Lucie Rousseau

Overall trip was amazing! Loved the mix of history and market shopping. Celine Mancuso was the best guide. She is a true scholar and historian. Wish we could have extended her to the Avignon portion of the trip. Faure Brigitte was very accommodating and pleasant but did not have the depth of knowledge expected from a guide. She was more of a driver. The driver from Provence to Avignon did not speak English. This was a problem. The driver from Avignon to Aix was great! We did not get a chance to spend time with Chloe the guide in Aix. There was a mix-up as to whether we'd tour Gorde on the previous day or on the way to Aix. Alexia did not check with us to find out so we left Hotel Cambis much too early to arrive in Aix at 11 without being able to check in. Having nothing to do, we toured Aix by ourselves which was a long walk from the hotel and back. By check in time at 3, we were exhausted and wanted to enjoy the hotel. That was when the tour with Chloe was scheduled to start. That was very bad planning/timing. Alexia stated that break was time scheduled for lunch before the tour. We did not need 4 hours for lunch with nothing to do but a self guided tour. Should have checked out of Hotel Cambis much later. The Pigonnet hotel was nice but it was not 5-star service or food. It was too far from the city center to walk to the market on Tuesday so I missed that one. Nice grounds but not worth the price due to poor service, poor food and location. Domaine de Manville was awesome and Hotel Cambis was average but a good location. The breakfast buffet was terrible. Ran out of food and poor choice of food. The staff was great and recommended fantastic places for dinner. Your dinner list in Avignon is outdated with those restaurants closed altogether or closed the days we were there. Overall itinerary was awesome except for the last day.

Hotel Reviews

Domaine de Manville

Les Baux-de-Provence

The staff was great. Able to get a ride into town to eat dinner. The Michelin Star restaurant was outstanding! Breakfast was amazing. Property was beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Furnishings

Location

Beautiful property and pool

Staff

Bell Service (Gerald) was great!

Cleanliness & Comfort

All clean but elevator did smell like fish the whole time we were there.

Hotel de Cambis

Avignon

Rooms were great and management staff was amazing but breakfast buffet was terrible. Not a lot of choice, inconsistent, ran out of mocha, eggs, bananas. Employees were chatting in the kitchen and slow to refill the buffet. Front desk was able to get us incredible dinner reservations each night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Pigonnet

Aix-en-Provence

Hotel grounds are amazing but the bellman was not real helpful. No chance of checking in early. Wait staff was slow (someone delivered hot food on trays and left it sitting for a few minutes waiting on another server instead of serving right away which happened to multiple tables). French fries were cold and soggy and ham sandwich was dry and flavorless. Breakfast buffet was good. Room was big and nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from the city center

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit Roman Sites and Medieval Heritage in Le Pont du Gard, Uzès and Nîmes

France

Visit Les Baux de Provence & Saint Rémy de Provence

France

Day Excursion to the Luberon villages of Bonnieux, Ménerbes and Lourmarin

France

Pretty countryside but too far to drive it all in one day.

Roman Splendors of Orange & Vaison-la-Romaine

France

Excursion to Gordes and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

France

Self-guided exploration of Avignon

France

We visited the Pope's Palace but it was incredibly hot inside.

Private Walking tour of Aix-en-Provence

France

Did not go on this tour as it was scheduled at check-in time which would have given us no time to enjoy the hotel. Should have been scheduled between 1-3.

