Review of JULY 2,2023 trip - a Week in the French Riviera, Provence and Paris
My husband and I, together with our three young adult children went on the tour covering Nice, Provence and Paris. The hotels were splendid and our tour director, Gina, was outstanding.
We arrived in Nice a day early and checked into our hotel, with ocean view rooms and steps away from the Promenade des Anglais. Ate at the Hard Rock Cafe the first night and watched the moon reflect on the ocean from our balconies. We had three rooms, one for my daughter and I, one for my two sons and one for my husband. The hotel was very clean, rooms were spacious and the staff was very accommodating. I felt very welcomed and we all loved Nice.
Every morning we had a hot breakfast with the best orange juice I have ever tasted. We had a local guide who took us on a walk through the old town- this excursion was an add on. It was hot, but we had a lovely walk. Overall, Nice was fantastic and I would go back in a heartbeat.
The next full day we headed down to Monaco. Our bus driver, Francois, was very impressive and my family all agreed that he was extremely skilled. We ate at a rooftop restaurant- the buffet was plentiful and offered numerous options, including plenty of vegetarian options as some in the group pointed out. Again, we were very satisfied with the food and the view. Afterwards, we had free time to walk around Monaco, see the palace and so forth. My sons were thrilled to see all of the exotic cars outside the casino and my husband, who is a big James Bond fan, bought a chip from the casino store. Another hot day but we all enjoyed ourselves.
On July 4th, we left Nice and headed to Provence. My favorite part of the day was seeing St Paul de Vence, a walled town with scenic pathways and great little shops. I wish we had more time there but we needed to move on to Aix-en-Provence. Be aware that this is a long day with a ton of walking. After our local guide showed us around, we arrived quite late in the day to our hotel, an estate really- Auberge de Cassagne- where the owner warmly welcomed us and gave us a cold drink. The service was impeccable, and the rooms very comfortable. Again, our rooms were all in a row, very thoughtful. While there, the chef created a very fancy meal for us- a bit of a disappointment that there was a very limited selection on the menu, with raw fish as a starter. Honestly, we all felt a bit let down because the meal was very pretentious. A small
thing, certainly, and the rest of the time at this hotel was wonderful.
We went to Avignon and saw the town on July 5th, as well as the sanitarium where Van Gogh painted some of his masterpieces. If you take this tour- go to the Sanitarium- it is worthwhile and only a short walk. In Avignon, we were treated to an excellent dinner of pheasant (yes- it tastes like chicken) and we all enjoyed it.
On July 6th, we headed to the Pont du Gard, and ancient Roman aqueduct and we actually were allowed to walk through the aqueduct to the other side of the river. Only downside- the boxed lunch - which was inedible. One fatty slice of ham - no one in the group found the sandwiches to be any good. I suggest buying lunch from the little restaurant on the far side of the Aqueduct- my son bought a sandwich there and it was excellent.
Took the TGV to Paris, not too eventful, and checked into Le Scribe hotel- right in the middle of everything. Paris is gearing up for the Olympics so lots of scaffolding everywhere. We spent a lot of time walking around Paris, we saw zero demonstrations and absolutely no disruptions anywhere. We spent a lot of
time worrying for no reason.
The next day, we had a lunch cruise on the Seine, more raw fish and odd food, another pretentious meal. The last day we went to the Louvre for a couple of hours and then to a great restaurant right across from the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, my family and I stayed to watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle for 5 minutes starting at 11:00 pm. Walked back to the hotel afterwards.
We stayed two more days after the tour ended - went to Disneyland Paris on 7/10- great time and they have a bus that picks up and drops off right down the street in front of the Opera. No issues with the transfers to and from the airports.
I recommend this tour- just be aware that there are a couple of meals you may not like. I was also a bit puzzled why going up the Eiffel Tower was not included. Luckily we have been to Paris before, but it not something to be missed. I would have also added a Versailles option, so if you can stay an extra day or two - well worth it!
Happy travels!!
Comments
Cheryl, headed for this tour very soon. How was the dress code? (I’m 50)
Any other advice????
I'm booked for this Frech Riviera, Provence and Paris tour in June 2025. I hope Tauck listens to the travelers comments and has restaurants offer more palatable food options. It is so frustrating when inedible food is served.
Cheryl has not visited the forum for over a year.
