SUMMARY OF 2010 EUROPEAN CAR TOURS

A 10 day tour,(with a 7 day tour option), incorporating 7 days on Corsica, France's "island of beauty".Our route from St. Malo takes three days driving toVillefranche-sur-Mer next to Nice, where we catch our afternoon ferry to Corsica.In Villefranche participants on the 7 day tour, who make their own way down to the Cote d' Azur, join us and then we catch the afternoon ferry from Nice to Bastia on Corsica's north east coast. We then spend the next 7 days driving around the entire island exploring virtually all the coastal roads as well as driving over many mountain passes and through stunning gorges.. Corsica is one of the most beautiful of the Mediterranean islands and is over a 100 miles long and 50 miles wide with mountains reaching 2,700 metres high. With over 600 miles of coastland, Corsica also has the best beaches in the Mediterranean especially on its west coast. It also boasts the most dazzling array of diverse and colourful landscapes in the whole of Europe incorporating;dramatic gorges,chestnut forests, rocky landscapes, valleys with waterfalls, emerald green mountain lakes, black pine forests and green vineyards. The amazing array of flora and fauna supports over 2,000 different plants which come to life each Spring pervading the air with a seductive scent of blossoms. This is why we have arranged our car tour in April - also the temperatures in April are far more pleasant and the island is relatively quiet, permitting exciting driving on scenic open roads.

9-day tour, with 5 day option, to watch the atmospheric and nostalgic Mille Miglia historic rally re-run of what was the world's most famous road race,starting and finishing in Italy's Brescia with over 300 classic cars participating.Our tour starts with a Dover -Dunkerque early morning ferry crossing and our route takes us through Belgium with overnight stops in Echternach, Luxembourg and Riquiwhr,one of France's most beautiful villages in Alsace.We then visit the world famous Sclumpf auto museum before heading south to Lucerne in Switzerland where our hotel is based on the Lake Sarner, a small lake just south of Lucerne. From here we visit Interlaken before driving over the Simplon pass into Italy where our next overnight stop is overlooking Lake Orta, a little known but beautful small lake, a few miles west of Lake Maggiore. The following day, we are joined by participants on the 5 day tour and leaving Lake Orta we drive to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and then drive clockwise around the lake to Luino on the eastern shore where we then drive across to Lake Lugano. Here we drive along the delightful lake shore through Lugano town and along the north shoreline continuing to Lake Como and our next hotel overlooking Lake Como at Menaggio. The following day we catch the 15 minute car ferry to Bellagio regarded by many, including the poet Shelley, as the most beautiful town on the lake where we have our morning coffee stop. We then take another 15 minute car ferry to Varenna and drive up the eastern lake shore of Lake Como to Colico. From here we travel east across the mountains skirting the nearby Stelvio Pass, (which, unfortunately, will almost certainly still be closed), to Desenzano where our hotel overlooks Lake Garda's south west shoreline. Our stunning route takes us over mountain passes and through picturesque gorges. Lake Garda is Italy's largest lake and Desenzano is our hotel base for the next four nights. On Thursday we take the morning train into nearby Brescia to watch the atmospheric build up to the start of the Mille Miglia where the first cars leave Brescia at 7.30pm. Early evening we return to our hotel where we can watch the cars come through the town after 8.30pm where there is a Mille Miglia checkpoint. On Friday we visit Maranello, home of Ferrari and visit the Ferrari Museum,( the Galleria Ferrari), followed by a visit to the Lamborghini museum and factory in nearby Sant 'Agata Bolognese. We then return to Lake Garda. On Saturday we enjoy a relaxing day driving around Lake Garda visiting beautiful gardens and villas and Sirmione, described as "the jewel of Lake Garda". Late afternoon/early evening we watch the return of the Mille Miglia cars as they come back to Brescia. On Sunday we say our farewells and return home.

