09:30 Meet your hosts Alison and Sidney at Charles de Gaulle Airport. We will make our way to Normandy where we begin our Culinary Tour de France in the picturesque village of Camembert.

Camembert is a soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow’s milk cheese, it is a true symbol of France. In just 2 centuries it has become so familiar to us that it is now considered part of our national gastronomic heritage. A local speciality that is also very popular beyond our borders, it is paradoxically the epitome of French refinement. In 1791 during the French revolution and just a short distance from here in Beaumoncel manor, Camembert was born out of an encounter between a cantankerous priest and Marie Harel – a farmer living in the Auge. In the heart of the village of Camembert a late 18th / early 19th century building has been restored to become home to the Maison de Camembert. It offers a showcase for the most emblematic of French cheeses and pays tribute to Marie Harel in the historic place in which this great saga began.

13.00 This afternoon we visit a dairy farm that is still producing raw-milk, ladle-moulded Camembert cheese traditionally in the village of Camembert.

We leave Camembert and head to Victot Pontful on the Route de Cider.

16.00 Here we visit a family domaine of over 30 hectares where they have been making Normandy’s famous Cider, Pommeau and Calvados for many years.

We will enjoy a tour of the Estate unveiling the secrets of the transformation of apples into Calvados, followed by a tasting paired with local cheese, charcuterie and patisseries where you will be able to appreciate the richness of the Pays d’Auge.

We will make our way further up to the coast where we will check into our charming guesthouse in the picturesque town of Bayeux.

20.00 Tonight we will enjoy dinner close to our guesthouse in a charming French creperie on a sunny quiet terrace next to the river.

9.00 After breakfast we go to visit the Omaha Beach, one of the Normandy landing beaches during the Second World War.

Omaha Beach was the most intensely fought after beach on D-Day on June 6th 1944. Omaha Beach was six miles wide – the largest of all the five beaches. The whole of the beach at Omaha was overlooked by cliffs which made attacking the area very difficult. The Americans were given the task of doing just this. Many of the soldiers were drowned during the approach from ships offshore or were killed by defending fire from German troops placed on heights surrounding the beach. By nightfall, the Americans had gained a hold on the beach and its immediate hinterland. The Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha – and this is principally why the attack is remembered. It is easy to overlook the fact that despite the casualties, 34,000 troops had been landed by the end of the day on this blooded beach.

We will also visit the The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944

This is the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

After enjoying a picnic overlooking the beach, we will be spending our afternoon at the renowned Mont Saint Michel where you will be free to explore the island.

The Mont Saint Michel is one of Europe’s most unforgettable sights. Set in the mesmerising bay where Normandy and Brittany merge, the island draws the eye from great distances. The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times and since the 8th century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. It is listed as an World Heritage Site.

Dinner is for your own account, we will meet and leave the Mont Saint Michel at 21.00.

8.00 After an early breakfast we leave for le Calabash, Alison and Sidney’s cooking school set in the Loire Valley, the heart of France’s finest food region. You will enjoy hands-on cooking classes with award-winning chefs in a pleasant and peaceful hamlet.

12.00 We arrive in the Loire Valley by noon and we will enjoy a light brasserie type lunch in our local restaurant
This afternoon you will master Soufflés, a culinary specialty known for their lightness.
• Soufflé au fromage
• Soufflé au Citron

You will also learn how to master one of le Calabash’s renowned Ice creams.

Settle into your hotel in the quaint spa town of La Roche Posay a unique place to stay surrounded by a rose garden and a spacious terrace overlooking the pretty square.

20.00 Dinner at Le Calabash

Early Morning we depart for Tours Market, one of the finest in France.

We visit Tours best bakery to choose our breakfast pastries which we will enjoy in a little market coffee shop.

This morning we explore both the indoor ‘Les Halles Food Market’ and the twice weekly outdoor market.
We visit the old town which clusters around place Plumereau; its old houses restored to their former glory. Today this is the place for pavement cafes and people watching in the summer but stroll the smaller, narrow streets like rue Briconnet and you step back into the historic medieval city. To the south you’ll find a Romanesque basilica, the Cloitre de St-Martin and the new Basilique de St-Martin. You’re in the place which was once on the great pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. St-Martin was a soldier who became bishop of Tours in the 4th century and helped spread Christianity through France. His remains, rediscovered in 1860, are now in the crypt of the new Basilique.
The other old part, the cathedral quarter, on the other side of the main Rue Nationale, is dominated by the Cathédrale St-Gatien, a flamboyant Gothic building with 12th-century decorated stonework covering the outside. Inside the highlights are the 16th-century tomb of Charles VIII and Anne de Bretagne’s two children, and the stained glass.

