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Featured tours.

The Greatest Loire Valley - Chenonceau, Caves Duhard, Chambord, Loire Valley Day tours, Chateaux and Wines

Loire Valley Chateaus Day trip: Chenonceau, Chambord & Caves Ambacia wine tour & tasting - 7/7 - LVT-GD1

Dordogne Day Tour

Dordogne small group Tour from Sarlat, Lascaux IV, Eyzies de Tayac Museum, Rouffignac cave, expert tour guide, Mon/Thur/Fri/Sun - DDG-D1

Reims & Epernay, The Bubbles Day, 2 Champagne tasting, Moet & Chandon / Taittinger, Monday to Sunday.

Champagne small group Day Trip to two Family Growers, Tours & Tastings - Lunch included - FBT-BD1

Divine Day Tour - Burgundy Wine Tour - Tasting 10 wines - Tuesday to Saturday

Burgundy small group Day Tour - Grands Crus route, tasting 12 wines in family domains, expert wine guide - 7/7 - DBT-DD1

Hot Air Balloon

Hot Air Balloon in the Loire Valley - Monday to Sunday - LVT-MG

Day Tour: Merlot Wine of Saint Emilion and Pomerol

Saint Emilion small group wine tour from Bordeaux, St Emilion UNESCO village, Pomerol, 3 Grands Crus wine tour & tasting - 7/7 - BDX-D1

Great Cabernets of the Medoc Day Tour

Bordeaux small group Grands Crus wine tour, 3 wine tasting in Medoc, Pauillac, Margaux, Saint Julien, expert tour guide - BDX-D2

Provence small group Day Tour from Marseille/Aix, expert tour guide for Baux de Provence, Arles, Saint-Remy - Tue/Thu/Sat

Provence small group Day Tour from Aix en Provence, Cassis, Calanques & Wine tasting, expert tour guide - Mon to Sat - PP-D1

Provence small group Day Tour from Marseille/Aix, expert tour guide for Baux de Provence, Arles, Saint-Remy - Tue/Thu/Sat

Provence small group Day Tour from Aix en Provence, Arles, Saint-Remy & Les Baux de Provence, expert tour guide - 7/7 - PP-D2

Elegant Loire Valley - Chenonceau, Amboise and Clos Lucé, Loire Valley Day tours, Chateaux & Wines - Tuesday & Friday

Loire Valley Private Day Tour, Chateaus Chenonceau, Amboise, Da Vinci Castle & Caves Ambacia wine tour/tasting - LVT-PD7

Beautiful Loire Valley

Loire Valley Private Day Tour, Chateaus Azay le Rideau, Langeais, Villandry gardens & organic wine tour & tasting - LVT-PD8

Royal Loire Valley

Loire Valley Private Day Tour, Chateaus Blois, Cheverny, Chambord family winery tour/tasting - LVT-PD6

Provence small group Day Tour from Marseille/Aix, Avignon Popes Palace, Luberon, Gordes & Roussillon, expert tour guide 7/7

Provence small group Day Tour from Aix en Provence, Villages of the Luberon, expert tour guide - 7/7 - PP-D3

Private Burgundy Day tour - Côte de Nuits - from Monday to Saturday

Burgundy Private wine Tour from Beaune/Dijon, Grands Crus tasting to 2 family domains & a caveau in Côte de Nuits - DBT-PD5

Champagne Private Day tour - Sparkling Day

Private Champagne Day Tour from Reims, Veuve Clicquot, family winery, tour guide, exclusivity of the transportation - FBT-PD4

Reims Scenic, Champagne Day tour

Champagne day trip, Tour and tasting to Veuve Clicquot & a family domain - Lunch included - FBT-D2

Private guided Christmas tour in Champagne

Private Christmas Tour in Champagne - 6 people max, 3 Days 2 Nights 4* Hotel, Veuve Clicquot + Moët, 2 Champagne Tasting Lunches - FI-XMAS2

Loire Valley package Must-see Small Group tour & Custom Private tour, 3D/2N 4*hotel in Amboise

Loire Valley package Must-see Small Group tour & Custom Private tour, 3D/2N 4*hotel in Amboise - LVT-SS3

Private guided Christmas tour in Champagne

Private Guided Christmas Tour in Paris - 6 people max, 3 Days 2 nights 4* Hotel, Must See Attractions and Glamour Shopping - FI-XMAS4

Provence Private Tour from Aix, exclusive driver guide, Avignon Popes City, Luberon villages of Gordes & Roussillon

Provence Private Tour from Aix, exclusive driver guide, Avignon Popes City, Luberon villages of Gordes & Roussillon - PP-PD4

Loire Valley Private Day Tour, exclusive guide & transportation, Chateaus of Chenonceau & Chambord, Caves Ambacia tour & tasting

Loire Valley Private Day Tour, exclusive guide & transportation, Chateaus of Chenonceau & Chambord, Caves Ambacia tour & tasting - LVT-PD4

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France Tours & Trips

From delicious cuisine and wonderful wines to châteaux and ski resorts, it's no surprise that France entices people of all ages. Take a adventure to the strikingly beautiful island of Mont-Saint-Michel, challenge yourself with a hike around glorious Mont Blanc , escape to the beautiful beaches of the French Riviera in Nice, or follow in the footsteps of artists in Provence . Visit the vineyards of the Loire Valley on a river cruise , and of course check out the romantic Paris, City of Light. A tour of France is a must for all travelers.

250+ France tour packages with 1,345 reviews

Best of France Tour Tour

  • In-depth Cultural
  • Christmas & New Year

Best of France Tour

I am very happy with this trip. The hotels were comfortable, they were clean and their breakfast buffet was good. Our bus was also clean and our driver was prompt, he was very cautious all the way. Ann Marie was a superb tour guide, she was very knowledgable in art and history, thanks to her our tour was even better. Very satisfied with the tour, thank you very much for the experience !

The Treasures of France including Normandy (8 Days) Tour

  • Coach / Bus

The Treasures of France including Normandy (8 Days)

Very well organized. Very knowledgeable guide who went out of his way to make this a truly memorable experience. I especially liked his readings of "The Little Prince" on some of the longer bus rides. Be prepared to climb lots of stairs or sit out some of the more challenging sites. The hotels were all good to excellent and food was delicious.
  • €100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Normandy, Brittany & The Loire Valley (Classic, 8 Days) Tour

Normandy, Brittany & The Loire Valley (Classic, 8 Days)

Everything was wonderful. Shantell went above and beyond

French Dream ( 6 days ) Tour

  • Sightseeing

French Dream ( 6 days )

French Ring ( 11 days ) Tour

French Ring ( 11 days )

Paris and Versailles Tour

Paris and Versailles

The driver and hotel were great. Would have been nice if it had been closer to the meeting spots of my tour all of them were about a 45 min walk from my hotel. The tour guides were very knowledgeable but the tours were all too rushed I didn't have time to look at the gardens at any of the castle because it was so tight on time. It felt like a lot of rooms were missed in the louvre and at the castle because of the time. Would have liked if the tour guides had worked to create a camrotery among the group members.

Paris Explorer (8 Days) Tour

Paris Explorer (8 Days)

We enjoyed our time in Paris. Johnathan was an exceptional tour guide. His thoughtful approach to Normandy was wonderful. The hotel was not up to Marriott standards. Room was dusty and thoughtlessly cleaned. The location was good and the bus was in great shape.

Looking for tours beyond just France?

Explore tours with itineraries going through multiple countries, including France.

Paris, Normandy and the Loire Tour

Paris, Normandy and the Loire

My husband and I had a wonderful experience, the driver was very experience with narrow streets, the guide went above and beyond to make sure we are comfortable, safe and enjoying our trip.

3-day Guided Normandy : D Day Beaches, Mont Saint-michel And Loire Valley Chateaux From Paris Tour

3-day Guided Normandy : D Day Beaches, Mont Saint-michel And Loire Valley Chateaux From Paris

The tour was incredible. The guide was awesome and we enjoyed the whole time. Easy to book through Tour Radar as well.

Brilliant Bordeaux (2024) (Bordeaux to Bordeaux, 2024) Tour

Brilliant Bordeaux (2024) (Bordeaux to Bordeaux, 2024)

Paris, Normandy, & Châteaux Country Tour

Paris, Normandy, & Châteaux Country

Overall exeellent tour guide and driver excellent I believe the tour should have started early in the morning and finished late the last night, not evening start and breakfast fnish the next day. The 9 day tour is reduced to 7 days touring.