An 8 day tour of the beautiful Dordogne region in Aquitaine in South-West France.Our route incorporates over 20 of the most beautiful villages in France, les "plus beaux villages", as well as visits to chateaux,stunning gardens, prehistoric caves and museums.In 2009 we organized our first tour to the Dordogne and following its success this is now a regular tour.Following an overnight ferry crossing to St. Malo our scenic route takes us across rural France stopping in a 4* luxury chateau hotel in the Loire Valley.From here we drive south through the tranquil Vienne valley to Brantome, one of the prettiest towns in the Dordogne, to our hotel for the next two nights, a 16th century converted water mill, just 5 miles down river in Bourdeilles..The next day we enjoy a leisurely morning exploring Brantome followed by lunch in a stunning Michelin * restaurant, the Moulin de Roc, a converted walnut oil mill.After lunch we visit nearby St Jean de Cole, one of France's beaux villages,followed by Aubeterre in the adjoining Charente region another beautiful village where we visit the amazing monolithic church, Europe's largest.The following day our route takes us south to the area of the Dordogne known as Perigord Noir.Here we visit the beautiful gardens at the Manoir de Eryignac before arriving in Sarlat, the "jewel in the Dordogne's crown" and arguably, the best preserved medieval town in Europe.In the afternoon we visit La Roque Gageac and Beynac, two of France's most beautiful villages.Our hotel tonight is in Domme,another "beau village,"with a terrace with stunning views overlooking the Dordogne valley.The next day we visit another 6 beautiful villages ending up in Rocamadour, one of France's most stunning towns, perched on a cliffside,which although in the Lot region, not the Dordogne, is too good and too near to miss! We return to Domme early evening for dinner on the terrace..The following day we return to Bourdeilles stopping off en-route to visit two impressive chateaux, a stunning garden and more beautiful villages.On our penultimate day, our Dordogne visit over, we return to the Loire valley stopping off in the morning to visit Oradour Sur Glane the "Village Martyr" a national monument where towards the end of World war two over 500 inhabitants were massacred in one day by the retreating German SS .In the afternoon we stop for coffee in Chinon before returning to our first night's hotel, Chateau de Rochecotte for our final night's celebratory dinner.The following day we drive up to Caen to catch the afternoon ferry, stopping off for morning coffee at La Chartre sur Le Loir at the Hotel de France used as the headquarters of the Aston Martin Le Mans racing team in the 1950's and 60's.Lunch is in Sees where we can visit the twin spired cathedral.

7-day tour starting with a ferry crossing to North-West Spain, our route takes us from Santander on the Atlantic coast right across the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean.Our route is on wonderful quiet roads amidst spectacular scenery through timeless villages crossing many mountain passes and driving through scenic gorges.Most nights our accommodation is in stylish Parador hotels on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees.We eventually arrive at a stunningly located Parador hotel on Spain's ruggedly beautiful, Mediterranean north-east coast.

5 day tour to Le Mans to watch the world famous 24 hours race. Starting with an overnight ferry crossing from Portsmouth to St.Malo on Wednesday we take a scenic route to a chateau hotel in the Loire Valley our first night's accommodation.On the way we stop off at the medieval town of Vitre for lunch and the Le Mans circuit to visit the museum and to familiarise ourselves with parking arrangements and grandstand seats over the weekend.On Friday we visit Candes St. Martin,one of France's most beautiful villages, followed by lunch in Saumur and a visit to a museum and a wine cave.In the afternoon we visit the Abbey of Fontevraud and the chateau of Usse before driving to our new hotel a sumptuous 4* chateau hotel and our base for the remainder of the tour,.Over the weekend we visit Le Mans to watch the 24 hours racing.Return ferry late Monday afternoon from Caen to Portsmouth.

10 day tour of Switzerland incorporating the Stelvio Pass.

10 day tour of Switzerland enjoying arguably Europe's most magnificent scenery and driving roads. Our stunning route starts with a channel crossing from Dover and takes us through Belgium to our first over night stop in Luxembourg.We then drive south into France's Alsace for our second night.On day three we drive into Germany's Black Forest into Switzerland,En-route we visit the world famous Schlumpf classic car collection in Mulhouse's "France National Automobile Museum".In Switzerland we spend two nights on Lake Sarner just south of Lake Lucerne.On day four we drive over several spectacular passes followed by a tour around Lake Lucerne.The next day we drive over the Gotthard Pass to Davos where we drive along Top Gear's "best driving road in the world" then over the Stelvio Pass from north to south.After a night in Bormio at the foot of the Stelvio Pass we drive the pass again from south to north before returning to Lake Sarner.The following day we drive via Interlaken over more spectacular passes to Montreux on Lake Geneva, (Lac Leman), where we spend the next two nights.The following day we enjoy a leisurely morning on Lake Geneva followed by a visit to the pretty village of Gruyere famous for its cheese.The next day we drive via Martigny and Verbier over several more passes including the Grand St Bernard Pass ending up in Cogne a charming Italian ski resort in the Grand Paradisio national park and our final overnight stop.On our final day we drive to Courmayeur then through the Mt Blanc tunnel to Chamonix and back to Martigny ending up once again in on Lac Leman where our tour ends.Altogether an unforgettable trip and an amazing driving experience.

