BURGUNDY & SWISS SUMMER 12 DAY ITINERARY:
Day 1 Our trip meets in Paris at approximately
9:00 a.m. with luxury transfer to Beaune. We arrive in time
for an elegant lunch at Le Montrechet, one of the area’s most
notable restaurants. Check in to 18 th century Hotel le Cep, a
restored 14th-18th century chateau with beautiful antique
furnishings, classified historical courtyard, and stunning
gardens. We’ll depart for our first lateafternoon balloon
adventure just-above-the-rooftops of 14th century castles and
romantic villages, landing at twilight. Enjoy dinner prepared by
our own chefs in the vaulted, candlelit chambers of 14th century
Chateau Savigny-les-Beaune.
Day 2 After breakfast we’ll visit the 14th-17th century wine
cellars of Patriarch, the largest in Beaune with four million
bottles. Our wine expert will touch on the enjoyment of fine
wine during a sampling of the fine Burgundies open for tasting.
For lunch we’ll be the private guests of our good friend and one
of Burgundy’s most famous personalities, the Countess de Loisy,
who entertains us with stories of her ancestry, winemaking and
the German occupation of her 15th century home during WWII. She
will take us on an interesting tour of her wine making estate
and its extraordinary cellar, with 3,000 wooden wine barrels!
Visit the 12th century monastic winery of Clos de Vougeot with
its gigantic 2-storey oak grape presses, home of Burgundy’s
prestigious wine society, The Confrerie des Chevalier du
Tastevin. Then we’re on to the 4 1/2 acre vineyards of Romanee
Conti, the most expensive red wine in the world. Our late
afternoon balloon adventure will take us through Burgundy’s
vineyards and villages, ending with an elaborate candlelit
buffet in the ancient cellars of Chateau Savigny-les-Beaune. A
surprise is its very uncharacteristic collection of 92 jet
aircraft on the back lawn, and more than 200 motorcycles on its
top floor!
Day 3 After breakfast we’ll visit the small workshop of
Claude Gillet where 50 wine barrels a day are made by hand,
and 14 th century, fairytale cliff-top fortress, Chateau de la
Rochepot with its surrounding storybook village. The castle is
one of the best existing examples of a true Middle Age fortress.
Enjoy a lavish lunch at the Hostellerie de Levernois and free
time to browse around Beaune’s medieval square and pedestrian
shopping area. Late afternoon balloon adventure followed by in a
romantic, medieval setting.
Day 4 Explore the marvelous 15th century Hospice de Beaune,
Burgundy’s most important architectural landmark which
functioned as a charity hospital until 1979. Elegant lunch
at Chez Morillon, one of Beaune’s most celebrated restaurants,
with a visit to the Wine Museum of Burgundy, once the medieval
residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Late afternoon balloon
adventure through Burgundy’s lovely parkland scenery with its
historical landmarks, followed by dinner and graduation
ceremonies in the flower-filled orangerie of Chateau de LaBorde,
Buddy Bombard’s home in France.
Day 5 Morning free with lunch at Chateau Gilly, then depart
with Buddy Bombard for our three day transfer to Switzerland
through glorious Beaujolais and ancient mountain settlements in
the French and Swiss Alps. This evening we’ll stay in
Beaujolais’ magnificent, 13th century Chateau de Bagnols, a
major historic monument set among vineyards, forests and hills
and one of the most exquisitely restored Renaissance castles in
France. Entering the castle grounds across a drawbridge, you’ll
feel as though you’ve just been transported into a centuries-old
fairytale that you will never want to leave.
Day 6 Today we’ll drive through the Jura Mountains to the
stunning old village of Perouges, appearing much as it did
centuries ago. The tiny, medieval walled town with its
cobblestone streets and original village gates is completely
restored in the style of the Middle Ages, with narrow, winding
lanes lined with restaurants, shops and bakeries selling local
specialties. The main square, with its tree planted during the
French Revolution, is surrounded by restored houses dating to
the Middle Ages. We’ll continue through quaint mountain villages
to the picturesque resort town of Megeve. The village with its
medieval square was developed in the 1920s as a French
alternative to St. Moritz and is known for its beauty and
elegant resort atmosphere. We’ll stay at charming “Les Fermes de
Marie,” a sumptuous, ‘rustic chic’ hotel constructed from a
unique collection of antique barns and chalets, surrounded by
stunning summer Alpine scenery and snow-capped peaks.
