2 Weeks in France

Combine any two regions:  Alsace, Brittany, Northern or Southern Burgundy, Bordeaux & the Dordogne, the Cévennes, Provence, the Loire Valley, Champagne...  and, in 2010, the “Mystery Trip.”  You can create still other combinations with our two part-French trips:  in the Basque Country, and in Switzerland and the regions bordering (the Jura and the Savoie).  On this page, you will find a complete list of all of our 2-week trips in France.  The chart offers links to the detailed region-by-region routes that different departures follow, and lists prices and departure dates.

Having trouble choosing?  Follow this link for a general introduction to our French routes.

A Certain “Joie de Vivre”

France is a special place, about which few are dispassionate.  Her appeal is hard to explain.  An Economist statistical analysis of “Best Places to Live” put her 11th.  But then they simply polled their staff, and she won hands down.

A strong native culture insulates her from American influence, and complicates our understanding.  Her rejection of our certainties frustrates us... but we are drawn to the result.  Commentators and pundits doggedly predict the demise of the exception française, which nonetheless soldiers on.  And our fascination (obsession?) with the topic is symptomatic.

Approached with an open mind, France’s culture is terrifically rewarding.  The more you understand, the more layers of tradition and social influence are stripped away, revealing fundamental roots of a delightful lifestyle and a thoughtful humanist tradition.

It is no accident that Blue Marble’s home office is in Paris.  French culture fits ours in many respects (7 weeks’ paid vacation, for instance) and influences our style of travel even in other countries.

And then there is the food.  And the wine!  The French table is a deity:  the great social organizer, leisure activity, consumer of disposable income.  If the French have such a solid reputation for their gastronomy, it is because they spend their time on it, and inevitably we shall, too.  And then cycle through picture-book landscapes to work it off.  Well, try to work it off.

This is an à la carte selection of our French routes.  Each departure of the trip includes two different routes.