5 day tour to Le Mans to watch the world famous "Le Mans Classic" car races which are held every two years. Starting with an over night ferry crossing from Portsmouth to St.Malo on Wednesday evening, on Thursday we take a scenic route to our sumptuous 4* chateau hotel in the Loire valley where we spend the next four nights.On our first day we stop off for breakfast at an idyllic bay and then at the medieval town of Vitre for lunch.In the afternoon we arrive at the Le Mans circuit to visit the world famous automobile museum and to familiarise ourselves with parking and grandstand arrangements over the weekend.On Friday we enjoy a leisurely tour of the Loire valley and visit Candes St. Martin,one of France's most beautiful villages, followed by lunch in Saumur and a visit to a museum and a wine cave.In the afternoon we visit the Abbey of Fontevraud and the beautiful gardens of Chateau Chatonniere.On Saturday morning we drive up to Le Mans to spend the day enjoying the build up to the afternoon start of the 2010 Classic races returning to our hotel on Saturday night.On Sunday morning we visit Le Mans again to watch the classic car racing which finishes in the afternoon after which we return to our hotel for a celebratory final dinner.Return ferry late Monday afternoon from Caen to Portsmouth.

9 day tour through the spectacular Alps enjoying arguably Europe's most magnificent scenery and driving roads.Our stunning route starts with a channel crossing from Dover and takes us over countless mountain passes and through scenic gorges incorporating 7 countries; France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco.In Switzerland we spend two nights relaxing on Lake Sarner just south of Lake Lucerne and a night in Montreux on Lake Geneva,( Lac Leman).En-route we visit the world famous Schlumpf classic car collection in Mulhouse's "France National Automobile Museum" and drive over 24 mountain passes including a dozen of Europe's highest including the "Col de Bonnette" the highest road in Europe at 2,802 metres.On our penultimate day, our route includes several Monte Carlo rally mountain routes before we arrive on the Mediterranean's Cote d' Azur for the last night of the tour at Villefranche-sur-Mer between Monaco and Nice. Altogether an unforgettable trip and an amazing driving experience.

A 7 day tour of the Loire Valley staying throughout at a sumptuous 4* chateau hotel less than a mile from the river Loire.Starting with a ferry crossing to St.Malo we take a scenic route to our chateau hotel in the Loire Valley and our base for the entire tour.Our leisurely tour comprises 6 days of driving on minor roads and visiting Loire Valley chateaux, museums, two world-renown gardens, wine caves, and the largest medieval abbey in Europe.Our stunning, picturesque route incorporates some of the prettiest towns and villages in the Loire Valley including some of France's most beautiful villages including Candes St. Martin and Montsoreau, as well as visits to Saumur, Montreuil Bellay, Fontevraud, Usse, Azay le Rideau, Villandry, Chinon, Langeais, Bourgueil ,Chenonceaux and Amboise.

10-day tour, (with 5 day option), with 6 days in the Italian Lakes.

A 10 day tour, with a 5 day tour option,to watch the atmospheric Italian Grand Prix in Monza in northern Italy combined with an opportunity to drive over the notorious Stelvio Pass described by Clarkson and chums as the "best driving road in Europe".In addition we visit four of the major Italian lakes with five nights on Lake Como, arguably, the most romantic of the lakes.Our tour starts with a Dover-Dunkerque early morning ferry crossing and our route takes us through Belgium with over night stops in Luxembourg, Alsace and Switzerland before arriving in Italy where our first overnight stop is overlooking Lake Orta, a little known, but beautful small lake a few miles west of Lake Maggiore.We then travel around the picturesque Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano on to Lake Como where our hotel awaits us on the western shore overlooking the lake.The following day we drive around the stunning Lake Como and across the mountains to the Stelvio Pass, 2,757 metres high with 60 hairpins leading to the summit.We stay overnight at Bormio at the southern foot of this impressive pass to give us a chance to drive the Stelvio the following morning for a second timebut this time from south to north before returning to Cernobbio on Lake Como where we spend the next three nights.Over the weekend we visit Monza to watch the practising and qualifying on Saturday and the actual Italian Grand Prix itself on Sunday which is arguably the most atmospheric grand prix of them all with thousands of fanatical Italian fans, the "Tifiosi"cheering on their beloved Ferraris!

