The shape of a first France trip
Every fare here is a per-person starting price in dollars, two to a room, airfare extra, taken from each operator’s site unless we flag a reseller. Below is the slow way through France, and the one we’d picture first.
- Chartres2 nightsA guided tour of the Gothic cathedral and a walk through the old town.
- Loire Valley2 nightsAmboise, then Chenonceau, Villandry’s gardens and Azay-le-Rideau.
- Sarlat3 nightsThe Rouffignac cave paintings, a Dordogne River cruise, La Roque-Gageac and market day.
- Carcassonne1 nightA walking tour of the walled medieval city.
- Arles2 nightsA Languedoc winery on the way in, then the Pont du Gard.
- Nice2 nightsLes Baux on the drive, the Old City, a free afternoon for the beach or museums.
2027 price $5,045 to $5,395 per person plus air, groups of 24 to 28, tips included. Stops from Rick Steves’ day-by-day itinerary.
Six regions, and which tours reach them
France isn’t one trip. You’re choosing between the north’s history and the south’s light, or paying in days to get both.
| Region | What you go for | Tours that include it |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Seine | All of them except Collette’s Riviera week; Rick Steves sells 7 days of Paris alone |
| Normandy | Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, the American Cemetery, Mont-Saint-Michel, Giverny | Cosmos, Trafalgar Best of France, Tauck, Iconic France (Bayeux) |
| The Loire | Châteaux: Chenonceau, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau | Cosmos (optional Chenonceau), Trafalgar (a château night), Rick Steves, Tauck |
| Provence | Avignon’s Papal Palace, the Pont du Gard, Arles, lavender in July | Globus, Rick Steves, Trafalgar (Avignon, Arles), Intrepid (Gréoux-les-Bains) |
| The Riviera | Nice, Monaco, the Old City walks | Trafalgar, Rick Steves, Intrepid, Globus, Collette (a week in Nice) |
| Bordeaux & the Dordogne | Saint-Émilion, cave art, river villages | Trafalgar, Rick Steves (Sarlat), Iconic France, Tauck’s 10-day Bordeaux trip |
How many days France takes
Start with the vacation days you really have. Every row names a tour you can book for 2027.
| Length | How much of France | A 2027 tour that does it |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Paris alone, properly | Rick Steves Best of Paris, from $2,995 |
| 8 to 9 days | One half of the country | Cosmos Paris, Normandy & the Loire, 8 days from $1,499; Globus Paris & Provence, 9 days from $5,529 |
| 10 to 11 days | Paris plus one region at an easier pace, or the southwest | Rick Steves Paris & the Heart of France, 11 days; Tauck Bordeaux, the Dordogne & Biarritz, 10 days |
| 13 days | Both halves | Trafalgar Best of France; Rick Steves Loire to the South of France; Tauck Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire |
| 15 days | The north and Bordeaux without rushing | National Geographic Journeys Iconic France |
Count the hotel changes
Trafalgar’s Best of France changes hotel eight times in 13 days, with six one-night stops. Rick Steves’ 13-day southern route changes five times and stays three nights in Sarlat. Same length, very different trip.
When to go: spring prices, July lavender
You’re trading price against the lavender and the light. Tap a season.
Spring: the cheapest Best of France dates
Trafalgar’s 2027 Best of France opens March 28 at its lowest price, $4,575, then climbs to $5,095 through April and $5,250 by late May.
- Our Seine guide notes Monet’s garden at Giverny is shut in March, so a March tour may skip it
- Lavender isn’t out yet
- Ask for each date’s fare; the spread is about $675 across spring alone
Summer: the only window for lavender
Marseille’s tourism office puts the bloom between mid-June and early August, peaking in July. Valensole is usually cut around July 15; the Luberon and Sault, higher up, run later into mid-August.
- Intrepid’s lowest Best of France date is June 25, 2027
- Globus runs Paris & Provence from May
- If lavender is the reason, aim for a Provence day in the first half of July
Autumn: wine country, and some of the year’s best fares
Cosmos’s lowest fare, $1,499 for Paris, Normandy & the Loire, sits on an October 29, 2027 departure. Globus’s Paris & Provence from-price is an October 7, 2027 date.
