* France - Provence and French Riviera: Coach tour in 4* Hotels

Group arrival at Nimes Arles Camargue airport (flight bookings your own responsibility) and welcome by your driver before setting off for the Pont du Gard Aqueduct. Guided tour of this masterpiece of Roman engineering. Check-in to your 4 star hotel in the Avignon region. Dinner and overnight.

Direction Avignon for a guided tour of the impressive Papal Palace then a tasting session of Cotes du Rhone wines, with bread and cheese, in the Palace’s Wine Cellar, or “ Bouteillerie”.  Lunch at your leisure. Then a relaxing afternoon aboard as we join our Rhone cruise to enjoy the town from a river perspective .Return to the hotel for dinner, and overnight.

Situated between Avignon and Orange, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape domain covers some 3 000 hectares, spread out around the ancient fortress ruins. A day’s excursion into the heart of this wine-growing region in the company of an expert wine guide, stopping to visit several different vineyards and sample the vintages. Free time for lunch during the day, and a treat for the sweet-toothed with a visit to a chocolate factory before returning to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

An introduction to Provencal cuisine, on a local farm, starting with a tour of the kitchen garden to pick your ingredients according to the season: olives, lavender, other herbs and little known vegetables. Enjoy your creations at lunchtime before heading to Sault opposite Mont Ventoux where a visit to the Lavender Farm and nursery reveals the numerous virtues of this humble plant. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Head for the Cote d’Azur via Draguignan. At the Chateau Roubine, take a horse drawn carriage through the vineyards before tasting some Provencal wines. Free time for lunch. Then we continue to Roquebrune sur Argens where we stop to visit the wonderful collection of tropical orchards. Our last stop is at an olive grove, with a chance to taste some home-grown olives and locally pressed oils. Check-in to your hotel in the Cannes region. Dinner and overnight.

A day exploring Grasse, better known as the perfume capital of Provence. Enjoy a guided tour of the old mediaeval town, with its twelfth century Cathedral, picturesque little streets and the main square, the Place aux Aires. Free time for lunch, then a visit to the Galimard Perfumery. After visiting the factory you’ll have the chance to create your very own individual “eau de parfum”, and take a sample home with you. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

For glamour, luxury and elegance, there’s nothing quite like Cannes! Take a little train ride through the town and along the famous seafront boulevard, La Croisette. Free time for lunch then for shopping on the Croisette. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Guided tour of the old town in Nice, famous for its flower market in the cours Saleya, and its pastel facades and narrow alleys: it’s very Italianate in feel. Try the tasty local speciality, “socca”, a sort of pancake made from chick pea flour. Free time for lunch, and then to wander at leisure in the old town. Last stop is Nice’s last remaining olive oil mill where you can taste the produce. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Monaco is our destination today, where you are free to explore the lovely Exotic Garden, full of cacti and plants from faraway arid zones, before our 11.55 rendez-vous for the changing of the Guard in front of the Royal Palace.  Free time for lunch then a guided tour of the old town and its narrow streets. Time at leisure before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

On the beautiful and exclusive Cap Ferrat headland jutting out into the Mediterranean we visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, renowned for its glorious gardens.  Free time for lunch then a visit to a local flower nursery  specialising in carnations, where you can discover the local know-how, and sample all sorts of other locally produced specialities. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Coach transfer to Nice Cote d’Azur airport for the return flight (flight bookings your own responsibility). End of our services.