An Insiders Look At Paris Gardens is the perfect tour for men and women who love French Gardens, gardening, and who also want to explore Paris. Each day we will visit carefully selected gardens that will provide a wonderful array of classic, contemporary, grand and simple gardens Paris-style. Maureen Bovet, Landscape Designer, will lead the garden tours and talks, and Sally Peabody, of Your Great Days in Paris will lead various neighborhood and gastronomic walks in the quarters where we visit our selected gardens. We will dine in gourmet bistros, shop for garden tools and supplies where Parisians shop, and explore this great city for nine glorious spring days. Guests will have a free day to noted gardens outside Paris such as Giverny or Versailles on their own. The tour starts on May 18 and ends on May 26.
Your Itinerary:
Day 1: Friday - The tour begins at 10:00 a.m. with welcome and overview in hotel lobby. Rooms are available on an early check-in basis for guests arriving Friday morning, or, on Thursday at regular afternoon check in time for guests arriving in Paris on Thursday, May 17. We will visit Jardin des Tuileries led by Maureen Bovet. In the afternoon we will walk through the gardens of the historic and beautiful Palais Royale and on to the classic Galleries Vivienne, one of Paris’ most lovely 19th century covered passages full of shops and home to Lucien Legrand Filles et Fils, a venerable wine shop. We will have lunch at Gourmet bistro or brasserie near the Palais Royale (Legrand, Brasserie Colbert or Willi’s Wine Bar). In the late afternoon we will visit to the plant shops along the Quai de Megisserie. In the late afternoon/early evening we will enjoy a one-hour Seine Cruise to orient our guests to this beautiful city. Dinner is on your own at list of dining options near the hotel to be provided to all guests.
Day 2: Saturday - Featuring a visit to the historic Paris Botanic Gardens, a Roman Arena Within A Garden and A Latin Quarter Walking Tour. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. After that we will visit the Jardin des Plantes, led by Maureen Bovet. We will have lunch at the Grand Mosqueé de Paris or area bistro. After lunch, we’ll enjoy a walking tour that includes visits to the garden that surrounds the Roman-era Arennes de Lutece, to the ‘market street’ area around Place Maubert, and Eric Kayser’s fabulous boulangerie on rue Monge. Plus we’ll walk up to the Pantheon and visit the Renaissance-era church of St. Etienne du Mont—known for its carved staircases and beautiful light interior. Dinner is on your own.
Day 3: Sunday - Bercy Gardens and Bercy Village. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. After we will visit the Jardin de Bercy. We will explore the new Bercy Village quarter, a vibrant new Paris neighborhood formed from renovated 18th century stone wine-warehouses, with a stunning new park and garden. The Jardin de Bercy is a fascinating example of a ‘new’ park designed around a garden-rooms theme. The park appears to have been in place for decades. It even includes a small vineyard paying homage to the wine warehouses that used to fill this quarter! We’ll also walk through Bercy Village and its lovely cobblestoned main street lined with shops, winebars, bistros and cafés, an appealing ‘new’ village-center which draws neighborhood residents and Parisians from all over the city. Lunch is on your own in Bercy Village (wide choice of cafés, bistros, créperies). Maureen and Sally will facilitate lunch choices and your afternoon choices of activities. We will have a free afternoon for exploring, relaxing, museums, attending a concert, shopping in Bercy or elsewhere in Paris. We will have dinner together at top gourmet-bistro Mon Vieil Ami, 69 rue St. Louis en Ile, on the Ile St. Louis.
Day 4: Monday - St. Germain des Pres and Latin Quarter. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. Then we will have a tour of the Medieval garden at the Musée de Cluny and the Jardin de Luxembourg led by Maureen Bovet. We will have lunch at gourmet bistro such as Café Constant, Les Papilles or Le Timbre, or a café such as Dallayou. In the afternoon we will have a walking tour of St. Germain des Pres including various top chocolatiers and patissiers, and finally, a visit to the Rodin Museum garden grounds in the Invalides Quarter to enjoy the Rodin sculptures in their gorgeous park-like garden setting. Rodin grounds, garden admission included in the tour. Dinner is on your own.
