Custom Self-Driving Tours of France

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

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.

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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.

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Activity Reviews

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).

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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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.

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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.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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We took the metro there, no issues

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.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport provided by our own two feet so wear comfortable shoes

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

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

Seine river dinner cruise

Paris

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

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Food

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Adventure aboard an authentic sidecar to uncover Paris

Paris

This might be the coolest way to tour Paris.

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Our trip to Normandy was wonderful. The car rental upon arrival was difficult but finally was resolved, with attentive help from Emilie. Thank you. We were just very tired from an overnight flight so the difficulty was worse. Anyway once on our way we had a good trip. Accommodations were beautiful, comfortable and friendly. Michael and Gil were great! Bayeux was a nice town. Wish we had stayed one more day. Both guides we had for our tours were great. So informative and interesting. We had two really nice dinners and some good wine. Overall, really glad we added this short trip to our cruise.

Hotel Review

Hotel particulier le clos de la croix

Bayeux

Michael and Gil are great hosts! Room comfortable and beautiful. Beautiful garden as well!

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Activity Reviews

Giverny House & Gardens of Claude Monet (Entrance Tickets)

France

Beautiful gardens! House was interesting. Very crowded. Need better instructions as to parking and entrance

Quality of Experience

Omaha & Utah Beach War History Day Trip

Bayeux

Nice overview. If want to delve in more and visit museums need to take a second day

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Private Mont-Saint-Michel Day Trip with Entrance Tickets (Rental Car)

France

Beautiful

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24/7 assistance in case of emergency

France

Very helpful when car reservation had been cancelled

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Amandine was great , I would definitely recommend her, we were in very good hands with all the things we planned.