Arrive in Paris on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), a private hotel transfer, accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

At 18:00, join your tour leader Christine McCabe and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing at the hotel followed by dinner.

(D)

After breakfast, depart Paris and travel south to the Plessis-Sasnières Garden. Join Guillaume Henrion, son of the garden’s creator, for a private tour of this quintessentially English garden, begun in 1960. Laid out around a pond fed by natural springs, the garden features sweeping lawns, a magnolia avenue and the vibrant Enclos Fleuri planted with perennials, roses and shrubs blooming from spring through autumn.

Continue to the Loire Valley, also known as the ‘Garden of France’, arriving in the vibrant city of Tours in the late afternoon.

(BL)

Today, attend the annual International Garden Festival at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, overlooking the Loire River. Every year since 1992, landscape architects and garden designers from all over the world are invited to create around 30 themed gardens, transforming the estate into a centre for contemporary landscape design. Spend the day exploring these experimental masterpieces amid the imposing grounds of the château.

Return to Tours in the afternoon. In the evening, dinner is at a local restaurant.

(BD)

This morning, discover the Jardins Haute Couture, grown on ancient terraces tumbling down the hillside to the water meadows known as the Île Saint-Martin. First opened to the public in 2023, the gardens have been created over 15 years by English owner Coral Miles.

After lunch in the picturesque medieval town of Chinon, visit the privately owned Château du Rivau, famed for breeding warhorses, some acquired by Joan of Arc in 1429 before liberating Orléans. Its six hectares of parkland feature 22 monumental works of art and 15 remarkable gardens showcasing thousands of fragrant roses. The visit is timed for the annual Rose Festival, offering expert talks on rose breeding, floral demonstrations and workshops.

(BL)

In the morning, discover Leonardo da Vinci’s final home in Amboise, Clos Lucé. Explore the Renaissance manor, his restored workshop and a sprawling park featuring giant working models of his visionary inventions.

Enjoy some free time to wander the cobbled streets of Amboise and visit the vibrant weekly market.

Then, enjoy a guided tour and wine tasting at the Château de Valmer, renowned for its Renaissance gardens carved into tuffeau (limestone) cliffs and exceptional Vouvray wines.

(B)

Today, visit the Château de Villandry, one of the largest and last Renaissance castles to be built on the banks of the Loire River in 1536. Enjoy a guided tour through the château’s six gardens including the world’s most famous potager planted seasonally with vegetables and flowers, the elegant ornamental and water gardens as well as the more contemporary and highly acclaimed sun garden.

Return to Tours for a full afternoon at leisure to wander around the charming historic centre, lined with wood-framed and stone-gabled townhouses, or visit the Museum of Fine Arts.

(BD)

Today, explore the elegant Château de Chenonceau, stretching across the Cher River in one of the most iconic settings of the Loire region. The château is known as the ‘Ladies’ Castle’ for the powerful women that successively shaped its gardens, bridge, grand gallery and destiny across five centuries. Meet the château’s botanical director for a private tour of the remarkable landscaped gardens designed by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de’ Medici.

After lunch on the castle grounds, explore the grand interiors of the château, featuring wonderful flower arrangements alongside rare furnishings and masterpieces by Tintoretto, Correggio, Rubens, Murillo, Van Dyck and Ribera.

Return to Tours in the afternoon. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

(BL)

Depart Tours and travel south to Limoges, home of the world-renowned Bernardaud porcelain factory, established in 1863. Learn about the production process behind the prestigious Limoges porcelain on a guided tour through the original workshops.

Continue through the Dordogne’s rolling hills to elegant Sarlat-la-Canéda, the heart of Périgord Noir, arriving in the late afternoon.

(BD)

This morning, enjoy a guided tour of Marqueyssac’s romantic gardens, perched dramatically atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dordogne Valley. Surrounding the lauze-roofed château, the gardens have been designed for strolling, with more than six kilometres of shaded paths lined with 150,000 hand-pruned boxwoods arranged as curvaceous parterres or clipped into bold geometric shapes. Forest paths lead to grassy clearings and belvederes providing panoramic views.

Then, spend the afternoon in the nearby village of La Roque-Gageac, home to an exotic hillside garden thriving with tropical palms, bananas, citrus and cycads. Embark on a traditional gabarre boat for a cruise on the tranquil Dordogne River, gliding past majestic châteaux and dramatic limestone cliffs.

(BL)

In the morning, enjoy a guided tour of the Water Gardens of Carsac-Aillac, a serene haven where reflective pools, fountains, lotuses and water lilies recall Monet’s water garden canvases.

This afternoon, visit the distinctly modern Jardins de l’Imaginaire, designed by acclaimed landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson and situated on the steep slopes overlooking the town of Terrasson-Lavilledieu. Admire the precisely clipped topiaries, cascading water staircases, infinity pools and bold contemporary plantings tumbling down to the river valley, creating striking contrasts between formal geometry and wild, untamed nature.

(BL)

This morning, enjoy a private, guided tour of Eyrignac Gardens with owner Patrick Sermadiras. The estate has been in the same family for over two centuries, from its 1740 origins as one of France’s earliest formal gardens to a 19th-century English landscape park. This neoclassical masterpiece features monumental topiary, elegant statuary, luminous water gardens and sweeping classic parterres framed by ancient oaks.

The afternoon is at leisure to relax or further explore Sarlat-la-Canéda at your own pace.

Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a special farewell dinner with Christine and fellow travellers.

(BD)

Tour arrangements conclude with an included morning group transfer to Bordeaux Airport for flights departing from 16:00.

Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including any additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

(B)