Discover Northern France

Discover Northern France by Gate 1 Travel

This is my 7th land tour with Gate-1 Travel.  I am traveling with the DW (dear wife).  We visited the Provence area of France last June and really enjoyed it, so we wanted to book this tour as well.  

Day 0 - Tuesday, April 21st - Travel to Paris

We left the Villa at 11:30 a.m. and took a short Uber ride to TPA. The airport was not busy at all today, and we had time for a nice lunch at Chick-fil-A.  We took an AA flight to Charlotte, where we landed just as our trans-Atlantic flight was boarding.  We hustled to the International Terminal, where we soon boarded with Group 5 and headed to Paris.  

Day 1 - Wednesday, April 22nd - Paris, France 

Our uneventful overnight flight landed at about 8:00 a.m local Paris time.  We went directly through European Union (EU) customs, then were very pleasantly relieved to see that our luggage had made the flight.  We were met by a private Driver that we had booked online from the Tampa Airport through Booking.com.  He was excellent, meeting us with a sign as we exited the baggage area and had us at our hotel after an hour drive at about 9:30 a.m.  We are staying at the M Social Hotel on Boulevard Hassmann in the Opera District of the 9th arrondissement.  It was built in the 1920s in the Art Deco style and operated for years as the Millennium Paris Opera Hotel.  For a reasonable fee, we upgraded to a larger room with a view of the Boulevard. We took the early check-in option, so after a ten-minute wait and some complimentary croissants, juices, and fresh fruit from the Members Club in the Lobby, we were in our room straightaway.  The bed is huge, the same as the one we're used to at home in Florida, and the room is classic.  We rested until about 1:00 p.m., then walked for six minutes to the premier shopping gallery in Paris: Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, a grand, century-old department store with a steel-framed Art Nouveau dome ringed by loggias.  On the upper terrace, they have a viewing area with the beautiful Palais Garnier Opera House (photo) directly in front and The Eiffle Tower beyond.  It was packed with viewers from all over the world.  I had hoped to tour the Opera today, but it was sold out for several days forward. I underestimated the demand, but I understand why after reviewing the interior photos—next trip.  I do love this area of Paris, with its architecture and so many dining options.  We stopped at Cordial Cafe on the way back to the hotel for a light meal. I had the Croque Monsieur, a very Parisian hot ham & cheese dish served with Frites and Salad, DW had an excellent Vegetarian crepe.  We then took a nap and settled into our room.   At about 7:00 p.m., we took a walk on the Avenue, heading in the opposite direction, and passed a block of American food places, with Five Guys, KFC, Chipotle, and McDonald's side by side.  My goal was to make it to Bouillon Chartier Grands Boulevards (1896) for dinner.  This is a very popular French restaurant with three locations in Paris.  We ate at the Montparnasse location on our first night in Paris last year.  We were tricked by what looked like a short line on the sidewalk, but it turned out to be much longer once we entered.  They even had a stand midway selling Sangria.  After half an hour, we were sitting in the original dining section.  The food was excellent. I ordered the Avocado & Shrimp Salad, the Foie Gras, and the Duck Confit with baby Potatoes entree.  We split a Rum Baba for dessert.  It was excellent, and everything was fairly priced.  We walked slowly back to the hotel, and we were in the room by half past nine.  It was a great first day in Paris.  