Paris & Normandy Highlights National Geographic Journeys Tour

  • Active Adventure

Paris & Normandy Highlights National Geographic Journeys

We loved the itinerary and the extra sites we visited, also. Our CEO Alexiane did well. We would have like to hear more history of the places we saw. Alexiane took care to provide for the needs of individuals on our tour. That was especially helpful for me. Our bus driver, Frederick, was excellent and caring, too.

Paris & Normandy (2024) (Paris to Paris, 2024) Tour

  • River Cruise
  • Walking Adventure

Paris & Normandy (2024) (Paris to Paris, 2024)

The Must-see Sights of the Seine Valley (port-to-port cruise) Tour

The Must-see Sights of the Seine Valley (port-to-port cruise)

I was kept informed & on promptly basis. A very professional approach by your staff

Rhône Route Classique 2024 - A-ROSA STELLA (9 destinations) Tour

Rhône Route Classique 2024 - A-ROSA STELLA (9 destinations)

Great cruise, ship, crew and good. Exceeded expectations.

Reviews of France Tours

Brilliant tour guide Leila and amazing driver Brein, together with extraordinary sights and very good accommodation, made for an excellent experience on the 3 day bus tour. I also appreciated the priority entry for all the visits included.
Overall a great tour. Much more than we expected. Highly recommend instead of trying to visit a foreign country without a tour guide and driver-- both of whom were fabulous !!
Wonderful tour. Top notch accommodations; very comfortable tour bus; courteous, friendly, and knowledgeable tour guide and driver. Restaurant selections were fine and we had sufficient time to explore on our own. Highly recommended.

France Destinations

  • Southern France (387)
  • Northern France (313)
  • Provence (118)
  • Aquitaine & Midi Pyrenees (93)
  • Normandy (92)
  • Bordeaux & Dordogne (54)
  • Loire Valley (48)
  • Pays de la Loire (47)
  • Alsace & Lorraine (34)
  • Ile de France (31)
  • Burgundy (24)
  • French Riviera (23)
  • Champagne (11)
  • France Castle (7)
  • Brittany (5)

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  • River Cruise (555)
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  • Active Adventure (55)
  • Coach / Bus (51)
  • Hiking & Trekking (43)
  • Food & Culinary (28)
  • Motorcycle Ride (21)
  • 3 Day Tours (9)
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  • Spring 2024 (323)
  • Summer 2024 (374)
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  • Spring 2025 (182)
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France Tours starting in

  • Starting in Paris (166)
  • Starting in Lyon (51)
  • Starting in Arles (42)
  • Starting in Bordeaux (37)
  • Starting in Nice (37)
  • Starting in Avignon (22)
  • Starting in Strasbourg (20)
  • Starting in London (11)
  • Starting in Chalon sur Saone (11)
  • Starting in Blois (9)
  • France Travel Guide | All You Need to Know
  • Best 10 Day France Itineraries 2024/2025 (with Reviews)
  • Best 7 Day France Itineraries 2024/2025 (with Reviews)

International Versions

  • Deutsch: Frankreich Rundreisen
  • Français: Circuits et voyages en France 2024/2025
  • Español: Circuitos y viajes por Francia 2024/2025
  • Nederlands: Frankrijk Rondreizen 2024/2025

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Travel Home > France

France by Luxe Private Tours

Expert private guides, luxury vehicles, flexible rescheduling, enjoy the best of france with our private tour experiences.

Our private tour experiences & driver-guided excursions are the perfect way to experience your vacation in France.

From the urban chic of Paris, the city of Love, to picturesque villages, wine estates, and alpine ranges, our guided tours across the various regions of France enables you to walk in the footsteps of influential philosophers, artists, and historical figures on your French tour.

Travel by Luxe offers a no-cancellation guarantee, 24/7 in-country support, and the finest private guides for your vacation. All are planned to a complimentary custom tour itinerary planned by our specialist tour consultants.

Mont Saint Michel

Every Detail of Your French Vacation Taken Care Of

Our reputation in the travel and tourism industry has been built on providing our guests with the highest quality experiences available. We will plan the perfect French vacation for you, with the ideal blend of iconic cities and sites, exclusive and VIP events and attractions, alongside revealing an authentic slice of French society, cultural traditions, and fascinating historical tales.

Discover festivals, events, and hidden gems throughout France by requesting your complimentary custom tour itinerary.

From cafe culture and artistic excellence in Paris to the glamor, gleaming beaches, and stunning white yachts gliding along the Mediterranean in Nice and the French Riviera. 

Or discover Roman Heritage in the historical city of Lyon before relaxing in famous wine regions in Bordeaux, Champagne, and the Loire Valley. There is no better way to spend your vacation in France than with a schedule curated by your private tour consultant.

Multi-Day France Tour Itineraries

Discover the rich cultural heritage and breathtaking landscapes of France on one of our multi-day tour itineraries. Explore quaint villages, historic castles and châteaux, world-famous vineyards, and more as you immerse yourself in the local culture and traditions of each region. 

Choose from our carefully crafted itineraries and experience the best that France has to offer.

Avignon - Medieval City of the Popes

South of France in 7 Days itinerary

Barcelona skyline

Italy, France & Spain 16-Day Tour Itinerary

Versailles, France

France in 5 Days Itinerary

Eze, France, French Riviera

9 Day Riviera Itinerary of Both France & Italy

Winery France glass of wine in vineyard

6 Day Food & Wine Experience In France

Bartholdi Fountain in Lyon

10 Day France Itinerary

Saint-Jean district, Lyon,

21 Day France Tour Itinerary

Château de Chambord, Chambord, France (3)

14 Days in France Itinerary

Day tours in france.

We have put together a selection of our most sought-after private tours of France for you to explore. We understand that many travelers are looking for a personalized and unique experience on their vacation, and we are here to make that a reality. That’s why we offer the option to customize and tailor each tour to suit your individual preferences at no additional cost .

If you’d like to modify any aspect of the tours listed below or have us create a fully custom itinerary for your trip to France, complete with accommodations and the services of a driver-guide, just let us know. Simply send us an online inquiry , and we will be happy to provide a complimentary custom itinerary tailored specifically to your needs.

Normandy D Day Cemetery Omaha Beach

Normandy D-Day Beaches & War Cemetery Tour

Palace of Verseilles

Versailles Palace & Garden Day Trip From Paris

Arc De Triomphe Paris Landmark Famous France

Paris In A Day – Guided Walking Tour

Reims Verzenay Champagne Grapes Fields Winery

Champagne Full-Day Wine Tour From Paris

Paris popular tour destinations.

Effiel Tower, Paris, France Tours

Eiffel Tower

The Louvre

Louvre Museum

Champs-Élysées, Paris, France

Champs-Élysées

Musée d'Orsay, France

Musée d'Orsay

French riviera popular tour destinations.

Cannes, France

Saint Tropez

Viewing point Monaco

French Alps Popular Tour Destinations

Mont Blanc, French Alps, France

Chamonix & Mont Blanc

Vercors National Park France French Alps

Vercors National Park

Val d'Isère French Alps Skiing

Val d'Isère

Grenoble City, France, French Alps

Wine Regions Popular Tour Destinations

Loire Valley Wine

Loire Valley

Vines Wine Vineyard Blue Burgundy Nature France

Reims & Champagne

Winery Bordeaux

Benefits of Touring with France by Luxe

  • A bespoke tour itinerary covering every aspect of your vacation
  • Optional assistance for booking hotels or overnight stays
  • Luxury vehicles for transfers or driver-guided tours
  • 24/7 customer service in France
  • Full Refund Guarantee
  • Experienced guides selected for their expertise & passion for the country
  • Exclusive VIP experiences and activities

Paris Skyline

Get Your Complimentary France Itinerary

Experience the classically French Joie de Vivre when you work with our local tour consultants. Simply complete the form below and let us know when you will arrive in France, how long you wish to spend here and what cities or attractions are at the top of your wishlist.

Our vacation planning team will do the rest for you and return the ultimate bespoke tour itinerary to you completely free of charge.

Let us know your questions!

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Destinations, popular itineraries.

A global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world, a sightseeing trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

While you will catch glimpses of the tower as you travel throughout Paris, we recommend first-time visitors make the most of the opportunity by touring the structure itself. There are three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels and a viewing deck on the third (906 ft above ground).

The tower is the most visited-paid tourist attraction in the world so if you’d like to include it in your itinerary we do generally recommend purchasing in advance our skip-the-line tickets to avoid queuing.

Every trip to the capital deserves a guided visit to the Louvre to discover the wealth of treasures it contains. The museum houses western works of art dating from the Middle Ages to 1848, in addition to collections of ancient oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman civilizations, as well as graphic and Islamic arts. From room to room, the former royal palace reveals its masterpieces to the public: the Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa, the Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, and many more.

