Itinerary · 10 days
Paris and Provence
Four nights in Paris for its museums, neighbourhoods and tables, then five in the Alpilles from one country hotel, among stone villages and vineyards.
At a glance
- Price
- From $12,900 per person
- Length
- 9 nights
- Season
- May–June, Sept–Oct
The pyramid and the palace, the Louvre
A private ten-day journey, nine nights, planned by Avelia from Málaga: four in Paris, with the Louvre, Versailles and the Orsay each with your own guide, then the direct train south and five nights in the Alpilles beneath Les Baux, with Avignon, the Luberon’s villages and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate as days out. Every transfer is arranged; the rest of the days are yours.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
The route
From Paris to the Alpilles, by train
The order of the journey, how you travel between its two places, and when to go.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Where you stay
- Where you change transport
- Day 1 · a driver from the airport to your hotel in Paris
Days 1–5 · four nights
The Louvre, Versailles and the Orsay with your own guide, and the afternoons yours.
- Day 5 · a driver to the Gare de Lyon, the direct TGV to Avignon, about three hours, then a driver to the hotel
Days 5–10 · five nights
One country hotel in the Alpilles: Les Baux and the Carrières, two Luberon villages, Avignon and a Châteauneuf estate, and a day of nothing.
- Day 10 · a driver to Marseille Provence airport, or a rail departure from Avignon
How you travel
Nine nights, as set out here: four in Paris and five beneath Les Baux-de-Provence, from one country hotel. The transfers are these: a driver from the airport to your hotel in Paris, and your driver out to Versailles and back; on the fifth morning a driver to the Gare de Lyon and a direct TGV to Avignon TGV, around three hours on the service we select, in first class with your seats reserved; your driver from the station to the hotel; a driver and a guide on each of the three Provence touring days; and on the last morning your driver to Marseille Provence airport, timed to your flight — or, if you would rather, a rail departure from Avignon, quoted instead. Aix-en-Provence is an extension or an alternative day, not a last night on the way; the coast and the Riviera want their own time and, for a longer trip, another base. If your flight home leaves from Paris, a night there may be needed, and it is quoted as an extension: it is not one of the nine.
At a glance
- Nights
- Paris 4, the Alpilles 5, from one country hotel
- Best months
- May and June, September and October
- Suits
- Art and neighbourhoods in Paris, then village days from a country hotel
- Getting about
- A driver in each place; the direct TGV to Avignon, about three hours
Highlights
Three moments on the way
The Louvre and the Orsay with a guide
Each museum in a morning with your own licensed guide, admission included, the visit shaped around what you most want to see — and the afternoons yours.
Les Baux and the Carrières des Lumières
The village beneath the ruins of its castle, and in the old quarry at its foot the Carrières des Lumières, where art is projected across the stone; then an olive-oil tasting in the Vallée des Baux.
A Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate
After Avignon and the Palais des Papes, one arranged tasting at an estate of France's first wine appellation, in 1936 — one estate, taken slowly, not a timetable of cellars.
Days 1–4
Paris, the museums and the neighbourhoods
Paris first: four nights, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay with your own guide, a day at Versailles, and the afternoons and evenings yours.
Day 1
Arrival in Paris
A private transfer from the airport to your hotel, then the afternoon to settle in and the evening left open.
More about this day: Day 1, Arrival in Paris
A private transfer from the airport to your hotel, and nothing else is fixed. The afternoon is for settling in, and the evening is left open rather than tied to a table after a flight: if you want somewhere nearby, we suggest it.
Day 2
The Louvre with your guide
The Louvre in the morning with your own licensed guide, admission included, then a free afternoon for the river or the gardens.
More about this day: Day 2, The Louvre with your guide
The morning at the Louvre with your own licensed guide-conférencier, admission included, the visit shaped around the collections you most want to see; the museum is open to everyone around you, and your guide’s job is to make it yours. The afternoon is free, for the river, the gardens or a neighbourhood on foot.
Day 3
Versailles
A day at Versailles, standard admission included, with your driver and your guide: the palace and its gardens, unhurried.
More about this day: Day 3, Versailles
A day at Versailles, standard admission included, with your driver and your guide: the palace and its gardens, at a pace that leaves room to sit down. The palace’s own special visits, through the private apartments and passages most visitors never see, are an optional arrangement, on request, subject to availability and priced separately — never the default.
