A Perfect Family Getaway to France Tour: History, Culture & Cooking Class

Eric planned the perfect holiday in France. Our driver was waiting for us on arrival. Off to Normandy for our first three nights, with a quick stop at Monet's garden at Giverny. Our guide brought the water lilies to life. We checked in at an amazing five-star hotel. Do not miss either of their two Michelin-star restaurants. It's a short walk into Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, where you will find many restaurants. We spent two days exploring everything Normandy and World War 2 with an exceptional guide.

Paris did not disappoint. We hit the ground running. Eric arranged a tour of Paris by car. The evening dinner cruise on the River Seine was definitely a highlight of the trip, as were beautiful views of the city lit up at night, including the Eiffel Tower. I had no idea how beautiful the Palace and Gardens of Versailles are - the restaurant on-site by the lake with rowboats is wonderful. Of course, the guide matters - she was the best! If you're a foodie, make sure you schedule a cooking class with our chef. Shopping at the local markets is an adventure in itself. I've been able to recreate the meal back in the States.

We chose to explore the Champagne houses on this trip. Both were exceptional and yes, we brought home four bottles. In between houses, we had the most wonderful lunch with a champagne flight at Au 36 in Hautvillers. A trip to Paris would not be complete without visiting the Louvre and Orangerie museums. We completed our holiday with a flute of champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower! 

Eric and the guides made perfect restaurant recommendations. I most definitely recommend him and the travel agency!

Thank you to Zicasso for pairing us with our travel agency and their representative, who was wonderful and attentive. She checked in on us during the trip and surprised us with complimentary champagne for our 30th anniversary! She made sure everything during our 14 days around London, Jersey (an English Channel Island), Normandy, and Paris was very smooth, with professional tours, private drivers, and seamless connection points.

We couldn't have asked for better private and small-group guides, and I highly recommend them all. The guide in London was extremely knowledgeable, patient, and flexible while showing us around Soho and downtown. Another guide gave us background on past and present events for the tour of Windsor Castle. He was hilarious and an absolute treasure. Our other guide was a fantastic historian and showed us around Mont St. Michel on its 1,000th anniversary. Another guide took us on the most delicious Normandy cheese, cider, and Calvados tour, educating us on the processes. Our Giverny guide got us into Monet's Garden early, before the crowds, allowing for gorgeous pictures. Lastly, our St. Germain Secret Food tour guide took us to a Basque restaurant, where food and wine were so good you never want to leave.

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

Thank you to our travel planner and her company for helping us plan and schedule an amazing trip to Europe for our grand daughter’s graduation from high school.  This was a multi-generational tour - grandchildren, parents and grandparents.The trip was a year in the making to see the highlights and do some of the not to ordinary experiences in London and Paris, plus an extension to Budapest, Salzburg and Munich for the grandparents.  Our travel planner was attentive to our desires to do and see certain attractions, but also she suggested sights and activities unique to the places we were to visit.  She located condos in center city which were accessed by walking or public transportation to the major sites on our itinerary  ( We purchased Oyster Cards in London to make for quick and easy access on public transportation.)

Upon arriving in London we settled into our condo and then took off on our first adventure to ride on the Coca-Cola London Eye with  beautiful views of the city and then do a thrilling ride on the River Thames.  To highlight the activities in London: (the parents had previously visited London and Paris two times and the grandparents three times)  tour of Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral; in the evening  of the second day it was a dark, cold and rainy setting the stage for our Jack the Ripper Tour.  It made the walk on the cobbled alleyways eerie and thrilling reminding us of days gone by.  On our second full day we visited Wimbledon with behind the scenes visits of facilities used by the press, broadcasters and the world’s best tennis players.  Our grand daughters and their mother play tennis so it was very exciting for them to see the grass courts and to envision the championship players on center court.  Back to center city to visit the Tower of London to see the royal jewels and to hear the history of the castle and of those who were executed there.  Day three we were able to see the various stages of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace,.  We didn’t have to stand in line for hours, as we had done in the past, but instead were able to see the inspection, Old Guard, New Guard, Palaces and were even able to march alongside the Guard and the Ceremonial Bands.