Day 2 - Thursday, April 23rd - Paris, France - Our Personal Tour Day

I slept well, even with the sounds of the city through our open window (I later closed it).   We got around at about 9:00 a.m. and had a croissant on the way out of the hotel.  Our goal today is the wonderful Musée d’Orsay. We walked only one block to the 8 Metro Richelieu-Drouot station… then, three stations later, we exited at the Concord Station near the River Seine.  We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries to the pedestrian bridge across the Seine and the Musée d’Orsay on the left bank. We used our pre-purchased tickets for a side entry with access to the upper floors (via escalators) and the famous French Impressionist galleries.  We started with the best works and then worked our way through the other galleries.  Our favorites were works by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Degas, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Gustave Courbet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec,  August Rodin, and more.  Of course, Monet and Rodin have their own museums in Paris.  Once we left the Impressionists on Level 5, we stopped in the Cafe Campana (also on 5) for some rest, a Carrot Cake, and Coca-Cola. Following this, we entered the lower galleries in the original d'Orsay train station.  What an impressive, massive gallery this was converted into, and our first impression was from above.  Beautiful.  Once on the main floor, we visited the special Exhibit: Renoir and Love, featuring their own collection as well as Renoir's masterpieces on loan from museums around the world, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party (my photo above). We were able to get seats directly across from it in the viewing area, so we sat and really enjoyed this masterpiece—the highlight of our visit.  Others I appreciated seeing were Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone and Self Portrait.  We were going to walk to the St. Germain area, but chose to return to the hotel after doing a lot of walking inside the huge museum. We did stop for a wonderful street Crepe when we returned through the Jardin des Tuileries.  This morning, I added Metro tickets to my Metro Card in my iPhone wallet from last year, and it worked flawlessly coming and going.  The Metro cars were packed both times, too.  Once back at the hotel, we rested the rest of the afternoon.  At about 4:00 p.m., I walked to Bouillon Chartier for dinner.  No line at all at this time of day.  I ordered the Avocado Shrimp again, the Steak with Fries entree, and Rice Pudding for dessert.  It was great.  At 6:00 p.m., we meet our Gate-1 group for orientation.  I discovered that they were also furnishing a group meal at 7:30 p.m.  We walked three blocks to Les Noces de Jeannette, a very lovely French Restaurant. Wines were offered, and a set menu with two entree choices.  I had a wonderful Crayfish Salad with Citrus and the Duck à l’Orange entree, with a traditional Parisian Opera Cake for dessert (I passed as it has coffee flavors).  My second dinner was perhaps better than my first dinner.  We retired after dinner.  Another wonderful day in Paris.

Day 3 - Friday, April 24th - Paris, France - Group Tour of Paris

I slept well overnight, and we were up early.  I had a nice hotel breakfast just after 6:30 a.m. There was a large variety of items to choose from, including Bacon, Cheeses, Eggs to order, fresh Breads, Juices, Coffees, and much more.  Our bus left at 7:30 a.m. for a mostly panoramic tour of Paris.  We did stop at the Arc de Triomphe, the Invalides area for Coffee or Cokes, and the Effial Tower for photo opportunities.  Our final stop was at the famous Louve Museum, where we had two hours on our own to discover the treasures.  This was identical to the tour we took this past June.  I have to say that the Louve was much too crowded to really enjoy.  We did have the option to stay longer or take the bus back to the hotel at 1:00 p.m.  We took the bus.  At about 3:00 p.m we did a walkabout and had lunch at La Creme de Paris, a highly rated creperie.  DW had a cheese crepe, and I had the ham & cheese crepe.  They were very good and filling.  We did some shopping and returned to the hotel for our 5:30 special tour in a vintage French Citroën automobile.  We went through several Paris neighborhoods and the Moulin Rouge area on our way to the famous Montmartre district, the highest area of Paris, and the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. In the photo above, you can see the red Citroën we rode in last year and the Sacré-Cœur.  Here, we had an hour-plus to walk around in this amazing, very busy area.  I enjoyed several Heineken beers as well.  We then rode our Citroën back to the hotel.  It was the highlight of the day.  We then retired early for much-needed rest.  Another great day in Paris.

Day 4 - Saturday, April 25th - Paris, France - Champagne Region

I had the best full night of sleep of the trip, but was up at 7:00 a.m. for breakfast.  We were all off at 8:00 a.m for our day trip to the Champagne region today.  Driving through central Paris early, without crowds on a Saturday, was pleasant, then once past the Euro Disney area, the countryside was beautiful, pastoral farmland.