The most beautiful and well-known avenue in Paris. It connects Arc de Triomphe with the Place de la Concorde and is considered one of the world’s most famous commercial streets.

Home of Monet’s incredible Water Lilies, which is a permanent exhibition as well as art from Cezanne, Modigliani, and Picasso to name a few of the famous artists displayed at this museum. The museum is located in the Tuileries garden close to the Louvre where you can enjoy a stroll along the banks of the Seine after your private tour and have lunch at one of the nearby brasseries.

Known as the Beverly Hills of the Riviera, Cannes is an elegant coastal city located just west of Nice. 

We start your tour of Cannes with a visit to Le Suquet, the original Roman hillside settlement of Cannes which is filled with pastel-colored houses and cottages and narrow cobbled streets, and stop for refreshments in one of the many hillside cafes that overlook the Bay of Cannes.  

Next, we head to the indoor market, Marche Forville filled with local farmers and artisan food manufacturers.

In the afternoon head to the Grand Auditorium for a private tour, your driver guide will even take a photograph of you on the famous red-carpeted steps outside the building. Later stroll along the iconic  La Promenade de Croisette.

What began as a quiet fishing village transformed into one of the premier destinations for visitors and international A-list celebrities on the French Riviera.

As far back as the 19th century, Saint Tropez was a quiet town on the coast of France. By the late 1800s, many writers and artists traveled to the area for inspiration such as Paul Signac, Henry Matisse, and Guy de Maupassant.

Over time, more artists and celebrities fell in love with the area including Ernest Hemingway, Brigitte Bardot, Pablo Picasso, and many more. Today it still attracts the world’s most famous celebrities.

For such a small territory, Monaco has earned a reputation as one of the most luxurious tourist resorts in the world. The cascading hills leading towards crystalline shores populated by gleaming white yachts are the last word in luxury. 

Perhaps more than any other, Monaco is the favored destination of the rich and famous on the French Riviera. Contact our team and we will design a luxury tour itinerary for your time here.

The Paillon River, now partly built over, separates the new town to the west from the old town, the harbor, and the commercial district to the east. The old town, with narrow winding streets, stands at the western base of a granite hill known as Le Château. 

The harbor, begun in 1750 and extended after 1870, is now used primarily by ferry services to Corsica, sailing craft, and yachts. The most striking part of the new town is the famous Promenade des Anglais, which originated in 1822 as a path along the shore built by the English colony.

Chamonix is primarily known as a winter ski resort, in fact, the first Olympic Winter games were held here in 1924. Things have changed over the decades and even in summer, Chamonix is a thriving busy town. 

We head first to the famous Aiguilles des Midi, one of the world’s highest (and steepest) cable cars which only takes 20 minutes to reach its destination which is 3,842 m high. Step out of the cable car and take in the most spectacular views of the Alps and of course Mont Blanc For those of you more adventurous you can step onto a viewing platform which is essentially a glass box suspended over the mountain face.

Get in touch with Nature on your French vacation with a curated and guided tour of the forested mountains, natural beauty, and wildlife found here.

Perhaps the premier skiing resort town in the French Alps ski lifts give access to sites like the steep Face de Bellevarde, a black-rated piste, and the Grande Motte glacier, known for summer ski runs.

Known as the Capital of the Alps, Grenoble town is famous for winter sports, hiking, museums, and universities.

Known as the ‘Garden of France’ due to its plentiful vineyards and superb produce that grows along the banks of the river, we always encourage our guests to try a gastronomy experience when touring the valley, whether that be a wine tasting experience with a local producer, fine dining in one of the local towns like Sancerre or Nantes, or visiting a local market such as the daily one in Tours where your guide can introduce you to the finer points of this classically French pastime.

This wine region has 5 key growing areas: Chablis, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Côte des Nuits and Macconais and has been a wine-producing region since 854 when local monks first arrived in the region.

Reims and Champagne

Reims is not just famous for champagne, but it is also known as the City of Kings as it was in the cathedral in Reims that the Kings of France were crowned from 816 until 1825 – an impressive 33 Kings. 

A visit to Reims would not be complete without a champagne tasting. Enjoy a private cellar tour in one of the city’s most famous champagne houses with their head vintner who will explain why this small area in France is the only place in the world where champagne can be produced.

When you think of Bordeaux, first and foremost – it’s wine that comes to mind. And no wonder, with 60 appellations and 7000 winemakers, the city is the capital of a region that is home to some of the oldest vineyards and finest wines in the world. When you visit Bordeaux, it’s not just about wine though – water is important too. A stroll along the banks of the River Garonne and the estuary of the Gironde reveals culture, nature, wine tourism, and enchanting chateaux. Head south to experience the glorious coastline, savor fresh oysters, and feel the silky sand of the Arcachon basin. Take the time to just be – and enjoy the joie de vivre.

France Tours

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Refined culture and deep history

A rendezvous with a magnifique experience awaits! As cliché as it sounds, France truly has something for everyone. With over two dozen cities, each with their own nuances of the French culture and contributions to its history, architecture, art and last but not least, the gastronomical delights that the French are famous for throughout the world are yours to explore, experience and fall in love with during your stay. Coast to coast, border to border, there are seemingly endless variations on your French experience to be had. Rolling hills and scenic valleys lined with the fruit of the gods; seaside towns, along sandy beaches with views you just might be sharing with royalty; or maybe snowcapped mountain ranges providing some of the best skiing in the world and an adrenaline rush to match is what you seek. Whatever you decide, France easily makes you feel as if you have stepped out of reality and into the art you learned about and loved since you were a child.

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Destination Must-Sees

France ms1

This French capital is one of the world's greatest cities and certainly one of its most beautiful. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre and Orsay Museums, the Champs Elysees, Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, and many others are all iconic symbols of the "City of Light." Renowned for fabulous dining, high fashion and the French savoir faire, one can keep returning to Paris over a lifetime and still not see everything it has to offer.

Grasse France2022

Sitting on the French Riviera, north of Cannes, is a town that is an olfactory oasis. Set in the hills, Grasse is considered the perfume capital of the world. The town’s fields of jasmine, lavender, and other fragrant flowers are harvested to create essential oils for perfume production. Perfumers (known as a nez, or nose) in Grasse can teach you how to recognize different scents and how top notes, mid notes and the lingering base of a fragrance come together to create a magical aroma.

France ms3

At 370 acres or three-quarters of a square mile, the Principality of Monaco is the world's second smallest sovereign state. It sits in a scenic cliff-side location on the Mediterranean completely surrounded by French territory. This fairy tale of a country is headed by the Prince Sovereign, currently, Albert II, son of Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly. Discover a place that is just as you imagined with opulent architecture, stunning coastal panoramas, chic boutiques and ritzy cars. Highlights of a visit include the Oceanographic Museum and the Prince's Palace as well as the Cathedral, the final resting place of the Principality's monarchs.

France ms4

A perfectly preserved medieval enclave of Roman origins, Avignon is set in the heart of France's Provence region on the banks of the Rhone River. For 68 years in the 14th century, Avignon was the capital of Christianity, the seat of 10 Popes before the papacy was brought back to Rome in 1377. Avignon has always been a center for art and culture, a designation that continues with its annual Arts Festival, hosting numerous stage productions, film showings, exhibitions, poetry readings, concerts, mime performances, ballets, and more.

Destination Must-Dos

France md1

Small-town touring:

Take a break from the City of Light and get a taste of old world France when spending time in countryside villages that look like they are plucked from a storybook. With many unique villages, each region has its own special qualities for you to experience. Travel through hilltops, rocky coasts and remarkable views while learning about the locals and their lifestyles.

France md2

Omaha Beach:

This was one of the beach sectors assigned to the American landing forces during the invasion of June 6, 1944. It was here that the U.S. First Division fought the bloodiest engagement on D-Day. Go through the towns that make up the sector: St-Laurent, Colleville and Vierville. Set foot on the beach and reflect on that fateful day and cherish the present peace. The American Military Cemetery stands up on the bluff as a testament to the greatest sacrifice that these Americans have made in the name of freedom.

France md3

Dinner at Eiffel Tower:

Put yourself in a scene from a movie; the lights of Paris glitter beneath you as you dine inside one of the world’s most iconic landmarks – the Eiffel Tower. Built in 1889 as part of the World's Fair by the architecture team of Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris today. Located on the first level is 58 Tour Eiffel, a gourmet restaurant with stunning panoramic views of Paris. Since food is another big part of Parisian culture, the meal is several courses, beautifully displayed and accompanied with wine, coffee and tea.

