Basque Country, Carcassonne, the Languedoc & the Dordogne

Evening arrival in Santander, then travel to Zarautz for a three-night stay.

Location: San Sebastián & Guernica

Included excursion, first to Guernica which was infamously bombed by the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. The haunting museum is well worth a visit (admission is extra). Later, we head to San Sebastián with its stunning setting on a sweeping, shell-shaped bay. San Sebastián, or Donostia (its Basque name), is renowned for beautiful sandy beaches, and has many excellent seafood and tapas restaurants.

Location: Biarritz; Bayonne & St. Jean de Luz

Another day of Basque delights, as we include a full-day tour along the French Basque coast. Biarritz is a playground for the French rich, with a seafront lined with grand buildings. In Bayonne, saunter around the narrow streets of the old town, with half-timbered houses painted in traditional Basque colours. We end the day in the small French resort of St. Jean de Luz, with its sheltered, sandy beaches and pretty old town.

Our journey takes us east to Pau, an elegant city in a spectacular setting with the Pyrénées Atlantiques as a backdrop. We continue on to Carcassonne for a three-night stay.

Location: Carcassonne

Spend a full day in the medieval, walled town of Carcassonne, famous for the defences of the medieval city. The city exists in two parts – the more modern ‘Bastide St Louis’, which contains the Cathedral of St. Michel, and the walled ‘Cité Medieval’ whose fortifications were built over many centuries and featured in the religious wars between the Cathars and Albigenses. The walled ‘Cité Médieval’ with its cobbled lanes, is a joy to explore with spectacular views towards the Pyrenees from the medieval walls.

Location: Free Time or Béziers & Narbonne

Optional excursion around the Languedoc region, which takes us first to the hill-top town of Béziers, once a Roman staging post and now an important wine-growing town. The imposing Cathedral has impressive views over the surrounding countryside, and the Canal du Midi crosses the River Orb by means of an amazing 240-metre long aqueduct. We continue to Narbonne, which boasts a pretty medieval core, and a fine Gothic cathedral.

Location: Albi & Cahors

We head to the rose-red town of Albi, birthplace of the artist, Toulouse-Lautrec. See the impressive 13th century Palais de la Berbie, now a museum, containing a comprehensive collection of his work. We continue along the Lot Valley, to the pretty town of Cahors, situated on a loop of the Lot River. The town’s long and sometimes turbulent past is best represented in its architecture, with Gallic, Roman, Moorish and English influences. We continue to Rocamadour for two nights.

Location: Sarlat & Rocamadour

Included excursion to the charming town of Sarlat in the Perigord-Noir, a fascinating town with some of the best-preserved medieval buildings in France. In the afternoon, we return to Rocamadour for time at leisure. Spectacularly perched on a limestone cliff overlooking the gorge of the River Alzou, Rocamadour is an important pilgrimage site for the French, where Saint Amadour was reputed to have lived as a hermit. There are many small chapels, including the Chapelle de Notre Dame with its famous Black Madonna, a 12th century carved wooden depiction of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.

Location: Oradour-sur-Glane

To the Paris area for an overnight stay. En route we stop in the Remembrance village of Oradour-sur-Glane, scene of a German SS massacre of the villagers. The ruined village has been left exactly as it was during World War 2.

Return home.