Rooms for 7 nights in first class, superior, or deluxe hotels or villas

Private transfers between hotels and airports (u
7 day rental, with unlimited miles, of intermediate car (Peugeot 407 or similar) with manual transmission*** and A/C; or 5 day 1st class rail pass plus airport transfers.
Daily breakfast (continental or buffet, depending on hotel)
The fortified city of Carcassonne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Self guided walking tour of medieval Albi on the banks of the River Tarn, including Albi’s Gothic Sainte Cecile Cathedral, with its extraordinary art collection, and the Palais de la Berbie, housing the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum
The prehistoric cave art of Lascaux II, Rouffignac, Font-de-Gaume, Cougnac and Pech Merle; the shelters of Abri Pataud and Cap Blanc and the Village Troglodyique de la Madeleine
The Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac
Explore three magnificent medieval chateaux: Castelnaud, Beynac, and Puymartin
Visits to the beautiful hillside/hilltop villages of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Rocamadour, and La Roque Bageac
The colorful Sarlat market day
Half day Guided tour of the Bordeaux wine region (tasting optional) and the ancient village St. Emilion 
Guided city tour of Bordeaux including the Musée d’Aquitaine
Travel planning services

*** Rental cars with automatic transmission are expensive and often not readily available in the Toulouse area. If you must have an automatic transmission, we will make every attempt to arrange the vehicle of your choice. Also,there is a reasonable chance that you could be upgraded to a full size car (Mercedez C-class or similar with manual transmission) with no additional charge. 

ABOUT OUR FEATURED HOTELS

U.S.A. / Toulouse
Day 1
Depart U.S.A. for your Travel Plans International France vacation. Meals Aloft

Arrive at your European gateway city and proceed to the boarding gate for your connecting flight to Toulouse. If you have chosen to use a Rail France pass, our driver will be holding a sign with your name as you emerge from baggage claim in Toulouse, and will provide private transfer to your train to Albi. If you have chosen the rental car option, pick up your car at the Toulouse airport and take the short drive to Albi. This itinerary assumes that you have chosen the rental car option, but

 Situated on the banks of the River Tarn, Albi is a city rich in historical and artistic heritage.  A walking tour of Albi’s lovely ancient quarter includes 14th-century Sainte Cecile Cathedral, where the outer rigor of its defensive architecture contrasts with the inner riches of its sumptuous decoration.  The mighty Gothic fortress/cathedral of Sainte Cecile is home to many cherished works of art, including a priceless, intricately carved ornamental altar screen, a vast fresco of The Last Judgment, and a Flamboyant Gothic chancel dating to the 15th century.

Accommodations for the next two nights are in the Albi area at the hotel you have chosen from our list

   Meals aloft

Albi (Haute-Garonne countryside optional)
Day 3

Just in case you would like a day at leisure, you could take a biking or hiking excursion in the surrounding countryside rather than going to Carcassonne today.

For example, the Tarn region north of  Albi offers an abundance of picturesque medieval hilltop villages, fortresses, and castles (chateaux). We can route you to the beautiful hilltop villages of Cordes-sur-Ciel and Najac. Be warned, however, that these villages are best explored on foot and the steep, cobblestoned streets are best traversed with sturdy shoes.  We will help you choose a less strenuous itinerary if you wish.

Return to your hotel in the Albi area this evening

B

Drive to Carcassonne, the largest and best-preserved fortress in Europe.  Tour the castle with your guide and walk along the formidable ramparts, climb to the top of the towers, and explore the basilica.  Enjoy lunch (extra cost) at the Hôtel de la Cité within the fortress walls before driving to Albi. B

Note: picture at the left is not Carcassonne and will be replaced post haste.

Day 4

This morning, take a guided tour of the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum.  Housed in the magnificent 13th- to 16th-century Palais de la Berbie, it contains the world’s largest collection of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s art, from childhood drawings and paintings to his first magazine illustrations, posters, lithographs, and late works of art.

Drive from Albi to fabulous Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, with panoramic views of the surrounding valley  and begin your exploration of fascinating Périgord, Europe’s most important prehistoric region.  Its terrain, crisscrossed by gentle rivers flowing amid extraordinary limestone formations, offered numerous shelters and caves to our early ancestors.  Expressive cave paintings, tools, and excavated remains are evidence of human existence and cultural evolution.  A short drive eastbound from Saint-Cirq-Lapopie takes you to the beauty of the artistic Cave of Pech Merle, known for its prehistoric paintings of mammoth, horses, and "negative hands."

Then drive north to Rocamadour, a spectacular medieval village chiseled into the side of a limestone cliff.  In the Middle Ages, Rocamadour was the third most important pilgrimage site after the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela.  On the outskirts of Rocamadour, the ancient Hospitae de St. Jean is well worth a visit.

Choose a home for the next three nights from the Travel Plans International featured list of Dordogne Valley hotels. B

Sarlat, Beynac, Castelnaud, La Rocque Bageac, Domme
Day 5
Begin today at the weekly open-air market in the French medieval village of Sarlat. (We will adjust your itinerary so that you are in Sarlat on market day). While browsing through the local shops, take the opportunity to sample ingredients for some of the great culinary traditions preserved through the centuries by Sarlat’s people. If you have chosen not to stay at Chateau de Puymartin, you should at least tour the fortress. Located two miles northwest of Sarlat, the castle has been continuously occupied by the descendants of one of the Dukes of Aquitaine for over 500 years. Ask the countess or her son Xavier to recommend the best place to have Foie Gras for dinner.

Depart southbound from Sarlat and visit Château de Beynac, a formidable presence on the meandering Dordogne River that holds a commanding view of the fortress-dotted valley. On the opposite bank of the river, see Castelnaud, Beynac’s medieval rival. At La Rocque Bageac, considered by many to be France’s most beautiful hillside village, you may want to explore the Dordogne River by canoe, or by "boat & bike". A few miles south of La Rocque, Domme is a picturesque, hilltop walled village dating back to the Middle Ages.

Depending upon your energy level, you may want to continue south of Domme to visit the prehistoric Cave of Cougnac, known for its prehistoric paintings of extinct megaloceros, mammoth, and rare human portraits. Return tonight to your hotel in Dordogne / Perigord.  B

At the site of Abri Pataud, extensive digging in the early 1960s revealed astonishing details of Cro-Magnon man. You can explore the galleries at the Perigord  prehistoric caves, even using an electric train at Cave of Rouffignac. Step off at different points to admire the numerous engravings of mammoth, rhinoceros, horses, bison, and mountain goats, extensively represented on the walls. You can also see numerous animal paintings at the Cave of Font-de-Gaume’s and the Shelter of Cap Blanc displays sculpted frieze of life-size horses.

 Whichever of the cave art you choose to see, your day should also include a visit to the Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine. Return to your hotel in Dordogne / Perigord this evening. B

After lunch at Le Château Grand Barrail, an impressive 19th-century edifice amid Saint-Emilion’s renowned vineyards, you take a three hour guided tour of the Bordeaux wine region (wine tasting optional). You may want to wait until Day 8 to visit the Sauterne region and Chateau d’ Yquem, which is about 40 miles southeast of Bordeaux.

Select a hotel from our list for this area and check in for three nights.  B/L

The Medoc region, a distinct part of the Bordeaux wine region northwest of the city, is an interesting option for today, as is the Sauterne region. However, the Atlantic Ocean is less than 40 miles west of Bordeaux and you may choose to sun, swim, parasail, or go boating. Boat + bike exploration along the canals of the region, fishing, golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking and hot air ballooning are other options. Return to your Bordeaux area hotel this evening. B