France md4

Cabaret Theatre performance:

Immerse yourself in the nostalgic side of Parisian culture when taking your seat at a traditional cabaret show. Colorful, crazy, glamourous and intriguing are all used when describing the excitement that is Parisian cabarets. Enjoy your meal while being entertained with a show or play in this festive atmosphere.

Expert Advice

diana

In many places in France, wine costs less than water. Stay hydrated of course but this is also an affordable chance to try many different varieties of the best wine in the world.

France e2

Dinner at the Paradis Latin requires business casual attire; shorts are not allowed. This is your chance to get into the spirit of this exciting night.

France e3

The French eat lunch between noon and 2:30p.m. and dinner between 8-11p.m. Many restaurants close after lunch and do not open again until dinner time.

Featured Tours to France

TS568 Essence of France

Essence of France Paris, Provence & the French Riviera

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France Magnifique

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Spotlight on the French Riviera featuring Nice's Carnival and Menton Lemon Festival

TS533 Spotlight On Paris

Spotlight on Paris

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Memorials of World War II featuring the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landing

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London & Paris

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Romantic Paris, the jet setter Cote d’Azur, the soaring Alps, ski fields, Alsatian taverns, Champagne and Cognac – the list goes on for travellers looking to hit France with a tourHQ guide this year!

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Cecil Graf

Tourist Guide and Driver, I have been living in the Meuse region since 2005. I hold a Bachelor's ...

Adrian Ridley-Jones

Adrian Ridley-Jones

He is a retired British Army Officer who has been leading Battlefield tours since 1983.  He ...

Bernard Lazarev

Bernard Lazarev

A dozen years conducting African safaris and expeditions on behalf of major French Tour ...

Igor Rosen

Tour Guide for now 6 wonderful years, I am a very positive and ongoing person. It is really hard to ...

Mike Peters

Mike Peters

Mike Peters is a retired Army Air Corps Officer who has been leading battlefield tours for more ...

Provence Guide / Nathalie Smith

Provence Guide / Nathalie Smith

Passionate about my job as a tour guide, I love to show around our beautiful region, La Provence.I ...

Marie-Anne NICOLAS

Marie-Anne NICOLAS

I am a French guide-lecturer, born on the banks of the Seine near Paris.An architect by training, I ...

Marianne Salerno

Marianne Salerno

I have worked for the most important incentive travel agencies in Paris, such as ALLIED ...

Patricia Bollinger

Patricia Bollinger

My name is Patricia Bollinger and my family is French. I have always had a passion for art and ...

Cüneyt Ayral

Cüneyt Ayral

I am vaccinated 3 doze against Covid19Have a safe trip & tour. . .If you are looking for a guide ...

Sylvie DI CRISTO

Sylvie DI CRISTO

I have been guiding with passion since 1984 and every group has been a precious moment.I love my ...

Pierre Pichoff

Pierre Pichoff

“My Normandy Tour” is a travel agency located in the neighborhood of Paris, in Normandy.We ...

Raphaëlle  Serre

Raphaëlle Serre

Claudio Apreda

Claudio Apreda

I grew up in a cultural melting pot which determines who I am and what I wanted to be in my ...

Aude Thierrin

Aude Thierrin

Julien Dartois

Julien Dartois

Hello I'm Julien a tour guide based in Paris. Since I was a child I loved to read books about art, ...

Rich in culture, food, and beauty, France’s stereotypes are as true as they are enchanting. With every turn worthy of a painting, a stroll through France easily explains the country’s adherence to high-end art. Every square, garden, and café seems the perfect backdrop for a sketch; France’s high cultural concentration effortlessly captures regional art, music, language, and food. Yes, the nation’s food is a majority shareholder in France’s cultural personality. Shopping the markets for fresh produce, lengthy lunches at outdoor cafes, and hot breakfast croissants are staples in daily French living, while fluffy pastries and homegrown wine make frequent, delectable appearances. As any France tour guide will tell you, tourists have the luxury of relaxing in local leisure or diving into the natural-made adventure. Whether skiing the Alps or rolling down Europe’s highest sand dune, France is a place of exhilaration as much as it is of respite. With a well-balanced persona of chic decadence and traditional charm, there is little reason not to book your trip today.

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"There's nowhere quite like Paris and it's amazing to watch our guests light up when they see bucket list icons like the Eiffel Tower in real life. Don't forget to slow down and savour the freshly baked pastries from the local boulangerie and mingle with the locals in the sidewalk cafés and markets."

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See the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo at the Louvre

You can’t take a Paris trip without visiting the Louvre. It’s the both the largest art museum and the most-visited museum in the world, and you can soak it all in with our special evening experience at the Louvre. You’ll discover masterpieces like the Mona Lisa with your Local Specialist and enjoy the quiet atmosphere without the crowds. Simply magical.

Visit the remarkable church of Saint-Sulpice

Paris is full of spectacular architecture, and the church of Saint-Sulpice may be one of the best. This medieval cathedral is the second-largest church in the city and your Paris travel guide will show you around the stunning facades, stained glass windows, impressive fountains, unique sundial, and the breathtaking organ, one of the largest in the world.

Enjoy a leisurely cruise along the River Seine

As the scenic centrepiece of Paris, you can’t miss exploring the iconic River Seine. We’ll wander along the pretty riverbank by day and take you on a special Seine cruise by night, when the City of Light is illuminated in twinkling lights. Look out for icons like the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame, and relax as you drift along this enchanting river.

Explore the Latin Quarter of Paris

When you travel Paris with Trafalgar, you’ll join a Local Specialist to discover the Latin Quarter, the city’s epicentre of culture, learning and creativity. See the ancient Sorbonne University, one of the world’s first universities, soak up the vibrant atmosphere of this student hotspot, and perhaps even stop by the legendary Shakespeare and Co bookstore.

Experience a traditional Parisian Cabaret

You’ve probably seen the Parisian Cabaret in dozens of movies and photos, but there’s nothing quite like experiencing the real thing. We’ll take you to the world-famous Moulin Rouge Cabaret, where you’ll enjoy dinner, champagne and a dazzling show of 60 dancers and over 1,000 costumes, for an incredible evening you’ll never forget.

Our top 5 things to do in Paris

With so many incredible Paris attractions to choose from, we’ll show you the very best things to do in Paris, from the beautiful Saint-Sulpice to the original Parisian cabaret.

Musée Rodin

Located just steps away from the Eiffel Tower, you can’t miss the spectacular Musée Rodin. Founded in 1916 by Auguste Rodin himself, the museum features the artist’s incredible sculptures within an 18th-century rocco mansion and a stunning three-hectare garden, along with his personal collection of paintings, photographs and ancient artefacts.

Paris Opera & Palais Garnier

If you want to experience the height of Parisian opulence, it’s got to be the Palais Garnier. This extraordinary building is a 1,979-seat opera house constructed in the late 19th-century, and is renowned as the setting for The Phantom of the Opera. Today you can discover its magnificent treasures or even spend a glitzy night at the opera or ballet.

Grand Palais

Located right across from the Champs-Élysées, the Grand Palais is an icon of Paris with its giant glass ceiling and Beaux-Arts style architecture. Its interior is even more thrilling, with national art galleries, science museums and exhibition halls all held under the famous dome, and you can easily spend a day or two here.

Best museums in Paris

When you travel Paris with Trafalgar, we’ll make sure you get your fill of the best Paris museums, from the iconic Louvre to the magnificent Opéra Garnier.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is the ultimate French vegetarian dish, loved by all for its heartwarming local flavors. It’s essentially a vegetable stew, made with a rich tomato sauce and a rainbow of veggies like zucchini, eggplant and squash, and herbs like basil, garlic and thyme. One bite and you’ll fall in love with the home-cooked ratatouille of Paris.

One of France’s most famous recipes, Coq au Vin features wine-braised chicken served alongside ingredients like mushrooms and bacon. Across the country you will try many regional versions of this comforting dish, which translates fittingly to “rooster/cock with wine”.

French cuisine celebrates both savory and sweet ingredients, not just in the form of croissants. Find true street-food joy in the popular dessert of crêpes, with strawberries, Nutella, bananas and lemon curd just some of the toppings loved by locals and travelers alike. Or, try the national specialty crêpes Suzette with orange zest and caramelized butter.

Best food in Paris

Our Paris holidays are filled with the legendary Parisian cuisine, and we’ll show you all the best places to try your French favorites from fresh croissants to delicate desserts.

What to pack for Paris

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French phrasebook

It’s a good idea to learn some common French phrases before arriving in Paris, and the locals are sure to appreciate your efforts to learn their mother tongue.

