Luxury Food Tour of Northern France

Please note that this is a sample itinerary, as certain cooking classes are offered only certain days of the week. Please inquire with specific dates. 

Day One 

• Pickup in Paris and start making your way toward Normandy for your deluxe Normandy culinary tour. Your first stop will be Pont-l’Evêque, a town bears the name of a famous Norman cheese and that is known for its 17th and 18th century private mansions and half-timbered houses. Here you will have a tasting of local Normandy products.
• Around noon, still near Pont-l’Eveque, have your first cooking class and lunch at a private home  in the middle of the Norman countryside. Your instructor will be the owner, an authentic Norman lady whose family owns several gourmet restaurants in Paris and who will reveal some of cooking secrets to you.
• Lunch to follow.
• Head toward a cider farm for a visit and tasting of two quintessential Normandy products: apple cider (hard cider) and calvados, the local apple brandy.
• Next, visit the charming port town of Honfleur on the Seine Esuary. Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Quebec city, and the Chevalier de la Salle, founder of Louisiana, set sail from here. Honfleur has also been an inspiration to such artists as Monet and Boudin.
• Head next to nearby Deauville, another seaside resort, and check in to your 4* accommodation. (It is also possible to stay in Honfleur.)
• Dinner on your own in one of the local restaurants, and overnight,.

Day Two 

• Breakfast and check out. 
• This morning depart south through the Auge countryside. Stop in Cambremer for a crepe at a famous creperie (paid locally based on your order). Next, head to a cheese maker in Livarot. 
• Finally, arrive in Bagnoles-de-l’Orne and check in to your hotel. 
• Your cooking class will be with a Michelin-star chef, followed by dinner. (Please note the chef may not speak English, in which case your guide will be your interpreter.) 
• Overnight. 

Day Three

• Breakfast, and check out. Next, head toward Mont-Saint-Michel, one of France’s most famous sites. 
• On the way there, stop at a food market in St-Hilaire-du-Harcouet (open only Wednesdays), or at another typical food market if a different day of the week. 
• Next: Mont-Saint-Michel! This granite island juts up 80 meters high in the middle of a bay and forms a monumental, picturesque site. The village houses huddle together at the base encircled by walls, and on top you find the abbey, which was founded in 708 AD.  Enjoy a guided tour of this UNESCO World Heritage site, then free time to explore. 
• Head toward Cancale, and check in to your hotel.  
• Dinner on your own, overnight. 

Day Four

• Breakfast at the hotel. 
• Cancale is a beautiful Breton port anchored in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel with oyster farms and a market. Head to your cooking class in Cancale at a cooking school that has an approach to food that is both precise and relaxed, both healthy and fun. The classes are a maximum 8 people, allowing for a true hands-on experience. (Please note the chef may not speak English, in which case your guide will be your interpreter.) 
• Lunch to follow. 
• After lunch, head to Saint Malo. Destroyed in 1944, the town has since been completely rebuilt in its original style. You can admire the amazing view of the bay as you walk along the 1 1/2 mile ramparts, and discover also the picturesque streets and corsair dwellings in the walled town. 
• Next, head toward beautiful Bayeux, a town that was at the heart of the D-Day landings in June 1944. 
• Check in to your hotel near Bayeux. 

Day Five 

• Breakfast, then visit Bayeux and see the tapestry of Queen Mathilda (the “Bayeux Tapestry”), an epic depiction of William the Conqueror’s expedition to England in 1066 which was woven a few years after those events took place and is now preserved in the Bayeux Museum. 
• Next head to the Landing Beaches, including the Arromanches where you will see the remains of a Mulberry harbor. Built according to Churchill’s vision within a few days of DDay, this was a “temporary” port used to disembark the army, men, and supplies need to liberate Europe – an extraordinary industrial and maritime achievement. 
• Visit Omaha Beach and the somber American Cemetery, where nearly 9400 Carrara marble crosses and stars of David mark the graves of the fallen. A memorial stands in the central alley. The name Omaha Beach was an operational code name but now jointly designates the beaches of three villages: Colleville, Saint-Laurent, and Vierville. The name’s use commemorates the soldiers of teh 1st American division who landed there and who suffered the heaviest casualties on DDay. 
• One of the most impressive sites you will see this day is the Pointe du Hoc, where the 2nd battalions of specially trained Rangers under the command of Colonel James Earl Rudder captured the position at dawn on June 6, scaling the cliffs with ropes and extendible ladders. Their extraordinary efforts results in the loss of 135 of the 225 rangers, but were a key part of the success of DDay. 
• After your visit, transfer back to Paris with a new understanding of the cuisine and history of northern France.