Essential Europe Travel

Day 1

Meet & Greet Private transfer

Check in Hotel Victoria Palace****
Since 1913, the elegant limestone façade of the Victoria Palace Hotel has been a landmark at the heart of Paris' Left Bank. Today more than ever, the Victoria Palace Hotel strikes the perfect balance between traditional elegance and exceptional comfort. Its lavish, plush lounges are as warm and cosy as any in a grand country house, yet they are in the centre of one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. The exquisite deluxe bedrooms and junior suites are the epitome of French taste, with their Louis Seize décor, yet everything is designed for your comfort: marble bathrooms, well stocked mini-bars, upholstered settees in the junior suites...

Day 2

Da Vinci Tour of the Louvre & ½ day tour of Paris (Wednesdays & Saturdays only)
Follow the steps of the Da Vinci code heroes, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu into the Louvre Museum.  Starting from the Pyramid to the Grande Gallery , your guide will show you the works of Leonardo da Vinci and will help you decipher the clues hidden in the novel by the author Dan Brown.  Then continue on with a visit to Saint Sulpice church, where Opus Dei's monk, tries to find the key stone, and discover the Meridian line.
Free time for lunch
Begin with a visit to the Opera, the Place Vendome, the Louvre Museum Pyramid, drive down the Champs Elysees, see the Arc de Triomphe, and view the Sacre Coeur which perches on top of the hill overlooking Paris.

Day 3

Cooking class and discovery of a typical Parisian market with Marguerite
Because we believe that to master a technique you need to practice it at least once under supervision, Marguerite's Elegant Home Cooking lessons are true hands-on lessons (one fully-equipped workstation for each two students).Have great fun with shared discoveries, and meet new friends. The lesson starts with an open air market visit to shop for the day's lesson's ingredients, and can be followed, depending on demand, by a gourmet visit (wine or chocolate tasting are some of the possibilities).
Savor the lunch that you have prepared.

 

Day 4

Fashion district and famous designer tour
Whether your requirements are classic or trendy, you will enjoy the comfort of being driven efficiently to the numerous shops and boutiques of the capital: St. Honore, avenues Victor Hugo and Montaigne, place Victoire and St. Germain.
Find a little something at Chanel, Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, or Christian Lacroix. Continue on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, headquarters for Hermès, Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Lagerfeld and Versace.
While driving towards the Place des Victoires and its younger designers like Jean Paul Gaultier or Kenzo, learn about the important role fashion plays in Paris.  End the tour in the Marais, the trendiest district of Paris for fashion and design.
Savor a brunch at Mariages Frères:  The Art of Tea covers three centuries of savoir-faire in Mariages Frères' fine world of French tea.  You will love their  delicious salads as well as scones, tea jams, cakes…and select your tea among more than 400 varieties, in a very colonial décor.
Spend the rest of the afternoon shopping around rue des Francs Bourgeois and rue des Rosiers.

OR shopping
Which shops in Paris have the finest bed linen? Where would you go to find Quimper porcelaine? Did you know there is an entire street in Paris filled with shops exclusively devoted to crystal, china, silverware and other 'arts' of the table?
When you take our Paris shopping tour, you tap into a network of contacts, savoir faire and savoir vivre that comes from decades of Parisian living.

Let us know of your interests in advance and we will do the legwork before you arrive, including determining the best times and places to get the best prices, as well as how to best ship your acquisitions home.
Whether you are looking for tassels for your lamp shades, someone to restore an old tapestry, sumptuous silk fabrics, shopping in Paris will never be as enjoyable.

Driven by your bilingual guide, you will ride comfortably to each shop, free of the fatigue of looking up addresses, finding parking or taxis, and worrying how to get your purchases home

Day 6

Private transfer from the hotel to the airport