Insider's Paris

Insider's Paris
Beyond the Louvre and the Champs-Élyseés lies another side of Paris not visible from its landmarks. Play pétanque, follow in the footsteps (and forks) of Parisian foodies and wander through the Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood made famous by the film Amélie.
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Day 1 Overnight flight to France (Paris)
Day 2 Bonjour Paris
Enjoy a local snack
Details: Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Your 24-hour Tour Director will meet you at the airport and remain with your group until your final airport departure. You’ll also have a private coach and driver while touring .
Details: Marais district visit
Follow your Tour Director for a walking tour of one of Paris' oldest and most dazzling quarters: the Marais. With its charming streets, eclectic neighborhoods and up-scale boutiques, the area has a lot to offer where modern museums share cobbled streets with ancient hotels creating a unique contrast. Discover the perfectly symmetrical trees lining the Place des Vosges or the tasty (and cheap!) treats down the Rue des Rosiers.
Details: Crêperie dinner
Tonight for dinner, enjoy a speciality from the Brittany region of France: crepes. Creperie restaurants are very popular in Paris and you will be able to choose from the variety of toppings (ham, cheese, egg, peppers, spinach, cream--or a combination!) to create your favorite savory crepe (called "galette") before you enjoy a local favourite: a sweet crepe served with chocolate, fruit or jam.
Day 3 Paris landmarks
Paris guided sightseeing tour
Arc de TriompheChamps ÉlyséesEiffel TowerLes InvalidesOpera House
Optional  Versailles guided excursion (pre-book only)  $80
State ApartmentsHall of MirrorsGardens of Versailles
Details: Paris guided sightseeing tour
What's that huge white arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées? The Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. Your licensed local guide will elaborate on this, and other Parisian landmarks. See some of the most famous sites, including the ornate 19th-century Opera, the Presidential residence and the Place de la Concorde, where in the center you’ll find the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt in 1836. Spot chic locals (and tons of tourists) strolling the Champs-Élysées. Look up at the iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. See Les Invalides (a refuge for war wounded) and the École Militaire (Napoleon's alma mater).
Details: Boeuf bourguignon dinner
The ultimate French comfort food, Boeuf Bourguignon is on the menu tonight. Sit down in a traditional brasserie to enjoy this dish made famous by Julia Child. This rich, red wine beef stew, cooked with onions, bacon and mushrooms, is served with pasta or potatoes. Bon appetit!
Day 4 Paris
Montmartre tour director-led sightseeing
Sacré CoeurPlace du TertreMoulin Rouge
Dinner in Montmartre
Details: Louvre visit
The world's largest art museum, the Louvre is housed in a Medieval fortress-turned-castle so grand it's worth a tour itself. You walk through the 71-foot glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei and added in 1989, and step into another world--one with carved ceilings, deep-set windows, and so many architectural details you could spend a week just admiring the rooms. The Mona Lisa is here, as well as the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory (the headless statue, circa 200 BC, discovered at Samothrace). The Louvre has seven different departments of paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and antiquities. Don't miss the Egyptian collection, complete with creepy sarcophagi, or the collection of Greek ceramics, one of the largest in the world. (Please note the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.)
Details: Learn to play pétanque with locals
Try your hand at this game of boules, similar to bocce, and make new friends with a group of local players along the way. Lesson is in French (with translation by your Tour Director, if necessary) and lasts 1-2 hours. Includes a beverage for refreshment after a competitive match!
Details: Montmartre tour director-led sightseeing
If you’re coming to Paris, you absolutely need to take a walk in Montmartre! This area will wake the artist in you up. Its narrow alleys, windmills, little details, and soul are some of the things that make Montmartre so unique. As you walk in Montmartre, you will quickly understand how it has inspired so many artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh. As you walk up the hill make sure to take in all that surrounds you, because in Montmartre you are likely to find surprises around every corner!
Day 5 Deauville & Honfleur
Details: Tarte flambée dinner
For dinner tonight, enjoy an authentic meal from the east of France: Tarte flambée or flammekueche. A thin-crusted traditional Alsatian-style “pizza” topped with cream, onion, and double-smoked bacon but that today can have a variety of toppings: mushrooms, peppers, spinach, etc. Served with a vartiety of mixed salads, the pies will keep coming, so be sure to try as many different toppings you can!
Day 6 Paris
Details: Guided neighborhood foodie tour
Get a taste of Parisian gastronomie. Join a local guide for a tour of a neighborhood chocolate or cheese shop, where sampling is a must!
Details: Picnic lunch in the Jardin du Luxembourg
One of the best ways to truly experience a culture is to shop, and eat, like a local! Grab your shopping list and blanket and head to the local food market to scour the aisles for some regional specialties. See what the locals are buying, try some new foods and then head to the Jardin du Luxembourg in the Latin Quarter to eat your goodies and do some serious people-watching. Note that cost of meal is not included.
Details: Steak frites dinner
Immerse yourself in the local culture for an evening and enjoy one of the staples of French gastronomy: Le steak frites (steak and fries) is traditionally served through France in the numerous brasseries and bistros. Bon appetit!
Day 7 Paris
Details: Père Lachaise Cemetery visit
Explore one of the most visited cemeteries in the world and see the tombs of famous artists, musicians, actors, writers and more, including those of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison.
Details: Canal Saint-Martin tour director-led sightseeing
Follow your tour director to the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Located in northeastern Paris, the area is a Parisian favorite. In the Spring and Summer, locals flock in droves to the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin to picnic and strum guitars. Cafés and quirky boutiques flank the water and romantic iron footbridges.
Details: Seine River cruise
See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.
Details: Couscous dinner
Immigration from North Africa (particularly from Tunisia and Morocco), has given the French capital a colorful mix of cuisines. Couscous is one of the most popular dishes today in Paris. Join the locals at a traditional North African restaurant and enjoy an authentic couscous: semolina traditionally served with a fragrant meat and vegetable stew.
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Day 8 Flight home from Paris