The garden front of the palace Day 4
The Orsay with your guide
The Musée d'Orsay with a private guide in the morning, a free afternoon, and a table reserved for your last Paris evening.
More about this day: Day 4, The Orsay with your guide
The morning at the Musée d’Orsay with a private guide, admission included: Monet, Manet, Degas and Van Gogh, and the painters around them. The afternoon is free. For the last evening in Paris, our restaurant recommendations and a table reserved for you; the meal itself is yours.
Days 5–10
The Alpilles, from one country hotel
Then Provence: five nights beneath Les Baux-de-Provence, with Les Baux and the Carrières, two Luberon villages, Avignon and one Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate as days out, and a day that belongs to the hotel.
Day 5
South by train, to the Alpilles
Your driver to the Gare de Lyon, first class on the direct TGV to Avignon, then a driver to your hotel.
More about this day: Day 5, South by train, to the Alpilles
A transfer day, with no sightseeing programme. Your driver to the Gare de Lyon; a direct TGV INOUI to Avignon TGV, around three hours on the service we select, in first class with your seats reserved; and a private transfer from the station to your hotel beneath Les Baux-de-Provence. The rest of the day is the hotel’s: the first evening in the Alpilles, and dinner at a table we reserve, paid by you.
Day 6
Les Baux and the Carrières des Lumières
Les Baux and the Carrières des Lumières with your driver and guide, admission included, then an olive-oil tasting, and back with the afternoon still ahead.
More about this day: Day 6, Les Baux and the Carrières des Lumières
A local day, kept compact, with your driver and guide. Les Baux-de-Provence, beneath the ruins of a castle whose walls run into the white limestone, and in the old quarry at its foot the Carrières des Lumières, where the current programme is projected across the stone, admission included. Then an arranged tasting at a mill among the groves of the Vallée des Baux, whose olive oil carries an AOP of its own. Back with the afternoon still ahead of you, to enjoy the hotel.
Day 7
Gordes and Roussillon
Gordes and Roussillon with your driver and guide, the order set around a market morning, a lunch or a walk.
More about this day: Day 7, Gordes and Roussillon
A Luberon day with two stops, not five: Gordes and Roussillon, with your driver and guide, and the order settled around a market morning, a lunch we reserve or your interest in walking and photography. Lavender, if your dates fall in its season, is a possibility we check for you, never a promise. Back to the Alpilles for the evening.
Gordes from the belvedere Day 8
Avignon, and one Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate
Avignon and the Palais des Papes with your guide, admission included, then one tasting at a Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate.
More about this day: Day 8, Avignon, and one Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate
A full touring day. The morning in Avignon with your guide, and the Palais des Papes, admission included — by its own account the largest Gothic palace in the world, built when the popes left Rome for Avignon in the 14th century. Then one arranged tasting at an estate of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France’s first wine appellation, in 1936, and nothing else after it: no second estate, no workshop. We confirm the day’s timings and the estate’s appointment for your dates, and where a day runs long we shorten it rather than hurry it.
The Palais des Papes, Avignon Day 9
A day at the hotel
Nothing is fixed: the hotel, its grounds and a long lunch, or a cooking class, Arles or a walk, on request.
More about this day: Day 9, A day at the hotel
Nothing is fixed: the day belongs to the hotel and its grounds, and to a long lunch. If you would rather do something, a cooking class, a morning in Arles, another wine visit or a guided walk in the Alpilles can be substituted or added, each on request, subject to availability and priced separately.
Day 10
Home
Breakfast, then your driver to Marseille Provence airport, timed to your flight, or a rail departure from Avignon, quoted instead.
More about this day: Day 10, Home
Breakfast, then your driver to Marseille Provence airport, timed to your flight. A rail departure from Avignon can be quoted instead; and if your flight home leaves from Paris, a night there may be needed, quoted as an extension to the nine.
Where you stay
Days 1–4
Paris
Our reference hotel in Paris is Four Seasons Hotel George V; the alternative is Le Bristol Paris. Either is chosen with you, and the others are on our page of Paris hotels.
