Classic Gardens of France Ross Garden Tours European Collection

Classic Gardens of France – Ross Garden Tours European Collection

Please note our years of experience means that our tours are timed to exactly coincide with the peak times for Gardens and Flowers around the world and so if you have missed this years tour – you can still contact us to ensure you have all the information possible for our next tour – simply CLICK HERE

Fully escorted throughout
22/05/2009 – 6/06/2009

Day 1 Friday, 22 May 2009

Paris (D)

Check in to your deluxe hotel in Place de la République, Paris. Get to know your fellow travelers at a welcome dinner in your hotel this evening.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn République, Paris

Day 2 Saturday, 23 May 2009

Paris (B/D)

Morning at leisure in Paris.

Early afternoon departure for the Rose Garden at Val-de-Marne. For just one glorious month, the colour and fragrance of millions of roses is quite overwhelming.This garden exhibits that lively decorative sense which is the essence of French gardens.

Continue on to Vaux le Vicomte for an "Evening of Candles’, when 2000 candles are lit at dusk, in the château and gardens. It’s a fairytale scene as darkness falls! Gourmet dinner is included in the Orangerie attached to the château.

This candlelight festival with classic music revives the memory of the opening night when Nicholas Fouquet entertained the young King Louis XIV on 17th August 1661.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn République, Paris

Day 3 Sunday, 24 May 2009

Paris (B)

Relax and enjoy Sunday morning in Paris at your leisure.

To Versailles late this morning, Palace of Louis X1V, the Sun King, the largest and most affluent palace ever built.

Potager Du Roi (Kitchen Garden of the King), is Versailles’ secret garden with 60 different species and over 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables. Take ‘Le Petit Train’ (the small train) to visit the Grand and Petite Trianons, Marie-Antoinette’s refuge from the formal court life of Versailles. The garden, one of Marie Antoinette’s hobbies, is full of neo-classical buildings.

Finally a walk through magnificent formal gardens designed by Andre Le Notre, in the formal French style, with the "Grands Eaux", the fountains alive and the music playing.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn République, Paris

Day 4 Monday, 25 May 2009

Paris (B)

Jardin Bagatelle is first this morning in the Bois de Boulogne. The château is set in an English-style park with a Chinese pavilion, grotto, waterfall and orangerie.

The Rose Garden is a masterpiece, designed by Claude Forrestier, this ‘roserie’ is home to 20,000 roses in 2,650 varieties growing on swags, colonnades and pillars.

This afternoon you will visit another beautiful potager, Domaine de Saint-Jean de Beauregard, attached to a 17th century château. See fruiting espalier, wide flower borders, walled garden, rare varieties of vegetables and flowers, grape house and dovecote. Meet the owner (and gardener) Vicomtesse de Curel, who will show you the passion that makes this garden so inspirational.

Option this evening for the unforgetable cabaret at the Moulin Rouge.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn République, Paris

Day 5 Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Paris – Giverney – Paris (B/L)

Travel through the Valley of the River Seine to visit Monet’s Garden at Giverny, where the famous Impressionist painter lived and painted until his death in 1926. Claude Monet drew inspiration for his paintings from his garden. See the Water Garden with its famous Japanese bridge draped with wisteria, the flower garden with roses growing over arches and flowers jostling for space and the orchard; all in this cleverly engineered garden.

Close by is Musee D’Art Americain with magnificent colour themed gardens where we will have lunch on the terrace with a visit to the museum included.

Option tonight for dinner (own expense) in the Latin Quarter then a cruise along the River Seine to Eiffel Tower to see the beautiful illuminated monuments, an unforgettable sight.

Accommodation: Holiday Inn République, Paris

Day 6 Wednesday, 27 May 2009

Paris – Bourges (B/L)

Leave Paris this morning and travel to Loire Valley to Prieure Notre Dame d’Orsan, gardens of medieval monastic inspiration. Created by architect Patrice Taravella, these gardens are sheltered by the remnants of the ancient abbey, founded in 1107. Meet Patrice who is also your master chef and Giles Guillot, master-gardener, who will show you through this complex of gardens: the hornbeam cloister, kitchen gardens, orchard, garden of medicinal herbs, rose garden and secret gardens.

Lunch will be a gastronomic experience you will remember, using produce from the gardens. Continue into the medieval city of Bourges, a well-preserved market town from the Middle Ages.

Accom: Best Western Colbert, Chateauroux

Day 7 Thursday, 28 May 2009

Bourges – Loire Valley (B/D)

Travel into the heart of the Loire Valley this morning to the village of Chenonceaux on the River Cher. The château, home to Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici and Mary Queen of Scots, is the most romantic of all the chateaux on the Loire, and one of the prettiest in France. Its magnificent reflection in the waters of the River Cher is complimented with parterre gardens.

After Château Chenonceau we go to Amboise for lunch (own expense) with a stop to view the château, then travel into Tours. Dinner is included this evening in your hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel Univers, Tours

Day 8 Friday, 29 May 2009

Loire Valley (B)

Château Villandry is your destination this morning, the last of the great renaissance chateaux in the Loire Valley. This is one of the finest gardens in France, best described as a gigantic kitchen garden planted in symmetrical parterres, arranged in a series of terraces with formal fruit, vegetable and patterned gardens.