8-day tour, ( with 5 day tour option) to visit the atmospheric Circuit des Remparts classic car street races in Angoulême in South West France.Our scenic route, following our overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo takes us via the Le Mans 24 hours circuit and auto museum to the Loire Valley where our overnight stop is a sumptuous 4* chateau hotel Then on our second day we head south through the picturesque Vienne Valley to the Dordogne where our hotel,in Bourdeilles, is just 5 miles from one of France's most beautiful towns, Brantôme.This is our base for the next 3 nights and is a converted mill next to a 16th century bridge over the river Dronne.On Saturday we spend a leisurely morning exploring nearby Brantome and then we take you to a stunningly beautiful Michelin restaurant, the Moulin du Roc, for lunch.In the afternoon we drive up to Angoulême where we drive a few laps of the street circuit which will be the scene of the races the following day.Here we can enjoy the pre-race atmosphere and see all the cars on display including visiting the paddocks where many of the cars racing will be parked. On Sunday morning we leave our hotel early and drive up to Angouleme to spend the entire day watching the wonderfully evocative and exciting classic car races. Included in the line up is a special category devoted to twenty plus Bugattis racing around the street circuit a remarkable sight !. On Monday the 5 day tour participants leave to catch the afternoon ferry from Caen to Portsmouth.Participants on the main tour leave Bourdeilles and enjoy a two-day tour of the Dordogne starting with a visit to the beautiful gardens of Eyrignac followed by lunch in Sarlat, arguably Europe's best preserved medieval town.After lunch we visit the stunning villages of Beynac, and La Roque Gageac two of France's most beautiful villages before arriving in Domme another "beau village"where our new hotel is based on a hill top overlooking the river Dordogne.On Tuesday we visit another stunning garden at the nearby chateau of Marquessac followed by a visit to a fortified medieval chateau with a fascinating museum.We then enjoy lunch at Chateau des Milandes the previous home of Josephine Baker, the American singer and dancer who became a national heroine in France in the last century.In the afternoon we watch a spectacular bird of prey flying display before returning to Bourdeilles for our final night in the Dordogne.The next day we leave the Dordogne stopping off to visit Oradour sur Glane the "village martyr" where almost the entire village inhabitants,over 500 people were massacred during the second world war and is now a unique national monument.From here we head back to the Loire valley stopping off in Chinon for an afternoon coffee before arriving back at our 4 * chateau hotel for our final night.On our final day our trip back to catch the afternoon ferry involves a morning coffee stop at the Hotel de France in La Chartre sur le Loir which during the 1950's and 60's was the headquarters of the Aston Martin Le Mans racing team.Our lunchstop is Sees where we have a chance to visit the twin spired cathedral. Our ferry from Caen to Portsmouth leaves at approx 4.30pm

10-day tour to Provence via stunning gorges and 24 "beaux villages".

10-day tour to Provence in the south of France visiting along the route twenty of France's most beautiful villages,( les plus beaux villages) and some of its most stunning gorges.Following an overnight ferry crossing from Portsmouth to St. Malo our first day's scenic route takes us via the Le Mans 24 hours circuit to a 4* luxury chateau hotel in the Loire Valley.From here we drive south through the Vienne valley to Bourdeilles near Brantome in the Dordogne.Our route then takes us along the Dordogne valley via more beautiful villages to Conques, another beautiful village and our lunch stop.From here, we drive through smaller gorges to Millau where the world's highest and most beautiful suspension bridge spans the Millau gorge.Our hotel for the next two nights is a 16th century chateau hotel nestling in the stunning Gorges du Tarn which we will explore the following day.We then drive east into Provence stopping for two nights in the Luberon,a region made famous by Peter Mayle in his world famous book "A year in Provence"as well as other classical French writers.Here we enjoy a leisurely tour of the area exploring another half a dozen"beaux villages" in this very pretty region .We then continue east, still in Provence, into the Var region to a pretty village near Aups where our hotel for the next two nights is based.The following day we drive around Europe's largest gorge, the Gorge du Verdon, France's "Grand Canyon" and visit another three "beau villages".The next day we enjoy a leisurely tour of the region visiting more beautiful villages. On our final day, still in Provence, we visit four more "beaux villages" and travel through the Gorge de Chateaudouble before driving through the Gorge de Loup in the Alpes Maritimes above Nice.Our final hotel destination, after arriving on the Mediterranean coastline near Nice, is Villefranche- sur- Mer five miles west of Monaco.On our final day we visit Monaco where we drive around the grand prix circuit before enjoying a coffee in Casino square.In the afternoon we visit the stunning Eprussi Rothschild gardens and villa at nearby Cap Ferrat and the beautiful "Greek Villa" at Beaulieu before bidding farewell.