Day 7 Today’s travels take us to the magnificent 12th century
Chateau de Chillon, known throughout the world from writers such
as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Shelley, Victor Hugo, and
especially Lord Byron, for his poem ‘The Prisoner of Chillon’,
inspired by Francois Bonivard’s shackled imprisonment in the
castle dungeon from 1530-1536. Appearing to rise out of the
waters of Lac Leman, the dramatic castle, built along the
ancient road to Italy, occupies a rocky islet connected to the
mainland by a wooden bridge. The world’s most photographed
castle is under continuous restoration and is richly furnished
with a collection of antique pewter, weapons, chests and other
items recovered during excavation. After lunch we’ll arrive at
the beautifully preserved medieval Castle of Gruyere, in the
tiny Swiss village made famous for its cheese. Nineteen counts
reigned in the restored Renaissance-style castle from the 11
th-16 th centuries The castle is now fully restored and offers a
walk through eight centuries, with a museum and contemporary
exhibits keeping the castle in use today. Descending from the
Alps we arrive in the UNESCO-protected town of Bern, to check in
to 5 star Hotel Bellevue Palace and settle in for our Swiss
Summer program.
Day 8 Morning at leisure and meet your fellow Swiss Summer
guests for a grand luncheon on the hotel’s rooftop terrace.
Early afternoon we’ll embark on a walking tour of
UNESCO-protected Old Town, with its 15th century architecture,
patrician houses, arcades, bell towers and gardens. We have
arranged a visit to the tower room of Bern’s elaborate medieval
clock as it chimes the hour. It’s amazing to see the wheels and
gears of this ancient machinery start to spin and clatter as it
comes time to chime. We’ll also visit the loveable bears of Bern
and return to our hotel by horse-drawn carriage. Late afternoon
balloon adventure through the picturesque rural countryside with
quaint chalets and rich green hills. Evening dinner party at our
hotel.
Day 9 After breakfast we’ll board an old fashioned lake
steamer for a two hour cruise on the Thunsee. Enjoy a
wonderful luncheon onboard as the steamer stops at all of the
lovely lakeside villages. The scenery is stunning! We’ll take
the cog railway from Lauterbrunnen up through spectacular Alpine
scenery to Kleine Scheidegg, at the base of the North face of
the Eiger. We‘ve passed several majestic glaciers and are half
way to the top of the Jungfrau, the tallest mountain in
Switzerland. The valleys, the surrounding mountains! Everything
is so big! And so beautiful! It will be a fun afternoon, yet to
be filled with our late afternoon balloon adventure in the Swiss
meadowlands, followed by dinner in Bern.
Day 10 Morning excursion by chartered helicopter, flying from
the base of the Jungfrau through some of the most staggering
mountain scenery anywhere in the world. Our helicopters will
take us behind the Jungfrau to the ice-world of the Aletsch
glacier, the longest in Europe, exploring ice falls that create
blocks of ice the size of houses. We’ll pass Kleide Scheidegg,
our train stop from yesterday, and proceed up the North face of
the Eiger. Be sure to bring your cameras! After a thrilling
morning we’ll descend for an elegant lunch at Interlaken’s
luxurious Royal Victoria-Jungfrau Hotel. Late afternoon balloon
adventure through the charming summer pastures and farmlands of
the Emmental, followed by an excellent dinner at our 5 star
hotel.
The melt water from glaciers on the west sides of the Jungfrau,
the Monk and the Eiger flows into the Trummelbach River, raging
wildly to the valley floor and churning in 10 consecutive
cascades…inside the mountain! We are able to visit this
phenomenon via an in-the-mountain elevator and walkway system.
For lunch we’ll take the cable car through four stations up to
Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant on top of the Shilthorn
made famous in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service. Across the valley the snow-capped peaks of the Jungfrau,
the Monk and the Eiger are spectacular. Late afternoon balloon
adventure through the picture-postcard Switzerland of dairy
farms and chalets, with farewell dinner in Bern.
Day 12 We will depart our hotel at 10:00 a.m. for transfer to
Zurich, arriving Hotel Baur au Lac approximately noon.
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