DAY    1            DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Nice.

DAY    2            ARRIVE NICE - AIX-EN-PROVENCE - NIMES AREA
                          (1 NIGHT)
Upon our arrival this morning, our Tour manager/guide will meet us at the airport and accompany us to Aix-en-Provence, the ancient capital of Provence, former watering-place for the Roman legions, and the home Paul Cezanne, the Impressionist painter. This afternoon we will visit Paul Cezanne's studio, the Atelier de Cezanne, preserved as it was when he died in 1906, before taking a stroll along the Cours Mirabeau, a particularly stately thoroughfare with lovely shops, sidewalk cafes, and richly embellished sandstone mansions from the 17th- and 18th-centuries. We continue to our hotel in the Nimes area.

DAY    3            NIMES - AIGUE MORTES - TOULOUSE
                          (5 NIGHT HOMESTAY)
Our morning begins in the former Roman city of Nimes, where we will visit the superb Roman Amphitheater, built during the reign of Augustus, as well as the Maison Carree, the best preserved of all Roman temples. We continue through the Camargue to the town of Aigues-Mortes, a perfectly preserved walled town, established by Louis XI in the 13th-century as a sign of his great power and fortitude. We will explore the spectacular town, including an ascent of the Tour de Constance, where we will walk along the rectangular walls and enjoy superb views over the Carmague. We continue to Toulouse, the old capital of Languedoc and France's fourth-largest city, where we will meet our Host Families.

DAY    4            LANGUAGE CLASSES & TOULOUSE
This morning we will begin our French Language Classes. This afternoon we explore Toulouse, known as "the city in pink." It features a cosmopolitan flavor, has a distinguished historical past, and is also a high-tech center of the aerospace industry in France. Our first visit will be to the Basilique St-Sernin, the city's major monument, consecrated in 1096, and the largest and finest Romanesque church extant in Europe. Our afternoon concludes with a visit to the Musee St-Raymond, featuring a collection of pre-historic and Roman antiquities, as well as a rich collection of medieval and Renaissance decorative arts. We return to our host families for the evening.

DAY    5            LANGUAGE CLASSES & CARCASSONNE
This morning we will have our French Language Classes. This afternoon we travel to Carcassonne, a medieval walledcity that has been preserved almost untouched since the end of the Middle Ages. As we approach Carcassonne, we will view the daunting fortifications that confronted Charlemagne during his 9th- century siege. We begin with a Walking Tour of Carcassone, including the ramparts, bridges and towers. We will also visit the Basilique St-Nazaire, famous for its Siege Stone, and the Chateau Comtal, a fortress within the fortress, consisting of a moat, five towers and defensive wooden galleries on the walls. We return to our host families for the evening.

DAY    6            LANGUAGE CLASSES & ALBI
This morning we will have our French Language Classes. This afternoon we will travel to Albi, where we will visit the Cathedral of St. Cecelia, constructed over two centuries to look as much like a fortress as a cathedral. We continue with a visit to the Berbie Palace, the former Bishops' Palace, which now houses the Musee Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The museum contains the most complete permanent collection of the artist's work in the world, including painted masterpieces and 39 drawings entitled At the Circus. We return to our host families for the evening.

DAY    7            LANGUAGE CLASSES & TOULOUSE
This morning we will have our French Language Classes. This afternoon we visit the La Cité de Espace, where we will learn what it's like to program a satellite's launch into orbit or how to maneuver one in space. Both an interactive teaching tool and a fun place to visit, life-size structural models abound, including one of an astronaut riding an exercise bike in zero gravity. On the grounds outside, we will walk through the Mir orbital station constructed by the Russians. The top floor focuses on exploration of the universe, with close-up shots of the moons of Jupiter taken by fly-by satellites. We return to our host families for the evening.

DAY    8            LANGUAGE CLASSES - TGV TO PARIS (3 NIGHTS)
This morning we say "au revoir" to our host families and enjoy our final morning of Language Classes. After lunch, we travel to Avignon to board a high-speed TGV train to Paris, "the City of Lights." This evening we will take a Seine River Cruise, which will take us under many of Paris' graceful bridges and past many important landmarks and monuments along both banks - a perfect introduction to the beauty of Paris.

DAY    9            PARIS (THE REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON)
Our morning commences with an ascent of the Arc de Triomphe, a massive triumphal arch commissioned by Napoleon, today a symbol of Paris and home to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We continue with a stroll along the Champs Elysees, Paris' most spectacular thoroughfare, which offers a beautiful look at Parisian life and architecture. We return to the Place de la Concorde before strolling through the Jardin des Tuileries, the beautiful Neo-Classical gardens leading to the entrance of the Louvre. We will enjoy a specialist-guided tour through the museum that will include Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and many of the finest paintings and sculpture from Western Civilization. This afternoon we visit the cathedral of Notre Dame, begun in 1163 on a spot that had already been a religious shrine since Roman times. Over the centuries, the cathedral has been the scene of some of France's most momentous occasions, including the coronation of Napoleon. This evening we will dine in and stroll through the Latin Quarter, a section of the city that dates back to the Roman times and is generally associated with artists, intellectuals and political unrest. During our walk we will view the Sorbonne, Paris' oldest university.

DAY    10          PARIS (PARIS OF THE IMPRESSIONISTS)
This morning we will ascend to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris' most recognizable landmark, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. We continue with a visit to the Musee d'Orsay, dedicated to the rich diversity of visual arts from 1846 to 1914, featuring masterpieces by Delacroix, Manet, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Lautrec. Paris is one of the most important centers of fashion in the world, and this afternoon we will visit the elegant stores of Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette for a first-hand look at the latest trends in fashion. This evening we will ascend to Montmartre, an area of Paris made famous in the late 19th century as an artists' haunt. We will spend time in the Place du Tertre, a square known for its local artwork, before visiting the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, a huge white church that dominates the Parisian skyline.

DAY    11          DEPARTURE FROM PARIS
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our Tour manager/guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.