FRANCE & SPAIN Traveling Well Includes…
• TAUCK’S YELLOW ROADS! Drive along Spain’s Costa Brava and across the border to the French village of Collioure, known as the “City of Painters,” for lunch and free time
• A “Degustation dinner” at a family-run vineyard in the Languedoc region of southern France • Cruising along the romantic Canal du Midi aboard a traditional flat-bottomed gabare • Sampling local fare for lunch and a pelota demonstration in the Basque village of Ainhoa • A private River Garonne cruise in Bordeaux and a lunch & tasting at a Saint-Émilion winery • Enjoying a private gala dinner at the Parisian brasserie Fouquet’s on the Champs-Élysées • Airport transfers upon arrival and departure • 25 meals, service charges, gratuities to local guides, admission fees, taxes and porterage
the heart of the city; visit its cloistered cathedral to see carved 15th-century choir stalls and medieval Catalan paintings. Barcelona sizzled with Modernisme artistic creativity around the 1900s, notably with the unconventional architecture of Antoni Gaudí – including whimsical Parc Güell and the fantastical Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família... still under construction today after more than 125 years! Wind up at Placa Catalunya at the beginning of the famous pedestrian promenade of Las Ramblas, a perfect place for people-watching. The rest of the day is free to explore more of the city as you wish. Meals B
3. ART ALONG THE COSTA BRAVA It wasn’t just the Moors who were lured to the south of Spain; artists found their inspiration here, too. En route to Carcassonne, France, stop in Figueres, the town on the Mediterranean where ultra-flamboyant artist Salvador Dali was born in 1904 and died in 1989; view his paintings, prints and sculptures in a museum dedicated to his work. Drive along the Costa Brava and across the French border to Collioure for a visit to this “City of Painters.” Artists like Picasso, Matisse and Chagall immortalized the small Catalan harbor you’ll see here in their paintings. The walled citadel town of Carcassonne is today’s final destination, its medieval turrets and ramparts perfectly preserved for an authentic look at life in the Middle Ages. Spend the next two nights inside its walls at a restored former palace. Meals BD
4. ROMANCE IN CARCASSONNE & ON A CANAL Ancient fortifications dating to the 5th century provide the setting for your explorations this morning; hear stories about the crusaders and conquerors who occupied Carcassonne, then explore the ramparts on your own. Romance is on the menu this afternoon as you cruise aboard a traditional flat-bottom gabare along the 17th-century Canal du Midi, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its remarkable engineering features. Plane trees planted in the 1830s stand like arboreal sentinels over this man-made waterway, which, according to UNESCO officials, “provided the model for the flowering of
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technology that led directly to the Industrial Revolution and the modern technological age.” Your “Degustation dinner” tonight at a private Languedoc vineyard is another memorable experience, reflecting a tradition among the region’s connoisseurs by pairing your courses with just the right wine... and music! Meals BD
5. DRIVE THE YELLOW ROADS TO BIARRITZ Leave Carcassonne after breakfast and travel the Yellow Roads along the foothills of the snowcapped Pyrenees towards the southwest corner of France and the Atlantic coast, where beaches line the shores and surfing is a way of life. Lunch along the way in a local restaurant offers an authentic taste of typical Pyrenees cuisine. Arrive in the popular coastal Basque resort town of Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay, where your palatial oceanfront hotel is a treasured landmark. Dine tonight as you wish from the à la carte menu at the hotel. Meals BLD
Paris
FRANCE Maximum Elevation: 1,500 ft. Libourne
Bordeaux Biarritz
Saint-Jean-de-Luz Ainhoa SPAIN
Saint- Émilion
Varetz Rocamadour La Roque-Gageac Laure-Minervois Homps Carcassonne Collioure Figueres Barcelona
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
www.tauck.com 105
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