Lunch Today we enjoy a traditional French lunch at le Calabash, prepared by Alison.
14.00 Alison will share with you her passion for creating and preparing one of the world’s most sought-after classics, the Macaron, on which she has put her own stamp.
• Millionaires Chocolate Macaron
• Seasonal Macaron Creation

19.30 Tonight you dine with the Bond’s friend, Michelin Starred, Jacky Dallais at the renowned Promenade Restaurant in le Petit Pressigny
Menu with wine pairing

Traditional French Breakfast

8.30 This morning Sidney will share with you traditional French Bouchon dishes.

12.00 We enjoy one of these delicious dishes for lunch.

13.00 We Depart for Chateau Chenonceau where you have the morning to explore
Chenonceau at your leisure

Property of the Crown, then royal residence, Chenonceau Castle is an exceptional site not only because of its original design, the richness of its collections, its furniture and its decorations, but also because of its destiny, since it was loved, administrated and protected by women, who were all extraordinary and who, for the most part have marked history. For the historical background, the “Château des Dames” was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, and successively embellished by Diane de Poitiers then Catherine de Medici. Chenonceau was protected from the hardship of the revolution by Madame Dupin.

16.30 We depart to visit Vouvray one of France’s finest white wine and sparkling wine areas where you will be taken on a guided tour of 3km of wine caves, holding on average 4 million bottles of wine, petillant and sparkling wine. You will be given an in-depth tour of the production and bottling plant and then return for a wine tasting.

19.30 Tonight we will have a chocolate and wine pairing followed by the Art of Paella, by ‘le Calabash’

Chocolate is the confectionery match to wine. Perhaps this is because the process of making chocolate is very similar to wine. Both cocoa beans and wine are fermented with the very same type of yeast. No wonder there are so many wine and chocolate lovers!
Paella is a Valencian-Catalan word which derives from the Old French word paelle for pan, which in turn comes from the Latin word patella for pan as well. Valencian paella is believed to be the original recipe and consists of calasparra rice, green vegetables, chicken and rabbit, land snails, beans and seasoning as saffron, rosemary and occasionally lemon.

8.30 We depart after breakfast and drive to Saint Emilion

13.00 Lunch in St Emilion for your own account

Saint-Émilion’s history goes back to prehistoric times and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine. The town was named after the monk Émilion, a travelling confessor, who settled in a hermitage carved into the rock there in the 8th century. It was the monks who followed him that started up the commercial wine production in the area.

We take a stroll through the streets of Saint-Emilion’s World Heritage town.
We head to our hotel driving through the impressive vineyards to the beautiful city of Bordeaux.

Tonight, you will be free to explore the city and make your own plans for the evening. Of course, we will be on hand to help you with your restaurant choices.

8.30 After Breakfast we set off on a gourmet trail through the vineyards.
During the day we discover the Chateaux and taste their wines and enjoy a picnic lunch in the vineyards driving through one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world.

21:30 Tonight we enjoy dinner at the brasserie Le Quatrième Mur.
Menu with wine pairing

In the very heart of the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Michelin Star and Celebrity Chef Philippe Etchebest has opened his chic and contemporary brasserie “Le Quatrieme Mur”.
True to his values of sharing the Menu reflects his uninhibited, generous and elaborate cuisine.

8.00 After breakfast we head to the medieval town of Carcassonne.

Occupied since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between two great axes of circulation linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Romans who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire and was later taken over in the fifth century by the Visigoths who founded the city.Also thriving as a trading post due to its location, it saw many rulers who successively built up its fortifications, until its military significance was greatly reduced by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

You have the afternoon to discover this beautiful town, before heading off to Avignon in Provence.

Lunch is for your own account, you could choose to enjoy Cassoulet, one of the dishes the area is famous for. Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically pork sausages, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin and white beans. The dish is named after its traditional cooking vessel, the cassole, a deep, round, earthenware pot with slanting sides.The region once known as the province of Languedoc is the traditional homeland of cassoulet, especially the towns of Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary, the town which claims to be where the dish originated.
We check into our hotel on arrival.

19:30 Alison and Sidney take you out to dinner to a traditional French restaurant, with a pretty courtyard of majestic centennial trees, in the centre of the City of the Popes.

9.00 This morning you are free to go back through history in the medieval town of Avignon which is known as a World Heritage Site. Discover the ‘’Palais de Papes’’ from the 12th Century, the Cathedral of Avignon and the famous ‘’Pont d’Avignon’’.

