MONACO HISTORIC GRAND PRIX TOUR

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Dates:	26th April - 3rd May 2010 7 days/7 nights
Cost:	1,645€ per person fixed £1,495 (based on £1=1.10€)

Description

7-day tour to watch the nostalgic Monaco Historic races in Monaco which are held every two years. The tour starts with a ferry crossing to St Malo and we then take 4 days to drive down to the Cote d' Azur visiting some of the prettiest villages in France en route as we drive through the Loire Valley, the Vienne Valley, and the Dordogne,down to Millau to cross the most beautiful bridge in the world, in to Provence. From there we continue down to the Cote d' Azur where our hotel for the weekend is based in Villefranche sur Mer ovelooking the harbour. We then spend the weekend watching the Monaco Historic Races.

Provisional Itinerary

Sunday 25th April , Overnight ferry from Portsmouth at 8.30 pm

Visit the Chateau-de-Rochecotte web site

Day 1 - Monday, April 26th

Ferry arrives St Malo at 8.15am. On leaving St Malo we will take the Coast road to our charming breakfast stop in a small secluded bay near Cancale before continuing along the coastal road overlooking the Mont St Michel bay.The route then heads south cross-country on quiet 'back-roads' to a lunch stop in the charming medieval town of Vitre. From Vitre we drive to Le Mans to visit the world famous motor museum before heading south, still on minor roads, towards the Loire Valley and our hotel for the night - the stunning Chateau-de-Rochecotte.

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Aerial view of Brantôme in Dordogne

Day 2 - Tuesday

We drive along the nearby river Loire to Langeais and then, crossing the river, we continue to nearby Azay-le-Rideau and then across country to Descartes and on to our morning coffee stop at La Roche-Posay. We then continue through another of France's prettiest villages Angles-sur-l'Anglin driving on to our lunch stop at Chauvigny. From here we continue south through the pretty Vienne valley via l'Isle Jourdain, Confolens and Rochechouart to Nontron and finally to Brantome, yet another of France's prettiest towns referred to as the Venice of the Perigord as the town is effectively an island completely encircled by the river Dronne. Our hotel for the night is a 16th century converted water mill in Bourdeilles just 5 miles down river..

Day 3 - Wednesday

Our scenic route takes us south and then east along the river Dordogne through more pretty villages on to the stunning Rocamadour, a perched village on a cliff-side. Our route then takes us through to Conques, yet another of France's prettiest villages on to Rodez and then on to Millau where we have the opportunity to view arguably the world's most beautiful suspension bridge. From here we then drive into the stunning Gorges des Tarn where our hotel for the night is a stunning 16th. century chateau nestling on the banks of the river.

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A view of Lac Ste Croix

Day 4 - Thursday

We continue through the stunning gorges passing through more pretty villages and then on to Ales and Avignon before driving through even more stunning villages into Provence's Luberon, made famous by Peter Mayle in his world best seller "A year in Provence." From here we continue east into Provence's Var region where we skirt around the Lake de St. Croix before heading south to Aups and a nearby hilltop village and our hotel for the night.

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Villefranche Bay

Day 5 - Friday

Our route continues through Provence starting off through the Chateaudouble Gorge and on to our morning coffee stop at Bargemon, listed as one of France's prettiest villages. From here we drive east through the hills and another secret gorge to Grasse and on to Gourdon, a perched village with stunning views and our lunch stop. We then drop down through the stunning Gorge de Gourdon and on to St.Paul de Vence our afternoon coffee stop. From here we drive down to the coast just west of Nice and then continue along the Promenade des Anglais to nearby Villefrance-sur-Mer and our hotel for the weekend with stunning views overlooking the town and harbour.

Day 6 - Saturday

After 5 days of demanding but spectacular driving we leave our cars behind and let the train take the strain as we ride into nearby Monaco to watch the practicing for tomorrow's races.

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Classic cars racing in the
Monaco Historic Races

Day 7 - Sunday

The day of the races and the focal point of the tour. We catch an early train to Monaco to watch the historic races. In the evening we return to our hotel for our last night's dinner and celebrations.

Day 8 - Monday

We say our good-byes and make our return home.

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