TRIP ITINERARY TO PARIS, CHARTRES AND THE CHATEAUX COUNTRY

                                     Day 1-2
Transatlantic flight to Paris, France. When you arrive in Paris, you will be greeted at the airport by a bilingual representative for a transfer to your hotel. Enjoy an afternoon guided city tour, and then go to Montmartre for dinner. D

                                                      Day 3
Your guide will pick you up at the hotel for a guided tour of the Louvre Museum, with its "Venus", "Winged Victory", and Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa". Exit through I.M. Pei's glass pyramid, and then walk through the Carousel Arch to the Tuileries Garden and the Place de la Concorde. Follow this "Voie Triomphale" from the Place de la Concorde, up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Visit the small museum inside and get a view of Paris from the top of the arc. Have dinner on your own and take a Bateaux Mouches rid eon the Seine River. B

                                      Day 4
After breakfast, take the metro to the Palais de Chaillot, for its view of the Trocadero Gardens, Eiffel Tower, Champs-de-Mars and Ecole Militaire. Then take a brisk morning climb (or maybe take the elevator) to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Visit the imposing Hotel des Invalides, with its nearly 650 foot long main façade. This is the final resting place of many of France's great military men. Enter the Dome Church, where you will see Napoleon's tomb. In the afternoon, walk around Ile de la City and visit Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sainte-Chapelle, with its beautiful stained glass windows. Dinner will be on your own this evening.  B

                                                     Day 5
Today, you are free to stroll through Paris. You may choose to visit the Picasso or Rodin museums. Consider visiting the Geode, the Pere Lachaise Cemetery (Jim Morrison is buried there, among others), l'Orangerie Museum, or the Hotel de Cluny-the museum of the middle Ages. Then explore the artistic Montmartre area and see the Sacre Coeur Basilica.  B

                                                      Day 6
Visit the Opera Garnier, the French National Academy of Music and it Chagall painted ceiling. Then take a short train ride for your guided tour of Versailles Palace, home of Louis XIV, the "Sun King". Explore the Royal Apartments and Hall or Mirrors in this royal residence where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, confirming the independence of the United States in 1783. Enjoy walking through the gardens to the Apollo Basin and to the Grand Trianon. Return to Paris and relax at the hotel before going out to dinner on your own. B

                                                       Day 7
Your guide will pick you up at the hotel to go to Chartres, with its Notre Dame Cathedral. Enter though the Royal Doorway and marvel at the lighting from the cathedral's impressive stained glass, covering 25,000 square feet with 5,000 figures. Then, travel to the Loire Valley for a visit to the very charming Azay-le-Rideau Chateau, and then the Chenonceau Chateau, a remarkable example of Renaissance architecture, built on the Cher River. Enjoy an organized dinner in the Loire Valley this evening. B/D

                                                     Day 8
You have a relaxing morning to visit Cheverly Chateau and the imposing Chambord Chateau, with its 20 miles of walls and double staircase. Depart the Loire Valley for Giverny. You will have a guided tour of the home, gardens, and water lilies of Monet. Return to Paris for the evening.  B

                                                    Day 9
In the morning, your guide will meet you at the hotel to visit the old railroad terminal on the banks of the Seine River, which has been transformed into the bright and spacious d'Orsay Museum. Take a guided tour in this Impressionist museum. Then, take a walking tour of the Bastille Quartier before going to dinner, on your own, in the Marais. B

                                                   Day 10
You are free to explore Paris today. Decide with your guide which site you would like to visit. You may want to consider the Catacombs or the City of Science. Then, spend the rest of the afternoon in the young and trendy Les Halles district, with the Pompidou Center, better known as Beaubourg. Walk around and enjoy this cultural center of Paris before dinner.   B/D

                                                  Day 11
Transfer to the airport for your transatlantic flight home. B