12.00 We meet before lunch and visit a producer of local Olive Oil where we will enjoy a lunch on the terrace under the Provençale sun.

The Olive Oil Mill of the Chartreuse is one of the oldest in France. It was created in 1358 by the Cartesian Order with the benediction of Pope Innocent VI. In 2009, the buildings housing the Olive Oil Mill were listed with the Historic Monuments of France. In 2008, the Bronzini family took over the Olive Oil Mill and worked at furthering the quality of its traditional production. For this, they have been granted several awards, such a gold medal for products of excellence and a silver medal. In 2010, Philippe Bronzini undertook considerable restoration work in order to enhance the historical parts of the building.

We leave this historical town and make our way to ‘’Nice la Belle’’, The Beautiful city of Nice.

We check into our hotel and freshen up before taking a stroll along the outstanding Mediterranean seafront on the Promenade des Anglais with its many bars and restaurants and of course the famous Moules et Frites.

Dinner is for your own account tonight

9:30 After breakfast we will take a walk through the Niçoise markets.

13.00 We enjoy a delicious lunch in the heart of Nice.

The rest of the day and evening you are free to stroll around the city, do some shopping, have a drink on the famous Promenade des Anglais or simply relax and enjoy the beach.
This evening you can make your own plans for dinner, we will of course give you any advice you need.

Dinner is for your own account tonight.

Today you have the whole day to yourself to relax and enjoy Nice.

With its mix of real-city grit, old-world opulence, year-round sunshine and stunning seaside location, Nice is the unofficial capital of the Côte d’Azur, and a must-see for every visitor. A magnet for sunseekers and high-rollers since the 19th century, this bewitching coastal city has so much going for it, it’s almost embarrassing – fabulous markets, an enticing old town, glorious architecture and a wealth of super restaurants. Places of interest are La Promenade des Anglais, which takes you all the way down the beach front, you can stop have a drink or go and lie on the beach. It is possible to book a lounger on the hotel’s private beach, this must be done the day before. You can visit the Palais Masséna, which tells the Nice story from Napoleon through to the mid-20th century. You could take a stroll through the old town or better known as the “Vieux Nice”, the market also takes place in this area “Le Cours Saleya”. Filled with bars, coffee shops, small restaurants, boutiques, souvenir shops… Nice also has a few museums such as the Musée Chagall or the Musée Matisse. Nice is also home to gorgeous monuments and buildings, all over the city, in the old town, one of the hotspots would be the Russian Cathedral, it is the most visited monument in Nice, the cathedral’s interior “symbolises the universe returned to its initial beauty through the grace of the Risen Christ”. This was clearly an initial universe as conceived for Russian tastes – very gold, shiny, studded with jewels and other treasures brought from Russia.

19.30 We meet and take you to enjoy dinner in a Michelin star restaurant

Menu with wine pairing

Ten years ago, Elise and Mickaël Gracieux opened their restaurant in Nice. In 2010 they were awarded a michelin star, creating dishes that are “a delight for the senses”.
L’Aromate offers a modern, creative cuisine, made from fresh local produce.

8:00 An early start for breakfast after which we depart for one of France’s major cities for French cuisine, Lyon.

We head to Tain l’Hermitage and le Cité du Chocolat home to the best chocolate in the world, Valrhona.

12.30 Lunch in local bistro.

Located on the site of Valrhona’s historic chocolate factory, the Cité takes the general public and professionals on a behind-the-scenes exploration of Fine Chocolate.
During a mouth-watering, eye-opening trail through the heart of the Cité, you will discover all the secrets of how chocolate is made, and the array of expertise possessed by Valrhona and its customers. Whether you’re a gourmet enthusiast or simply love chocolate, whether you’re an amateur or a professional, come and savour a magical experience with this most exceptional of ingredients!
The Valrhona boutique is located within the Cité du Chocolat, exactly where it has stood since the 1950s. Enjoy preview tastings of the brand’s latest products, explore the complete Valrhona range and the book area, or pick a souvenir of Debuyer pastry utensils, as well as biscuits and marshmallows made with Valrhona chocolate…

We check into our Hotel

20.00 Tonight we enjoy dinner in a traditional Lyonnais Bouchon

A Bouchon is a little, family owned bistro and cannot be found in any other French city. They are the only place to taste and enjoy traditional homemade Lyonnais meals. The forbearers of these bouchons were the taverns or inns where silk merchants stopped in the 17th and 18th centuries to have a meal, clean their horses, and, perhaps, rest overnight. They derived their name because the term bouchon was used then to describe the twisted straw brushes used to clean the horses. Each year, L’Association de defense des Bouchons Lyonnais certifies those bouchons that meet its standards of authenticity. The restaurants, which number around twenty, proudly display their designation on their windows.

