After breakfast, the day is at leisure, perhaps you may book one of our optional tours.
Overnight in Paris
Optional: Versailles Bike Tour with Skip-the-Line Entrance to Palace (8H)
Available: Tue, Wed, Thu
Meeting Point: TBA
Meeting Time: TBA
Pedal your way around the parks of Versailles and enjoy the skip-the-line entrance to the magnificent palace on this full-day tour from Paris. Learn about the secrets of life in the palace and discover the truth of Marie Antoinette and the palace’s role in the French Revolution on a bike tour of Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet and the Petit and Grand Trianons. Next, bypass the queue and head straight inside the Palace of Versailles, where you will have time to explore the palace on your own and see the King’s Apartments and the famous Hall of Mirrors.
Optional: Paris by Night Illuminations Tour and Moulin Rouge Show (5H)
Available: Daily
Meeting Point: Tour Eiffel, 75007 Paris
Explore Paris at its best with this nighttime tour that includes a show at the Moulin Rouge. Start your trip with an illuminations tour past the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and other famous sights, which will become even more beautiful as they light up after dark. Then, head on over to the Moulin Rouge, the home of the cancan, in the Montmartre District for a dazzling performance of ‘Feerie’. Choose between a standard coach tour or a small-group tour with a minivan for a more intimate sightseeing experience.
Optional: Paris Catacombs Skip The Line Walking Guided Tour (5H)
Available: Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat & Sun
Meeting Point: Tour Eiffel, 75007 Paris
Dig deep into history with an underground Paris Catacombs tour. Find out why the bones of more than six million people were deposited under the city in a complex maze of tunnels, where you will certainly need a guide to help you navigate. Meet your knowledgeable guide at street level and prepare to head on a guided tour of the Paris Catacombs. Head 130 steps down to reach the intricate network of tunnels and follow your guide through what can be a confusing labyrinth. Listen to the stories about how the Paris Catacombs were built as a massive underground cemetery, housing the bones of roughly six million people since the 18th century. Paris' dead were moved en masse from existing cemeteries to the Catacombs from 1786 to 1788. By the early 19th century, the Catacombs had already started to attract the attention of tourists. You will have plenty of chances to ask your guide questions as you walk through the tunnels. This is a unique opportunity to see a side of Paris which most people miss. After exploring the Catacombs, the tour will come to an end back at street level as you will climb back up the stairs where you started the tour.
Optional: Versailles Palace Guided Tour with Gardens and a Fountains Show from Paris (5H)
Available: Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun
Meeting Point: Invalides (Métro), 107 Rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris, France
Meeting Time: 8:45 AM
Meet your guide for a tour of Versailles in Central Paris. Climb into the comfortable air-conditioned coach for the drive to Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was originally built as a relatively modest hunting retreat for Louis XIII in 1623, but his successor — Louis XIV — expanded it and turned it into the symbol of luxury and extravagance that we know today. The palace we see today was completed in 1710 and is now one of the most famous palaces in Europe. When you arrive, walk past the queues with your guide with skip-the-line access. Follow your guide as they will take you through the Royal Apartments where the King and Queen of France, Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, once spent the vast majority of their time. Visit the apartments of the Dauphin and Dauphine — the heirs apparent to the throne. See the various drawing rooms, private studies, and bed chambers where the royal family once lived, and imagine what life might have been like for them in the 17th and 18th centuries. Continue your tour to see one of the most photographed parts of Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors, built in 1678. Take a look around as your guide will describe its most important features. The Hall of Mirrors leads from the Royal Apartments to the Salon de la Guerre and the Salon de la Paix. At the end of your tour of the palace, take some free time to explore the gardens at leisure. Walkthrough the picturesque gardens, studded with statues and sculptures, and admire the incredible fountains. On Saturday nights in the summer, those fountain displays are set to music that dates from the time of Louis XIV’s court for a memorable visual and auditory experience. After some free time in the Versailles Garden, rejoin your guide at the appointed location to climb back into the coach for your return drive to Paris.
Optional: Paris Cooking Class including 3-Course Lunch & Wine (6H)
Available: Tue, Fri, Sat & Sun
Meeting Point: 9:00 AM
Meeting Time: 59 Rue du Cardinal Lemoine
Meet your instructor at a cooking school in Central Paris (59 Rue du Cardinal Lemoine) to begin your class. Start with a croissant and a hot cup of coffee or tea before heading to an open-air food market near Paris' Latin Quarter, where you will pick up ingredients for your meal and taste some cheese with your instructor. Begin by planning your 3-course lunch menu, which will include an appetizer, a main dish, and a delightful dessert. Then, get started under the watchful eye of your instructor. As you prepare your meal, pick up tips and gain insight into traditional French cooking techniques. After two hours in the kitchen (and a glass of wine or two), head through to the dining table with your fellow cooks. Sit down to the delicious meal you have prepared and enjoy half a bottle of white or red wine. You will also learn about the fine art of pairing food with wine. Before leaving, you will receive electronic copies of your recipes so you can recreate these dishes at home.
Optional: Loire Valley Chambord and Chenonceau Castles Day Trip with Wine Tasting (12H)
Available: Tue & Sat
Meeting Point: Catacombs of Paris, 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris, France
Meeting Time: 7:30 AM
Majestic castles and fine wine tastings make up this unforgettable day trip to the charming Loire Valley. Skip-the-line admission to the chateaux of Chambord (or Amboise) and Chenonceau will be included, with your choice of a licensed guide or audio guide. Get an up-close look at the extravagant glamour of the French aristocracy and gain insight into the life within these Renaissance residences. Travel by a luxury coach from Paris, with optional hotel pickup and drop-off services.