- A good fit for Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion
- The lavender is long gone
- Check that your tour still runs in late October
Winter: Paris, Christmas markets and not much else
Collette lists Spotlight on the French Riviera with departures from November 2026, and Christmas-market tours cover Alsace. Most countrywide tours don’t run.
- Giverny shuts in November, per our Seine guide
- See our Christmas market tours for Strasbourg
- Cheaper flights, short days
You won’t find temperatures or crowd levels here, because no operator publishes them. The seasons above come from departure calendars, dated fares and Marseille’s tourism office on the lavender.
Who runs France, with real 2027 tours
Eight companies sell France to Americans, and the dearest charges over five times what the cheapest does for a day. The table climbs from the lowest daily cost.
| Company and tour | Length | Fare from | Daily cost | Where it goes | Group | Where the price came from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos Paris, Normandy & the Loire | 8 | $1,499 | ~$187 | Paris, Normandy, Mont St. Michel, Loire | coach; ask | cosmos.com, Oct 29 2027 |
| Rick Steves My Way France | 13 | $3,845 | ~$296 | Hotels and transport, sightseeing yours | ask | ricksteves.com, 2027 |
| Trafalgar Best of France | 13 | $4,575 | ~$352 | Paris, Burgundy, Riviera, Bordeaux, Loire, Normandy | avg 45 | trafalgar.com, Mar 28 2027 |
| Collette Spotlight on the French Riviera | 8 | $2,999 | ~$375 | One hotel in Nice | ask | reseller, 2027 |
| Rick Steves Loire to the South of France | 13 | $5,045 | ~$388 | Chartres, Loire, Dordogne, Provence, Nice | 24–28 | ricksteves.com, 2027 |
| Rick Steves Paris & the Heart of France | 11 | $4,395 | ~$400 | Paris and central France; ask for the route | max 24–28 | ricksteves.com, 2027 |
| Rick Steves Best of Paris | 7 | $2,995 | ~$428 | Paris | max 24–28 | ricksteves.com, 2027 |
| National Geographic Journeys Iconic France | 15 | $6,699 | ~$447 | Paris, Bayeux, Loire, Bordeaux | max 16 | gadventures.com, Apr 2028 dates |
| Intrepid Best of France | 8 | $4,475 | ~$559 | Paris, Burgundy, Annecy, Verdon, Nice | max 12 | intrepidtravel.com, Jun 25 2027 |
| Globus Paris & Provence (Small Group) | 9 | $5,529 | ~$614 | Paris, Avignon, Arles, Riviera | max 18 | globusjourneys.com, Oct 7 2027 |
| Tauck Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire | 13 | $8,790 | ~$676 | Versailles, Normandy, Brittany, Loire, Paris | Small Group avg 24 | tauck.com |
| Tauck Bordeaux, the Dordogne & Biarritz | 10 | $8,490 | ~$849 | Southwest France | Small Group | Tauck press release, 2027 |
| Tauck A Week In… Champagne & Alsace | 8 | $7,990 | ~$999 | Champagne, Alsace | ask | Tauck press release, 2027 |
Dollar fares are per person, two sharing, flights extra. Where an operator’s site showed no fare, we took it from the travel agency Global Journeys and mark it “reseller”; we’ll confirm the live number for you. For 2027 Trafalgar sells Saver, Classic and Premium tiers, yet its Best of France page names none of them and lists an average group of 45. Iconic France’s price is the first date shown, in April 2028. Tauck’s Bordeaux and Champagne prices are from its 2027 announcement.
Coach value: Cosmos
About $187 a day for the north. The Loire day is “at leisure,” with Chenonceau as an optional excursion, so budget for it.
Mainstream: Trafalgar
About $352 a day for the whole country: Omaha Beach, Mont-Saint-Michel, Monaco and a night in a Loire château, with six dinners. You pay for it in one-night stops.
Independent-minded: Rick Steves
About $388 to $430 a day, groups of 24 to 28, tips included, two or three nights at most stops. You carry your own bag.
Small groups: Intrepid, Globus, National Geographic Journeys
Caps of 12, 18 and 16. Intrepid moves by train and private vehicle; Globus’s Provence week adds a painting workshop in Arles.
Luxury: Tauck
About $676 a day on the Normandy and Loire trip, with three nights in Paris at Le Scribe or Le Meurice. New for 2027: a week in Champagne and Alsace from $7,990.
