Final-year school trip to France: Paris, the Loire châteaux, Bordeaux, the Dune du Pilat, Carcassonne, Provence and Lyon (10 days)

Day 1: Departure from your school and arrival in Paris

• Departure from your school in the morning, at the agreed time, and daytime drive to Paris (about 310 km from Brussels, 3½ hours’ driving excluding breaks).
• Our drivers drive for a maximum of 3 hours, then take a 30-minute break, day and night.
• Free lunch on arrival, then a walk from the Trocadéro to the Eiffel Tower and the Champ-de-Mars.
• Ascent of the Eiffel Tower (on request).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Paris for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 2: The Louvre, the Île de la Cité and Montmartre

• Visit to the Louvre and its masterpieces, from the Mona Lisa to the Venus de Milo (on request).
• Walk through the Tuileries Garden to the Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame Cathedral, reopened in December 2024 (free admission).
• Free lunch in the Latin Quarter, then late afternoon in Montmartre, in front of the Sacré-Cœur and on Place du Tertre.
• One-hour cruise on the Seine (on request).
• Dinner and supervised evening.

Day 3: Chambord and the Loire Valley

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Chambord (about 180 km, 2¼ hours excluding breaks).
• Visit to the Château de Chambord, a Renaissance masterpiece, and its double-helix staircase (on request).
• Free lunch on the estate, then drive to Amboise (about 1 hour).
• Walk in Amboise, below the royal château and along the banks of the Loire.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Amboise or Tours for one night, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 4: Chenonceau and drive to Bordeaux

• Departure after breakfast and short drive to Chenonceau (about 15 km).
• Visit to the Château de Chenonceau, the “Ladies’ Château” built across the Cher, and its gardens (on request).
• Free lunch, then drive to Bordeaux via Poitiers (about 370 km, 4 hours excluding breaks).
• First evening walk along the banks of the Garonne and to the water mirror.
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Bordeaux for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 5: Bordeaux and the Dune du Pilat

• Walk through the UNESCO-listed centre: Place de la Bourse, the Porte Cailhau, the Grosse Cloche, Saint-André Cathedral and Rue Sainte-Catherine.
• Free lunch, then drive to the Arcachon Basin (about 65 km, 1 hour).
• Climb of the Dune du Pilat, the highest dune in Europe (over 100 m), with views of the ocean and the Banc d’Arguin.
• Return to Bordeaux, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 6: The walled city of Carcassonne and arrival in Provence

• Rooms vacated after breakfast, departure around 7.30 am and drive to Carcassonne via Toulouse (about 340 km, 3½ hours excluding breaks).
• Free lunch in the medieval city and a walk between its two rings of ramparts, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Visit to the Château Comtal and the ramparts’ wall walk (on request).
• Drive to Avignon via Narbonne and Nîmes (about 250 km, 2¾ hours excluding breaks).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Avignon for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 7: Avignon and the Pont du Gard

• Visit to the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in the world (on request).
• Walk up to the Rocher des Doms with a view of the Pont Saint-Bénézet, the famous “Pont d’Avignon”.
• Free lunch, then drive to the Pont du Gard (about 25 km, 40 minutes).
• Visit to the Pont du Gard site, a Roman aqueduct almost 2,000 years old, and its museum (on request).
• Return to Avignon, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 8: Arles and drive to Lyon

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and drive to Arles (about 40 km, 45 minutes).
• Visit to the Roman amphitheatre and the ancient theatre of Arles (on request).
• Walk through the old town in Van Gogh’s footsteps, to Place du Forum.
• Free lunch, then drive to Lyon along the Rhône Valley (about 280 km, 3 hours excluding breaks).
• Check-in at the accommodation in or around Lyon for two nights, dinner and supervised evening.

Day 9: Lyon, from Fourvière to the Confluence

• Walk up through the Jardin du Rosaire to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (free admission) and a view over the whole city.
• Discovery of Vieux-Lyon, Saint-Jean Cathedral and the traboules, passageways that run through the buildings.
• Free lunch, then a walk on the Presqu’île, from Place Bellecour to Place des Terreaux.
• Visit to the Musée des Confluences, devoted to science and human societies (on request).
• Dinner and last supervised evening.

Day 10: Return to your school

• Rooms vacated after breakfast and departure around 7.30 am.
• Daytime drive to Belgium via Dijon and Reims (about 720 km to Brussels, 7¾ hours’ driving excluding breaks), with regular breaks.
• Free lunch during a break on the way.
• Arrival at your school in the evening.