Paris

Meet at Thessaloniki Makedonia airport, check in and fly to Paris. On arrival we meet our tour leader at the airport exit and off we go into the city! Wasting no time, we start our tour straight away, and since we have just arrived and are fresh, we choose the places that need the most walking, starting at the scene of a key event in the city's history, Place de la Bastille. The prison that stood here was a symbol of arbitrary power and oppression and was torn down by the revolutionary people of Paris on 14 July 1789; since 1880 that date has been France's national holiday. Here we also see the Opéra Bastille, which seats 5,000 people. We continue through the Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris (17th century), with Victor Hugo's house-museum, and reach the medieval Marais, the oldest inhabited district of the city, with the Jewish quarter and the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, lined with grand mansions of French aristocrats, some now museums such as the Carnavalet and the Hôtel de Lamoignon. The Picasso Museum is also here. Next on our walk is the Centre Georges Pompidou in the Beaubourg area, a famous cultural centre housing the Public Information Library and the National Museum of Modern Art, where we have time for a meal or coffee. We end today's introduction at one of the best-known sights, at point zero of the city: Notre-Dame de Paris, the Roman Catholic cathedral, one of the most admired monuments of Gothic architecture and the title of Victor Hugo's famous novel, which reopened after five years of restoration following the well-known fire. Transfer to the hotel and check-in. For your first evening in Paris, join us optionally for a wonderful night tour. We start with a Seine cruise on the famous bateaux-mouches and then see the main sights by coach before reaching the city's highest natural point. We see the historic axis from the Louvre through the Arc du Carrousel, the Luxor Obelisk and the Arc de Triomphe, and walk up the hill of Montmartre, home of open-air painters and one of the most picturesque neighbourhoods of Paris that never sleeps, with the Sacré-Cœur basilica, the painters' square and the house of Salvador Dalí.

After breakfast we tour the countless sights of the City of Light. We first admire Charles Garnier's famous Opera House, its facade decorated with busts of great composers, then continue to the most luxurious square in Paris, Place Vendôme, built by Louis XIV, with the Ritz and Napoleon's column. Heading down the Avenue de l'Opéra we pass through the courtyard of the Louvre to see the Arc du Carrousel and the famous glass pyramids that let daylight into the museum's entrance hall, and reach the Seine. Along the river we see the wooden Pont des Arts leading to the Institut de France, Place du Châtelet and the old palace, now the seat of France's highest court, and head to the neo-Gothic Hôtel de Ville. From here we walk across the Île de la Cité, past Notre-Dame, to the Latin Quarter, the famous traditional neighbourhood of the French capital. Free time for coffee and a stroll. By coach we continue to the famous Sorbonne University, see the Panthéon and walk through the Luxembourg Gardens, another green lung of the city, dominated by Marie de' Medici's palace (now the French Senate). We pass Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and two of the city's most famous cafés, Les Deux Magots of the artists and Café de Flore of the existentialists, along one of the most expensive streets in Paris, Rue Bonaparte, back to the Seine. On the way we see the world's best museum of Impressionist painting, the Musée d'Orsay in the old railway station, the National Assembly and Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, ending at the Trocadéro with its stunning view of the Eiffel Tower, where we stop for photos. Then a stop beneath the Eiffel Tower with the lovely gardens of the Champ de Mars. We stop at the Arc de Triomphe for photos, drive down the famous Champs-Élysées with its splendid 18th- and 19th-century buildings and the unique haute couture street, cross the beautiful Pont Alexandre III and, after seeing the Petit and Grand Palais, reach Place de la Concorde with the Luxor Obelisk. After seeing the Madeleine church we end in the Opéra district, with free time to visit the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores and enjoy a drink at the famous Café de la Paix. An optional visit and guided tour of the world's most famous museum follows. It would take many days to see everything, so we choose what interests us most: in the Greek wing the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the "Centauromachy" metope from the Parthenon, the marble statue of Athena and more, then Da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, among other Renaissance and Romantic works. Afterwards we walk to the Palais-Royal, another important historic building, built by Cardinal Richelieu and now the seat of the Council of State. Passing through its courtyard and gardens, we truly feel we are in another era. Free time and return to the hotel to rest. In the evening we suggest a walk along the Champs-Élysées, from the Arc de Triomphe down the illuminated avenue towards Place de la Concorde.

Today join us optionally in the wonderful world of Disney. Let the colours, happy music, spectacular shows and grand parades of all the characters sweep you away. Live the Wild West with its riverboats and Big Thunder Mountain, ride the Indiana Jones rollercoaster, visit Adventure Isle with its hidden treasures, have lunch (at your own expense) at one of the 29 restaurants, step into the magical world of Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and It's a Small World, and dare a journey among meteorites and spaceships on Star Tours and Space Mountain.

We are on day 4 and have already seen a lot of Paris. Today you can spend the day as you wish or join us on an optional excursion to Normandy, known for the historic D-Day landings and today the Parisians' favourite seaside escape. Passing near its capital, Rouen, we head first to Honfleur, a picturesque fishing village straight out of a fairytale, full of colour and flowers. Popular with Impressionist painters such as Monet and Boudin, who were inspired by the changing light and picturesque quays, the town keeps a traditional beauty, with public buildings, squares, streets and houses that strongly recall other times, as its architecture has changed little since the 16th century. The Vieux Bassin, the old harbour tucked on the south side of the Seine estuary, dates from the 17th century, and its tall, narrow half-timbered buildings create a picturesque scene. The Musée de la Marine holds a collection of ship models and maritime works, and there are museums dedicated to two of the town's most famous residents, the painter Eugène Boudin and the musician and composer Erik Satie. After strolling its narrow lanes, with centuries-old buildings, galleries and studios in this artists' town, the harbour and the wooden church of St Catherine, you have free time to discover its hidden secrets. Through beautiful countryside we pass Trouville, a favourite of the Impressionists, and reach beautiful, cosmopolitan Deauville. Stretching lazily along the sea, it was created in the 19th century by the Duke of Morny as "the kingdom of elegance", a favourite holiday resort of the French aristocracy and today a cosmopolitan resort of northern France. Its retro atmosphere, impressive mansions and award-winning restaurants make it a magnet for the international jet set. The former quiet fishing village is now a fashionable seaside resort, whose 1,400-metre beach offers relaxation and plenty of dips in cool water. We see the venues of the summer film festival, the shore with its strong tides, the casino opened in 1864 and moved to a new building in 1912, a miniature of its famous brother in Monte Carlo, and the town hall. Free time. Return to Paris in the evening.

We are on day 5, yet there are still wonderful sights to see. Today's excursion is to the famous Palace of Versailles. We hear in detail the story of the Sun King and how a whole town was created from nothing. We pass through the forecourt and tour the vast, uniquely designed gardens, covering hundreds of acres, with our tour leader. If you wish, you can enter the palace individually (see the notes below) to see the royal apartments and the famous Hall of Mirrors. We continue into the French countryside, especially lovely in summer, to visit picturesque Giverny on the right bank of the Seine where it meets the Epte, the village Claude Monet painted in a thousand different ways. Giverny reveals its blooming secrets to visitors who come all year round mainly to see Monet's house, but leave enchanted by the whole village. The settlement is truly old, with a history going back to Roman times; its centrepiece is the church, built in Romanesque style and later rebuilt along Gothic lines. Return to our hotel in the afternoon.

All good things come to an end, and so we reach the last day of our trip. After breakfast, if you wake up early, there is a little time for a last walk. We then board our coach and transfer to the airport for the direct return flight with Aegean Airlines.