France

Burgundy

Perhaps the best time of the year to visit Burgundy is autumn. The vines are colored orange and green, and the weather is mild and breezy. Castles rising from vineyards and medieval churches mark the landscape of Burgundy, the land of the good life for those who savor fine cuisine and wines in historic surroundings since Roman times.

The fertile soil of the valley in between has been planted with vines - Chablis, Beaujolais, Macon, Cote de Beaune, Cote d’Or and the famous wine centers of Dijon, Beaune, Macon and the Cote-d’Or .

Normandy

Normandy offers a surprising variety of countryside and coastline. The coastline is sometimes wild and rugged, but the countryside with it's half timbered houses surrounded by apple orchards , fresh undulating landscape, and forests of beech and pine, is a haven of peace and serenity. The name Normandy is derived from the Norsemen, Vikings who came here in their wooden-prowed boats and settled between 800 AD and 911 AD when a Viking, Rollo, became the first Duke of Normandy.

Provence

The sun-splashed Provençal landscape inspires a cuisine bursting with a bounty of fresh food and wine. .Autumn in Provence is a particularly special time of the year.

Avignon once one of the most populated and wealthy cities in medieval Europe., makes a great center for visiting the surrounding area. It has been occupied since prehistory and was always a home of culture and a crossroad of civilizations. Its most dominant feature, the huge Palais des Papes, home to seven popes, was built when Pope Clement V in 1309 decided to move the papacy from Rome, to Avignon. Massive ramparts enclose attractive and lively outdoor ambience with its cafes, boutiques, theater and vistas

Loire Valley

The glorious valley of the Loire is renowned for its many chateaux dotted along the river, a reminder that the Loire has always attracted the great and the powerful. The chateaux are legendary; storybook Chambord, the largest of them all; classic Cheverny; romantic Amboise; imposing Chaumont; and Chenoceaux straddled across the river. The fairytale turrets of Azay-le-Rideau and the Renaissance gardes of Villandry are not to be missed. Nowhere are France’s royal roots more firmly embedded than here, names they evoke such as Francois I, Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici have all left their mark, not to mention Leonardo da Vinci, Rabelais and so many others.