Final-year school trip to Occitania: Montpellier, Nîmes, the Camargue, Carcassonne and the Pont du Gard (7 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and overnight stop near Lyon

• Departure from your school early in the morning, at the agreed time.
• Daytime drive via Luxembourg, Lorraine and Burgundy (about 650 to 750 km depending on your school, 7½ to 8½ hours’ driving excluding stops).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Arrival in the late afternoon in the Lyon area: check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and quiet evening.

Day 2: Roman Nîmes and arrival in Montpellier

• Departure after breakfast through the Rhône valley (about 250 km, 2 hrs 45 min).
• Visit to the Nîmes arena, the best-preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world, and the Maison Carrée, a 1st-century temple (on request).
• Lunch at your own expense, then walk through the Jardins de la Fontaine up to the Tour Magne.
• Drive to Montpellier (about 45 min) and check-in at the accommodation for four nights; dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Montpellier, from the Écusson to the sea

• Walk from Place de la Comédie through the medieval lanes of the Écusson, then the Promenade du Peyrou, its triumphal arch and the Saint-Clément aqueduct.
• Through the Jardin des Plantes, France’s oldest botanical garden (free admission); lunch at your own expense.
• Visit to the Musée Fabre, one of France’s great fine arts museums (on request).
• In the late afternoon, supervised free time on the beach at Palavas-les-Flots (about 20 min), then dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: The Camargue and Aigues-Mortes

• Drive to Aigues-Mortes (about 40 min) and walk along the ramparts of Saint Louis’s town from the Tour de Constance (free for under-26s resident in the European Union).
• Drive through the lagoons and salt marshes to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (about 45 min); lunch at your own expense by the Mediterranean.
• Horse ride with a manadier among Camargue bulls and horses (on request), or visit to the Pont de Gau bird park and its pink flamingos (on request).
• Return to Montpellier (about 1 hr 15 min), dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: The Cité of Carcassonne

• Drive to Carcassonne (about 150 km, 1 hr 45 min).
• Discovery of the UNESCO-listed medieval Cité, its two rings of walls and its 52 towers.
• Visit to the Château Comtal and the rampart walk (free for under-26s resident in the European Union); lunch at your own expense.
• Return to Montpellier, dinner and last evening in Montpellier.

Day 6: The Pont du Gard and on to Lyon

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to the Pont du Gard (about 1 hr).
• Visit to the Pont du Gard site, a Roman aqueduct almost 50 metres high, and its museum.
• Lunch at your own expense, then drive to the Lyon area (about 250 km, 2 hrs 45 min).
• Check-in at the hotel for the overnight stop, dinner and last supervised evening.

Day 7: Return to your school

• Departure after breakfast.
• Daytime drive to Belgium (about 650 to 750 km) with regular stops.
• Lunch at your own expense during a stop on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.