13 Day France and Italy Wines and Shrines

*** DAILY MASSES INCLUDED ***

DAY 01 - NORTH AMERICA / FRANCE. Tour members gather at the ticket counter at the airport three hours prior to their evening departure for Paris. Dinner is served in flight.

DAY 02 - PARIS / ARRIVAL. Arrival at Paris airport, meeting with our Tour Manager and transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.(D)

DAY 03 – PARIS.Breakfast. Half day panoramic city tour (with local guide): we'll visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, Tomb of Napoleon, Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elisée, the Triumph Arch and Sacre Coeur. We'll have a stop in front of the Eiffel Tower. In the afternoon we visit with our Tour Manager the Chapel of the Miracoulous Medal where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 and requested the creation of the medal which came to be known as the Miraculous Medal. It is also the mother house of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 04 - PARIS / EPERNAY / DIJON. Breakfast and depart towards Epernay for visiting the place where Moet & Chandon Champagne is produced. Continue to Dijon. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 05 - DIJON / NEVERS / CLERMONT-FERRAND. Breakfast. Visit to a cellar where the typical Burgundy wine is produced. Continue to Nevers where we see the St. Gildard Convent where there is the incorrupted body of St.Bernadette. On to Clermont-Ferrand, famous for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it and also famous for hosting the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, one of the world's leading international festivals for short films.  Visit the Notre-Dame du Port, a Romanesque church which was built during the 11th and 12th centuries (the bell tower was rebuilt during the 19th century). It was nominated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.  Dinner and overnight. 

DAY 06 - CLERMONT-FERRAND / BORDEAUX. Breakfast. Transfer to Bordeaux. Walking tour with our Tour Manager and then visit to a cellar where the typical red wine is produced. Dinner and overnight. 

DAY 07 - BORDEAUX / LOURDES. Breakfast. Transfer to Lourdes. Day dedicated to the visit (with local guide) of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes: the Basilica, the Crypt, the Apparation Grotto, the healing baths, the Esplanade, the family home of Bernadette Soubirous "the Boly Mill", where at the ground floor it is possible to see the room where Bernadette was born. In the evening, we can take part in the Candlelight Procession. Dinner and overnight in hotel.

DAY 08 - LOURDES / AVIGNON. Breakfast. Depart towards Avignon, the city of the Popes. The historic centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 09 - AVIGNON / NICE / TURIN. Breakfast and depart to the French Riviera with stop in Nice for walkings and for visiting a typical wine cellar. Continue to Turin. We see the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Consolation, a prominent Marian sanctuary and minor basilica in central Turin. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 10 - TURIN / ALBA / ASTI / FLORENCE. Breakfast. Transfert to Alba for the visit of one of the many wine cellars of the area. Then transfer to Asti. Visit to a typical cellar where the sparkling white wine Moscato is produced. On to Florence. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 11 - FLORENCE / GREVE IN CHIANTI / FLORENCE. Breakfast. Half-day panoramic city tour (with local guide) including the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio etc. Depart towards Greve for visiting a cellar where Chianti wine is produced. Return to Florence. Dinner and overnight. 

DAY 12 - FLORENCE / ROME. Breakfast. On to Rome. Panoramic city tour (with local guide) seeing Colosseum, Roman Forum, Baths of Caracalla, Tiber Island, Castel Sant'Angelo etc. Dinner and overnight in hotel. 

DAY 13 - ROME / RETURN. Breakfast. visit (with local guide) the Basilica of St Peter, with the possibility to visit also the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. At due time transfer to Rome airport for taking our flight back USA.