Food & Wine Tours in France

We worked with Zicasso's travel specialist for our trip to Alsace during the winter carnival. She provided us with so many things to enjoy, like the hotels and private, small-group excursions in Strasbourg and Colmar. She also provided vegan restaurant recommendations as my wife is vegan (although in Colmar, one had reverted to a tea-only service when we wanted dinner).

The hotel in Strasbourg was excellent. The staff were great and the breakfast had lots of options that met our needs.All the guides were good. The tours of Obernai and Selestat, as well as Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, were very interesting and informative. This was probably the highlight of our trip and is highly recommended.

In Colmar, we were so overwhelmed and disappointed by the ridiculous overcrowding. All that we could see were people. In my opinion, the number of people needs to be restricted as at times, it was dangerous. Having been to Colmar many times, I was so disappointed as you could barely get around, and getting into any restaurant was almost impossible. Our guide gave us a walking tour of the town. Fortunately, he knew some quieter streets.

The hotel was OK, but on the first night, we woke up to no power. The small group tour to the winery and local villages was OK, but still so very crowded.

At the hotel at Mulhouse on our last day, we had a small suite, which was nice.

Generally, we still enjoyed our trip.

This vacation trip in France for my wife and me was during the first two weeks of April, 2023.  It was springtime, with colorful flowers by the bunches in their prime everywhere we looked.  Trees and vineyards were just starting to green out for the coming season.  We initially contacted Zicasso in late-2022 about the possibility of this trip.  Zicasso connected us with the travel agency and our travel agent, Laurence for planning and arrangements.  She was responsive and good to work with as we exchanged itinerary ideas that converged to a plan.  She arranged to personally meet us at our Paris hotel at the beginning of our trip and that was a personal touch we appreciated.  Laurence was flawless throughout our trip in her arrangements for a car and driver every time we needed it such as taking us from CDG after the long flight to the boutique hotel near Luxembourg Garden.  She got us tickets for our visit to Musee d'Orsay, the beautiful and historic Chapel at Sainte Chapelle, and reservations for a couple of nice restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.  After a couple of days in Paris, she had a car for us to drive to Giverny and the Normandy Coast where her guide gave us a memorable, all-day, private tour of the D-Day beaches.  The next day, another private tour guide led us through Mont St Michel.  Spectacular!  Terrific tour.  Then, on to the Loire Valley where another of Laurence's private tour guides took us through the large Royal Chateau and Clos Luce where Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years.  We were also able to visit Chateaus Chambord, Chaumont and Chenenceau.  Wow!  We also got the opportunity for a bicycle tour along the river.  To our surprise, that tour guide arranged to have a table set up for us under a shady tree in the middle of a vineyard where we enjoyed tasting really good local wines.  Then, our plan took us via the high-speed TGV train to Avignon in Southern France.  Laurence got us very nice, roomy accommodations in a B&B inside the city walls and within walking distance of the many historic sights and restaurants.  Tour guides took us sightseeing in nearby, beautifully preserved historical cities and villages including Arles, Nimes, Luberon, Goult, Pont du Gard and more.  We were busy.  More importantly, visiting the French countryside was a wonderful, unforgettable opportunity.  Given the quality of this trip, I highly recommend this travel agency and Laurence for planning such trips.  Excellent, excellent in every way.

Dan Hogan

      Absolutely superb travel experience!  My first trip to France was in May for our 25th wedding anniversary (2 years late),  for 10 days/8 nights.  I usually plan our travel, rather meticulously, but I didn't know where to begin to plan a trip to France.  My husband found Zicasso, and this travel agent and her company, and conveyed our preferences and information, and she magically concocted the perfect trip!  The driver in Paris was waiting at the CDG airport as we exited, very jet-lagged, so it was marvelous having someone lead us to a car and practically carry us into our hotel.  He was wonderful, polite and efficient, and spoke perfect English.  He also drove us from Paris to the Loire Valley for the end of our trip, which made the journey so easy and pleasant for us.  A travel company representative was waiting at our hotel when we arrived, with our itineraries, tickets, maps and information.  She was very helpful and welcoming.                                                                                                           

I was nervous to have someone choose a Paris hotel for us, but the hotel in the Latin Quarter was absolutely perfect for us!  It is in a charming historical neighborhood that was easy to walk.  The hotel is top-notch and staff is great.  They have a beautiful courtyard garden to relax, and I will forever miss their amazing breakfasts!  The room was large and beautiful, and had everything we could want, plus charming gifts and treats.  The bathroom was fantastic, with a big soaking tub as well as large shower.   It was quiet and comfortable, the way we like it.  And it was so easy to walk to metro stations and zip away to every part of Paris.                                                                                                                                                                               

Our Paris guide was a joy to be with.  We were so comfortable with her, as she walked around the Latin Quarter and showed us historical sights we would not have found.  She took us on the metro for our first ride, and helped us buy 5-day tickets--a great decision.  After that, we had no trouble navigating the metro system.  Our guide was an extremely valuable guide through Le Louvre.  She highlighted wonderful pieces throughout that we might have missed, giving us an overall tour before leaving us to explore on our own.  She is a true gem.  We were so blessed to have her help.                                                                                                                           