Our choice Champs-Élysées Four Seasons George V A Palace just off the Champs-Élysées, with three restaurants — Le Cinq, L'Orangerie and Le George — and an indoor pool in the spa. View the hotel 
Alternative Madeleine Le Bristol Paris A Palace of 189 rooms on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, with an inner garden, Épicure and a sixth-floor pool. View the hotel
Days 5–10
Provence
Our recommendation in the Alpilles is Baumanière, an estate of separate houses beneath Les Baux-de-Provence, for a stay in which the hotel is part of the journey: its rooms are spread among the houses, so we help you choose the house and its position as well as the room, and the costed category is a double room, subject to confirmation of the exact current category. The alternative, from the same base and without rewriting the journey, is Domaine de Manville — rooms, suites and houses, with a golf course, a spa and family facilities, for travellers who want more to do at the hotel between the days out; what each of those costs is stated in your quotation, since none is included in the journey.
Our choice Les Baux-de-Provence Baumanière An estate of five houses in gardens beneath Les Baux, with 53 rooms and suites, three pools, a spa and the restaurant L'Oustau de Baumanière. View the hotel 
Alternative Les Baux-de-Provence Domaine de Manville A five-star farm estate on the plain below Les Baux, with 30 rooms and suites, nine villas, an 18-hole golf course, a spa and a Kids' Club — the Alpilles base for families and golfers. View the hotel
What the journey includes
From $12,900 per person
Plan this journeyYour proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
Included
- Nine nights for two sharing, with breakfast, at the hotels shown or others chosen with you
- Private transfers on arrival, to the train, from Avignon TGV and to the airport
- First-class seats on the direct TGV to Avignon
- The Louvre and the Orsay with a private guide, admission included
- Versailles: standard admission, a driver and a guide
- Three Provence touring days with a driver and guide
- The Carrières, the Palais des Papes, an olive-oil and an estate tasting
- Tables reserved for you along the way
- Planned with you by Ramin Jafari
- Support while you travel
Paid separately
- Lunches, dinners and drinks outside the included tastings
- Spa treatments and golf
- Exceptional access, including Versailles' own special visits, on request
- International flights, insurance and gratuities
Options
- A cooking class, a morning in Arles or a walk in the Alpilles
- Another wine visit, or a second Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate
- Aix-en-Provence as an extension
- An extra night in Paris for your flight home
- Reservations at Paris’s great tables; the meals are yours
Full terms
Included
- Nine nights for two sharing, with breakfast — four at Four Seasons Hotel George V and five at Baumanière, or the alternatives chosen with you. The costed room categories are the George V’s Deluxe Room and Baumanière’s Deluxe Room with Terrace, subject to confirmation of the exact current categories and availability; a lead-in rate never implies a terrace or a suite.
- Private transfers — on arrival in Paris; from your hotel to the Gare de Lyon; from Avignon TGV to your hotel in the Alpilles; and from the hotel to Marseille Provence airport.
- The train south — reserved first-class seats on a direct Paris–Avignon TGV.
- Paris with a guide — a private guide and admission for the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay; Versailles: standard admission, with private transport and a guide.
- Three Provence touring days — private transport and guiding, with admission to the Carrières des Lumières and the Palais des Papes, one olive-oil tasting and one estate tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
How we work
- Planned with you — by Ramin Jafari, who shapes the order, the pace and the days around you; every part can change.
- Support while you travel — if a transfer is delayed or a booking changes, we coordinate with the partners involved and take you through the options.
Reservation assistance
- Tables reserved for you along the way, with our recommendations; the meals themselves are paid by you. A private guide means your own guide at your side, not exclusive use of a museum, a palace or a winery.
Paid separately
- Not in the price — lunches, dinners and drinks outside the included tastings; spa treatments and golf; optional activities; exceptional access, including Versailles’ own special visits, on request and subject to availability; international flights; insurance; gratuities. Accommodation taxes and unavoidable supplier charges are in the costing; any charge to be paid locally is stated in your quotation.
Options and extensions
- Add or swap — on the free day, a cooking class, a morning in Arles, another wine visit or a guided walk in the Alpilles; a second Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate on another day; Aix-en-Provence as an extension; and an extra night in Paris where your flight home needs one — each quoted separately.
- Paris’s great tables — reservations at Paris’s great tables, among them the three-star dining rooms, arranged with you; the meals are yours.
Paris guides
- Paris travel guide
How to choose a Paris stay: the nights, the quarter, the hotel and the month.
- Things to do in Paris
Fourteen places, each with why to choose it, how long to allow and what it pairs with.
What travellers say
When he came back to my wife and I with iterations of itineraries, they clearly reflected what we had been conveying to him.
Paul Oetter
Plan this journey with Ramin
As it is set out here, or shaped around your dates, your pace and who is travelling. Tell us when you would like to go.
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