One base: Collette
Spotlight on the French Riviera keeps you in one Nice hotel for the week, from about $2,999 on a reseller listing.
A day at the Pont du Gard, and what your feet are in for
The route is set. This is one real day from it, then the walking every France tour asks of you.
The Pont du Gard
Day 10 of Rick Steves’ Loire to the South of France: the Roman aqueduct and its museum, about an hour and a half on the bus all day.
Free in Arles
Back to town with the afternoon yours: Roman arena, Van Gogh’s haunts, a café on the square.
Dinner, maybe on your own
The tour includes every breakfast and half the dinners.
Les Baux, then Nice
A morning in the hilltop village, then about four hours east to the Riviera.
France on tour means cobbles, stairs and old towns where coaches can’t park. No operator can drop you at the door.
What changes is the distance, and whether you haul your own luggage.
Rick Steves rates days from light (2 to 4 miles) to strenuous (2 to 8 miles), and asks you to roll your own bag over uneven pavement and up hotel stairs. National Geographic Journeys says the same: one bag, and you carry it.
Coach tours handle the luggage. Tauck rates its Normandy, Brittany and Loire trip 3 for activity and 2 for pace.
Normandy is a coach day, not a hike: the beaches and the American Cemetery mean paths and sand. Mont-Saint-Michel is the steep one.
Wheelchair and scooter users should talk to us before booking. A private tour or a river cruise often suits better.
France by the day, then the full bill
Cheapest to dearest runs better than five to one. Hotels, group size and the dinners built into the fare account for most of the gap.
We divided each from-fare by its days. What the fare covers varies: Rick Steves includes tips and half the dinners; My Way France leaves sightseeing to you; Cosmos includes few meals.
All-in math
Your France bill, beyond the fare
The boxes open on Trafalgar’s Best of France, with tips set halfway through Trafalgar’s suggested ranges. Meals are our own starting estimate. Overwrite any box with the numbers from your quote.
Trafalgar’s fare covers 12 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 6 dinners, which leaves roughly 18 meals to you. Flights come on top; when the tour finishes in Nice, get a quote for an open-jaw ticket.
Which France tour fits you
You know whether it’s Omaha Beach or the lavender that got you here. Start with that.
Matcher
Match a real 2027 France tour to how you travel
Four taps: budget, pace, group size and region.
By river instead: the Seine and the Rhône
Plenty of travelers who think they want a France tour want a river week. Here’s the honest split.
The Seine
A Paris round trip to Normandy, usually seven nights: Rouen, Giverny from Vernon, Les Andelys, and the beaches by coach. Viking, AmaWaterways, Uniworld, Avalon, Scenic and Tauck all sell it.
Read our Seine river cruise guide and the Paris embarkation guide.
The Rhône
Lyon to Provence in a week, a wine trip first, not a sightseeing one: Beaujolais, Vienne, Tournon, Avignon and Arles. Tauck’s La Belle Vie stretches it to 14 days, Geneva to Marseille.
Start with our Rhône guide, then river cruises compared, Viking, Uniworld, AmaWaterways and Tauck river cruises.
Tipping, city taxes and strike days
Three small costs that catch Americans out in France. None is large; all are easier to handle before you land.
| Company | Your leader | Driver, local guides, servers | Whose guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar | $5–$7 daily | Driver $3–$5 daily; local experts $2–$3 for a half day, $5 for a full one | Trafalgar’s tipping page |
| National Geographic Journeys | Roughly €8–€10 daily | €3–€5 daily for local guides; roughly 10% at restaurants | The Iconic France trip notes |
| Globus, Cosmos | No figure given | No figure given | No prepaid tipping on European tours |
| Collette | Not in the fare | Not in the fare | US terms leave out end-of-trip gratuities |
| Tauck (land) | Director tip on top | Covered: local guides, porters, servers | Tauck’s FAQ page |
| Rick Steves | In the fare | In the fare | Covers guide and driver tips |
In restaurants
French bills usually include service, Intrepid notes; rounding up or leaving spare change is the custom.
The Paris hotel tax
Paris charges a taxe de séjour per person, per night: about €5.53 at a 3-star, €8.45 at a 4-star and €11.70 at a 5-star in 2026, as reported from the city’s schedule.
The operators here don’t say whether their fares include it. Any Paris night you add yourself pays it at checkout.
