Full-day excursions explore exceptional chateaus and historic gardens outside of Paris.
Picturesque Voyages day tours are designed for a leisurely pace, allowing ample time to fully appreciate extraordinary architecture and garden design. We evoke the history of the chateau owners—the lavish parties and personal intrigues–that contributed to the history of France, and consider how these magnificent sites influence world cultural heritage.
Admission tickets are pre-purchased and included in the tour fee. We arrange private transportation and propose luncheon options that typify French cuisine and local specialties. Car service and dining costs are in addition to the tour fee.
Then & Now: Each tour begins with an iBook presentation of images selected from historical archives, providing a comparative context for viewing Paris today. After the tour, you can add your own photos to create a personal souvenir of your Picturesque Voyage.
Our private and small group tours are limited to 6 people.
Contact us to plan a personalized itinerary for a most memorable, life-long learning experience.
Versailles
Full-Day Tour: The Château and the Petit Park (250€ per person, entrance fee included, transportation and luncheon options are an additional cost)
Our visit to Versailles considers how Louis XIV developed a landscape garden that embodied the absolute power of the French monarchy for over 200 years. André Le Nôtre, the exceptionally talented landscape architect, refined the French formal garden style for the Sun King. We examine the political, social, and cultural aspects of LeNotre’s design as we discover the allées, bosquets, fountains, and exceptional plantings.
Our Versailles tour focuses on the chateau and the Petit Park. If you are interested in visiting Marie-Antoinette’s domain, please visit our Picturesque Pleasures tour option.
Vaux le Vicomte
Full-Day Tour: The Château and Gardens (250€ per person, entrance fee included, transportation and luncheon options are an additional cost)
The château and gardens at Vaux le Vicomte predated the development of Versailles and are widely considered the most beautiful example of 17th-century French gardens. The privately owned château once belonged to Nicolas Fouquet, who commissioned three of the greatest artists of his time – the painter Charles LeBrun, the architect Louis LeVau, and the landscape architect André LeNôtre – who together transformed French art, architecture, and landscape design. We combine our visit with a short trip to the nearby château of Blandy-les-Tours, a medieval fortress that provides an opportunity to better understand how Fouquet encouraged LeNôtre to create the modern cultural landscape.
Giverny
Full-Day Tour: Gardens and Museums (250€ per person, entrance fee included, transportation and luncheon options are an additional cost)
When Claude Monet settled at the house in Giverny in 1883 he was still a struggling painter. At his death 43 years later, he had transformed the surrounding landscape into a private garden that not only inspired other artists but also has come to define the Impressionist movement. Our visit to Giverny is a celebration of floriculture for garden lovers in all seasons. We also visit the Musées des Impressionismes, featuring temporary exhibitions and surrounded by a garden inspired by Giverny and conceived by the American landscape architect Mark Rudkin.
Chantilly
Full-Day Tour: Château and Garden (250€ per person, entrance fee included,transportation and luncheon options are an additional cost)
The Domaine at Chantilly still resembles a royal estate: an historic château, an exceptional art collection, horse stables, and gardens designed by André LeNôtre. The present-day château was singularly remodeled by Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, who was one of the most important 19th-century collectors of magnificent paintings and rare books. Our tour of Chantilly includes a visit to the restored apartments, art collections and the gardens. We will visit the kitchens where one of the first celebrity chefs, Vatel, introduced nouvelle cuisine. We will enjoy tasting one of his most celebrated recipes for Chantilly cream in the garden.
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