I was on this tour last spring (I would not choose Provence in summer) revisiting a part of France I've been to several times and as I recall, other than poorly cooked steaks in Avignon, the food, esp. on the Alain Ducasse Seine cruise, was delicious with plenty of choice (which maybe makes me pretentious). I am not much of a wine drinker and this was the only time I've been offered an alternative, a delicious fresh pressed raspberry juice. We had a generous sandwich pickup of our choice at the Pont du Gard, I think at the restaurant mentioned, followed by a riverside champagne and Biscuits Roses toast. Other than being in a too-busy Paris during a Spring Break weekend, I had no complaints and enjoyed a lovely time in Brittany after the tour, including joining the marching workers in St.-Malo on May 1. The market in Nice is a must-do for local specialties, as is the Matisse Museum; Tauck might consider giving us a choice of Nice museums. Btw I've been to Paris too many times to count, but am a notoriously bad tourist and have never even considered going up the Tour Eiffel lol.
Wow, I finally found someone else who cannot see the attraction of going up the Eiffel Tower!
We will be on this trip on May 18 and wonder if Tauck can make arrangements to visit Notre Dame in Paris when we are there. I lived in Paris in the 90s and would love to see the reconstruction from the inside.
Sorry no Tauck won't likely do that. You'll need to arrange it yourself.
Hi, MarketArt. Somehow I missed your 2024 Sep post. I would never characterize you as pretentious—far from it. As I have mentioned several times, how we travel and what we prefer to experience are very personal choices. Although I enjoy looking at the Eiffel Tower from afar and especially when illuminated at night, I have never had the desire to go up it. Warm regards.
I did it long ago - I was probably in my 30's - and I'm glad I did, just to say I did. Back then you went up half way in one elevator and then transferred to a second elevator for the rest of the trip to the top. But it's just the usual "overlook the city" that you get from any tall building in any city. I have no desire to do it again, especially if I had to wait in a line.
We went to Paris about eight years ago and paid for a private tour of the Eiffel Tower. We were allowed to enter about 10 minutes before it opened. I don't think it was worth the price we paid. There were only six in our group and haven't seen it advertised in a long time. I remember that it was very expensive.
I've been in Paris several times and like Mike I went up the tower once and I think that's enough, it was with a private tour also, the rest of the times I just look at it
Drew_VanOrden1 - Send an e-mail to your hotel's concierge and ask for assistance. Perhaps in time, Tauck will offer an excursion to view the renovated/rebuilt Notre Dame.
I'm so glad to hear others aren't into going up high structures. Years ago while on vacation my ten year old son talked me into going to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. (Actually, he wanted to go to the top but Mom's fear of heights overruled him) He loved it; I didn't. Then he talked me into walking down all of those steps to the ground. My idea of Eiffel Tower viewing is to go over to the Right Bank and see it from the Cite de l' Arcihtecture et Patrimonie. Museum.
I also went as high as one can go on the Eiffel Tower. I also dined in the restaurant a very long time ago, both just to say that I did it once. My family wanted to do this and so I calmly caved in. I really do not see what the thrill is just to view tops of roof tops from any vantage top anywhere. I can understand being mesmerized by a gorgeous sunset, etc but not so much for roofs of buildings. The same experience happened doing the walk on the Sydney Bridge which was more frightening. Wild horses wouldn’t talk me into doing that again or even zip-lining. I darn near blacked out once from a fear of extreme heights looking outward, but that’s just me.
My point was that there are alternative places to see Paris rooftops than the Eiffel Tower, like Monmatre and the arc De Triomphe. Britain has its copy of the tower, the Blackpool tower, went up there as a kid.
I’m not scared of heights, done ziplining quite a few times. You go so fast, you don’t see much doing that.
To see Paris from heights and get a great view, go to Montmartre and go to Sacre Coeur, fantastic view on a clear day.
I love Montmartre for its views and quaint side streets. The Basilica area can be quite crowded but once away from there, it is very enjoyable. There are wineries and a lovely cemetery to stroll through. Taking the little train/trolley to get to and from is also fun.
We look at it this way great 360 view of the city including Notre Dame, interesting history and structure (I’m an engineer) so why not? We did our research so got tickets to the top weeks earlier. On the day of the farewell, we went with Tauck to D’Orsay in the morning, separated from the group and walked to Rodin museum (so, so), had the worst Bagel sandwich ever, for lunch, then walked to the Champ de Mars and the tower where we rode to top. Following that we strolled the left bank of the Seine back to our 4 (5?) star Le Maurice (across from the Orangerie not far from Louvre.) The tower interested us and we don’t have to explain to friends why were didn’t see it! It would be like going to Italy and not seeing the Leaning Tower.😎🗼