Free time in Les Baux de Provence and visit of the castle

Les Baux de Provence

Dear Lucie, Anais, Alexia, & Audrey.
My husband & I thoroughly enjoyed Provence & Normandy. It was an amazing trip! All the transfers, train trips, & excursions went off without any issues. All the drivers were friendly, prompt, helpful, and personable.
We loved the Grand Hotel Beauvau in Marseille & Hotel Le Lion d’Or in Bayeux. Although the hotel in Avignon was historic & lovely, it wasn’t the right one for us. The narrow, winding staircase to get up & down the two flights of stairs to our room required a lot of caution. Additionally, there was only a bathtub with a hand-held shower head in the bathroom & getting in & out of the tub for us senior citizens, was a bit challenging. Fabrice & Veronique were lovely hosts & very welcoming & accommodating, and worked with us when we weren’t able to sit down for breakfast each morning because they didn’t serve it till 8:30 & we had to leave each morning by 8:00 to meet our tour guide for the day.
The Jangle Hotel was nice & the room was comfortable. However, the fire alarm sounded at 6:00am, and guests had to evacuate. This is certainly an unusual, unanticipated occurrence, but the alarm sounded twice within a short window of time, so we had to evacuate our room twice, leave all our belongings behind, all while we were trying to get dressed & packed to catch the hotel shuttle to the airport. I noticed that there was a Radisson Hotel right in Terminal 3E in Charles DeGaul, & this hotel would have been more convenient
All our guided tours were exceptional. The guides were very knowledgeable, informative, personable, & friendly. The itinerary planned for us, which was varied & comprehensive, was perfect. There wasn’t one activity we didn’t enjoy.
All in all, you ladies did a magnificent job. My husband & I are truly grateful for the care that was put into planning & executing this trip. Kimkim gets an A+ rating from us & I would highly recommend this trip planning organization without reservation.
Thank you for always being available throughout the trip, for being so responsive, & for being so thorough.
My husband & I will always have very fond memories of this trip. It not only met our expectations, but exceeded them.
Marci beaucoup,
Irene & John

Activity Reviews

Visit of City of Popes and Pont d'Avignon

France

Full-day visit of D-day beaches - U.S. sector, with a Small Group

France

Amazing @ very moving excursion

Marseille food tour

France

Semi-private Calanques Cruise & free time in Marseille

Marseille

Cassis and Aix-en-Provence tour

Marseille

Half-Day Van Gogh & Alpilles Tour

Avignon

Half-day tour to Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Avignon

Roman History Tour: Nîmes, Uzès & Pont du Gard

Avignon

Unfortunately, due to heavy rain on the day we were to take this excursion, Pont du Gord & Nimes were closed to travelers. Our guide adjusted the itinerary, & took us to a Roman Theater in Orange, which was interesting. Despite not being able to go to the original destinations, the places we visited instead were historic & interesting

A day at the Mont Saint Michel with a Small Group

Bayeux

Loved visiting St. Michel.

Morning tour to the hilltop villages of Luberon

Avignon

Lucie listened to us and our priorities for the trip. She then gave us choices of activities and itineraries. The final itinerary matched and even exceeded our expectations. We participated in some tours and activities that we would never have thought of doing. During the trip, Audrey was available to us via WhatApp when we had any questions or concerns. She always replied promptly.

Hotel Reviews

Résidence Des Arts

Paris

The location makes this hotel the perfect place to stay. Close to everything! A few minutes walk to Notre Dame, the Metro, cafes, bakeries and laundry. Great selection at breakfast. Friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommend. We would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to everything that's important

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maison Dauphine Appartment & Art Gallery

AIX-EN-PROVENCE

This is a wonderful place because it has a kitchenette, clothes washer and comfortable bed. However, we stayed there on a weekend and be aware it is a college town. We heard people partying and loud music until the wee hours of the morning. For this reason, I cannot give this place 5 stars.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Bastide De Tourtour & Spa Hôtel

Tourtour

The view from our room was amazing. Be sure you book a room with a view over the countryside. Breakfast was incredible. The bathroom tub was a nice bonus because I love soaking in a tub. The only downside of this place is if you want to eat dinner anywhere but the hotel, you will have to drive to another town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Clos du Petit Jesus

Cassis

You can't do any better than staying here! Rodolphe was a fantastic host. He answered our many questions promptly via WhatsApp or in person (with help from Google Translate). The room is absolutely beautiful. Especially loved the bathtub and the huge shower. The place is just a short walk to the harbor at Cassis. Breakfast was delicious. Highly recommend and would stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Visit of the Eiffel Tower with Access to the Summit (Entrance Tickets included)

Paris

It was just OK

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

I recommend this trip, but was not happy about the overall trip because our tour van ran out of gas on the highway on the way back to Paris. I heard from our travel agent that this company is usually very good. But, my experience was dimmed by being stuck on the side of a busy highway while our driver made excuses for the empty gas tank.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gas up the van earlier and often.

