France Travel Agents

Hello Liz and team mates,
Joan Carson and I wrote the review together that Joan submitted. I joined the planning late when Joan had much of it organized. We made a few changes together after I signed on- fine tuning actually not substantive. I can tell you that I fully share the points made in our full response. We were fine with the arrangements you suggested, lined up and that were so sensitive to our wishes. You informed us promptly about items that needed to be adjusted because of the tour company and we found an alternative that worked out fine. Had we needed more support during the trip, you were right there for us. Thanks so much,
Pat

Hotel Review

Mercure Lyon Centre Saxe Lafayette

Lyon

The pool is lovely and fine for relaxing with the jet massage or short swims. Its not for someone who needs to do laps.

Authenticity & Character

Not sure what you mean by this question. The hotel was definitely a 4 star. We did love the smiling lion at the entrance.

Location

We walked into town across the beautiful bridges. I would not call it a short walk but a short taxi ride if one is not looking for a walk.

Staff

Coped well with our intermediate French skill. Very helpful with information, reservations and suggestions. Staff in the restaurant also great. Fantastic breakfast buffet and all else we ate there. Its great to have a good restaurant and bar option on site at the end of a long day of walking, using the metro and absorbing the culture.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lovely

Activity Reviews

Private Beaujolais & Burgundy Wine Route Experience

Lyon

You may recall I had some trepidation about Beaujolais area but that first stop (small, family vineyard with intro duction by the young owner) wonderful. Then the chateau with all its history and beauty and charm, the varied wines etc as we edged up toward Bugundy- lovely. Lunch in Macon where we chose a very small new place with local residents and fine dejeurner. And the final more modern looking, large enterprise when the owner's daughter did such a great job of talking about the many chardonnay varieties which were fabulous, ending with a Premier Cru. It was a wonderfull day, a full day and beyond my expectations. I would love to see the areas further north into burgundy but it was about right with the amount of time in the car- more driving would have been difficult.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private War History & Traboules Walk

Lyon

Wonderful, don't miss

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francois gets 5 stars, he is wonderul

Transport

We walked many steps that day but thoroughly enjoyed. See full report for details.

Culinary Walk in Lyon Old Town

Lyon

Wonderful way to be introduced to Lyon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Farmer's Market Day in Lyon - Croix-Rousse

Lyon

the day was rainy and we walked a long way to find the market. Take the metro or taxi. On the positive side, we had made reservations at a great restaurant for that night, and we were definitely ready for that.

City Excursion by E-Bike with Food Tasting

Lyon

As we said in our full review, starting off in city traffic means you need to be quite comfortable on an ebike. But alll in all, I enjoyed it- particularly the park and river paths.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bruno was very good.

Liz and the KimKim team did a fabulous job planning our first trip to France. Liz worked with me through several iterations and connected my phone to ensure she was providing the experience we were looking for. She helped develop a very diverse 10-day trip throughout France, ensuring the places we wanted to hit - Nice, Paris, Normandy - where included and then some! Liz was always so responsive - even after our return when I had a question! She even sent some goodies - stickers and a water bottle, after I booked as the trip was a gift. She even sent a hand written thank you card upon our return, such a nice touch especially when things feel so automated or less personalized.
The trip was wonderful. We especially enjoyed Champagne country, Giverny and seeing Monet's breathtaking gardens, paying our respect and learning more about history on the Normandy trip/tour, and really enjoyed the dinner cruise on the Seine. Southern France was great and so different than the north and Paris. We especially enjoyed the private tour guide we had with Lucy to see Antibes, Cannes and more. We're glad one of our day excursions also included Monaco - although that day felt more rushed and more checking in quickly to Ez, Monaco, etc - it was very brief in each area - 1 hour is all. The hotel in Nice as nice as well as Paris; however in hindsight, given where our meeting locations were in Paris for the various excursions, we wish we had a hotel that was closer to the meeting locations - especially when several days called for 6:30/6:45 am meet ups. With our hotel not being near the metro and such early times, we ended up using cabs and probably added another $250 to our trip in all the cab rides - including from the Paris hotel to the airport , which wasn't included in our other transportation. The cost for the Versailles and Giverny excursion was very expensive and wouldn't do it again, but glad we got to see the area. Our favorite excursions was the Champagne country, Normandy, private tour guide in Nice, Antibes and Cannes and the Seine dinner cruise. We were disappointed in the Notre Dame tour - the tour guide was lovely and we learned a lot, but for the money and time, all we did was walk around the exterior....it noted a tour and we were so happy given that Notre Dame had just reopened , then to find out that if we wanted to go inside we'd have to get in line which was wrapping around and a few miles long.
We enjoyed France and found everyone very kind and welcoming. Thank you for helping to create such a memorable experience!

Activity Reviews

Champagne Region Day Trip with Tastings

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Louvre Murders & Mysteries Experience

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jet lagged and new to Paris, would have been preferred to have a cab or transport lined up for ease and to reduce some stress - the hotel staff was helpful and helped us secure a cab

Private Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle Visit

Paris

Expected a bit more - travel guide was wonderful and enjoyed Sainte Chapelle, but Notre Dame was underwhelming and disapointing to not see anything but the outside (not a lot of value as we could have just walked there and saw it on our own and saved hundreds of dollars, frankly).

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

None and had to navigate on our own, not horrible

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

Quality of Experience

Transport

Really a neat experience!

Giverny & Palace of Versailles: Art, Royalty & Gardens

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was more of a driver and didn't go into too much until we got to Versailles

Transport

Private French Riviera Sunset Electric Cruise (with private transfer)

Nice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Tour from Paris: D-Day Beaches Exploration

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Grand Riviera Journey: Eze, Monaco, Antibes & Cannes Excursion

Nice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Exploration of Antibes, St-Paul-de-Vence and Cannes

Nice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lucy was great!!!

Transport

loved having a private excursion - able to customize and really learn more about the area

Self-Guided Beach Day

Nice

we needed a "free day" :)

Quality of Experience

Justine put together a perfect trip. It was well organized and very detailed. No hiccups in the planning
Joel was extremely helpful whenever there was any type of emergency
Thanks

Sebastian had only a short time to create an itinerary for our trip and he did an amazing job. Each hotel was unique and comfortable and in a good location. The guides he booked were friendly and knowledgeable and helped us know more about French culture and history. The wine tours gave us new appreciation for French wines and opened a new avenue for us to grow in our knowledge of their unique style.
We believe Sebastian did remarkable work and we look to working with him again on our next journey to France.

Activity Reviews

Private Odyssey Wine Tour

Amboise

We enjoyed the opportunity to see the village of St. Emillion and to explore the Medoc region.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly, filled with information and knowledge of the region

Transport

A Taste of Dordogne from Bordeaux - private

France

Rodolfo was a special guide. Warm and welcoming and funny. He made the day special. This was the best guided tour of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cruise on a tradition boat and wine tasting in a vineyard (full-day)

France

Our guide had years of experience in the area and she did a wonderful job of talking about the unique nature of the Loire Valley. Having lunch and a wine tasting on a river boat was so relaxing and informative. This is an experience not to be missed!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport