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Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire Valley, May 24, 2022
We are going on the NBPLV tour on May 24. Arriving that day in Paris on a train from Brussels, after a Rhine River Cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels. Hopefully, we'll arrive early in the day and have time to do some sightseeing. Maybe the on-off bus. We are staying an extra night (June 5) and after we see what Tauck isn't covering, I'd like to hire a tour guide/driver to cover some additional sites. If anyone is interested let me know. I've done this in many places and it is usually very reasonable. I don't know if Tauck is taking us to the Louvre (I don't see it in the description). Perhaps, someone can tell us if the Louvre is included, or not. Anyway, there are many other sites that could be done. Let me know if you might be interested.
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It doesn't look like the 2022 tour includes the Louvre while 2021 does. We're supposed to get a private evening tour of it (according to our summary of purchase) though our tour date isn't included in the list so will be interesting to see if it happens.
Note that the tour start hotel is the Waldorf Astoria Versailles - not Paris. We stayed there on our Seine river cruise and loved it. Built right next to the chateaux property and just a few steps to go thru the Queens Gate entrance. But not in Paris.
Thanks for reminding me. I knew it, but had a brain fart.
I loved having breakfast looking over the chateaux grounds and with a mural on the wall detailing how the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the same room. One of our favorite Tauck hotels.
My 2016 tour did not include the interior of the Louvre. I had been there before and had seen what I wanted to see. If you want to go on your own, I suggest that you get there before it opens and have your plan of attack ready. You can find maps on line that show where different items are. My first stop was the Mona Lisa, and I got there before the crowd. I, too, loved the Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace. I'm a Hilton Honors member, and got upgraded to a huge suite (which I was not in much) that had a heated floor in the bathroom.
I’ll have to check my Hilton account.
May I make some alternative suggestions to the Louvre which takes hours to go around and you may need timed tickets these days. How about the Musee D’Orsay and the Monet museum which is particularly charming.
I ve been to the louvre and was not overly impressed. Susan has not and would like to see it. Musee D’Orsay is part of the trip. We’ll see it. Monet is a possibility.
It would be nice if the Louvre had, or if you can find online, maps like they do at the British Museujm- "The top "20 - 40- etc. things to see if you only have 1 - 2 - etc. hours to tour the museum." That worked great for us our last time in London.
Whether within the visitor's center or the Louvre's on-line site, there are a plethora of maps available giving information on exhibits, as well as the "must see" areas if time is limited. The museum is enormous and can easily take a lifetime to explore.
The evening tour of the Louvre is included with the Small Group Tours on certain dates only. I made sure when I moved our tour from 2020 to 2021 that it was a sgt and included the Louvre. Also, in 2020 a timed ticket was included for Versaille on day 1 to do on your own. I was told that wasn’t an option anymore so we’re arriving a day early to take our time at Versailles. I’ve been but always rushed, my husband has never been to France.
MCD, were you able to get your Honors benefits by using the Tauck reservation, or did you book the first early night on your own?
Rochelle59-- I didn't book anything on my own, but did have Tauck book the gift of time for the night before the tour started. I just gave the front desk the HH number when I checked in -- figuring that I'd just get points for what I spent in the bar. Never expected the upgrade. (I also did that at the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem for my Israel/Jordan trip in March 2020 and got a $25 hotel credit, which I spent in the bar.)
Rochelle59, curious who told you the timed Versailles tickets weren't an option anymore. We're on the 12 Sep tour coming in on the 11th with gift of time. Of course I haven't seen the travel docs or gotten any other update on the itinerary. Was hoping to finally see the chateaux. We spent a couple of days touring the gardens, Trianon, etc before our Seine cruise but didn't go inside the chateaux so was hoping to do so this trip.
It's funny about the Hilton Honors as I remember giving them my number thinking I'd get points but told no you don't with Tauck booking it. But then they gave us a huge corner room overlooking the swimming pool at the back. I just thought it was luck of the draw. I'll have to remember to bring the number with me this time.
You don't get HH (or any other hotel loyalty program) points for the rooms, but you can get points for extras, such as bar or spa charges. By the way, the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem told me that they would have upgraded my room, but Tauck already had the best rooms!
It’s always worth showing your loyalty cards just in case you are given unexpected points.
MCD, I have booked with the gift of time, but also booked using one of my free night certificates from Hilton. I am trying to decide which to cancel. I was wondering what your experience was with the member perks using the GOT. Was the breakfast included with the GOT?
Claudia Sails, the Tauck rep told me when I rebooked from Sept '20 to Sept '21. She couldn't find it mentioned anywhere for the newer tours. We're on the 3 Sep tour. There are 2 tours prior to us, so I'm hoping for more info before we go. My last email from Tauck said we go to the Louvre for the night tour on Day 11. I've been watching the Versailles website and the timed tickets for September haven't opened up as of a couple of days ago. If you find out anything different, please let me know! I don't want to purchase tickets I don't need!
British, I agree! I have all of my hotel memberships saved to the wallet on my phone so I don't have to worry about the physical card.
Breakfast is always included with GOT.
Rochelle, I might try calling next week when hopefully the current rush abates a bit. They need to explain why the tour starts at 2:30 in the afternoon but the first itinerary item is the welcome reception. The only time we've had a weird start time like that was ESW when you see Stirling Castle the afternoon of day 1 before the welcome dinner. I checked the Versailles ticket sales.and noted as you did that Sep times aren't open yet. Somewhere I read they only book 60 days out.
Will let you know if I get thru. Would like this resolved before I make the final payment.
You should receive tickets for Versailles as part of the tour. When we took it many years ago, we got our tickets from the hotel, arranged by Tauck. You may want to check. Sometimes the landscape is free; other times there is a fee if there is an event.
