As they say, you haven’t travelled if you haven’t travelled to France.
From the pre-eminent landmarks of its capital city of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum and the Notre Dame Cathedral to the well-preserved castles scattered in the hinterland; from the grandiose historicity of the Palace of Versailles to the little-known fantasy-like Chateaus with turreted towers in Loire; France lets you into the glory and grandeur of times gone by.
Explore the amazing land of history, arts, culture, trend-setting fashion, high-end leisure, wine and cuisine with our customisable France tour packages from India.
France. The name conjures up characteristic images of the country picked up from the popular media by the people worldwide.
The prime image is that of the iconic Eiffel Tower casting its dominating look over Paris, a plush capital city of exquisite charm, trendy fashions, great museums and avant-garde galleries. The pictures of country-side vineyards and expansive farmlands dotted with medieval villages and castles. The sunny French Riviera and lengthy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean are other archetypal images of the country ingrained in our minds. The portraits of the historic coast of Normandy and the architectural magnificence of Versailles make up the rest.
France is all of it. And it is many things more.
The Cities.
The city of glamorous and classy Paris and the historic Versailles 20 kms away make up most of what the people outside France first think of when they think about the country. Bordeaux, ‘an outstanding urban ensemble’, Lyon, with its old Roman ruins and Aries of Roman or Romanesque monuments are the other cities that would make into most visitor’s curiosity list about the country.
The French Riviera.
(Cote de Azure). The name evokes images of luxury and style, of wealthy people lazing in their sea-side retreats, or partying on their yachts or busy with their putts at the golf courses. The region is in the south eastern part of the country. It spans over the glamourous Cannes, the city where the mighty of the movie-world pay annual pilgrimage, Saint Tropez, ill-famed as the flashy hide-out of the jet-site elites and Nice, the resort capital of the country. Just the kind of places people dream of. Just the kind of dream-destinations people associate with France.
The French Riviera ticks on all the right boxes of any plan of Europe tours of the have-arrived.
Rose wines and lavender fields and then more.
Rose wines and lavender fields in the region of Provence in the south eastern part of France exemplify the gracious beauty of the French countryside. Rhone-Alps in eastern France are snow-covered enchantment. Castles scattered on the rolling riverine landscape of the Loire Valley in Central France is a fairy-tale wonderland. The pink granite coast of Brittany in the north are pretty delights.
Flat plains and small waves of hills with gentle slopes or sudden rocky bulge is what most of the country looks like in the northern and western parts. The south and east are mostly mountainous.
Parks and amusements.
Disneyland Resort Paris is the most popular tourist destination in France. A theme park just 45 kms away from Paris, designed on the lines of Walt Disney World in California it is a huge hit with family travellers.
Also popular are the national parks for their awesome sceneries, photo ops and hiking and trailing tracks.
Arts and Museum.
Mona Lisa maintains her dignified smile in spite of over 9 million visitors a year scrambling to have that one look at her at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the largest in the world. With an exterior that proclaims the architectural grandiosity of the times it was built in, the abundance of artistic collection inside of over 300,000 pieces is just staggering.
You cannot think of going to France and not going to museums. The Louvre is just one of them. There are 1218 museums in France, 130 in Paris alone.
Best place, best time.
You may be looking for a romantic holiday strolling the Luxemburg garden holding your spouse’s hand in the most romantic city in the world. Paris is the place to go. You may be looking for a splash of luxury at the yachts sauntering off the Mediterranean coast after your hard-earned harvest of business-returns. Nice is the place for you. Or, you may be wanting some good time spent with your family in a picturesque city and fun-filled educational trip. Versailles and Louvre are the answers for you.
France enjoys cool winter and mild summers. However, among the European countries, France has the most diverse geographical features. The best time to visit France, therefore, depends on the region you are visiting as there are regional differences in the climate.
Generally, the best time for holidays to France is summers from March-end or April to October.
Paris is always a good idea, said Audrey Hepburn. You have to visit the city to know why you can’t stop falling in love with the city.
The most romantic city in the world has something in the air that makes just a stroll along the banks of River Seine with your beloved a memory to cherish.
The grandiosity of the architecture of the city’s buildings and the diversity of its style are spell-binding. There is history lurking in every nook of the city in the form of the museums and the art galleries.
They leave their imposing presence in your mind long after you have left the venue. The city has art and culture in its breath.
There are high-end stores and cafes and fashion boutiques on the most beautiful avenues that dual as a cultural hotspot. Everything about Paris is avant-garde.
Just 20 kms away from Paris is the Versailles. The Palace of Versailles, now a museum of the history of France is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a standing monument to the 18th-century French art with a cultural history that is stupefying and inspiring at the same time.
If you are looking for a trip to France with Paris as your focus then we have Paris trip package ready for you.
A day trip away from Paris is the entertainment resort with two theme parks and many resorts. It is a dining, shopping and entertainment centre and the most visited tourist spot in Europe.
Located in the south-eastern part of France, Provence is a geographical region of sunshine and Mediterranean climate. The countryside with lavender fields and sunflowers and olive groves are devastatingly beautiful.
