Woodlynde Students Travel to France

Day 2: Paris – Meet your Tour Director at the airport in Paris, the City of Light. – Take a walking tour of Paris: Île de la Cité. – Visit Notre Dame Cathedral. Fun Fact: Notre Dame contains the Crown of Thorns

Day 3: Paris – During your expertly guided tour of Paris you’ll get a taste of Parisian style as you ride down the Champs-Élysées, an elegant boulevard packed with high-fashion boutiques. Fun Fact: JFK Blvd in Philly was designed after the Champs Elysées. Pass the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe and strike a pose in front of the Eiffel Tower. – I.M. Pei’s iconic glass pyramid marks the entrance to the renowned Louvre, where you’ll see artistic treasures like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. 

Day 4: Loire Valley – Travel to the French countryside and explore the magnificent Loire Valley, sometimes called the “playground of Kings.” – Visit Chartres Cathedral. – Visit Chambord. Fun Fact: the double helix stair case at Chambord was designed by Leonardo DaVinci, he was not only an artist he was an inventor. 

Day 5: Loire Valley – Visit the spectacular Château de Chenonceau, a breathtaking architectural marvel extending across the River Cher, supported by submerged pillars that form a pattern of arches on the water’s surface. Fun Fact: In WWI they used this castle as a hospital – At the majestic gardens of Amboise, a Renaissance-style château in the Loire Valley, you’ll take in the same sweeping vistas once enjoyed by Louis XI, Louis XII, and Leonardo da Vinci, who all made homes here. – Visit and dine at the Troglodyte Dwellings. These maze-like subterranean grottos were created by thousands of years of geological evolution, and are used today as chapels, bakeries, and wine cellars. 

Day 6: St. Malo – Travel to Brittany. – Visit Mont St. Michel, an awe-inspiring island topped by a medieval abbey. – Take a tour of St. Malo. – Visit St. Vincent Cathedral. Fun Fact: the streets are so narrow that only a golf cart can deliver the mail. 

Day 7: Normandy – Travel to Normandy. Here, on June 6, 1944 (the date now known as D-Day), Allied troops landed on the beaches, launching the campaign that eventually liberated mainland Europe from the Nazis. – On your visit to the D-Day beaches of Normandy, you’ll witness remnants of the floating roadways and piers built to create an instant port at Arromanches. Visit the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument commemorating the special forces who scaled a 100-foot cliff to seize German artillery. See the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial established—out of necessity—just two days after the invasion. – Pay tribute to WWII troops at the Caen Mémorial, one of Europe’s top history museums. Exhibits and films document the events that led up to the war and the Normandy invasion. Interesting fact: It took 2 years of training on the Isle of Wight for American soldiers to be able to climb the cliffs at the Pointe d'Hoc and deactivate the guns. 

Day 8: Normandy Region | Paris – Continue on to Paris. – Take an expertly guided tour of Versailles: State Apartments; Hall of Mirrors  Fun fact: the mirrors were made by a company that is still in business.  The North American headquarters is located in Malvern. 

Day 9: Depart for home