Day 5: Tuesday - the Marais and Bastille Quartiers. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. After that we will visit the beautiful Place des Vosges. We will also visit the garden behind the lovely ancient mansion housing the Musée Picasso and, a charming pocket park along Francs Bourgeois. We will have lunch at Brasserie Bofinger or café/restaurant such as L’Arrosoir on the Viaduc des Arts. In the afternoon we will visit the elevated Promenade Plantee, an innovative and most enjoyable greenspace running for several miles along a two story high abandoned railway viaduct. We’ll also walk along and visit the stunning artisan and fine craftsmen’s shops clustered in the area under the arches of the Promenade Plantee known as the Viaduc des Arts. Dinner is on your own.
Day 6: Wednesday - Paris Gardens Off the Beaten Track I: A Day in the 16th. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. Then we will visit the Bagatelle. We will travel by van out to the marvelous Bagatelle gardens within the verdant Bois de Boulogne. After a tour of this lovely rose garden, led by Maureen, the van will take us back to the well-worth-a-visit Passy quarter in the 16th éme. Passy is the quarter where the Adams and Ben Franklin chose to live during their years in Paris. We will have lunch in Passy at La Gare or other bistro. In the afternoon guests can choose to visit the nearby Marmottan museum to see the private collection featuring work by Monet and artists (admission not included in the tour). Sally will lead an after-lunch shopping walk along the rue de Passy and rue de la Pompe, including stops in a department store dedicated to women’s fashion and accessories, and, a visit to the fabulous depot-vente shops of Reciproque—a trove of new or just about new fashion, accessories, antiques and more for great buys on all manner of French Chic for men and women. We can also pop into the charming house-museum where Balzac lived and wrote profusely as he neared the end of his life.
Day 7: Thursday - Paris Gardens off the Beaten Track II: A Day in the 17th. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. After that we will explore the beautiful Park Monceau, led by Maureen, followed by a visit to the exquisite Nissim de Camondo House-Museum. The Nissim de Camondo is a gorgeous mansion full of paintings, tapestries, decorative arts, fine furniture and a remarkable, intact, late 19th century kitchen. Admission to the museum is included in the tour. We will have lunch planned at either the Café at the Musée Jacquemart André or at the café at chocolatier Jean Paul Hevin. In the afternoon, Sally will lead a walk around the rue du Faubourg St. Honoré and Place de la Madeleine with visits to the famed gourmet emporia lining the place such as Fauchon, Hediard, La Maison de la Truffe, and Maille Mustard. Wine lovers will be interested in a stop at Lavinia. We’ll stop and buy a sampler of the fabulous macarons at Laduree. We will also visit the exquisite chocolate shop of Jean Paul Hevin. Dinner is on your own.
Day 8: Friday - Free day in Paris. We will begin the day with breakfast at our hotel. After that we will have a free day for guests to visit Versailles or Giverny, or enjoy Paris as you wish. Maureen and Sally are available to assist with your planning. Then we will have a farewell dinner together. We will gather for a final dinner at gourmet bistro such as Le Reminet or Le Troquet to enjoy a delicious dinner and toast our time in Paris together!
Day 9: Saturday - Breakfast and Transfer to Airport.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
The cost includes:
- Three star centrally located hotel with early check in guaranteed, buffet breakfast daily, daily lunch or dinner,
- Metro passes and other transport in Paris, Airport Transfers in Paris via van.
The cost doesn't include:
- Wine with meals or other alchoholic beverages
- Two expert leaders assuring personal attention.
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
France
Women Tours
Email it to a friend:
Click here to email this vacation to a friend
|
| Check out these similar vacation offers: |
|
|