It has a fairy tale landscape with pretty villages sitting on hilltops of gentle slopes or sudden rocky bulges. Small lovely towns with outdoor cafes and a classical port city make the region among the cute corners of the world.
Ravishingly beautiful natural sceneries of the French Alps, the majestic mountain chain with a snow-capped iconic peak of Mont Blanc, is a big attraction drawing people to France.
Azure-blue waters splash across the Mediterranean coastline of the glamorous Cote-de-Azure (French Riviera), the go-to place for the rich and the famous. Saint Tropez, for the wallowing-in-currency-notes rich, Cannes for the classy and fashionable rich and Nice for the relaxed museum-going, cobble-street-walking rich; it is the seduction of high life all the way.
If you are looking to spend a long trip on your honeymoon, add Provence-Alpes-Cote de-Azure to your Paris-Versailles leg of the travel and make it a journey to cherish for life. We have for you France honeymoon package to take care of your journey.
The Garden of France is so named because of its abundant fruit orchards and vineyards. With pompous chateaus that once served as country retreats for the nobility scattered amidst the beautiful landscape, Loire has a wonderland ambience to it.
From sight-seeing to skiing, from studying cave arts to appreciating Mona Lisa, from marvelling at the museum collections to wine tasting; the list is endless.
Sightseeing
Go sightseeing in Paris. Begin with the Eiffel Tower. Move up the levels and take a panoramic view of the city. Possibly start ascending just before sunset to watch the city in different colours as the sun descends in the horizon.
In the evening, enjoy the glittering lights that festoon the tower for five minutes every hour. Stroll along the banks of Seine river and the bridges over it. Take a boat tour and be marvelled by the sight of the Louvre, the Notre Dame Cathedral and all the iconic city monuments pass by.
Kindle the romance with your loved ones on the dinner cruise on the Seine as you see the monuments lighted up at night to get a truly enchanting view of the city. Loaf in the streets and alleys of the city to get the feel of the medieval Paris in the lanes of the Latin Quarter and to soak in the old-world charm in Le Marais of old palaces and mansions.
In Provence, fell in love with the peculiar villages, sun-bathed seaports, photo-worthy sceneries of harbour against the Mediterranean Sea. Breathe in the breeze blowing over the lavender fields around Valensole and get intoxicated by the charming views.
Soak in the mesmerizing sceneries in the Chamonix town at the foot of the Mont Blanc peak or any of the many towns and villages snuggled in the embrace of the beautiful French Alps.Declare to the world you have truly arrived in life posting Instagram from the Riviera towns of Cannes or Saint-Tropez.
Ponder at the museums
180 museums in just the capital city. That is a lot of museums even for museum-hopping. So, stick to a couple of hours in one or two. And if it is your first time in France, saying hello to Mona Lisa at the Louvre is a mandate.
Idle at Champ Elysée’s
Soak in the city just walking this avenue or idling at the numerous cafes lining it. A favourite with the visitors.
Acquaint with splendour and turmoil of Versailles. Pomp. And a monstrous excess of it. Get a view of the stunning grandeur of the royals and the courtiers of yesteryears and the tragic upheaval that followed. Be dazzled by King Louis XIV’s apartments and chambers and salons.
Stay stumped at the Hall of Mirrors, be boggled by the mammoth gardens and wonder at the king’s chapel that in its very design establishes the king as the God’s own lieutenant.
Bring out the child in you at Disneyland Paris and enjoy the many rides at the amusement park that draws tourists in droves from all over Europe. Take photos of the castles with the pink turrets, the prettiest of all Disney castles anywhere in the world.
Don’t miss out on the Star Parade. There is too much to do in France to complete in a single visit. While you are enjoying the taste of rose wines and sight of lavender fields at Provence, take a round of the port city of Marseilles or take a cable ride at Toulon that will take you up 584 meters above sea level.
At the Alps, go mountaineering, hiking, camping, paragliding and skiing. And if you can make it, take a wine tasting tour in Champagne. Pick on the travel packages carefully so you get to do all the things you aspire to do. Check out on our France holiday packages and let us customise for you.
The ‘Iron Lady’, is the landmark unmistakably associated with Paris. Though metallic, it carries a certain air of grace befitting the aura of the city. A top attraction for travellers for the stupendous view it provides of the city at different levels.
River cruise on the Seine is a big fascination for tourists who absolutely love the sights of the historic monuments including the Arc-de- Triomphe pass by while sailing on the river. Dinner cruise in the evening is popular among the romantics.
This UNESCO listed site of a cathedral with its intricately designed and incredibly sized windows creating a celestial effect is an allurement to the faithful and others alike. The Passion window and the Blue Virgin window are special draws.
A palace converted into a museum. At display are the boastful wealth of the royalty as obvious from the palace’s structure. But, also on display are the finer tastes of the same royalty whose collections are now exhibits of the museum. Over 3,00,000 of priceless artworks. Among them are innumerable masterpieces including the painting of Mona Lisa and sculptor of Venus de Milo.
With over 10 million visitors a year, it is the most visited amusement park destination in Europe.