Leaving London, we arrived in Paris and were met and transferred to our centrally located condo.  On our first full day in France we traveled to Normandy via train.  We visited the Caen War Memorial, the Normandy Landing Beaches walking on the beaches where so many lost their lives fighting for our freedom and for those in other countries.  After lunch we visited the American Military Cemetery to remind us of the human sacrifice.

We purchased 4-day Museum Passes in Paris in order to visit the museums on our own time frame: the Louvre, the d’Orsay, the Rodin and the Palace of Versailles.  We put on our walking shoes and walked to the museums and other major sites: Notre Dame, the Eifel Tower, the Arc of Triumph and the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise over the next four days.  In the evening of our second full day in Paris we did a Gourmet Food Tour walking in the Les Halles-Montorqueil section of Paris.  We sampled wonderful pastries, cheese, sausage, wines and candies from this famous area.After seeing Versailles three times before we were excited about the unique visit our travel planner had arranged for us.  We did a bike tour in the town of Versailles, purchased items for a picnic lunch and then pedaled out to the Palace grounds.  We explored Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet, and the Petit and Grand Trianons, picnicked at the end of the Grand Canal and skipped the lines to tour the Palace.

To end our tour in Paris and to send the grand daughters and their parents off to home, we highlighted the last night with a dinner cruise.  We all enjoyed the fine cuisine and the beautiful night time views of Paris along the River Seine.

We as grandparents continued our journey to Budapest, Salzburg, and Munich.  Staying in centrally located hotels we were able to walk to main attractions and to easily meet our guides for our tours.  In Budapest we did a walking tour of Pest learning about the history, legends and myths while visiting the major sites.  Our second day we took a market tour in one of Europe’s finest halls while sampling several foods and drinks.  Leaving the city we visited a winery-owned restaurant in Etyek for lunch and then drove to a family run winery for a wine tasting.Leaving Budapest we went by train to Salzburg via train.  (We found the trains comfortable, clean and an easy way to move from city to city and country to country. 

Doing the “Sound of Music” Tour was a highlight for us after enjoying the movie over the last fifty years.  We also visited the Fortress of Hohensalzberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthplace, did a Mozart concert at the Fortress and toured the beautiful Salzkammergut area. 

Onto Munich for three days.  We enjoyed a walking/driving tour of the city with stops at the Bavarian monarchs palace, the 1972 Summer Olympic Park, the BMW Plant and the famous Hofbrauhaus.  On day two we went outside the city by train to the see King Ludwig‘s castles.  We marveled at the natural beauty of the Alps and villages and the magnificence of the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles.  To complete our stay we took a five hour tour to the Dachau Concentration Camp.  Our guide gave us a detailed tour of the camp and the memorials.  A sobering experience and “lest we forget” all those who lost their lives.

The total trip was remarkable and a special thank you goes out to our tour designer for her expertise and diligence in making everything work together in our time frame.  Her attention to detail was awesome: we had a detailed itinerary, all necessary vouchers for attractions and travel, excellent guides and accommodations.  We highly recommend this company and our outstanding agent.

Our trip to France was laid out to keep us on the move and see as much of Paris and Normandy as would be comfortable on a vacation.  The trip met our expectations, and was very enjoyable as vacations should be.  The weather was a little unsettling at time, some light rain, but for the most part most days just needed a sweater or light rain jacket, one day we needed to carry an umbrella. 

Of course the pick up at the airport is wonderful, after being in a jet for 12 hours, having not to worry about taxi or shuttle or rental car to get to the hotel is wonderful.  Our driver was very professional and wasted no time in getting us to our hotel.  He was not overly talkative but very polite and competent in his duties. Key point here, we avoided driving a car is Paris!

Our hotel that Zicasso booked for us was perfect. Just on the edge of the city, not too busy but within easy travel of most points we were interested in.  The room was clean, the staff very nice, and the daily breakfast was outstanding. The place where to relax and rest every day is very important, the the hotel was ideal for us... this made our time in Paris very pleasurable.   

We scheduled some tours (both private and group) through Zicasso, all were nice. Some involved transportation, which for the most part was great.... we did have one little miscue on a taxi ride, but one phone call to the Zicasso agent quickly resolved the potential problem and we made the tour as planned (out to Giverny). We did schedule a couple of walking tours but we would suggest letting the Zicasso agent take care of the tour details, especially those involving travel (train or van).

