Group Tour Operator for holidays to Normandy, France

Depart the UK

Drive to Dover and take the ferry across to Calais or Dunkerque.  From here, make the journey to Rouen for the next 5 nights.  After check-in, dinner will be together at the hotel this evening.

Rouen at leisure

Meet up with a local guide for a walking tour of Rouen, known as the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’ including its flamboyant Gothic Cathedrale Notre-Dame which has the tallest spire in France.  See the famous 14th century astronomical clock ‘Gros Horloge’ and the Vieux Marche square where Joan of Arc was burned.  Stroll along the narrow winding streets of the old town.

After the tour, the rest of the day and evening is at leisure to explore, sight-see and to get some lunch/dinner.  There is free entrance to the city art gallery, famous for its collection of impressionist works and if you happen to be in the city on a Saturday, local tram travel is also free.

Monet’s Garden, Ancient Watermill and Château de Bizy

After breakfast, drive to the picturesque village of Giverny where impressionist painter, Claude Monet, lived and worked and is probably the most famous garden in France.  Monet painted some of his most famous paintings whilst living at Giverny which  included his water lily and Japanese bridge paintings. Monet lived in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926.

The garden itself is in two parts with a flower garden in front of the house and the more famous water gardens were started ten years after Monet’s arrival at Giverny and constructed on land bought on the other side of the road from his house.

After some time to explore the gardens and stroll around the village and maybe get some lunch,  drive to nearby Verdon and stop at the ancient watermill located on the banks of the River Seine and which was the subject of many of Monet’s paintings.

From here, continue to Château de Bizy for a guided tour of the castle and the gardens. The tour will include the drawing-rooms adorned with carved wood panelling and souvenirs belonging to the Bonaparte Family, tapestries made by the Gobelin Manufacture and a marquetry pedestal table given by Napoleon I.  Wander round the English style park, planted with hundred-year-old trees and admire the fountains, ponds and 18th century statues which gives it the nickname of  the ‘Versailles of Normandy’

After the tour return to Rouen for an evening at leisure.

Honfleur and the Calvados Coast

This morning drive along the beautiful Normandy coast to the picture post-card resort of Honfleur for a walking tour.  Ports don’t come any prettier than Honfleur on the Seine estuary with its colourful half-timbered houses that jostle for position on the quays, along with art galleries and restaurants.  After the tour embark on a 90 minute cruise along the Seine Estuary cruising past the quays of the commercial port of Honfleur, the nature reserve with its protected species of birds and seals and the Normandy bridge and its viaduct before returning to Honfleur for some free time and lunch.

Return to Rouen via the stylish and chic seaside resort of Deauville, the playground of well-heeled Parisians. Take a stroll along the promenade overlooking the sandy beach or perhaps window shop in the many designer boutiques.

The area is also famous for Calvados apple brandy and there is the option to make a stop for a visit and/or tasting at one of the many distilleries (not included in cost – details on request)

Spend the evening at leisure.

Flavours of Normandy – Cheese and Cider

Discover the production of local cheeses at the Graindorge factory, established in 1910, with a tour and tasting of the famous Livarot and Pont L’Eveque cheeses.  See the processes and all the stages of production on this interactive tour.

From here, make a brief stop in the village of Beauvron-en-Auge, a quintessential Norman village. Admire the 16th-century Vieux Manoir, the elaborate half-timbered houses and the 18th-century Auberge de la Boule d’Or, a classic former inn. There are plenty of craft workshops and places selling local produce.

After some free time to explore and maybe take some lunch, drive to the nearby Jardins du Pays d’Auge, a stunning garden located in Cambremer covering 4 hectares of beautifully landscaped grounds featuring themed gardens and traditional Norman architecture.

Before returning to the hotel, enjoy a tour and tasting at the Pierre Huet Calvados Farm and distillery which produces and markets Calvados, Pommeau de Normandie and Cider.  More than 25 varieties of apples are grown on the 30 hectares of orchards.  After the tour there will be the option to make some purchases before heading back to Rouen.

Dinner will be together at the hotel for the final evening.

Return to the UK

Depart after breakfast and drive to Calais or Dunkerque and take the ferry across to the UK.

Étretat Gardens and the Benedictine Palace

Jardins d’Étretat are neo-futuristic gardens that extend over the cliffs of the Alabaster Coast, one of the wonders of Normandy with a view listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The gardens are home to lush topiary, landscape architecture and contemporary art and are listed among “Great Gardens of the World”.

The Palais Bénédictine near Fécamp is an architectural masterpiece built at the end of the 19th century in honour of Benedictine liqueur. It still houses the only Benedictine distillery in the world. Enjoy a tour of the museum and palace’s collections and discover the secrets of how Benedictine liqueur is made finishing with three tastings of this famous brandy.