Camera & extra SD card

Paris is full of soul-stirring moments you’ll want to capture forever, so be sure to pack a few extra SD cards for all those special snaps and videos.

Comfortable shoes

Whether you’re wandering through the Louvre, or strolling along the River Seine, you’ll need a comfy pair of shoes on your Paris tour.

Formal wear

If you want to hit the town in Paris with a Moulin Rouge show or a night at the opera, be sure to bring a glamorous outfit to fit in with the chic locals.

All-weather clothing

Paris is known for its unpredictable weather, with rain one day and sunshine the next. It’s best to pack both warm and cooler layers so you’re prepared for everything.

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Woman enjoying the lavender fields in Provence. France. Aerial view.

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France seduces travelers with iconic landmarks and cafe terraces, epic history and bustling village life. Experiences - and cuisine - to be savored.

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Cité de l’Espace

The fantastic space museum on the city's eastern outskirts brings Toulouse's illustrious aeronautical history to life through hands-on exhibits, including…

Wide shot of Eiffel Tower with blue sky, Paris, France.

Eiffel Tower

There are different ways to experience the Eiffel Tower, from a daytime trip or an evening ascent amid twinkling lights, to a meal in one of its…

Paris, France - August 13, 2016: The Pompidou Centre is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement. It houses the Public Information Library and the museum of Modern art.

Centre Pompidou

Home to Europe's largest collection of modern and contemporary art, Centre Pompidou has amazed and delighted visitors ever since it opened in 1977, not…

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Château de Chenonceau

Spanning the languid Cher River atop a graceful arched bridge, Chenonceau is one of France's most elegant châteaux. It's hard not to be moved and…

MARCH 16, 2017: a stained glass window inside the Sainte Chapelle church.

Sainte-Chapelle

Visit Sainte-Chapelle on a sunny day when Paris’ oldest, finest stained glass (1242–48) is at its dazzling best. The chapel is famous for its stained…

September 2016 - Paris, France- Le Louvre museum in daytime

Musée du Louvre

It isn’t until you’re standing in the vast courtyard of the Louvre, with its glass pyramid and ornate façade, that you can truly say you’ve been to Paris.

The royal Chateau de Chambord in the evening, France. This castle is located in the Loire Valley, was built in the 16th century and is one of the most recognizable chateaux in the world.

Château de Chambord

The Loire Valley

If you only have time to visit one château in the Loire, you might as well make it the grandest – and Chambord is the most lavish of them all, and the…

Skulls and bones in Paris Catacombs

Les Catacombes

It’s gruesome, ghoulish and downright spooky, but it never fails to captivate visitors. In 1785, the subterranean tunnels of an abandoned quarry were…

Top picks from our travel experts

15 best things to do in france: the most unmissable experiences from paris to provence and beyond.

Maison des Mégalithes

Maison des Mégalithes

Golfe du Morbihan

The main information point for the Carnac alignments is the Maison des Mégalithes, 1km north of Carnac-Ville, which explores the history of the megalithic…

Panoramic of Notre Dame at sunset, Paris

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

While its interior is closed off to visitors following the devastating fire of April 2019, this masterpiece of French Gothic architecture remains the city…

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Avenue des Champs-Élysées

No trip to Paris is complete without strolling this broad, tree-shaded avenue lined with luxury shops. Named for the Elysian Fields (‘heaven’ in Greek…

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Abbaye du Mont St-Michel

Mont St-Michel

Mont St-Michel's one main street, the Grande Rue, leads up the slope – past souvenir shops, eateries and a forest of elbows – to the star attraction of a…

Musée de la Lavande

Musée de la Lavande

The Luberon

To get to grips with Provence’s most prestigious crop, this excellent eco-museum makes an ideal first stop. An audioguide and video (in English) explain…

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Carnac Alignments

Predating Stonehenge by around 100 years, the Carnac (Garnag in Breton) area is the world's greatest concentration of megalithic sites, with no fewer than…

France, Paris, Seine River banks listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, musee d'Orsay

Musée d’Orsay

St-Germain & Les Invalides

Musée d’Orsay may not be quite as famous as the Louvre—though it’s located a mere 10-minute walk away—but this Left Bank museum holds its own in its…

NICE, FRANCE, on JANUARY 9, 2017. Promenade des Anglais - the main embankment of the city, one of the most beautiful in the world, stretches along the sea and the beach. Aerial view from Shatto's hill; Shutterstock ID 613405820; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Nice and Graz POIs

Promenade des Anglais

The most famous stretch of seafront in Nice – if not France – is this vast paved promenade, which gets its name from the English expat patrons who paid…

The Ballons des Vosges Regional Natural Park.

Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges

Head away from the crowds and into the serene Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges, 3000 sq km of pristine greenery in the western Vosges. In…

Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque and lavender fields.

Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque

If you're searching for that classic postcard shot of the medieval abbey surrounded by a sea of purple lavender, look no further. This sublime Cistercian…

Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez

Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez

Painters Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy are buried in the cemetery of this monastery, a five-minute walk across the park from the Musée Matisse. To reach…

Musée Lumière

Musée Lumière

Cinema's glorious beginnings are showcased at the art nouveau home of Antoine Lumière, who moved to Lyon with sons Auguste and Louis in 1870. The brothers…

View of Strasbourg Cathedral from ground. Alsace; Shutterstock ID 543791347; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Cathédrale Notre-Dame Strasbourg POI

Cathédrale Notre-Dame

Nothing prepares you for your first glimpse of Strasbourg's Cathédrale Notre-Dame, completed in all its Gothic grandeur in 1439. The lace-fine facade…

Hôtel des Invalides

Hôtel des Invalides

Flanked by the 500m-long Esplanade des Invalides lawns, Hôtel des Invalides was built in the 1670s by Louis XIV to house 4000 invalides (disabled war…

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Pont du Gard

Languedoc-Roussillon

The extraordinary three-tiered Pont du Gard was once part of a 50km-long system of channels built around 19 BC to transport water from Uzès to Nîmes. The…

Paris, France

Château de Versailles

Amid magnificently landscaped formal gardens, this splendid and enormous palace was built in the mid-17th century during the reign of Louis XIV – the Roi…

Hôtel de Ville

Hôtel de Ville

Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

Paris’ beautiful town hall was gutted during the Paris Commune of 1871 and rebuilt in luxurious neo-Renaissance style between 1874 and 1882. The ornate…

Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Plantes

Latin Quarter

Founded in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden for Louis XIII, Paris’ 24-hectare botanic gardens – visually defined by the double alley of plane trees that…

Chapel of the Rosary, designed by Henri Matisse, in Vence.

Chapelle du Rosaire

Côte d'Azur

An ailing Henri Matisse moved to Vence in 1943 to be cared for by his former nurse and model, Monique Bourgeois, who'd since become a Dominican nun. She…

Phare de Biarritz

Phare de Biarritz

Climbing the 258 twisting steps inside the 73m-high Phare de Biarritz, the town’s 1834 lighthouse, rewards you with sweeping views of the Basque coast…

France, Alsace, Strasbourg, Petite-France, View of restaurants, taverns and framed houses

Petite France

Criss-crossed by narrow lanes, canals and locks, Petite France is where artisans plied their trades in the Middle Ages. The half-timbered houses,…

Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde

Paris spreads around you, with views of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine and along the Champs-Élysées, when you stand in the city’s largest square. Its 3300…

France, Alpes Maritimes, Nice, district of Cimiez Hill, museums and archaeological sites, thermal baths of the ancient Roman city of Cemenelum, Matisse museum in the background

Musée Matisse

This museum, 2km north of the city centre in the leafy Cimiez quarter, houses a fascinating assortment of works by Matisse, including oil paintings,…

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Best Things to Do

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Things to Know

Hints, tips, cheats and little-known intel from our France local pulled together in one digestible list.

Transportation

From bike to bus and train to plane, here's everything you need to know about getting around in France.

Visa Requirements

From visa-free travel in the Schengen Zone to working holidays, here's everything you need to know about the visa requirements for France.

Money and Costs

France is a country associated with luxury – yet it’s not hard to enjoy all its pleasures on a limited budget. If you read our guide, that is.

Best Road Trips

Hidden towns and rolling vineyards – France has it all on offer on a road trip. Explore this stunning country behind the wheel with our pick of the best.

Traveling with Kids

A Parisian break with children needn’t be a pain. Here’s our guide to traveling in France with children, whatever their age.

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Home » Marseille

Private Tours of Marseille

Private tours, free refunds & rescheduling, customizable itineraries, customized experiences in marseille, designed for you.