One of the most enjoyable days for us was having lunch on a luxury boat traveling the Seine river.  This was a 2 hour cruise on a glass covered boat, during light rain, enjoying French cuisine that is freshly prepared on board each day and served accordingly. It was wonderful being served this great food, with live entertainment, while slowly cruising the river and watching the Eiffel Tower pass in front. Actually was romantic, how very French!

We spent most of our time in Paris, but the last 3 days we journeyed over to Bayeux in Normandy, This was outstanding!  We stayed in a B&B that was dated 1560, but was in perfect condition (huge rooms), the hostess was most pleasant and kind... she served a great breakfast each morning, and kindly arranged several reservations for dinner for us. We were less than one block from Notre-Dame Cathedral (unbelievable).  Great shopping here too.

I'm kind of a history follower, so investigating this town and nearby places was wonderful. The tours that Zicasso arranged for us were right on.  We visited Utah, Omaha and Sword beaches (we were able to walk on Omaha and Sword at low tide).  We of course visited as many museums as we could, there are a couple of must do's, but there are many little privately operated places  (like next to a restaurant or quick stop) that have may pieces of memorabilia... we actually had one of the tour guides do a couple of unscheduled stops at these little places so I might take a few pictures, very cool.

The trip back to the airport (CDG) from Normandy was taken care of by Zicasso, of course, on time with no problems. I want to give out special kudos's to our driver that took us to the train station for the trip from Paris to Normandy: Beside not having to drive on these narrow packed streets, he promptly took us and our luggage to the station, he pulled up onto the curb right at the traffic light at the intersection (parking looked crazy), and I thought he was going to kindly drop us off on the side walk and be off (this is what I would expect). He unloaded our luggage and took us into the station (leaving his Mercedes van on the curb), had us wait a few minutes in the main lobby while he investigated where our train dock was (we don't read or speak French), and then escorted us on a 3 minute brisk walk through the main station to a remote dock and found our train number, and then explained what to look for on the overhead monitor when the train was ready to board.  This man is a true gentlemen.

The entire trip was wonderful!

Thank you Zicasso 

I had planned this trip for over a year with this wonderful France travel agency and will be eternally grateful, not only for the perfect itinerary, but for the flawless execution of every aspect.   It was beyond special.  Our travel agency teamed us up with the most wonderful drivers and guides, who became friends by the end of our stay!  Our driver in Paris, was there for us at every turn; to whisk us to our boat at Bateaux Parisens, to deliver us to and pick us up from the late show at the Moulin Rouge, and he was also there to help us with all of our luggage at the train station in Paris as we arrived from Caen.  His unfailing good humor and fearless navigation skills, along with his innately kind nature, made us feel instantly comfortable.

We had a spectacular guide in Paris.  She guided us through Versailles, the Musee d'Orsay, the Orangerie, the Marmottan-Claude Monet and the Rodin, just to name a few of the museums we visited.  We were accorded instant access and did not have to wait in any of the long queues, courtesy of our travel agency and guide!  She was a treasure trove of information and very intuitive with regard to where our interests lay.  In American terminology, "we had a blast" with our guide!  She had a disarming way with museum staff and in one instance, at the Rodin, was able to charm our way towards an extra 5 minute look at the upstairs of the interior as the museum was closing, so that we would not miss the sculptures of the fabulous Camille Claudel.  I simply cannot express how much her knowledge, affability and charm added to our experience!

Diane, an American expatriate who has lived in France for over 30 years, was our driver/guide in Giverny and Normandy.  Instantly comfortable with Diane, we so enjoyed our journey to Monet's home and gardens at Giverny.  Blessed by spectacular weather, we were able to fully appreciate the beautiful gardens in full bloom and under blue, sunlit skies.  Diane drove us to Honfleur, where we sat harbor side enjoying tea and conversation while taking in the sights of this beautiful seaside fishing village. We spent the next few days exploring the beaches of Normandy, the Norman Tapestry at Bayeux and two lovely chateaux in the area, while enjoying our stay in the very beautiful Chateau de Chenevieres.

Every detail of our trip was so perfect!  When I began planning for this grand adventure, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to see and do.  Our France travel agency was able to take my ideas and thoughts and shape them over time into a detailed, concrete plan incorporating museums, historical sites, nights of entertainment and plenty of free time for exploration.  I feel so lucky to have found this company to make my dream a reality!