10-Day France Without Crowds

We decided on this trip with a very short planning time. Zicasso’s travel agent was still able to put together a wonderful trip, taking all of our interests into account and proposing a few things we had not considered. She was delightful to work with. Proposing guides throughout and eliminating the need for a rental car was a wonderful idea, as was adding the stop in Lyon.

Our guide in Lyon was a lot of fun, with a good sense of humor and knowledge of Lyon. She had a good plan for our walking tour and was full of interesting information on local customs and food.

Our other guide was quite entertaining and made for many fun days. She went out of her way to be sure we were having a great time, taking interesting detours in search of poppy fields, beautiful views, and historic sites. She had extensive knowledge of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and Marseilles, and showed us great villages and local specialties in between.

The market shopping, wine tasting, and cooking class were wonderful and well placed on our last full day in Aix.

All the transfer drivers were great, with the exception of the Lyon train station, as no driver showed.

The hotel in Lyon was our favorite, with a small sitting area and very comfortable bed. The hotel in Avignon had the most comfortable beds, but the rooms were quite small, with no place to sit other than the bed. We upgraded to a suite for an extra 75 euro per night, which was worth it. The hotel in Aix-en-Provence was nice, but the bed was the least comfortable and we considered a slightly larger room. The hotel in Paris was luxurious and quite large; perhaps a little too grand for our last night as we arrived at 9pm and departed the next day, with little time to explore.

Our trip to Provence was fabulous. The three cities, Lyon, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence, gave us a real sense of the region. The food, wine, and tours were all magnificent. The hotels were lovely and centrally located. 

The five days in Avignon gave us a sense of the city and history.  All the guides were excellent and well informed. Our entire trip was well organized and the travel app which outlined our trip was “perfect." We were especially thankful for the drivers who were always on time.

We highly recommend our Zicasso travel expert and our travel company. We have never been disappointed with Zicasso.

Planning as described and all accommodations, transfers were as anticipatedGood road book with driving directionsRestaurants selection OK (would have preferred more bistro gastronomique recommendations)Activites recommendations OKHotel in Biarritz OK (nice design, but small room with too little storage)Hotel in Bordeaux excellent (great room, service, location)All tour guides and visits were excellent

Issues:Car pick-up in Bordeaux not as indicated. Was indicated outside of train station (1+ mile) and I called from train station to learn the company was inside the station.Tour in Saint Emilion was wrongly listed as the meeting point in Bordeaux and when we went there we learned that meeting was supposed to be in St Emilion i.e. 45 mn away. We lost at least 90mn of planned activitiesHotel reservations in Bordeaux were listed with breakfast included, but we learned at the hotel that it was not. If breakfast has been pre-paid we need to be reimbursed for 30Euros per day for 4 days.

Travel Company's Comments

 I’d like to thank our client for this feedback.  Firstly we are always looking at ways to make our road books more interesting and relevant. Sometimes we think they focus too much on restaurants; but in this case, it seems we should have been more detailed in that area.  Point noted! With regards to the issues brought up, the car agency location changed on the 28th of April and I did not receive this information from our supplier.  I am sorry you had to walk out of your way and I have alerted them expressing your dissatisfaction.   With regards to the hotel, I called the hotel in Bordeaux straight away and they said that the breakfasts were not on your bill, and you were in fact not charged for them, but the parking costs and city tax were, for a total of 55.80€.   We will certainly reimburse you for the breakfast costs in Bordeaux if we can get some document that shows their error. Could you please send us through some sort of document that shows that they charged you for the breakfasts if you have one? I really hope that this problem at the reception of the hotel does not taint your memories of your stay in France.  Therefore If I can resolve any problem I would love to do so.  Thank you again sincerely for the feedback we will use it to make our service more adapted and precise in the future.

It was a well-planned and organized trip that met my needs as I specified. The short, unrequested excursions turned out to be delightful additions that provided an overview of the cultural heritage of the areas visited. Strolls through the historic center of Cahors, with its Medieval cathedral (with curious gargoyles), water clock, and devil’s bridge, were particularly impressive.

The highlight for me was the visit to nine decorated Paleolithic caves/rock shelters, only one of which, Lascaux, was a reconstruction. Two were not on my request list but I was very happy to visit them. My driver/guide was extremely knowledgeable, not only about the towns and cultures but also the caves. My guide was patient with my mobility issues enabling me to visit these sites which could otherwise have been challenging for me.

I had not realized the vast richness of the Les Eyzies valley for caves and rock shelters in the Paleolithic era. These occurred in an extended area all along the river wherever the cliffs meet the river. There were more than the ones I had read about, leaving the tantalizing prospect of many more Paleolithic sites to visit, someday.

I was happy having the bit of time at the beginning and the end of the trip to explore my arrival/departure city on my own. Of course there was time to visit only one of cathedrals and to find a place for a sunset panorama, but it gave me a sense of venturing forth in my new environment. The choice of hotels was excellent.

The only disappointment was that the cave I wanted to visit above all others could not be put last, rather than first, on the schedule. I could not do that cave first with any hope that my knee would survive the rest of the trip. If done at the end, it would not have mattered if I had to ‘limp’ home. The reasoning for its placement first was not clearly explained until after the trip. Other than this, it was a successful and very rewarding trip for me, long to be savored.

From June 28 to July 8 we traveled through France, visiting Paris, Annecy, and Lyon. My wife and I had been to Paris before, but the rest of our family had not. We began with the major attractions, which were easy since this travel team had made sure to book skip the line or private guide tickets to things like the Eiffel Tower, Place of Versailles, the Louvre, etc. Then, we departed via train to Annecy, at the foot of the French Alps, where were enjoyed local cheese specialties, the scenic views, boating, and hiking near Mont Blanc. It was the first time any of us had visited a glacier in person. Then, we ended the trip with a two-night stay in Lyon where we had tickets to cheer on our USWNT as they won their fourth World Cup.

The trip, in general, was amazing. The travel team did a good job of scouting hotel sites and helping us navigate through busy parts of the country, given that tourist season was in full swing AND the Women’s World Cup was going on. The team placed us in walking distance of many attractions, including most of the historical sites of downtown Paris, old town city centre in Annecy (right on the lake, to boot), and in Lyon we were five minutes from Fanfest and zero minutes from a metro (subway) station.

I’ll end with noting that we used the Women’s World Cup to help pinpoint where we’d go-we wanted to see a World Cup final. When I began researching options, none of the sports travel agencies were able to meet our demands for locations, activities, and length of stay. So, we switched gears to traditional agencies who were agreeable to append the World Cup to the trip. The travel team excelled in this regard-they are based in Lyon, and they knew the area quite well. This led to more thoughtful decisions on their part as opposed to using an agency based in somewhere other than the country of destination.