The second-largest city in France and also its oldest, Marseille is brimming with  gorgeous coastlines, fascinating museums and galleries , and thousands of years of history that has created a rich cultural melting pot. Join your private guide to discover an authentic taste of life in this bustling port city.

Our guided tours of Marseilles’ most famous landmarks are just the tip of the iceberg of what we can reveal to you on your private tour. We like to get amongst the people and tell the stories of what gives Marseille its unique cultural flavor as we stroll through the city’s alleys, churches, museums, cafes, and distinctive culturally diverse neighborhoods.

Our tours are completely customizable and tailored to your exact requirements  so simply get in touch letting us know how long you would like to spend on tour, whether its a couple of hours or a couple of days, and our tour advisor will begin crafting a unique custom tour itinerary to make the most of your time in the city.

What makes our private tours of Marseille so special?

Marseille is a truly enchanting and enthralling city, and to visit the city with a private guide is the ideal way to truly understand what makes it so vibrant and flourishing and how the millennia of history have helped shape its modern character.

Our local, qualified, and impeccable English-speaking guides have been selected for their unmatched experience, vast and insightful local knowledge, and their storytelling ability. Having spent the last 20 years displaying the charms of Marseille to our guests from all around the world we can assure you that you will leave your guided tour feeling a closeness and a connection to the city that simply would not be possible without an expert guide.

Moreover, our tours are totally customizable to make sure you get to experience and discover more of the things that you are passionate or curious about. If you are unsure of the best way to explore the city then your tour advisor will draft up a custom itinerary at no extra cost that can combine elements of:

  • Sightseeing & monuments
  • Walking tours of the city
  • Food & drink experiences
  • Exploring the traditional marketplaces
  • Driver-guided tours
  • Boat cruises
  • Day trips to other destinations & regions

Sites to see in Marseille with your private guide

Marseille was founded all the way back in 600 BC by ancient Greek sailors, and over the course of the following centuries, it has developed a Mediterranean culture quite distinct from the rest of France.

This is perhaps most pronounced in the city’s old town, a picturesque neighborhood just a short walk from the Vieux Port which we would describe as an essential visit for anyone seeking to understand the city and its heritage on your private tour. 

Amongst the most famous landmarks is the spectacular Notre Dame de la Garde Cathedral sitting iconically atop a hill overlooking the city and staring out to the sea. Read more about the Cathedral below and find out about the other must-see locations to include in your private tour.

Why book with Luxury France Tours?

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Meet Debbie. Owner of Luxury France Tours.

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Salut from France! I’m Debbie, founder of Luxury France Tours.

Having developed into a Francophile on a trip to the French Alps many years ago while still in school, I moved to France after a career traveling the world led to me meeting my (now) French Husband in Johannesburg. I created Luxury France Tours as a way of sharing my love of France & igniting this passion in others.

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Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard - Round Two

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How to watch paris-nice 2024: schedule and stages for cycling race.

  • NBC Sports ,

Paris-Nice, the famed eight-day cycling stage race, airs live on NBC Sports and Peacock starting Sunday.

The field includes 2022 champion Primoz Roglic of Slovenia, who changed teams from Jumbo-Visma to Bora-Hansgrohe after last season.

The 34-year-old Roglic is a three-time Vuelta a Espana winner, the reigning Giro d’Italia champion and the 2020 Tour de France runner-up. Watch for him to be a factor in the Grand Tours later this year.

The other headliner is 24-year-old Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who owns a Grand Tour title (2022 Vuelta), plus world titles in the time trial (2023) and road race (2022).

He is the youngest man to win a world title in the time trial and the second to win both the road race and time trial in a career.

Notable Americans entered include Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates and Matteo Jorgenson of Visma.

2024 Paris-Nice Live Broadcast Schedule

*CNBC coverage also streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app for subscribers.

Christian Meier: From Tour de France grinder to ultra-running winner

  • Published 3 days ago

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Meier en route to victory in the prestigious TDS race in France in August

Sign up for notifications to the latest Insight features via the BBC Sport app and find the latest in the series here.

It is early spring 2021 in Girona, Spain in the middle of yet another Covid-19 lockdown.

Exercise is permitted, but only in the local municipality.

A recent retiree is, like millions of people all over the globe, taking his first steps into running in a bid to break the boredom.

He's been riding his bike locally but is fed up with just pedalling "around the block".

Within minutes of pulling on his trainers and leaving his apartment, he is aiming for the foothills of the Pyrenees.

And here's where his story diverges from the typical lockdown tale of two-footed trudging.

Rather than struggle, the Canadian is relishing the moment, recognising a familiar power and strength in his legs as the trail climbs upwards and the mountains beckon beyond.

Christian Meier on the front of the peloton during a Tour de France stage

Meier rode the 2014 Tour de France in support of Orica-GreenEdge's Australian lead Simon Gerrans

Christian Meier first felt that strength nearly 20 years earlier in Canada.

Growing up, he was a keen mountain biker. Living in the shadow of the Appalachians, he would head to the hills on two wheels, rather than two feet.

In the mid-2000s, he crossed the Atlantic and switched disciplines; moving to Europe to pursue a career in professional road cycling.

Meier was to race as a professional for more than 10 years, riding all three Grand Tours including the Tour de France, and becoming well known as a reliable domestique for a number of World Tour teams, latterly the Australian outfit GreenEdge.

The role of a domestique is to ride in service of others: to deliver the stars to the finish line in the best condition and position to sparkle.

Meier was not only good at it, but he also enjoyed the selflessness anonymity of riding for the good of his team leader rather than for himself. He wasn't in it for victories.

"I wanted to be a domestique," he says. "I just wanted to ride on the front, ride for a sprinter or pull on the climbs."

He also relished the 'flow state' of endurance exercise - the feeling of being able to simply exist, in a state just below your physical limits.

"I don't think I don't necessarily like the word suffering," he says.

"When people say you go out there and you just suffer all day, I think that's kind of misunderstood.

"When I'm in my zone and out there doing my thing, in that context, suffering is actually not a good thing. I shouldn't be suffering; I should be in control.

"I really enjoyed being in that zone. Each moment of flow is quite addictive because it's such an incredible place to be. You are just in the moment, just focusing on what you're doing right now."

Christian Meier leans against a car, with his bike on the ground next to him, after riding in the Tour de France

Meier's cycling career began in mountain biking before he switched to the road, reaching the pinnacle of the sport by riding in the Tour de France

Fast forward to a warm, sunny day in early 2024 and Meier is back in his happy place, tapping out kilometres on the front of a group of athletes heading uphill.

He looks completely at home on the move. His relaxed face belies the physical exertion he is putting his followers through.

It all sounds very familiar, but there's one crucial difference: Meier is not leading out a cycling peloton. Rather, it is a group of trail runners, heading up into the Girona hills.

From the beginning of his lockdown journey, Meier knew he was on to something - something new that had sprung from the old.

"Straight away there was this satisfaction of running uphill pretty well," he said.

"From doing so much cycling, there were instantly things that I was good at.

"Going uphill, that was just power, and I was good at that.

"Spain had a pretty hardcore lockdown when we were first allowed out to exercise; you had to stay within the municipality. It didn't make sense to even go riding. But you had the hills to go running in.

"Running meant you could have a good workout and not get bored riding around the same block.

"When I first started running, did I really think I'd get to the point of being a professional athlete again? Probably not.

"But following your heart, the evolution, and really loving it, loving the training again…it became a snowball that kept going."

By his own admission Meier was not a winner on the bike.

But in the summer of 2023, only two years after his first steps proper on two trail-running feet, he won the prestigious TDS race in Chamonix.

It's a 150km race from Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix, France, which starts at midnight and has more than 9,000m of climbing. Last summer's race, despite being run in June, featured snow and poor visibility, forcing the organisers to add eight kilometres to the route on safety grounds.

It is contested in the same week as the most famous trail running race of all - the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc - and, in terms of prestige, is considered just one rung below.

Given many of his peers have been racing the trails for more than a decade, Meier sent shockwaves through the sport with his victory.

Christian Meier on a training run

Meier's ultra-running is just part of his post-cycling career, having opened a coffee shop and founded a clothing brand

Meier is back from leading his Girona group run now and is busy making a drink.

We're supposed to be discussing his running career but instead we're talking coffee.

The brew is delicious. It illustrates a part of Meier's character that has been integral to his burgeoning new career in trail running.

Meier loves to "geek out" on new things and is therefore fastidiously making drinks inside the first of two coffee shops that he owns and runs with his wife in Girona. He was still racing professionally when they set up the business in 2015.

He quit cycling a year later, aged just 31, in a sport where riders can continue into their forties. Despite having a year to run on a lucrative professional contract, coffee and entrepreneurship was his new obsession.

