Nord Pas-de-Calais, located along the Belgium border, is the northernmost section of France. A popular site is the capital of Nord Pas-de-Calais and France's largest northern city, Lille. Small guided tours are conducted by the Office de Tourisme De Lille. Departing from the Lille Tourist Office, tour groups of two to four persons travel by private car. The duration of the Lille city mini-tour is four to six hours. The Nord Tourist Board also provides small tours of the towns and villages throughout Nord Pas-de-Calais.
Office de Tourisme De Lille: Guided tours
Palais Rihour
Place Rihour
BP 205
59002 Lille Cedex (France)
011-33-03-5957-9400
www.lilletourism.com/info-1-0-356-gb.html
Nord Tourist Board
6, rue Gauthier de Châtillon
BP 1232 - 59013
Lille Cedex
011-33-03-2057-5959
www.cdt-nord.fr
CRT Nord-Pas-de-Calais
6, place Mendès-France
59028
Lille Cedex
011-33-03-2014-5757
www.crt-nordpasdecalais.fr
Mini-tours are offered by the tourist office of Amiens. A tour of medieval Amiens takes place every Thursday at 10:45 p.m. in June; 10:30 p.m. in July; 10 p.m. in August; and 9:45 p.m. in September. The cost is $58 for 10 tourists or $47 for 20. The price includes dinner and drinks, admission fees and guided tours to the cathedrals and Musée de Picardie's medieval collections. The tourist office of Amiens conducts similar small tours for The Galerie du Vitrail, a collection of religious stained glass art from the 11th through 19th centuries, and The Belfry, a famous bell tower and once a prison, symbolizing Picardie independence.
Tourist Office of Amiens
40, place Notre-Dame
BP 11018
80000 Amiens
011-33-03-2271-6050
www.visit-amiens.com/preparez_votre_sejour/accueil_des_groupes/mini_groupes
CRT Picardie
3, rue Vincent Auriol
80011
Amiens Cedex 1
011-33-03-2222-3366
www.picardietourisme.com
Normandy Travels conducts a variety of tour packages and excursions. D-Day tour options include two-day/one-night to three-day/two-night tours. The two-day/one-night tour begins at 9 a.m. at the rail station in Caen/Bayeux or at the hotel with a guide. The tour visits Sainte Mere Eglise, Airborne Troops Museum, Utah Beach and ends the first day at Omaha sector beach, which includes museums and cemetery. Day two begins at Pegasus Bridge and a visit to Grand Bunker. The day continues with a drive along Juno, Sword and Gold beaches. The tour stops at Arromanches 360°, a nine-screen circular cinema, featuring a film "The Price of Freedom." The final destination is German Longues Sur Mer Battery, where you can see the remains of the Atlantic wall and four guns lying in their original place. The tour returns to Bayeux at approximately 6 p.m. Normandy Travel also provides thematic and custom tours. Tour operators in Normandy offer tours to Mont Saint Michel, an 11th century Romanesque abbey church, Honfleur, Rouen and Giverny, the home of the artist Monet.
Normandy Travel
Virginie Legru Gaittet
011-33-02-3151-8999
Bayeux
www.normandy-travel.net
Operators in Normandy - Crt Normandie
www.normandie-tourisme.fr/articles/operators-in-normandy-733-2.html
Office de Tourisme de la Communauté de Rouen vallée de Seine
25, place de la Cathédrale
76008
Rouen Cedex 1
011-33-02-3208-3240
www.rouentourisme.com
Also named the Bretagne peninsula, Brittany has a charming Celtic influence in its fishing villages, castles and manors. The Brittany and Mont St. Michel Day Tour travels via bus (eight people per group, maximum) visiting Dinan, Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel. Mondoramus Voyages has custom tours, including a four-day tour of Brittany's Morbihan Gulf, which operates from April to October.
Brittany and Mont St. Michel Day Tour
866-996-9727
www.linkparis.com/mont-st-michel.htm
Mondoramas Voyages
F - 83150 Bandol
France
011-00-33-494-297-442
www.mondoramas.com
CRT Bretagne
1, rue Raoul-Ponchon
35069
Rennes Cedex
011-33-02-9936-1515
www.tourismebretagne.com
Paris, "The City of Romance," is the capital of France and one of the world's most visited cities. The Eiffel Tower, Le Louvre and Orsay museums, Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, the Moulin Rouge and original paintings from the French Impressionist movement are just a sample of the many and varied points of interest found in Paris and Île-de-France. Paris L'Open Tour is an open bus stopping at 50 sites along four different routes. With a one- or two-day pass, travelers enjoy recorded commentaries and visit Paris' most famous attractions. An adult one-day pass costs $39 and a two-day pass costs $43. For children ages 4 to 11, a one- or two-day pass costs $20.
Paris L'Open Tour
13, rue Auber
75009 Paris
011-33-01-4266-5656
www.pariscityrama.com/visit-paris-by-day/visit-paris-full-day/visit-paris-l-open-tour/25A195.html
CRT Paris Ile-de-France
11, rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière
75009
Paris
011-33-01-7300-7700
www.new-paris-idf.com
