Family-Friendly Tour of England and France

London is a city with so much history to see and never enough time to experience all the little details shaping its former and current grandeur. The River Thames rushes through the heart of the city beneath the reflecting façade of the recognizable tower known as the Gherkin and the antique walls of the Tower of London. Your guide leads you from Westminster Abbey to the Buckingham Palace and eventually taking you through the gates of the infamous complex that transitioned from a prison to a palace on the north bank.

The tower has played a prominent role in the history of England and the city’s illustrious past as an armory, treasury, home of the Royal Mint, and home to the Crown Jewels. The White Tower was named for the stone with which it was built and was the strongest structure connected to the former medieval complex.

The Line of Kings was established in the mid-17th century displaying a collection of hunting and sporting weapons, arms and armor used in tournaments. The Crown Jewels make a distinct impression on kids inside the Jewel House. The Imperial State Crown was crafted in the 1830s for the coronation of Queen Victoria with more than 2,800 diamonds and precious stones. It glistens under the soft flight in the museum display.

At breakfast, you notice the herbaceous aroma of black tea filling the dining room accompanied by the sound of sizzling sausages emanating from the kitchen. You enjoy the simple pleasures of a familiar breakfast or delight in the hardy flavors of a traditional English breakfast before the family embarks on a day trip to Windsor. The twin towns of Windsor and Eton stand on opposite banks of the Thames River. Schoolboys dressed in uniforms stroll through the streets of Eton on their way to school. The morning fills with an air of pageantry during the changing of the guard at Windsor. Lavish boutique shops and beautiful cafes line the streets of the city center as restaurants open their doors to passing patrons.

Windsor Castle represents the world’s largest and oldest continuously inhabited fortress. Before entering the majestic battlements and towers, the kids partake in an archery lesson. You test your marksmanship skills as well, learning the proper way to hold the bow and arrow. The kids make jokes about Robin Hood as they make an open stance with their shoulders perpendicular to the target. They rest the arrow’s shaft on the bow and attach the grooved end known as the “nock” to the bowstring.

They grip the string with their knuckles wrapped around but not touching the nock, draw back, and release the arrow to the target. Shimmering armor flanks the Grand Staircase alongside a statue of Queen Vitoria foreshadowing the opulence of the stately apartments. St. George’s Hall may hold 162 people during banquets all sitting beneath the towering ceiling decorated with images associated with the Knights of the Garter.

The splendors of the day do not stop at the gates to Windsor Castle and instead follow the family inside a traditional setting known for glittering banquets. Your instructor welcomes the family with a soft and gentle accent before introducing you to the art of making proper scones within the elaborate setting of Guildhall. The local baker fills the room with the scent of butter, lemon, and berries as the kids dig their fingers into the flour to get started.

After a tasty breakfast readying the family for the day, you travel under the English Channel to reach Paris. The kids marvel at the engineering after learning they are riding on a train beneath the water separating England from France. The rolling hills of the southern English countryside have given way to the expansive lush greenery of the northern French landscape dotted with grazing cows and rolled hay bale. The renowned city of Paris is often associated with the finer delicacies of life, from chocolates to clothing, dining to art. However, the cobbled leans of the Left Bank and the grand architecture of the Belle Époque reflect a city able to enchant the entire family instead of relegating the streets solely to couples.

After spending time getting accustomed to the comforts of your accommodations, your private guide leads the family on an immersive tour of the Louvre Museum. The palace was once home to the kings of France until the 17th century when Louis XIV transferred the royal family to Versailles.

Today, the Louvre possesses more than 30,000 works of art over 652,000 square feet. Your guide turns the children into detectives searching the museum for clues while you take in the greater majesty of the famous collection. The Venus de Milo embodies the artistic elegance of Greek sculptures rising to one of the most famous ancient Greek works in modern times. The marble statue was crafted to depict the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

The key to the perfect exploration of Paris is through the cuisine, with traditional cafes serving unforgettable pastries and hidden restaurants offering the succulent flavors of traditional Parisian dishes. At breakfast, you sip a decadent cappuccino brimming with flavors of chocolate and caramel. The kids indulge in the sweet taste and thick texture of hot chocolate made with whole milk. Your guide escorts you into the Le Marais district for a flavorful exploration of one of the city’s historic districts. The streets remain the epicenter of chic boutique shops and designer hotels, dramatic art galleries and delectable cafes.