"It got to the point in cycling where I started to feel like I was doing the same races, and getting too comfortable," he said then.

"l felt like I was no longer growing. At the same time, with coffee, everything was so new and so young and there was huge scope for me to grow and move forward."

Speaking now, he adds: "I think it's that Buddhist concept of just having a child's mind more in your life. A child's mind is full of curiosity; it has not yet had things imposed about what you can and can't do.

"As a child, your imagination is: 'I want to go to the moon'. But most people maybe pick something easier to do, you know?

"But I just have a mindset of firstly being a little naive and then, just going for it.

"Sometimes being naive helps you make those steps and then you figure out the roadblocks as you go."

Meier's running roadblocks were twofold.

His first issue was injury. In cardiovascular terms, he was in incredible shape to make the transition, with a huge capacity to absorb oxygen, lactic and pain.

But his body was underdeveloped for the demands that were now being placed on different muscle groups. The impact of sole hitting soil in his new sport caused Meier to break down on multiple occasions.

"When I started running, most of my life had been doing endurance sport. The cardio side of things is very transferable," he says. "But from a muscular standpoint, it was terrible. I had so many injuries early on. I took a long time to adapt.

"Road cyclists are just weaklings to be honest."

He also struggled to cope when the trails weren't following an upward incline.

Meier's entrepreneurship has extended to a sustainable clothing brand. He says his co-founder - an English businessman called Tom Austen, without any professional sporting pedigree - would "smash" him on their training runs if the terrain was right.

"I'd go running on the flat and people would just drop me," Meier says.

"We were doing 10km time trials and Tom was beating me by 40 seconds.

"Tom was fit, but I'm definitely fitter. But he was smashing me on the flat. I realised I've got so much to learn."

Typically, Meier leaned into the learning.

"I was reading, reading and reading about the sport, watching YouTube videos and doing whatever I could," he says.

"I just wanted to absorb as much information as I could about this new thing."

Meier coaches himself and is studying for his coaching badges. While he has discovered there is common ground between his new sport and cycling physiologically, tactically there is less.

"There's not a lot of cunning about: How am I going to win today?" Meier says of his trail-running strategy.

"Essentially you just need to be as fit as possible. You show up and you run your strategy. That's how ultrarunning works.

"If you see someone and they're struggling a bit on the descent, maybe you push a bit there - but it's not like cycling, where you might sit in the wheel all day."

There is less cunning and still plenty of that child-like naivety.

"My first big race was 50 kilometres and I remember just thinking, man alive, I'm going to run 50 kilometres," he remembers. "It felt insane. Then thinking about running 100 miles on foot in the mountains - the feeling of that is just wild. For a lot of people a 100-mile bike ride is a big ride.

"I didn't ride bikes to win. So winning the TDS was definitely the highlight of my sporting career for sure.

"To win… it felt more like a dream."

Christian Meier while running in the TDS race at UTMB

Meier's sporting career started in the mountains, where he has since returned on two feet, rather than two wheels

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Reaching the South Pole on foot: tougher than competing in eight Tours de France in a row

More than a century after robert falcon scott’s death, the physiological challenge necessary to follow in the pioneers’ footsteps remains as mysterious as it is complex.

Expedición del capitán Scott

Robert Falcon Scott is to the South Pole what Raymond Poulidor is to the Tour de France: the “eternal second.” This is how history remembers him, and it has not forgiven him, despite he and the men he dragged along with him dying in the effort in 1912. His critics say that his planning for the Antarctic trip was disastrous, and what should have been a moment of pride for the British Empire led to a surprising Norwegian success, and Roald Amundsen unintentionally exposed all the shortcomings of Scott’s team.

However, seen from the current perspective of two physiologists and researchers, two stalwarts of the study of metabolism, Adrián Castillo and Aitor Viribay, what Scott and his team did is possibly the greatest physiological feat ever carried out. Scott was many things, but not an athlete in the modern sense of the term. Viribay, who is in charge of the nutrition of the INEOS team cyclists, is congratulated if a cyclist manages to finish the Tour de France at the same weight that he started it. Scott, who was of average weight, lost 88 pounds during the five months of his round trip to the South Pole. So the analogy may be accurate. Scott’s trip was much more demanding than competing in eight Tours de France in a row without a day’s rest. But why is that?

“There are factors that make this expedition unique, especially if we compare them with feats of sporting performance such as the Tour. Currently, most scientists whose focus is on the limits of metabolism point to the French race as the paradigm of the maximum energy expenditure that a human can sustain over a period of many days. We are talking about between 6,000-7,000 kcal daily, some even more, reaching 10,000, for 21 days. The difference is that cyclists consume a large number of calories before, during, and after each stage. In fact, and Viribay is a world expert in this. One of the big differences that is currently being seen in the performance of cyclists is that the limit of how much they can eat is being pushed ever forward. Every day they recover what they expended on each stage. In addition, they rest for about 14 or 16 hours between stages, in comfortable hotels, in temperatures that do not put their lives at risk,” explains Adrián Castillo.

Explorers at the beginning of the 20th century endured temperatures of up to 40 degrees below zero (coincidentally this is where Celsius and Fahrenheit coincide), terrible katabatic winds, in addition to walking on a frozen desert. The English wore wool suits, less effective than the furs worn by the Norwegians, which they imitated from Arctic tribespeople.

On the Terra Nova expedition, Scott and his team dragged all the material and food they had to eat themselves. That means they pulled sleds weighing about 220 pounds each. On the other hand, Amundsen’s team moved on skis and had efficient dogs to pull the loads. Scott chose horses and a kind of motorized sled. The animals sank hopelessly in the snow and soon died, while the mechanical traction quickly stopped working, forcing the team to advance on foot, loaded like mules.

“As they miscalculated the amount of food, they had daily deficits of between 1,500 and 2,400 kcal. They burned off much more than they consumed. All that in a unique environment: Antarctica is the highest continent on the planet. The Antarctic plateau is on average of 9,800 feet above sea level and has peaks of 13,000 feet. The lack of oxygen at these altitudes causes hypoxia in the body. This hypoxia is what cyclists undergo in their preparation camps, which last one or two weeks. At such altitudes, energy demands multiply. The body wastes away. It took Scott and his team five months to travel nearly 1,500 miles! But, above all, they were affected by the extreme cold , to which humans can never adapt and which burns a lot of calories. Extreme cold, altitude, and energy deficit cause the body to gradually waste away,” Castillo summarizes.

Overall, the Norwegians’ energy efficiency was higher. Scott and his men were subjected to a death spiral. A cyclist would have abandoned the race, but the explorers carried on in a brutal flight forward... without coldly considering that once they reached the South Pole they had to return. “It’s a Catch-22. You have to move so as not to die from the cold. To do so you need to eat a lot, and to eat a lot you need to carry very heavy sleds, and to carry very heavy sleds, you have to burn… anguish,” summarizes Viribay.

Scott and his four men reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, to find that Amundsen had gotten there five weeks earlier. Just a month later, during the return trip that Scott predicted would be “terribly exhausting and monotonous,” Edgar Evans died. His body just shut down. Lawrence Oates held out for another month, but when he could no longer walk, afflicted by an old war wound, he left the store and walked far enough away to let himself freeze to death. His last words were these: “I’m going to go outside and maybe for a while.”

Scott, Henry Bowers, and Edward Wilson would still manage to advance 18 miles more until they were just 12 miles from a food depot. By now, they should have received help from an English team that was to bring dog sleds and food from the coast. Such a meeting never took place, due to a new administrative error.

Captain Robert F. Scott's expedition base camp

Eight months later, they found the three bodies. It is presumed that Scott was the last to die. His body had wasted away. “Our brain is the organ in charge of distributing energy reserves. If we can eat enough and there is a balance between intake and expenditure, the brain distributes energy to all our organs, maintaining what is known as physiological balance or homeostasis. The problem lies when the energy expenditure (in Scott’s case from physical activity, cold, and altitude) is so excessive that we do not sufficiently satisfy the energy demands that the organs need to fulfill their vital functions. The brain distributes this energy, and when it sees that there is little left, it begins to shut systems down in order to save energy. It is a defense mechanism. Even if we want to increase activity, the brain puts obstacles in the way because it estimates that if expenditure increases, the remaining energy may not be enough to keep the body alive. It’s a domino effect. The body enters a kind of hibernation. A as it loses weight, the organs gradually stop functioning. It consumes itself,” explains Castillo.

The Englishmen’s daily ration in Antarctica was based on Pemmican (a type of energy bar composed of dried berries, pulverized dried meat, and fats), butter, biscuits, sugar, chocolate, cereal, raisins, and cocoa (about 4,200 kcal), but it provided a higher proportion of protein than necessary: “In Scott’s case, surely a readjustment in macronutrients, with an increase in carbohydrates and fats, that increased calories, could have stopped the decline. However, energy intake limits also seem to put a brake (we still don’t really know which one) on the ability to eat very high calorie food for such a long time. Is it possible to eat more than 6,000 calories every day? Even today we do not know the answer, but there does seem to be a food limit,” says Viribay.

In the Race Across America, runners cross the United States from California to Washington D.C., running the equivalent of six marathons a week for approximately 20 weeks: “This challenge shows how energy expenditure readjusts to prolonged demands. A study that measured these athletes saw that at the beginning of the race the runners spent about 6,200 kcal daily. However, towards the end of the 20 weeks, this expenditure decreased to about 5,300 kcal per day. They couldn’t sustain such high expenditure for so long. Even if energy is available, it seems that the body readjusts to reduce its metabolic rate. Humans cannot expend unlimited energy,” explains Adrián Castillo.

More than a century after the death of Scott and his men, reaching the South Pole on foot and returning alive remains a near impossible challenge. It is a sporting and physiological feat of such magnitude that racing in the Tour or climbing Everest seem, in comparison, mere entertainment.

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The world's most Googled chefs aren't those with the most Michelin stars

While connoisseurs of fine French dining will be looking out for the announcements hailing from the Michelin Guide France 2024 ceremony set for March 18 in the French city of Tours, a new comparative study shows that a chef's popularity in terms of Google searches is not proportional to the number of stars they hold.

The British chef Jamie Oliver is the world's 2nd most popular chef in terms of annual Google searches.

(Copyright: VALERY HACHE / AFP)

In the world of the Michelin Guide, stars can make and break reputations. In France, the inspectors' choices are closely scrutinized and always foster a great deal of anticipation -- and just as much anxiety -- when the ceremony announcing the new list approaches, as is the case for the March 18 event in Tours. In many respects, the ceremony is viewed as the highlight of the year in the world of French gastronomy, even if you don't necessarily share Michelin's assessments or the Guide's way of doing things.

However, stars are not proportional to a chef's popularity when the spectrum is broadened to global level. Looking at Google, and the searches conducted by internet users over the last 12 months, as a means of measuring a chef's popularity, it turns out that it's not the most Michelin-starred names that come out on top. And yet, the data set comprises a sample of 1,700 chefs selected by the platformExplore Worldwide.

In Europe as a whole, Scotland's Gordon Ramsay takes first place for popularity, with some 12 million searches last year. The media-savvy chef with the famous temper has three Michelin stars for his London restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, two for his collaboration with the Pressoir d'Argent at the Intercontinental in Bordeaux, and one for his restaurant at the Trianon Palace in Versailles. However,Gordon Ramsayis not the world's most-starred chef. He has a total of seven stars, compared with 20 for the master of the genre, Alain Ducasse.

The great chef from Castel-Sarrazin, who has held Monegasque nationality since 2008, only ranks seventh among Europe's most Googled chefs. In fact, despite the legendary status of French cuisine, it's three chefs from the UK who monopolize the podium. In fact, the top 10 counts six UK chefs! And the second name in this European ranking -- none other than Jamie Oliver -- doesn't hold a single Michelin star, despite being the subject of 4.4 million Google searches last year, compared with 1 million for Alain Ducasse. On a global scale, the great chef ranks 12th, while Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are the world's two most popular chefs.

Europe's Top 10 most Googled chefs:

Gordon Ramsay (12,000,000)

Jamie Oliver (4,416,000)

Nigella Lawson (2,952,000)

Giada De Laurentiis (1,980,000)

Gino D'Acampo (1,620,000)

Wolfgang Puck (1,320,000)

Alain Ducasse (1,086,000)

Heston Blumenthal (726,000)

Ainsley Harriott (594,000)

Marcus Wareing (486,000)

In Asia, it's Singapore-based chef Tariq Helou, known for fusing French and Japanese flavors, who takes the title of most-searched chef with 1,620,000 searches followed byVicky Lauof China with 1,320,000 searches. Nigerian chefHilda Baci, who set a record for cooking for four days, is the most-searched chef in the African continent (1,320,000). In the US, it's popular restaurateur and celebrity TV chef Guy Fieri (4,416,000) who has generated the most interest on the web, followed by Bobby Flay (1,980,000).

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COMMENTS

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    A tour of France is a must for all travelers. Dates & length Places Filters. 250+ France tour packages with 1,343 reviews Save and compare this adventure. View Map . In-depth Cultural ; Family ; Coach / Bus ... Driver & Tour Guide the absolute best Both people a real asset to Tourradar / ParisCity Vision. Places visited were varied, thus well ...

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    Be amazed by Mont St. Michel on the Normandy coast. Early in the 8th century, a soaring church was built on the island of Mont St. Michel found along France's Normandy Coast. With monasteries and fortifications added during medieval times, Mont St. Michel is a highlight of our tour to France.

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    Our private tour experiences & driver-guided excursions are the perfect way to experience your vacation in France. From the urban chic of Paris, the city of Love, to picturesque villages, wine estates, and alpine ranges, our guided tours across the various regions of France enables you to walk in the footsteps of influential philosophers, artists, and historical figures on your French tour.

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    London & Paris featuring New Year's Eve in Paris. Tour Rating: From $3,999 pp. Tour France with Collette and travel to scenic valleys and seaside towns, or take a trip to the timeless city of Paris to enjoy gastronomical delights.

  13. Best of Paris in 7 Days Tour

    from $2,495 per person + air. Single Supplement $775. See Dates & Prices. Paris is synonymous with the finest things that culture can offer — in art, fashion, food, literature, and ideas. On this tour, your Paris-savvy Rick Steves guide will immerse you in the very best of the City of Light: the masterpiece-packed Louvre and Orsay museums ...

  14. Paris Tours with Local Private Tour Guides

    Here is a selection of the best guided tours in Paris; 1) Paris By Day or Night Private Guided Tour With Private Driver. 2) Highlights and Secrets of the Louvre. 3) Orsay Museum Private Tour. 4) A Taste of Paris - Walking Tour.

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    Les guides officiels du ministère de la Culture et du Tourisme vous souhaitent la bienvenue en France. Réservez votre visite guidée ou votre tour privé avec un guide touristique professionnel 24h/24 et 7j/7 ! Tous nos guides sont des officiels engagés pour un tourisme durable et éco-responsable désireux de vous offrir la meilleure ...

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  17. France Travel Guide by Rick Steves

    France is Europe's most diverse, tasty, and, in many ways, most exciting country to explore. Romantic hill towns and castles, meandering river valleys, and oceans of vineyards carpet this country's landscape. France remains at the forefront of technology, architecture, fashion, and cuisine. A delightful blend of natural and man-made beauty, France offers chandeliered châteaux, forever ...

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    Book tours and activities; See all Planning. Stories. Lonely Planet Newsletter. Featured. Adventure Travel; Art and Culture; Beaches, Coasts and Islands; Family Holidays; ... a complete travel guide to France's host cities. Aug 28, 2023 • 11 min read. Food and Drink. A new culinary trail puts you at the center of French gastronomy. Aug 11 ...

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    A tourist guide shows a book on Paris during a boat tour of the river Seine in Paris. Photo: Jean Pierre Muller/AFP Millions of visitors come to all corners of France each year and many of them ...

  24. How to watch Paris-Nice 2024: Schedule and stages for cycling race

    The 34-year-old Roglic is a three-time Vuelta a Espana winner, the reigning Giro d'Italia champion and the 2020 Tour de France runner-up. Watch for him to be a factor in the Grand Tours later this year.

  25. 2024 mid-year rugby union tests

    Argentina-France test series — TBD: Australia-Wales test series — TBD: Japan-Māori All Blacks series — TBD: New Zealand-England test series — TBD: South Africa-Ireland test series — TBD: Tours. Team Tour Opponents

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    Meier rode the 2014 Tour de France in support of Orica-GreenEdge's Australian lead Simon Gerrans Christian Meier first felt that strength nearly 20 years earlier in Canada. Growing up, he was a ...

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    Scott's trip was much more demanding than competing in eight Tours de France in a row without a day's rest. But why is that? "There are factors that make this expedition unique, especially if we compare them with feats of sporting performance such as the Tour. Currently, most scientists whose focus is on the limits of metabolism point to ...

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    While connoisseurs of fine French dining will be looking out for the announcements hailing from the Michelin Guide France 2024 ceremony set for March 18 in the French city of Tours, a new ...