After a leisurely breakfast we take you on a visit in the Vieux-Lyon.

We walk through the famous cobbles alleyways of the Saint Jean area, via its internal courtyards and traboules. You will discover the atmosphere which is very characteristic. Urbanized as early as the Middle Ages, the area now boasts 24 hectares of buildings mainly dating back to the 15th and 16th century, combining Gothic and Renaissance architecture. Go back to the times of the great fairs that secured the wealth and celebrity of the city and relive the history of leading local and Italian families who left their mark here. Secrets will be revealed and anecdotes that have made the reputation of this historic area, which is the first area in France to have been preserved and inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

At the end of the morning we head to the famous market Les Halles

In 1971, Les Halles was opened in the neighbourhood of La Part-Dieu close to Lyon’s main train station. Extensive renovations took place in 2004 resulting in the now 13,000 square metres of food vendors over 3 floors. The final touch was undoubtedly master chef Paul Bocuse adding his name to the title of the market and securing its reputation as one of the finest places for food anywhere. Les Halles is a remarkable indoor food market offering the very finest produce available anywhere. The several bars and restaurants make this an ideal location to sample Lyon’s gastronomical delights and it’s as well suited for a family visit or a romantic evening.

You will be able to enjoy a light Lunch from the many stands at Les Halles
(for your own account)

We leave you the afternoon free to discover Lyon, here are some tips:

The Fourvière Basilica – This magnificent church, ever visible on the Fourvière hill to west of the city is one of a series of iconic hill-top churches built in major French cities in the late-19th century. The basilica is in the oldest part of the city, Lyon’s pilgrimage site and where several Roman sites have been discovered.

Musée des Beaux Arts – Housed in a former abbey from the 1600s, the Musée des Beaux-Arts is France’s largest fine art museum after the Louvre in Paris. There are 70 rooms here, with paintings from the 1300s to the 1900s, sculpture and displays of both Egyptian and Oriental art. You don’t need more than a passing knowledge to  be impressed by the wealth of famous French and European artists on show: Degas, van Gogh, Renoir, Cézanne, El Greco, Canaletto, Picasso, Max Ernst and Francis Bacon, and that’s just an overview. The Antiquities department is a trove of some 600 Ancient Egyptian artefacts, including reliefs, busts, statuettes and sarcophagi, as well as monumental gates recovered from the Medamud temple.

Lyon Cathedral – The city’s fabulous cathedral is a mostly gothic construction built between the 12th and 15th centuries. The majority of the original stained-glass windows are still here and date to the 1300s. They had been dismantled and packed away during the Second World War to save them from bomb damage. The most captivating are the north, south and west roses, as well as the apse’s lancet. The astronomical clock inside is nine metres tall and was installed in the 1300s. Under the main clock-face is an astrolabe, added in the 1600s, that can show the position of the earth, sun and moon.

Lyon is also home to many great boutiques and shops in Le Carré d’Or area, in the Vieux Lyon area and La Croix Rousse area.

20.00 Tonight we dine at Paul Bocuse’s renowned 3 Michelin star restaurant. Paul Bocuse is the King of Chefs and Chef of Kings. He is held his three Michelin Stars since 1965 and is known as one of the greatest chefs in the world.

Menu with wine pairing

8.00 Early departure after breakfast to the City of Lights, Paris.

14.00 We take part in a cheese and wine tasting workshop in a 17th century cave.
We check into our hotel where you can relax and the late afternoon is yours to enjoy Paris.
20.00 Tonight we will have a glass of Champagne on the lawns of the Eiffel Tower.

10.30 After a leisurely breakfast we meet our guide who will be taking us on an exclusive Food Tour, through Paris’s best pastry, chocolate, charcuterie and cheese shops. At the end of this tour we will enjoy a lunch with all of these specialities whilst being told about the history and stories behind them.

We visit Rue Montmartre, home to Paris’s Kitchen and Chef Shops where you can purchase some of the small pastry and kitchen pieces of equipment you may need to prepare your meals back home.

20.00 For our last evening we have our farewell dinner at the famous Le Train Bleu where we will reminisce on our Culinary Adventure through France together and make a toast to all those wonderful memories!

Menu with wine pairing

After breakfast we say “Au-revoir”

“Never say goodbye, say au-revoir. Goodbye is so final.
Au-revoir means I will see you again.”