Majestic. Grandiose. Opulent. Words fail to describe the palace that was designed to strike awe for the glorious power of the King. Perhaps it turned out too haughty for people to bear leading to the tragic events of the revolution. A must-visit tourist attraction. The Hall of Mirrors, glittering with sunrays reflecting from its ornamental mirrors and the humungous sized garden with 800 hectares of luscious parkland surrounding it are enough to leave you in a sublime stupor.
The innate pastoral beauty and rural charisma of the region is a big turn on for visitors looking for more relaxed soul-soothing holidays. Stretches of lively purple lavender fields, villages perched on rocky bulge, cobblestone streets and innumerable fountains amidst ancient ruins are among the top tourist attractions in France. Aix-en-Provence, 30 kms north of Marseilles and Luberon are the top attractions.
Sunshine and beaches and yachts and golf; fashion and high-life, glamour and gall. Cannes. Nice. Saint-Tropez. A tourist aspiration.
Castles, ramparts, moats and turreted towers that take us back to our childhood readings of the illustrated story books about kings and princesses. The entire area of Loire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chateau de Chambord among the others chateaus is fascinating.
Snow draped peak of Mont Blanc, the highest in Europe at 4810 meters, provides a stunning view of the mountains around and the cute alpine village of Chamonix at the foothills. The allure of rock-climbing, hiking and skiing is all pervasive here.
The list of attractions is never-ending. The pre-historic cave painting of Lascaux in Dordogne, south-western France, pristine sandy beaches of Brittany in the north eastern coast, the pretty villages of Alsace in eastern France and the UNESCO listed Mont Saint-Michel off the Normandy coast are some of the many tourist attractions in France.
There are a number of ways you can plan the itinerary of your tour in France. You can focus on Paris and nearby. Or you can plan to have a luxury holiday at the Riviera. You can plan for slow-paced idyllic villages and small towns near Marseilles too.
For hiking and skiing, you need to be at the Alpine towns. Come to us a Flying Squirrel Holidays and let us customise your France travel so you can reach just the right tourist destinations.
Here is a sample France tour itinerary which we can customise for you.
Day 1
Arrival at Paris airport. Escorted transfer to the hotel and check-in. You are free to do your own things. Either relax at the hotel or walk around the city.Day 2 & Day 3
Two-days coupon will be provided for the Big Bus Hop-on-Hop-off service for the city tour of Paris. The coupon is valid for two days. The Bus traverses the roads going through all the iconic places in the city. Hop-on Hop-off is a great way to enjoy Paris as it lets you decide on the time you would like to spend at different tourist spots as per your own liking and pace. Also includes 1 hour on the Seine River Cruise.Day 4
Breakfast and day trip to Disneyland Paris.Day 5
Breakfast and day trip to Versailles. At Versailles, you are on your own. Return to the hotel in the afternoon. The evening is for you on your own. Those interested can go for a dinner cruise on the Seine or try French cuisine in the numerous restaurants of all budget category available in the city. They can go for shopping or souvenir collection.Day 6
Check out from Paris hotel and transfer to the airport. Return home with memorable memories.Please email me a copy of the sample itinerary
Duration of a trip depends on various factors like destinations, duration, class of travel and stay, and inclusions. You can plan for a long tour through the country, or select the most popular ones around Paris-Versailles-Disney or a luxury vacation in the Riviera.
Don’t let your concern for budget come in the way of reaching your dream destination. We customize your tour best suited to your interests and budgets.
Is it expensive to eat in France?
Gourmet eateries of elaborate courses are very expensive. But, in the market place and at the local dives you can enjoy French cuisine at a reasonable price. Go where the locals go.
Beer and spirits are curiously costly. But wines are a surprise bargain.
Can I speak in English in France?
With hotel receptionists and at a touristy place, speaking in English is not a problem. Just a little bit of knowledge of French to begin the conversation is always good.
Which cities in France should I visit?
France is the most diverse among the European counties with varying climatic conditions making different parts of the country suitable to visit in different times. It is best travelled in parts.
You can visit Paris and the suburban Versailles for a scenic-cultural-educational-trendy destination. You can plan for a luxury vacation in the French Riviera cities of glamorous Cannes, splurging Saint-Tropez or relaxed Nice. Or you can plan to anchor in port city of Marseilles and go around the Provence region of beautiful landscapes and the city of Aix-en. You can plan for winter tour of hiking and skiing in French Alpine from the towns of Aix-les-Bains or Annecy.
Which is the most beautiful part of France?
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. You can be enamoured by the Riviera coastlines or the snow-covered mountain peak of Mont Blanc. You can be enchanted by the lavender fields of Provence or the romantic cruise on the Seine. Or then, Champagne-Ardenne region of the bubbly may bewitch you. There is no end to the list of beautiful places in France. Set out with our tour packages and check it out yourself.
From the luxury leisure at the Riviera to the rigorous winter sports at the French alpine, from the elemental family outing at the Provence to the ritzy world of trendy Paris, France’s itinerary serves difficult choices to make. Let us at Flying Squirrel Holidays make it easy for you. For you, we have designed a customisable France tour packages from India.
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