Strike days
The State Department says demonstrations and strikes happen often in Paris and other French cities, can disrupt transport and can raise travel costs.
On a coach tour, that’s your Tour Director’s problem. On your own pre-tour day, it’s yours; keep a cab budget and a backup for the airport run.
Tip at Trafalgar’s midpoints and 13 days comes to roughly $130 a person.
Paperwork, the flight plan, the time change and euros
Americans need very little paperwork for France. The flights matter more, and you settle them long before the tour starts.
Most tours start in Paris. If yours ends in Nice, as Rick Steves’ and Intrepid’s do (Globus ends on the Riviera too), look at an open-jaw ticket: into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), home from Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE).
Rick Steves starts in Chartres, an easy train ride from Paris. Plan a Paris night first either way.
Then fly in a day early. An overnight flight from Florida or Texas lands in the morning, tired; a spare night costs less than your first Paris day.
Going alone, bringing kids, or taking it slower
Tour fares assume two people in one room. If that isn’t you, these are the first places to look.
| You’re… | Look first at | The reason |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, watching the budget | Cosmos | Cosmos waives the single supplement on select 2027 Europe tours (book by May 31, 2027); ask if your France date qualifies |
| Solo and set on Rick Steves | Loire to the South of France | The single supplement is $780 on this tour |
| A family with teens | Intrepid or National Geographic Journeys | Minimum ages of 15 (Intrepid Best of France) and 12 (Iconic France) |
| A family wanting it done for you | Tauck | Tauck’s France page lists family Seine trips and a London-to-Paris family tour |
| Slower on your feet | Tauck or Collette | Two or three nights a hotel on Tauck; one Nice hotel all week on Collette |
| After a small group | Intrepid Best of France | A cap of 12, Paris to Nice in 8 days |
| After luxury | Tauck Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire | Le Meurice or Le Scribe in Paris, a château hotel in the Loire |
Ask for the single supplement in dollars on your exact date. Our solo guide, family guide and slower-pace guide compare every operator’s policy.
Pre-nights, a cruise add-on and booking timing
Most France trips run longer than the tour. Plan the edges while you plan the middle.
Nights either side
Trafalgar and Tauck will sell you hotel nights before and after. Booking your own in Paris? Remember the city tax.
Adding a cruise
Mediterranean cruises call at Marseille and Villefranche for the Riviera; a Provence tour that ends in Nice sits well before one. See our Marseille port guide, Villefranche page and Mediterranean cruises.
Northern Europe sailings call at Le Havre for Normandy and Paris; see Le Havre and Northern Europe cruises.
How far ahead to book
For a July lavender date or a spring Best of France, we’d put the deposit down roughly a year ahead. Our booking-window guide lines up each operator’s deadlines.
Globus and Cosmos take a $250 deposit, with final payment 60 days out under the terms they revised on September 8, 2026.
Insurance
Certain policy benefits only apply if you buy shortly after the deposit, so check our insurance purchase-window guide first.
Ten checks before a France deposit
Each of these can move the price or reshape the trip. Work down the list.
France pre-booking checks
The list clears when you leave the page. Each operator’s deposit and cancellation rules sit on its guide, linked at the bottom.
Tour France, or do it another way?
A tour makes sense if
- It’s your first trip and you want Normandy and Paris without renting a car
- You want Provence and the Riviera with someone else driving the mountain roads
- You’d rather pay for two-night stops than unpack eight times
- You’re on your own and would like company at dinner (price the supplement first)
Look elsewhere if
- You want a single cabin and wine country; take a river cruise
- You’ve done France and want one region at your own speed; try self-guided trips
- Money’s tight and French trains don’t scare you; Paris to Provence is a simple rail trip
- Group timetables drive you mad; small groups run on them too
Our take
First time in France? Go north: Paris, Normandy and the Loire. Cosmos covers it in eight days from $1,499, and Tauck’s grander version runs about $676 a day.
For the south, pay for the slow version. Rick Steves’ route stays three nights in the Dordogne and two in Arles, and that’s where France earns its reputation.
Want lavender? Book the date first, not the tour. July is the month.
Where to go from here: France’s tour companies and neighbors
Free · No obligation
Want your France tour priced against a river cruise?
Tell us your dates, your budget and whether it’s Normandy or the lavender. We’ll price two or three real tours and a river week side by side, and tell you which one we’d book.
