Discover the Riches of Champagne

With a starting point in Paris, your two-day tour includes stopping in charming Medieval towns, tasting Grand Crus, walking in the footsteps of the heroes of World War One, and even discovering one of the prettiest villages in France, shaped like a heart! On your first day, you will taste organic champagnes, and then for a touch of romance, discover the Museum of Love and Marriage. Later in the day, you will taste a champagne served at the Hotel Bristol and the restaurant Arpège, and another which ranks as one of the 20 best champagnes in the world.

We will arrange for you to stay in an elegant countryside hotel, that allows you to wake up in the spectacular vineyards of Champagne.

The following day, you will journey along the Route of Champagne, heading in the direction of Epernay—the capital of the Champagne region. Stopping for coffee and croissants in Chatillon, you will have a spectacular view of the Marne Valley and its vineyards.

In Epernay, you will visit Moët & Chandon, and enjoy your first tasting in a private salon normally used by heads of state. Then, in Hautvillers, you will discover the town of champagne’s creator—Dom Pérignon. Following a tasting of a grand cru from a small local producer, you will have lunch at Les Berceaux—where you can dine at either the delicious brasserie or in their gastronomic restaurant.

After lunch, you visit Reims, enjoy a guided tour of its Gothic cathedral, a masterpiece in stone and stained glass, where France’s kings were crowned for over 500 years. The program will end with two more champagne tasting stops: Veuve Cliquot, Pommery or Martell, before your return to Paris. For further information, please write to [email protected].

A Private Journey Along Burgundy’s Canals

One of the most delightful ways to enjoy Burgundy is to privatize an elegant, air-conditioned, sumptuously furnished barge and journey from southern to northern Burgundy during a week-long excursion. If you are a connoisseur of Grand Crus, French Links Tours can organize nightly tastings aboard the boat prior to dinner. During the day, you will visit unique private châteaux, discover the world-famous Hospice de Beaune and the Clos Vougeot, as well as have time to visit some of the leading domains along the Côte d’Or, that include the Domaine Sérafin, the Domaine de Bertagna, the Chateau Chassagne-Montrachet, the Chateau Pommard, and more.

Want a little exercise? There is also plenty of time to bicycle along the Burgundy canal, and for those who are more daring we can also arrange for a balloon-ride at sunset. And for those of you who are yearning to be back on land, we can arrange for you to stay in one of Burgundy’s most elegant château estates, where you will be able to enjoy outstanding food and wine in the most bucolic of settings. If you are seeking a more active holiday, don’t hesitate to ask us about horse-back riding, boating, and golfing opportunities.

The riches of Burgundy can be discovered in a day and in a week—either way French Links Tours is up to the challenge of creating a very special trip for you, as well as friends and family. For further information, please write to [email protected].

The French Riviera: Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo

The French Riviera or the Côte d’Azur, extending from Hyères or Bandol in the west to Menton near the Italian border, is one of the oldest resort areas in the world—and not just the playground of the rich and famous. During the first half of the 20th century, it was a haven to such artists as Colette, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Wharton and Somerset Maugham.

The best time to visit is in the spring, early summer or the fall, when the hordes of tourists and paparazzi are absent, and the region’s treasures can be fully appreciated. French Links Tours prides itself on showing the best of the French Riviera, whether it’s the Matisse Museum in Nice and Matisse Chapel in Vence,  the Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul de Vence, the splendid summer estates built by the Reinachs and the Rothschilds, or the museums and painted monuments and homes dedicated to Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau.

Our favourite city on the French Riviera is Nice, with its beach-front Promenade des Anglais and its elegant hotels, cafés and Michelin-starred restaurants. Nice has undergone a major face-lift, with a new tram-way, and several new art museum renovations and openings.

We can also arrange your stay in Saint Tropez, but do book early—this is the Riviera’s hottest summer destination. The best time to enjoy this quaint village, put on the map by the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Eddy Barclay, is in fact in the spring or fall, when the hordes of tourists have left.

French Links Tours can design a travel program that includes transfers, tours, hotel or apartment bookings, and restaurants, featuring the best of Saint-Tropez, Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo, and Menton, as well as the hill towns of Gassin, Eze, Saint Paul de Vence, Vence and Valbonne.

With French Links Tours, you have the choice of renting a fully-staffed private villa, a private yacht, or a stunning hotel-resort with spa and gastronomic restaurant. We can arrange for you to also go by helicopter from Nice Airport to Monte Carlo, as well as to the private islands of Porquerolles and the Iles du Levant by boat or private plane. For further information, please write to [email protected].

Biarritz: A Mecca for Surfers, Golfers and Bon Vivants

One of the oldest resorts in France, Biarritz was created by the Emperor Napoleon III and put on the map by his socialite spouse Empress Eugénie, it continues to attract the world’s most discerning jet-set, whether from Russia, Spain, Portugal, the United States or France.

Not only can we arrange a hotel booking in either Biarritz, Hendaye and Saint Jean de Luz, but we can also arrange private tours to local food markets and chocolate ateliers, cooking classes, as well as visits to the studios of some of the most famous artisans in France. Here you will discover some of the oldest ceramicists, the makers of the original macarons (long before La Durée), and learn about the history of chocolate and cod fishing, while discovering some of the region’s finest wineries. For those of you who love to golf we can arrange for you to play on the oldest course in France, established by the English when Biarritz was first put on the tourist map.

The best way to get most out of this unique and unexplored region is to let us design a customized program with tours, transfers, hotel or villa bookings, and restaurant recommendations. This way you will enjoy a detailed program that includes the best of the Basque country, including Biarritz, Pau, Lourdes, Hendaye, Saint Jean de Luz and Saint Sebastien.

Corsica: The Island of Beauty

Imagine finding a semi-tropical paradise less than an hour and a half away from Paris by plane or two hours by ferry from Marseilles: that place is Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthplace, and the summer resort of the French élite, whether it’s top model Laetitia Casta or former health minister Bernard Kouchner. What we love about Corsica is its variety: it’s an unspoiled island with mountains for hiking and low-cost camp grounds, a jetsetters’ paradise with its yacht-filled ports in Bonifacio, Ile Rousse, Porto Vecchio, and Saint Florent, as well as wonderful private beach villas which can be rented by the week or the month.

One of the best ways to visit Corsica is to charter a yacht around the island—either a motor yacht or a catamaran depending on your sense of adventure. French Links Tours can help you find the boat, the captain, the chef and the hostess, who will show you some of the best fishing, snorkeling, deep-sea diving, as well as outstanding Corsican cuisine.

Or you can have us book you a golf vacation at one of the highest rated golf courses in Europe: the Golf de Spérone and the Domaine de Murtoli. (It should be noted that a trip to Corsica is for the independent traveler who likes to explore their own, but with useful guidance).