Our visits to L'Opera Palais Garnier, Le Louvre, and the top of the Eiffel Tower were all well-planned for us, and we skipped the lines to all.    We picked up our tickets to the Eiffel Tower a few blocks away and were led as a small group by a guide, directly through the checks and gates, right to the walkway to the elevator.  That saved a LOT of time.    The van trip to Versailles was slick and easy.  However, there was not much time allowed for viewing before we had to meet for the trip back.                                                                                                                     The dinner cruise on the Seine was wonderful.  We were well-pampered with excellent food, drinks, and views Paris at night.   We highly recommend it.                                                                                                  

We were driven approx. 2 hours to Amboise in the Loire Valley to finish our trip.  Again, I could not have chosen a better place to stay, it was absolute perfection.  The grounds, garden and buildings are gorgeous and decadently comfortable.  The food was incredible and service fantastic, especially the agent at the front desk.  We had a fabulous, large room, with everything we could have hoped for.  I only wish we had planned to stay at least several days longer there, there was so much to enjoy simply by staying at the hotel.  It was short walking distances to everything, including the fabulous Chateau d'Amboise Royal.  This castle is not to be missed, and sits atop Amboise.  You have no idea from below all that awaits above, not least the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci.  Da Vinci's house and gardens are down the road from the castle and is another destination to spend most of the day.  The wine caves visit was really interesting, with wonderful wines.  And we had another great guide drive us to Chateau Chenonceau and Chambord with a few other people.  It was so much better than taking a big bus tour or trying to get their on our own.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The trip was so much more enjoyable by utilizing this travel agency.  It was so relaxing, knowing we had reliable transportation (especially during the numerous transit strikes) and English-speaking guides.  I hope we can do this again very soon!                                         

Everything was perfect.  We were met as promised and all of our guides were terrific.  I was very impressed with our travel agent's follow up to make sure that everything was going according to plan.  

We all loved the trip.  Lyon was great.  Our guides were wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed their company and the information  they provided. The cooking class was great fun and of course all the wine tastings were superb.

The last day in Lyon we went to Annecy for the day.  Due to potential train strikes we ended up hiring a driver for the day.  If I was to redo this I would have had our agent make those arrangements in advance.

Colmar was great as well.  The villages were absolutely beautiful.  Our guide was very interesting and had lots of knowledge of the area.  He obviously loves the entire Alsace region and imparted a tremendous amount of information.

My favorite part was Reims.  Our hotel was amazing.  Impeccable service and an absolutely beautiful property.  Our guide in Reims was our favorite.  Of course the Champagne made everything fabulous.  

We had a fabulous trip to Spain and France and the travel agency made it so easy. We started in Madrid and then hit Bilbao, Toledo, San Sebastian, Biarritz, Bordeaux, and finally Paris. The travel agency organized the entire trip including wonderful hotel accommodations, drivers / transportation, guides, culinary tastings and wine tours. They gave us a highly organized and easy to follow, day-by-day itinerary with all the back-up documentation to make this trip turnkey and were very responsive when we ran into a couple minor hiccups. I would recommend and use them again.

Trip of a Lifetime - Eating and Drinking Through France and Spain

We intended to do this trip for our honeymoon several years ago, but at the time the U.S. Dollar was very weak compared to the Euro.  Fast forward a few years and with a stronger dollar, we celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary with the honeymoon we always wanted!

Our goal was to eat and drink our way through France and Spain and we had a very complex and aggressive itinerary in mind.  We first looked to Zicasso to find the right travel agent to assist us and we are so glad and fortunate to have met and worked with this agent and her company in Madrid, Spain.

Zicasso matched us with several travel agents that all seemed very capable of helping us plan our itinerary.  Through emails and Skype conversations we chose this agent and her team primary because they understood most what we were trying to accomplish and our travel lifestyle.  Our agent was very knowledgeable of the places we wanted to visit and understood why we were traveling and how we wanted to travel.  We didn’t want to rush through our trip and definitely wanted time to ourselves to relax and enjoy the cities we visited.

Over the course of several months, our agent collaborated with us on the itinerary.  She was always giving the right amount of positive input and suggestions without being overbearing.  Through it all, our agent was very accommodating and patient with us.  Trip planning was a learning process for me as I have never been to Europe and our agent was a fantastic guide.  She made sure we had a great balance of activities and free time to truly enjoy the trip.

During the actual vacation, our agent was also very engaged as she checked in on us, again without being obtrusive, and she made sure any little bumps we encountered were handled immediately.  We really appreciated her involvement throughout the trip and believe that we would not have gotten that level of attention and service with other travel agents.

The biggest compliments about our agent and her company came from the hotel proprietors and the tour operators who said that our agent was a true professional and that their interactions with her and her team were all very pleasant, efficient and precise.

Thank you to our agent for a trip of a lifetime and the honeymoon we always wanted!

Itinerary:

Included in our vacation package: