The Basque Country and Béarn for senior groups: Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Rhune train, Lourdes and Pau (12 days)

Day 1: Journey to Touraine

• Morning departure from the pick-up point of your choice.
• Coffee break on the way; our drivers drive for 3 hours at most, then take a 30-minute break.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Arrival in the late afternoon, overnight stop in the Tours area and dinner at the hotel.

Day 2: Journey to the Basque Country

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive south-west, with a coffee break.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Check-in at a hotel in the Saint-Jean-de-Luz area for 5 nights and dinner at the hotel.

Day 3: Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Stroll in Saint-Jean-de-Luz: the harbour, shipowners’ houses and the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where Louis XIV was married in 1660.
• Basque lunch in a restaurant in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (on request).
• Drive to Biarritz (about 30 minutes) and walk to the Rocher de la Vierge.
• Free time on the Grande Plage, then return to the hotel and dinner.

Day 4: The Rhune, Sare, Ainhoa and Espelette

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to the Col de Saint-Ignace.
• Ride to the summit of the Rhune by little rack railway (on request).
• Stops at Sare and Ainhoa, Basque villages of white houses.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Afternoon in Espelette, the pepper village.
• Return to the hotel and dinner.

Day 5: Free day in Saint-Jean-de-Luz

• Free day on site (driver’s rest day).
• Free time on the beach, at the market hall or in the shopping streets.
• Dinner at the hotel.

Day 6: Bayonne and Cambo-les-Bains

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Bayonne (about 30 minutes) and stroll through Petit and Grand Bayonne to the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie.
• Bayonne chocolate tasting at a chocolate maker’s (on request).
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant in Bayonne (on request).
• Drive to Cambo-les-Bains and visit to Villa Arnaga, Edmond Rostand’s house, and its gardens.
• Return to the hotel and dinner.

Day 7: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Lourdes

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (about 1 hour) and stroll along the Rue de la Citadelle on the Way of St James.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Drive to Lourdes (about 2 hours) with a coffee break.
• Check-in at a hotel in Lourdes for 3 nights and dinner at the hotel.

Day 8: Lourdes on foot

• Day on foot in Lourdes (driver’s rest day).
• Free visit to the sanctuaries and the Grotto of Massabielle.
• Guided tour of the sanctuaries (on request).
• Taking part in the evening torchlight procession (on request).
• Dinner at the hotel.

Day 9: Pau

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Pau (about 45 minutes) and stroll along the Boulevard des Pyrénées.
• Visit to the Château de Pau, birthplace of Henri IV (on request).
• Béarn-style lunch in a restaurant in Pau (on request).
• Jurançon wine tasting at a winegrower’s (on request).
• Return to the hotel and dinner.

Day 10: Saint-Émilion and the Bordeaux region

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to the Bordeaux region (about 3 hours 30) with a coffee break.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Visit to Saint-Émilion, a medieval village among the vineyards.
• Saint-Émilion wine tasting at a wine château (on request).
• Overnight stop in the Bordeaux area and dinner at the hotel.

Day 11: Journey to Touraine

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Touraine (about 3 hours 30) with a coffee break.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Stroll through Old Tours and the Place Plumereau.
• Overnight stop in the Tours area and dinner at the hotel.

Day 12: Journey home

• Breakfast at the hotel, then journey home.
• Coffee break on the way; our drivers drive for 3 hours at most, then take a 30-minute break.
• Sit-down lunch in a restaurant on the way (on request).
• Return in the evening to your region.