Transport

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

Loved all the different food we tasted.

Quality of Experience

All the food was incredible, especially the cheese.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was interesting and knowledgeable

Provençal Market Visit & Cooking Workshop

Aix-en-Provence

The Provençal Market Visit & Cooking Workshop was fantastic and one of our favorite experiences. The chef was very engaging, charming, and made everyone feel included. He tailored the menu based on our dietary restrictions and explained the traditional dishes we were preparing. Although the shopping was mostly done by him, he talked us through it, and the cooking process was interactive and fun. I would highly recommend this activity.

Seine River Dinner Cruise

Paris

The Seine River Dinner Cruise was just okay for me. I expected some outdoor seating and fresh air, but the boat was fully enclosed, and our table was in the middle of the boat, away from windows, so the views were limited. The food was alright but nothing special. Also, there were some scammers near the boat trying to overcharge us for a ride, which was a bit unsettling. Overall, it was an average experience.

Private Notre-Dame Visit

Paris

The Private Notre-Dame Visit was informative and well worth it. Due to recent rule changes, our guide could not accompany us inside, so we explored on our own for about an hour. Afterward, she provided detailed information and showed us pictures on her iPad, including insights about the recent restoration. She was very knowledgeable and engaging, though I felt it was a bit of a waste of her time waiting outside for us.

Lucid and Audrey planned an amazing trip through the south of France. We were pleased very much with all the accommodation's. They were responsive and helpful!

Lucie was instrumental in setting up a fun and realistic itinerary for our trip to France. She was very responsive to all of our inquiries both before and during the trip and managed many important details for us. Chloe was great on our walking tour of Aix en Provence. Greg was an informative guide for our trip to the Luberon Villages. Thank you for your support and would definitely use your service again.

We worked with Lucie for a custom vacation in France. During the planning process, we split the trip adding additional days in England. Lucie was very patient, figuring out how to incorporate our varied requests. Our 9 day, 8 night trip was split between Paris and London with custom add-ons at each location. Lucie added transfers to/from each hotel and also coordinated train tickets between Paris and London. In Paris, we started off with an authentic sidecar tour with Retro Tour Paris. Though the weather didn't fully cooperate, the experience was amazing and something we would have never thought of. They asked us what we've seen and what we wanted to see and crafted a custom tour route based on our feedback--fantastic. We ended the day with an awesome dinner Seine River cruise with Bateau-Pariseans. My family agrees that the river cruise was a major highlight. Day 2 we had a long trip out to Mont Saint-Michel with Blue Fox Tours. Was well worth the long ride there and back (~3.5 hour) if you haven't been before. Day 3 we had a gourmet food tour in Saint Germain des Pres which was pretty cool. It was in the same neighborhood as our really cool hotel (Hotel Baume) so we really enjoyed the sights (and tastes). Speaking of the Hotel Baume=winner! Boutique hotel in great location. Day 4 we had another long day taking a tour of the D-Day beaches in Normandy. Again, with Blue Fox Tours. Both day tours with Blue Fox were great and would highly recommend them. Day 5 we travelled the Eurostar (premium) from Paris to London and hit the ground running with a visit to the Bukingham Palace Kings Gallery exhibit of Elizabeth II's wardrobe-was really interesting though geared toward those with a love of fashion. On day 6 we had a 1/2 day trip out to Windsor Castle with Anderson's Tours--was really well done and worth doing. We had free time in the afternoon so we added on a visit to the Tower of London. We scheduled that on our own and Anderson Tours dropped us off there right after returning from Windsor. Day 7 started off with a visit to Churchill War Rooms and Westminster Abbey. Since we had an evening free, we added a Soho viewing of The Devil Wears Prada. Again, we coordinated that on our own but a great addition to our trip. On day 8 we wanted to take a day trip out to see Clarkson's Farm but turn out there were not specific tours to get there and would have to get there on our own, not necessarily easy from London. So, we turned to Viator and booked a Cotswold Day tour going to three separate quintessential English villages conducted by Evans & Evans Tours---well worth it and would recommend it. Regarding out hotel in London, it was at the Park Plaza Victoria--a great hotel at great location. Both hotels were excellent and both in convenient locations with transportation, food, and shopping nearby. What I am not reviewing in any detail are the gaps in our schedule--filled with visits to shops and cafes which was as much of a highlight as any of the formal tours. Taking the metro in Paris and Tube in London is part of the experience. Lucie was available anytime we needed her to answer any questions and was great from start to finish.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Baume

Paris

Boutique Hotel in heart of Saint Germain. Stylish, quiet, and intimate. No gym, laundry facilities or fridge/microwave in room but you have an awesome hotel in a super convenient location. The onsite breakfast is excellent and the service is top-notch.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Plaza Victoria London

London

Mid-sized hotel with large hotel amenities but small hotel intimacy. Rooms are spacious and quiet and the breakfast buffet is really good. Convenient to Victoria Station for ease of catching the tube around London. Lots of stores and restaurants nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day excursion to Mont Saint-Michel

Paris

Tour was through Blue Fox and they did a great job. It's a long drive out to Mont Saint-Michel but they have a stop around 2 hours down the road. Expect crowds at the sight but still worth the visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vans were cozy and good for average sized adults but tall or large people may struggle to find comfort in the van.

Adventure aboard an authentic sidecar to uncover Paris

Paris

This might be the coolest way to tour Paris.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seine river dinner cruise

Paris

Great food, wine, and view--there is no better way to see Paris from the Seine.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

One of our favorite tours on the whole trip. We had 2 guides, 1 in training and a senior guide. Both were really good as they walked us through the streets of Saint Germain. The stops were coordinated and samples were made ready when we arrived. At one of their stops, they provided a small plate style lunch at L'Avant Comptoir du Marché which was really good. History, food, and views--a really cool experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport provided by our own two feet so wear comfortable shoes

Unveiling Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum

Paris

We were provided tickets with a report time of 3:30pm to the Louvre. Because we know it's a busy museum, we thought about using the Carousel entrance to avoid the rain and really large crowds outside--good choice. As the largest museum in the world, spending just a few hours there will not scratch the surface so we focused on areas we didn't see on our last trip more than a decade ago. We saw what we could in the few hours we walked around but needed to leave when the group got hungry. I think we would have rather visited in the morning when they first open to enjoy the sights with "maybe" smaller crowds initially but also when we weren't tired already from a busy day of sightseeing. The tickets came with admission only, no guide or help inside unless we paid for something more.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We took the metro there, no issues

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

A must see for any WWII history buffs or for anyone interested in seeing where history was changed. Tour was conducted by Blue Fox Tours and they did a great job from start to finish. Our guide did a great job providing context at each stop and allowed sufficient time to explore on our own. Lunch was at an amazing restaurant near Omaha Beach. The stop at the American cemetery was really special and helps provide a visual of the costs of D-Day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to Windsor Castle

London

A must see for anyone interested in the British royals. Was great to learn that Windsor Castle is surrounded by an actual town with lots of shops and restaurants to explore. The castle itself was good but expect crowds and bottlenecks as you navigate through. The tour was conducted by Anderson's Tour and the guide was amazing (Megan). She provided a lot of information on the bus ride out but was not allowed to walk through Windsor with us. She was great and even dropped us off and walked us to the Tower of London after for a separate tour (not through Anderson Tour).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport