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France - an enchanted land where the heritage of a great past happily meets the art of good living. The scents and sights and leisurely pace of this warm and welcoming land are best appreciated by bicycle or by foot! Guided Walking Tours With 300 days of sunshine per year, fertile soil, fragrant herbs, a fascinating history and unusual clear light Provence extends an invitation to our senses! Our easy paced walking tour starts Sunday afternoon in Avignon with a transfer to “Pont du Gard”, a 2000 year old, beautifully preserved aqueduct, one of the wonders of the Ancient World and a “must see” in Provence. Later we’ll shuttle to our tastefully decorated hotel close to the center of Saint Rémy. We’ll enjoy the charming squares, dappled plane trees, fountains, galleries and shops that rightfully have earned Saint Rémy its appellation as “the essence of Provence”. Here we’ll visit the psychiatric hospital where Van Gogh was a patient for a year. Later we’ll walk up in his cherished mountains, with spectacular views all around. There is also time for an optional visit to the nearby Roman village of Glanum and Saint Rémy’s famous open-air market. From Saint Rémy we walk through “Les Alpilles”, the close-by mountain range, to Les Baux, classified as “one of the most beautiful villages in France”. The enchanting village of Les Baux is situated on a bare rock spur with dramatic vertical cliffs and marvelous views on the adjacent mountains and valleys below. Next we walk in Fontaine de Vaucluse, the captivating "enclosed valley" with its surging, green spring water, extolled by the poet Petrach who lived here for 16 years, seeking peace in the tranquil Sorgue River Valley. Our delightful day will conclude with a walk through wonderful Roussillon and its incredibly brilliant Ochre Mines whose vivid red and yellow hues make it a photographer's paradise. |
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In Gordes, perched high on a chalk hill and another one of the "most beautiful villages in France", we'll reside for the last three nights of our tour in a luxury hotel where each bedroom is charmingly unique. We'll walk from Gordes to the 12th century Sénanque Abbey and the unusual "Village des Bories", a fascinating collection of 200 year old stone bories or huts. On our concluding day we'll make a thrilling walk in the Grand Luberon Nature Park before a stop in charming Bonnieux for our last Provencal lunch and stroll through its steeply terraced streets! Dip in the pool before your final gourmet meal in our hotel's restaurant! Included: 2012 Tour Dates: May 27
– June
2 and Sept. 30 – Oct. 6 Daily Distance: 4 – 8 miles or 2 – 4 hours
Self-Guided Walking Tours Our Loire Valley Independent Walking Tours allows you to explore the incredible "Garden of France" at your own pace, as a couple or with friends (no guide but detailed route descriptions and local maps). There is time to stop and admire the stately elegance of centuries-old châteaux, always assured that your room is waiting for you at the end of each day. The region is hilly but there are no prolonged ascents or descents and very few steep gradients. Tours are offered from March 1 to November 1. Your luggage is transported from hotel to hotel. Sometimes a taxi is used to bring you to the beginning point of a walk. The tour price is based on a minimum of two persons per tour. This year we offer two tours in the Loire Valley. Tours to Saumur Your 8 day / 7 night walking vacation begins in Tours, easily reached by TGV from Paris. Lodgings are in charming and comfortable three-star hotels, all having rooms with private facilities. All breakfasts and 4 dinners are included in the tour price. Daily walking distances vary between 6 and 11 miles. Day 1: Arrival in Tours Visit this lively, flower-filled, university city on the River Loire with its fascinating medieval quarters and the famous “Place Pumereau” and its amazingly well preserved half timbered houses. Day 2: Villandry to Azay-le-Rideau Transfer by taxi to the famous Gardens of the Château de Villandry, the most beautiful formal garden in all of France. Then walk through radiant rural countryside and fields of sunflowers to the village of Azay-le Rideau where the beautiful Chateau Azay-le-Rideau, the “Pearl of the Loire Valley”, is nestled magnificently along the river.
Day 3: Rigny Ussé to Chinon Transfer by taxi to the “Sleeping Beauty” chateau in Ussé. Then walk through the peaceful Chinon Forest to the picturesque medieval wine city of Chinon on the Border of the Vienne River. Day 4: Chinon Today you can enjoy a rest day in charming Chinon or walk through the surrounding vineyards and visit a few of the numerous “caves” to sample some of this area’s wonderful wines. Day 5: Chinon to Fontevraud Walk along the lovely Vienne River to Fontevraud, well known for its amazing abbey and the burial site of Richard the Lionhearted and other members of the Plantagenet family. Day 6: Fontevraud – Montsoreau Another day of beautiful walking to Montsoreau, a charming village on the River Loire where you can visit some fascinating troglodytes caves, once part of a quarry but now used for mushroom production. Overnight in Fontevraud. Day 7: Turquant to Saumur Transfer by taxi to Turquant from where you walk through the Saumur vineyards to Saumur, with its glorious fortified chateau located high on a spur of the tall cliff above the River Loire. A great city to be in at the end of this wonderful walking tour. Day 8: Departure from Saumur 2012 Tour Price: $1115
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