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    Day 8 Start extension to London
    Details: Eurostar Chunnel crossing
    You're so close, why not continue to London? Take the Eurostar under the English Channel. Faster than you can say...anything, in French, you'll whiz through a tunnel and arrive in London.
    Details: London city walk
    Step outside your hotel for a stroll through the heart of the English-speaking world. In this city of nearly seven million, you'll see everything from 12th-century fortifications to modern skyscrapers, royal parks to street art. Your Tour Director will lead you to some of the most famous sites. Walk along the Thames River. Cross Trafalgar Square. See bustling Piccadilly Circus. Pass trendy shops and cafés in Bohemian Soho on your way to Covent Garden, a 13th-century fruit and vegetable garden transformed into a maze of narrow streets and pedestrian walkways burgeoning with street performers, open-air markets and boutiques.
    Details: Trafalgar Square
    See Trafalgar Square, often used for community gatherings and political demonstrations.
    Details: National Gallery visit
    Visit the National Gallery, which contains an unrivaled collection of Western art spanning seven centuries, from the late 13th to the early 20th. The largest portion of the collection is devoted to the Italians, including works by da Vinci, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Botticelli; but the collection also features works by the Spanish giants El Greco, Goya and Velázquez. The Flemish-Dutch school is represented by Brueghel, Jan van Eyck, Vermeer, Rubens and Rembrandt; and there is also an immense French impressionist and post-impressionist collection that includes works by Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir and Cézanne.
    Details: Piccadilly Circus
    Visit Piccadilly Circus, a shopping and entertainment area brightly lit with video displays and neon signs.
    Details: Covent Garden
    Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, which itself may be referred to as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centered on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the historical buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the London Transport Museum and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
    Details: Leicester Square
    Leicester Square is perfectly situated in the heart of London's West End, with Trafalgar Square to the south, Piccadilly Circus to the west, Covent Garden to the east, and China Town to the north.
    Details: Enjoy a local snack
    Immerse yourself in the local culture by enjoying a traditional British snack carefully chosen by your Tour Director.
    Details: Classic fish & chips dinner
    Nothing’s more British than fish and chips—there are eight fish and chip shops (“chippies”) for every McDonald’s in the country. Head to an authentic pub with your Tour Director for a taste of this national food, generally served with malt vinegar.
    Day 9 London landmarks
    London guided sightseeing tour
    Buckingham PalaceBig BenHouses of ParliamentWestminster AbbeyTower BridgeHyde ParkSt. Paul’s Cathedral
    Details: London guided sightseeing tour
    Join a licensed local guide for an in-depth look at London, from the royal haunt of Buckingham Palace (the official London residence of King Charles III) to the slightly more democratic Speakers’ Corner of Hyde Park, where anyone can pull up a soapbox and orate to his heart’s content. You’ll see the changing of the guard (season permitting), the clock tower of Big Ben with its 14-ton bell, and Westminster Abbey, where almost every English king and queen since William the Conqueror has been crowned. After a stop at the Houses of Parliament, continue on to the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of London architect Christopher Wren.
    Details: Curry dinner
    The history of Indian food in Britain is now almost four hundred years old and today the country is home to some of the best Indian food in the world. Today, traditional meals like Fish & Chips are matched in popularity by curry dishes. Sit down to a delicious authentic Indian meal for dinner tonight. Taste different dishes with fragrant spices to understand why Indian food is one of the nation's favorites.
    Day 10 Flight home from London
    Map of the Insider Paris tour | Explorica Educational Travel
    Tour Includes:
    • Round-trip airfare
    • 6 overnight stays (8 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
    • Full European breakfast daily
    • Dinner daily
    • Full-time services of a professional tour director
    • Guided sightseeing tours & city walks as per itinerary
    • Visit to select attractions as per itinerary
    • High-Speed Eurostar Chunnel crossing on extension
    • Tour Diary™
    • Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
    • Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
    • Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.
    We are better able to assist you with a quote for your selected departure date and city over the phone. Please call 1.888.310.7120 to price this tour with your requested options.
    Please select a postal code
    3471.00 total fee
    Basic Options


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