France tours in 2024
Looking at France tours for 2024. Hesitant because of Olympics in Paris. Noticed Tauck eliminated a lot of July and August departures.
Concerned about changes in itinerary, closures of venues, etc. Deciding between river cruise London, Paris and the Seine vs Land tour Paris Brittany and the Loire Valley. Planning on Sept with extra days in Paris at the end. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Footdoc, smart to avoid Paris during that period.
We have taken both those tours and while I love the convenience of a river cruise I think the Brittany/Normandy land tour is better as far as sights seen. Both include Versailles, Paris, Giverny and the Dday beaches. You'll miss London though. If you've never been to Versailles, try to add one or two days extra. It's a huge estate with so much to see beyond the main chateau.
We are taking the Savoring France riverboat trip in August, 2024 and so far we even have confirmed hotel room for 2 days before. So far, there hasn’t been any mention of changes.
I heartily agree with Claudia- give yourself two days to see Versailles- there is a lot to see and some things aren't open everyday. Also, even if Tauck/Waldorf-Astoria, Trianon Palace hotel provides a free ticket, you can often get a better deal- better access at reduced cost over what it would cost to buy extra day, by getting an annual pass if you will be there for two or more days. We did the Normandy, Brittany, Paris, Loire Valley tour in May this year. It was excellent. We went one day early but did not stay later, so to get the max out of our time in Versailles and Paris I did some careful planning. It allowed us to see more than with just Tauck in both cities. There is plenty of free time in Paris, but note, not all departures visit the Louvre- you often need to call Tauck to find out which ones do not. Our departure was not scheduled to visit the Louvre and no departures go to St. Chapelle or the Conciergerie. We saw all three with a private guide. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower on our own.
There is so much to do in Paris and it's easy to do it on your own. Allocate several days. There are bed and breakfast places that are reasonable. Pick one fairly close to a subway stop and purchase a pack of tickets (better than a two or three day pass). Do a little research and plan what you want to see, then do it.
Paris is my favorite city. I never tire of visiting it.
The “subway” in Paris is called the Metro. The “pack of tickets” (paper ones) called carnets are no longer available for purchase or use as of September 2023. To ride the Metro it is contactless payments (no AMEX) or buy an Easy Navigo card and load carnets (individual or pack of 10) unto that card to ride the Metro.
I agree with the above posters about Versailles. We booked the earliest time slot (I think it was 9 am) very early online on our own for the day our Tauck tour started. We went in a day earlier, arrived about 10 am, and used the free tickets from the concierge to get the kinks out and wander the grounds of Versailles and most of the palace - all except for the Hall of Mirrors. Then, on our scheduled tour the next morning at 9 am, we hotfooted it directly to that grand room, and arrived before the boatloads of people - it was a much better experience this way. And, like Claudia so aptly says - even though it's a more fast-paced tour, it is jaw-droppingly beautiful and poignant at the same time.
We are on the London, Paris and Seine River tour the end of August so we won’t be in Paris until around the first of September and the Olympics end by August 11th…so hoping later dates will not be as overwhelmed as early dates regarding visitors in Paris and France. BTW, we loved Savoring France in April 2022…every day was terrific but the Cordon Bleu experience was fantastic!
Yes, the entire Savoring France tour was so memorable for us. It was our favorite and tied with the Douro cruise; two very different tours but both great. I have been "savoring" the fleur de sel gift we received when in the Camargue region. It has lasted since 2019 because I use it very sparingly as a finishing salt. And that scrumptious luncheon hosted by that delightful family in Camargue!
Seeing Normandy is a must. I loved the Paris Brittney trip. I added 2 extra nights ( plus my gift of time) at the beginning of the trip and had 2.5 glorious days in Versailles. There’s so much to see. To Alan’s point I purchased a yearly pass and it allowed me to see everything when I wanted, plus a discount on small group tours. Versailles is so amazing, and the town of Versailles is a short walk from the hotel for shopping or local restaurants. I stayed one extra day in Paris at the end of the tour which I loved too.
It is a great tour. It is hard to say how the Olympics (26 July to 11 August 2024) will affect Tauck tours then and at other times in the Summer. Regular, international, and European tourists may decide to avoid Paris in 2024 to avoid possible crowds. That could significantly offset any increase due to athletes and spectators. Remember, also, while a number of Olympic sports will be contested in and around Paris, the host city and in 16 other cities spread across metropolitan France (see Wikipedia map), others like sailing, will be held in Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, football which will be held in Bordeaux, Décines-Charpieu, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Étienne, and then of course there is surfing which will be held in Teahupo'o village in French Polynesia!!!
(No joke!!)
To avoid conflict with the Olympics, the Tour de France which is scheduled to start in Florence, Italy on 29 June, and will finish in Nice, France on the 21 July will be run mostly in Italy this year.
If Tauck is running a tour they will have this all figured out. The best thing to do is avoid Paris during the Olympics- There are no Tauck Normandy, Brittany, Paris, and Loire Valley tours scheduled for this time. I have checked any of the other France tours. Don't forget the Paralympics that follow the Olympics, 28 August to 8 September 2024. If you are planning to go early or stay later in a tour that includes Paris during the Olympics, you might want to be sure to book your extra stays through Tauck ASAP (like maybe last year!!!!) The same goes for flight reservations. If flights are hard to get you might consider flying into or out of another European city and taking the train to Paris/Versailles.
Things should be a lot quieter in the Loire Valley, Normandy, and Brittany.