Your guide introduces the family to the home of Victor Hugo and the Place des Vosges, the oldest plaza in the city. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the fashionable nobility lived around the square resulting in the lavish architecture bordering the tranquil park. You dip into an elaborate chocolate shop known for its diverse flavors layered into fruit pastes, nougats, marshmallows, and caramels. The entire family is captivated by the depth of flavor in the chocolate and overjoyed about the mix of textures between the creamy caramel and almond crunch.

In the historic neighborhood of Montmartre, you relax at a welcoming restaurant away from the painters capturing the Sacre Coeur and the delightful scent of fresh baguettes. A local oenologist greets you at the table and introduces the children to the joys of delicious grape juice and cookies while you discover the splendors of three mesmerizing French wines. You relax in the ambiance once frequented by the likes of Monte Cézanne, and Toulouse-Lautrec as you find a bouquet of soothing aromas emanating from your glass.

The extravagance of the French monarchy emanates from the Royal Palace of Versailles, which was designed to dazzle foreign heads of state and visiting nobility. The symbol of power encompasses more than three square miles with a garden featuring 50 fountains and 200,000 trees. Your guide treats the family to the marvels of the interior in all its excessive opulence. The breathtaking Hall of Mirrors glitters along every inch of the 239-foot long room. 17 giant mirrors and 300 mirror segments reflect the windows, gilded statuary, and shimmering light fixtures for a striking glow passing between the King’s and Queen’s separate apartments. Once in the gardens, the family has a chance to explore the trails on bikes for a comprehensive tour of the landscape.

The Dragon Fountain captures the legend in which a young Apollo struck the serpent Python with his bow. You reach the miniature hamlet erected for Queen Marie-Antoinette as an escape from the stress of her royal life. The village reminded her of Austria and acted as a working village with farmhouses, a dairy, and mill. You return to central Paris to find the emblematic figure of the Eiffel Tower rising above the Champs de Mars.

The intricacies of Paris open the family’s minds and taste buds to the finer details of life as you begin the day with a tour of Notre Dame Cathedral. The fascinating architecture creates a gripping first impression with two immense towers and a single spire reaching 300 feet in height. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century under the reign of King Louis IX and the sitting Bishop Maurice de Sully, who wished to rival the storied Basilique Saint-Denis that now stands in the northern suburb of Paris.

The gothic design contains ethereal light shining through marvelous stained-glass windows and flying buttresses that revolutionized reinforcing the heavy walls of the age. Gargoyles adorn the balcony amidst the view overlooking the nave’s roof and spire. The typical features on gothic structures demand attention. The kids latch on to the gargoyles’ dreamy, fierce looks known for scaring away evil spirits. In the rain, their mouths act like spouts creating miniature waterfalls.

You continue to the Chocolate Museum for a lesson in the history of chocolate’s long journey from the rainforest in South America to celebrated confectionaries of Paris. After an introduction into marvelous travels of special treat, the family enters the workshop where you all become chocolatiers harvesting and shaping the cacao into your perfect candy. Your private chef teaches you how to properly temper the chocolate to create a proper consistency while slowly adding your preferred flavors, such as orange citrus, marshmallows, or pralines.

At breakfast, you sip a frothy cappuccino and enjoy the stories the children retell about their favorite moments on the trip. You nibble on an airy macaron savoring the flavor of pistachio or strawberry while listening to the elaborate recounting of your visit to White Tower in London or discovering all the right clues during the scavenger hunt at the Louvre. You cannot help but think of the incredible art within arm’s reach while wandering the exhibits of the celebrated galleries. After breakfast, your private transfer greets the family in the hotel lobby and escorts you to Charles de Gaulle Airport for your flight home.