The Troubadours

Settle into your hotel, then have a look at one of the world's most beautiful capital cities.

Time permitting, you may want to head to Montmartre, Paris' highest hill and its most celebrated bohemian district. Artists still flock to the charming Place du Tertre, as they did when Toulouse-Lautrec painted the French Cancan dancers at the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Visitors enjoy panoramic views of the city as they make their way to the Sacré-Coeur, the white-domed basilica that anchors the Parisian skyline.

Then, take a stroll around the Main Gardens.

Return to Paris using the efficient RER transit system.

You may want to take the colorful Métro to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, on the rive gauche. Paris' oldest church, with a Romanesque steeple dating back to 1014, is surrounded by a quartier long popular with artists and writers. Check out celebrated cafés such as the Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots and the Brasserie Lipp which count Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Ernest Hemingway among their famous patrons.

Take a stroll along the glamorous Avenue des Champs-Elysées, which stretches for more than a mile from the Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette encountered Dr. Guillotin's invention and their fate. The obelisk at the center of the square was presented by Egypt to France in 1831 and dates back to the 13th century BC, a relic of Ramses II. In the vicinity stands the Palais de l'Elysée, built in 1718, which now serves as the residence of the President of the Republic. At the other end of the avenue, the Arc de Triomphe looms over the city's craziest rotary. (You may want to climb up to the monument's platform for a great overview of the area!)

Arrive in Sarlat, one of the best-preserved Renaissance towns in France. The town has retained many of its ancient buildings, turrets, twisted streets and passageways. Time seems to have stood still for centuries.

If you walk around the town's center, you'll see the 16th-century Cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos, the former Bishop's Palace with its Gothic windows, and the house of the poet Étienne de la Boétie, who was the dear friend of the famous 16th-century philosopher Michel de Montaigne.

Your tour director will take you on a walking tour within the impressive fortifications which enclose the Château Comtal and old houses piled haphazardly along winding streets.

Continue east to Provence and the "Little Rome of the Gauls," where Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in the late 1880s.

Enjoy the evening in this charming town of winding ruelles and evocative Roman remains.

Visit the largest Roman amphitheater north of the Alps, built around AD 90, and the Roman Theater, which dates back to the 1st century BC.

Art lovers may want to visit the colorful Musée Matisse or the Musée Chagall, the latter highlighting one of the artist's major works, Le Message Biblique.

Try a pissaladière (local pizza) or a salade niçoise for lunch.

Of course, in Nice there's the famous crescent of the beach: as all beaches in this region, Nice's beach may be a touch pebbly, but the deep blue water looks great!