us.

A great way to see as much as possible of France in just 16 days. The many two night stops in places allowed us to see more of a local area than if you were only staying one night. It was a nice pace tour, with slightly later departures each day. Good quality hotels at all overnights and great food. A good selection of extra activities were available if you wanted to purchase. My only improvement suggestion would be that the river cruise in Paris would have been better if it was at night, rather than the day cruise, so the lights of Paris could be viewed and enjoyed. Tour director and driver were Both very caring, professional and great fun. Overall a very pleasant and enjoyable tour. Thoroughly recommend!

Very interesting and fun. Be ready for intense schedule and lots of walking!

The itinerary was fast paced. There was no free time or free day as mentioned in the itinerary. Our trip to Monaco was the Friday of the Monaco Grand Prix . There was a lot of traffic and the palace, casino and race circuit were closed due to the race on Sunday so we didn’t get to see sights we planned to see. The aquarium was nice. We drove by the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph in Paris but did not get to actually visit these sites. Our celebration dinner was rushed and cut short. It was the night of the European soccer playoffs and riots and marches were anticipated that night. We were back at the hotel by 7 pm. and were great and very professional. Overall while good it did not meet my expectations.

We found the trip locations and hotels to be excellent. The hotels were located near the town centres and so one could walk easily and see the sights. The variety of food and tours provided were very satisfying. our tour director was phenomenal. No task was too hard for him. His knowledge on the various locations were exemplary. our bus driver was excellent and had a great sense of humour. I would highly recommend this tour. I give it 5 stars.

The itinerary has a good mix of experiences and excursions. The Travel Director (Laurent) was conscientious about taking care of us and knowledgeable about France. Overall a great experience.

Excellent Itinery. Had a great time. went above and beyond as a tour guide by giving us the real French feeling. Loved the Dordogne Valley, would gave loved another night in that region, as soon beautiful. Maybe an option of a balloon flight.

Very well chosen itinerary.

Itinerary great however Lyon and Toulouse were unfortunately excluded They are major cities in Provence.

very thorough, many great destinations. check holiday schedule, don't travel to Monaco during F1, sites very limited

We felt that we saw a full range of life in all our stops. We thought that the places we visited were valuable examples of their regions. We visited an award winning viticulturist in FIXIN near Dijon. We visited Fragonard in Nice and Cousteau’s aquarium in Monaco and Monet’s Giverny to name s as few.

Excellent trip with fantastic guide!

France (and Monaco) are such lovely countries that I would recommend them - and travelling by coach was more comfortable than struggling for ghose of us who drive on the left side of the road. Coaches are higher, and the the coach drivers are excellent. a nicely paced tour showed France at its best. I would have liked more time in Paris (but I know there are other tours with this.

The itinerary scheduled us to go to the Moulin Rouge and stay in Albi. We did neither. Not staying in Albi denied us some well needed time there and a dinner option that was subpar. We did go to a different Cabaret show in Paris it also was subpar. We later with family who joined us went to the Moulin Rouge which was far, far superior to the show that Insight offered. The Tour also did a boat ride on the Seine. It was crowded and so many people that enjoying it and taking pix was difficult. We later also did a ride with our family from a different location and a timed ride and it was so much better.

Our tour guide and bus driver were amazing Great way to see France and we stayed in some really nice hotels

One sees a lot of France on this trip.