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

DAY    2            ARRIVE BIARRITZ (5 NIGHTS HOMESTAY)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour manager/guide, where we will board our own private bus and transfer into Biarritz to meet our Host Families.

DAY    3            LANGUAGE CLASSES & BIARRITZ
This morning we will begin our French Language Classes. Our afternoon commences with a visit to one of Biarritz's three great beaches. The coastal area of Biarritz has long been valued for its mild climate and the surfing is considered the best in Europe. We return to our host families for the evening.

DAY    4            LANGUAGE CLASSES & ST-JEAN-DE-LUZ
This morning we will begin with our French Language Classes. This afternoon we visit the fishing village of St-Jean-de-Luz. An ancient village now renown for its good swimming, sailing, and chic shopping, our Walking Tour will include the streets and alleys of this former whaling village. It was in St-Jean that the Sun King, Louis XIV, was married to Maria Teresa of Spain in 1660 in the Eglise of St-Jean-Baptiste, the biggest and most elaborately decorated of the great Basque churches, which we will also visit before returning to Biarritz for an evening with our host families.

DAY    5            LANGUAGE CLASSES & BAYONNE
This morning we will begin with our French Language Classes. This afternoon we visit neighboring Bayonne, the capital of the French Basque region. Bayonne has always been an important town because it commands one of the most easily traversed roads through the Pyrenees, and because it is positioned between the two main rivers of the region, the Nive and the Adour. Our Walking Tour will include the Cathedrale de Sainte-Marie, built in the 13th century in a northern Gothic style due to the influence of the English who then ruled over the free port. The Grand Bayonne, the district surrounding the cathedral, is renown for its lively shopping and rich hot chocolate drinks. We will cross the quay-lined river Nive to visit the Musee Basque, dedicated to the display of artifacts of Basque culture, from inside Basque homes to their fishing boats on the seas. The Musee Bonnat nearby exhibits works by Constable, Goya, Ingres, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck. We return to Biarritz for an evening with our host families.

DAY    6            LANGUAGE CLASSES & BIARRITZ BEACHES
This morning we will begin with our French Language Classes. After lunch, we will enjoy one of Biarritz's three great beaches this afternoon. We return to our host families for our farewell evening.

DAY    7            LANGUAGE CLASSES - TRAIN 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 transfer to the train station and board our train to journey 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    8            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    9            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    10          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.