Paris, Switzerland and the Riviera
9 DAYS
Paris 2 • Lausanne 2 • Dauphine Region 1 • Nice 2
Basic Inclusions
Accommodations
Accommodations in centrally-located three-star or four-star hotels. Rooming on a triple basis. Double rooms: $280 per person.
Meals
All breakfasts. All dinners.
Transportation
Round-trip transportation on scheduled airline. Deluxe touring motorcoach. All public transportation tickets included where applicable.
Guide
Services of a specially-trained passports Tour Director throughout. All tips are included in the Program Cost. Whisper headsets included.
Travel Protection
Passports provides and pays for a Post Departure Travel Protection Plan that includes coverage for Trip Interruption, Trip Delay, Medical Expense and Evacuation and more.
Tour Summary
Itinerary Includes
Unlimited public transportation
Days 1-2: Home - Paris
Arrival transfer
Day 3: Paris
Paris City Sightseeing, Excursion to the Palace of Versailles, RER train to Paris
Photo stop near Notre-Dame Cathedral
Seine River cruise
Day 4: Paris - Lausanne
Departure transfer, TGV train Paris-Lausanne, Arrival transfer
Day 5: Lausanne
Excursion to Chillon, Montreux and and Gruyères,: Chillon Castle guide, Visit to the Maison du Gruyère demonstration dairy
Day 6: Lausanne - Dauphine Region
Sightseeing stop in Geneva
Day 7: Dauphine Region - Nice
La Route Napoléon, Fragonard Perfume factory visit, Sightseeing stop in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Day 8: Nice
Day 9: Departure
Departure transfer
UNPARALLELED STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
Detailed Itinerary
Days 1-2: Arrival in Paris
Weeks, or even months of preparation come to fruition at last as you board your airplane bound for Europe and the glittering jewel at her heart, Paris. Bienvenue!
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.
Overnight: Paris
Day 3: Paris City Sightseeing, Excursion to Versailles, RER train to Paris, Notre-Dame Cathedral Photo Stop, Seine River Cruise
Set out on a coach tour of the city in the company of a local guide. On the Right Bank of the River Seine, see Napoléon's Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysées, the Place de la Concorde, and the exuberant Opéra Garnier. On the Left Bank, discover the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Enjoy a bit of relevant French history today at the palace where the Sun King, Madame de Pompadour and Queen Marie-Antoinette all come to life. In this ultimate example of Baroque architecture, you will marvel at the lavish decoration, abundant gilding and exuberant ornamentation, particularly in the Royal Apartments of Louis XIV and in the Hall of Mirrors. Imagine the sense of self-importance that must have inflated the ego of these kings and queens.
Then, take a stroll around the Main Gardens.
Return to Paris using the efficient RER transit system.
View Notre-Dame de Paris, gutted by the fire of April 15, 2019, but still standing, solemn and magnificent with its iconic towers miraculously preserved from destruction.
Begun in 1163 and completed in 1272, this cathedral has presided over centuries of glorious and somber French history, including its desecration during the French Revolution. In 1831, Victor Hugo launched a campaign of restoration with a novel he titled Notre Dame de Paris. Because he saw the cathedral as the main character, he strongly objected to the title of the English edition: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
See Paris transformed into a wonderland like no other during a cruise along the River Seine.
Overnight: Paris
Day 4: Train to Lausanne
There's an exciting ride aboard a high-tech TGV train, which will whisk you away through the hills of Burgundy. Your destination: Switzerland and the lakeside city of Lausanne, on the shores of Lac Léman.
The reflection of the French Alps in the lake's dark blue waters is a sight not soon forgotten.
The afternoon is unscheduled.
The International Olympic Committee is headquartered in Lausanne's lakeside district of Ouchy. You may want to visit the Olympic Museum, which retraces more than 2,200 years of sports history, from the games of the ancient Greeks through to the modern revival of the Olympic Games in 1896 to our time. Don't miss the park to view its landscaped grounds and sport-related statuary.
Walk along the shop-lined streets around the cathedral, which is Switzerland's finest Gothic building.
Overnight: Lausanne
Day 5: Excursion to Montreux, Chillon and Gruyeres
Time to explore your surroundings today on a magnificent drive through lakeland, monuments and mountains.
Pause in the glamorous heart of the Vaud Riviera, the lakeside resort of Montreux, renowned for its annual jazz festival.
Enter the romantic Château de Chillon, which inspired Lord Byron's famous poem, The Prisoner of Chillon, back in 1816. Notice the poet's initials carved into the rock walls of the dungeon.
A guide will accompany you on your Chillon Castle tour.
Ride up into the mountains to the town of Gruyères, built on a rocky crag.
Learn all about Switzerland's most famous cheese at the visitor center that showcases its history and production via an interactive exhibition and demonstrations. Watch cheesemakers at work: about 800 liters of milk (210 gallons) are used to make a wheel of genuine Gruyère cheese weighing 176 pounds. And it will be confirmed that a genuine Swiss Gruyère cheese has no holes!
Overnight: Lausanne
Day 6: Geneva, Savoie and the Dauphine
On to the international capital of Geneva. Calvinism, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the International Red Cross were all born in Genève. City landmarks include the Reformation Monument, the Palais des Nations, la Cathédrale Saint-Pierre (where visitors can still view Calvin's seat) and the city's famous Jet d'eau - the tallest fountain in Europe at 460 feet.
Travel on in the footsteps of Napoleon (but in the opposite direction) as you journey south through the splendid Alpine landscapes of the Savoie and Dauphiné provinces.
Overnight: Dauphine Region
Day 7: Route Napoleon, Grasse, St. Paul-de-Vence, Nice
Proceed across the southern Alps along la Route Napoléon, which the Emperor followed on his short-lived thriumphal return from exile. He had landed in March 1815 near Nice and made his way via Grasse, Castellane, Digne, Sisteron, and Gap to Grenoble and from there to Paris, to be in control of France for another 100 days before his final exit at the battle of Waterloo.
Free from such concerns, you'll admire the beauty of the landscape, noticing along the way kilometer markers bearing the Imperial Eagle and all sorts of Napoléon-related advertisements.
Wend your way to Grasse as glorious Mediterranean vistas begin to open up.
Visit the Fragonard factory to see the process of distillation, absorption and extraction of perfume essences. Hear about the esoteric artistry of the "nez."
Discover a village celebrated for its high-perched setting typical of the fortified towns that once guarded the kingdom of Provence. Saint-Paul-de-Vence can boast about its nearly intact medieval ramparts and its famous resident artists, such as Modigliani, Bonnard, Chagall, and the American writer James Baldwin, who died in St. Paul in 1987.
Continue to the capital of the French Riviera. You've heard of the Côte d'Azur, celebrated for its sunny climate, the turquoise Mediterranean and the vedettes de cinéma who inhabit the surrounding hills. Now you're there!
Overnight: Nice
Day 8: Nice
Enjoy some free time in Nice today.
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!
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.
Stroll along the Promenade des Anglais, said to be Europe's most handsome boulevard (see the luxury yachts from the world over).
Overnight: Nice
Day 9: Departure
Le retour, hélas... Your plane awaits. This time the earth rotates towards you, allowing an arrival in the U.S. seemingly shortly after you left Europe! You're eager to share your adventures with family and friends.
CUSTOM TOURS
All tours can be customized to your particular needs.
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Paris City Sightseeing
Excursion to Versailles
Montreux, Switzerland
Savoie Province, Switzerland
The French Riviera
Nice, France
Going Places Blog
Indulge in the extended version of our March dinners video. Enjoy a deeper look into the gastronomic experiences provided during our tours, enriched with cultural insights.