Continue into Tours with a stop at Priory Garden St Cosme where Pierre de Ronsard, Prince of Poets, lived and is buried.

Free time this afternoon to explore the city of Tours.

Accommodation: Hotel Univers, Tours

Day 9 Saturday, 30 May 2009

Loire Valley – Sarlat (B/D)

Depart Loire Valley this morning for the glorious South West region of France, Dordogne and the Lot.

First stop is the beautiful old city of Loches, on the River Indre. Explore the Saturday market and shop for a picnic lunch (own expense). Drive through the Vezere Valley to the medieval town of Terrasson, famous for truffles and walnuts. Here you will visit Jardins l’Imaginaire (Gardens of the Imaginary), where you can let your imagination stroll through 13 themed gardens with panoramic views over the beautiful old town.

Continue into the valley of the Dordogne to the exceptionally well-preserved town of Sarlat, capital of Black Périgord. Due to so many of its buildings being classified as historical sites, Sarlat has been used as the setting for many movies.

Accommodation : Hotel Le Renoir, Sarlat

Day 10 Sunday, 31 May 2009

Sarlat – Vezac – Sarlat (B/L)

Sarlat is the perfect location to explore the treasures of the Perigord with the Dordogne one of the finest rivers in France with medieval villages built along its banks: the Loire Valley of the Middle Ages.

To Vezac this morning and Château Marqueyssac, in its splendid setting on a spur and overlooks the entire Dordogne Valley with its chalky cliffs. The paths are organised into three circuits that lead to the Belvedere, a balcony 192m high and 130 m above the river.

Lunch will be served in the nearby â.

Accommodation: Hotel Le Renoir, Sarlat

Day 11 Monday, 1 June 2009

Sarlat – Salignac – Domme – Sarlat (B)

Discover the rich heritage of the Perigord today, Beynac, la Roque Gageac and Domme, three villages that belong to the exclusive club of France’s prettiest villages (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France).

First to Eyrignac Manor, near Salignac, a picture-postcard Perigord town. Explore the gardens that were laid out in the 18th century, transformed in the 19th. This garden was awarded "Grand Prix des Jardins".

Travel across to the fortified hilltop town of Domme, known as the ‘acropolis of Perigord’. This charming walled ‘bastide’ town, famous for its honey-hued stone, has three remaining gates, central market square and Belvedere de la Barre, with panoramic views of the Valley of the Dordogne.

Accommodation: Hotel Le Renoir, Sarlat

Day 12 Tuesday, 2 June 2009

Sarlat – Rocamadour – Cahors (B/D)

Today we leave the Dordogne and travel towards the Lot. First stop is the medieval city of Rocamadour, for centuries one of the most celebrated pilgrimages of the Christian world, on the route to Santiago de Compostella. Discover this sacred city built against a cliff, a breathtaking and dramatic site, a cascade of roofs and rocks resting on a vertical line.

On arrival in Cahors a gentle walking tour of the old town, and a visit to the famous Pont Valendre before check in to your hotel.

Check in to your hotel with dinner included tonight at Le Balandre, a gourmet affair, served in style with local produce.

Accommodation: Hotel Terminus, Cahors

Day 13 Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Cahors – Saint Cirq-Lapopie – Figeac – Cahors (B)

Travel east this morning taking the scenic route to explore the lush fertile valley of the River Lot. Discover St-Cirq Lapopie, one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, perched on a cliff 100m above the river, with panoramic views over the Lot Valley. Continue on to the medieval town of Figeac for lunch. Afternoon travel back to Cahors.

Accommodation: Hotel Terminus, Cahors

Day 14 Thursday, 4 June 2009

Cahors – Bordeaux (B)

Travel west this morning following the course of the river as it meanders lazily through its valley. Discover the picturesque medieval villages: Belaye, Grezels and Puy L’Eveque, as well as the Cahors vineyards. Lots of coffee stops in these unforgettable places to absorb their ambience. Lunch stop in Villeneuve-sur-Lot then continue on to Bordeaux.

Accommodation: Hotel Burdigala, Bordeaux

Day 15 Friday, 5 June 2009

Bordeaux (B/D)

A gentle walking tour this morning to show you the magnificent 18th century facades along the waterfront that reflect the city’s long history. From the Saint Michel district to the Chartrons, and from Saint Seurin to Saint-Pierre, ancient and modern architecture are to be found side by side in complete harmony.

The afternoon is free for you to explore on your own. Meet together tonight for a farewell dinner in your hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel Burdigala, Bordeaux

Day 16 Saturday, 6 June 2009

Bordeaux (B) – End of Tour

After breakfast your tour ends. Arrangements will be made in accordance with your onward travel plans.

KEY (B) Breakfast (L) Lunch (D) Dinner

Places on this tour are strictly limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

How to Book:

Please complete the online booking form and forward a deposit of £350.00 to Ross Garden Tours International, 17 Sycamore Lodge , 1 Gypsy Lane ,London SW15 5RH United Kingdom or call us on +44 (0) 208 878 9384