Prefer to book the extras yourself?
Hotels, day trips and flights around the tour
Hotel nights before and after
Arriving a day early gives you a buffer if a flight runs late, and most people add a night when the tour ends.
Your free days
The days either side of the tour are yours. Day trips and tickets for the start and end cities:
Getting there and around
Fly into one city and home from another when the tour is one-way.
These are affiliate links: if you book through them, Seabound Journeys may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend. Our disclosure. We’re happy to book these for you too.
Questions we get about touring France
How long should a France tour be?
Eight days covers Paris, Normandy and the Loire; Cosmos sells exactly that from $1,499. Paris plus Provence and the Riviera runs about 8 to 9 days (Intrepid, Globus). Seeing all of it, from Normandy to Monaco, takes about 13 days, as on Trafalgar’s Best of France or Rick Steves’ Loire to the South of France.
When is lavender season in Provence?
Marseille’s tourism office puts the best bloom between mid-June and early August, peaking in July. Valensole is usually harvested around July 15; the Luberon and the Sault area, which are higher, flower and harvest later, into mid-August. Bloom timing varies, so the office advises checking with local tourist offices.
Do Americans need a visa or ETIAS to visit France?
No. A tourist stay of up to 90 days in any 180 needs no visa. Per the State Department, your passport needs at least three months left after you exit the Schengen zone (six is safer) and two blank pages. Since April 10, 2026, the EU’s Entry/Exit System has been fully live, so expect free fingerprinting and a photo on arrival. ETIAS hasn’t launched; in late October 2026 nobody had confirmed a start date.
Is France safe for a tour, and what about strikes?
The State Department rates France Level 2, exercise increased caution, for terrorism and unrest (advisory dated October 21, 2026). It notes that demonstrations and strikes happen often in Paris and other cities, can disrupt transportation and raise travel costs, and advises avoiding them. On a coach tour, your Tour Director reroutes; on your own, a strike day costs you more.
Should I take a river cruise or a coach tour in France?
A Seine cruise is a Paris round trip to Normandy with the D-Day beaches as a coach day; a Rhône cruise covers Burgundy, Lyon and Provence. You unpack once, but you don’t reach the Loire, Bordeaux or the Riviera by river. A coach tour covers more of the country and changes hotels more often.
How much should I tip on a France tour?
Trafalgar’s guidance is $5 to $7 daily for your Travel Director, plus $3 to $5 for the driver. National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures puts its leader at about €8 to €10 per person daily, with €3 to €5 daily for each local guide. Rick Steves folds guide and driver tips into the fare. French restaurant bills normally include service already, so diners just round up.
Do I pay a city tax in Paris?
Paris charges a per-person, per-night taxe de séjour. For 2026 it ran about €5.53 at a 3-star hotel, €8.45 at a 4-star and €11.70 at a 5-star, as reported from the city’s schedule. The operators we checked don’t say whether their fares include it; any night you book yourself pays it at checkout.
Which France tour is best for a first-timer?
For one trip that sees everything, Trafalgar’s 13-day Best of France from $4,575. For a cheaper first week, Cosmos’ 8-day Paris, Normandy and the Loire from $1,499. For a slower pace with fewer hotel changes, Rick Steves’ Loire to the South of France stays two or three nights at most stops.
Sources · 19 links · checked October 2026
- Trafalgar: Best of France (2027 dates)
- Trafalgar: tipping on a Trafalgar tour
- Cosmos: Paris, Normandy and the Loire
- Cosmos: France tours and 2027 offers
- Globus: Paris & Provence (Small Group Discovery)
- Rick Steves: 2027 tours and prices
- Rick Steves: Loire to the South of France in 13 Days
- Tauck: Normandy, Brittany, Paris & the Loire Valley
- Tauck: France tours and cruises
- Tauck: 2027 Europe portfolio (Champagne & Alsace, Bordeaux)
- Tauck: FAQ
- Intrepid: France trips (US prices)
- Intrepid: Best of France
- National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures: Iconic France
- Global Journeys: Provence tours (Collette, Globus; 2027 reseller prices)
- Marseille Tourisme: visiting the lavender fields
- US State Department: France travel advisory (Oct 21, 2026)
- US State Department: US travelers in Europe (EES, ETIAS)
- Ulysse: Paris taxe de séjour 2026