Tour Code: WT-Paris 01    8 Days Tour in France to Reims, Epernay, Nancy and Strasbourg

Departure: Daily

Day 01 - Entry Reims
Our guide will pick you up CDG. Drive to Reims. Reims reflects traditional France with its sidewalk cafés, celebrated restaurants, stylish shops, a canal running through town and champagne cellars underneath, medieval churches and its magnificent Gothic cathedral.

Day 02 - Reims/Epernay
In the morning, take the guided visit of Reims. For 800 years most French kings came here to be crowned in its cathedral, including Charles VII in 1429, led by "the maid of Lorraine," Joan of Arc. During World War I  80 % of the town was destroyed, to be rebuilt by the mid -1930s. In World War II General Eisenhower established his headquarters in a local high school, and it was here that the surrender of the Third Reich was signed. In the afternoon, drive to Epernay to visit a champagne cellar (Moët et Chandon or other). If there is time and interest, we can stop briefly in Hautvillers to see the abbey church, burial place of Dom Perignon, the 17th-century monk to whom we owe the discovery of the champagne process.

Day 03 - Epernay/Nancy
En route to Nancy we will drive to Verdun to see sites of WWI. If there is interest, we can stop for a guided visit of Le Hakenberg, largest and most impressive sector of the Maginot Line.

Day 04 - Nancy
Guided tour of Nancy. This beautiful city invites you first to enjoy the golden opulence of its newly restored Place Stanislas and gems of architectural elegance found throughout the city. Then you will want to discover the works of early-20th century artists and architects who joined glassworker Emile Gallé to found the Ecole de Nancy and launched the graceful style we call Art Nouveau. Everywhere in the city you will find traces of the history of Nancy and the fascinating story of the dukes of Lorraine. The afternoon is free.

Day 05 - Nancy/Strasbourg
En route to Strasbourg stop briefly in Lunéville to visit its château, called the Versailles of Lorraine and in Baccarat to admire the displays in the Crystal Museum and in local shops. In the afternoon, guided walking tour of Strasbourg, followed by a boat excursion on the canals. We will visit the Petite France neighborhood, where half-timbered houses look out onto a maze of canals, see the magnificent cathedral with its sky-high spire and red sandstone façade of Gothic lacework. The cathedral is known for its fine sculpture and fascinating astronomical clock, where a parade of little figures announces the passing hours. After our tour we will have time to stroll in this great city, which feels homey in spite of its international importance as headquarters of the Council of Europe and meeting place of the European Parliament. Street performers often entertain passers-by at public squares, children play alongside them, and locals join visitors at friendly wine taverns. Of course, we have to leave time for shopping in Strasbourg!

Day 06 - Strasbourg
Drive up to the Mont Sainte-Odile for a beautiful panoramic view over the countryside below. Later, visit the imposing feudal fortress of Haut-Koenigsbourg, rebuilt by German Kaiser Wilhelm in the early 20th century, when Alsace was still German territory. If there is time, we will stop to see Kayserberg, a charming village on the River Weiss, with its castle, fortified bridge and 16th and 17th century houses, some topped with nests where storks still raise their young. The town is also the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer, musicologist, physician and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. We can visit his house, now a beautiful little museum which chronicles his life and work at the hospital he founded in Lambaréné, Africa. Drive along the Alsatian Wine Road, visiting towns and villages en route: Obernai and tiny Ottrot, where we can visit the atelier of an artist who creates fine landscapes using different inlaid woods.

Day 07 - Strasbourg
Visit lovely Colmar, so typically old Alsatian with its tangle of winding streets, brightly painted, crooked half-timbered houses, and its neighborhood of waterways known as the Petite Venise. For art lovers Colmar also has the fine Unterlinden Museum, world renowned for the dramatic Issenheim Altarpiece. Visit Riquewihr, one of the oldest and most picturesque villages of Alsace, set amidst rolling slopes of vineyards. We'll tour the Hugel Winery, one of the oldest producers of Alsatian wines, and stop for a tasting. Return to hotel to prepare for next day's departure.

Day 08: Exit Strasbourg
Tour ends after breakfast and see you off.