There was a thread about the "what do they do on day 1" of this tour discussion last summer and more than one previous traveler said they got tickets. I just want to be able to plan our time. We'll have the previous afternoon and most of day 1 to see parts of the estate missed on our previous visit there. The chateau, parts of the Hamlet that were being renovated and the coach house ( though word is the coach house is closed). We've seen the gardens during the day with the fountains me music were on. Considered maybe a nighttime show but not sure it's worth the price tag. Just glad to be planning something.
Hi everyone and Happy 4th of July to my fellow American travelers! I am tremendously excited about our trip in September and I have a question. We’d like to do one spectacular meal in Paris on our “free” day (I’m thinking it’ll be our most expensive day😉) and I’d like recommendations. Is the Jules Vern in the Eiffel Tower or the other restaurant, 58 Eiffel Tour, or somewhere else a good idea? I get that we’re paying for the experience of eating in the Eiffel Tower and that we’ll probably drop 300 Euros or so, but I want it to be worth it. Opinions? Other recommendations for the rest of the tour for the times were on our own would also be welcome. Merci beau coup!
I have only been tovParis once, but many other places in France. We met friends and had a spectacular meal, no idea where it was or want the restroom was called, but I do know that the other four wanted to eat eaely, so the restaurant opened up eaely for us. One of the guys said he was a wine buff, he wanted to chose the wine, he never realized it was very very expensive. We all laughed about it when we got the bill and I guess he never forgot.
I think you have to book the tower restaurant in advance, I believe you jave t odor it on line…. A friend tried to do this some years ago and thought she had made a reservation but when she got there they claimed there was no record of it. Hope others will be more helpful.
I don’t think I have ever had a bad meal in France, even a simple croque monsieur tastes better than anywhere else on the planet. On the other hand, my husband, who has been to Paris quite a few times, says he has had several bad meals in Paris! On our visit together, we stayed at one of the places that Oscar Wilde lived, now a small very French hotel in the Opera district. We asked about a nearby restaurant for early dinner, we were very tired from travel, the guy at the hotel raised his eyebrows at a request for such an early time, but told us about a nearby place and secured a reservation for us. It turned out to be the restaurant featured in the movie Somthings Got to Give with Keanu Reeves and Diane Keeron. The food was wonderful.
Thank you, British. I’m just wondering if the meal in the Eiffel Tower will be worth it. I think based on the last 18 months with Covid, my attitude has changed to one of “we may never get another chance at this” so I’m leaning toward dropping the small fortune to have the experience.
Hello Exlandlubber. We dined at the first floor restaurant several years ago expecting mediocre food like you usually get at U.S. tower restaurants. We were very pleasantly surprised. It was divine. I just googled the restaurants though, to refresh my memory and it looks like 58 is closed for renovation until 2022 and Jules Verne closed until September. I’m don’t know the date of reopening or the date of your trip, but if you can make it, I’d recommend going. It’s got a Michelin star and, as British says, it’s hard to find a bad meal in Paris.
Explandlubber, I’m with you, just got for it….in fact, even if the food was mediocre, the views would be great. So sorry to see that Dottie has reported the restaurants are closed right now.
Is you tour Sept 2021 or 2022 because right now, I remain concerned that the UK may still not be allowing AMerican tourists into the country by September. There are decisions being made public in the next couple of hours about easing of lockdowns for British citizens that will come into effect JULY 19th but thst does not include anything about travel. Understood that a travel ‘corridor’ between the UK and the US may still be sometime off
Thank you British and Dottie. We are scheduled for the Sept 21 tour starting around the 19th and it’ll be the 29th before we get to our free day in Paris; hopefully things will be open by then. We’re not in Great Britain till next year so that should be ok too.
Thanks very much, Kim
For those visiting Versailles, check the schedule for the fountain shows. Our tour starts on a Friday. We are visiting Versailles’ gardens on Thursday. There are fountain shows that day so entry is not free. The schedule of each fountain is on the Versailles website under Plan Your Visit.
We've asked, but have never been able to use/earn HH or other points/programs during our Tauck hotel stays. However, many/most of the Tauck hotels strongly push enrollment in their loyalty programs.
Everyone knows you can't use points/miles when you book air with Tauck, but many years ago I also discovered that you don't earn full point/miles with some (all?) airlines, either. Delta pointed me to their fine print when I discovered a discrepancy and called them about it- we didn't earn full miles because the fare was a special, unadvertised discounted fare, which is evidently what we get if we book air with Tauck.
Rochelle, fyi there are two different day time "music" events in the formal gardens (the part between the chateau and the grand canal). One is "Musical Gardens" which is mostly music playing while you wander around the groves. Not all the fountains are on. It happens on weekdays. On Sat and Sun in season, there is the "Musical Fountains Show" which is both the music playing and all the fountains actually on. We were lucky enough to start our Seine cruise there and our Gift of Time fell on the Sat so we walked over from the hotel and bought tickets for this. You may be slightly disappointed especially if like me you expect a lot of flowers/color in the garden. It's greenery and architecture.
I am considering doing the night time show with fire works but it doesn't start til 8:30 Sat and I'm nervous trying to find my way back to the hotel in the dark.
Most of the actual grounds of Versailles are open to the public for free. We walked in thru the Queens Gate - just outside the parking lot of the Waldorf-Astoria - and walked all the way to the canal then towards the chateau before hitting a place you had to pay. I'm going to talk to the concierge this time and hope to find a more direct route. Unless you take the rent bikes, golf cart or take the little train between the chateau and the Trianon complex, be prepared for A LOT of walking. The place is huge but amazing.
Thanks, Claudia!
Re Hotel points, we definitely have got them all at least once, it was Marriott, maybe by mistake.
As far as we know, we have never had reduced air miles when Tauck has booked a fare, but we don’t travel on Delta.