Day 1: USA – Toulouse
Tour members will meet at the airport three hours prior to departure to organize group and check in. Dinner and breakfast will be served in flight.
Day 2: Lourdes
Arrival in Lourdes: Check in at your hotel, dinner. After the dinner, optional dip in the water at the baths and walk in the torchlight Marian procession at 9pm. Overnight in Lourdes.
Day 3: Lourdes
Our day in Lourdes begins by a Mass at the Grotto were Our Lady of Lourdes appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous in 1848. The statue of Our Lady stands in the same little hollow in the cliff where she appeared to Bernadette. We then visit the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception built on the top of the Grotto between 1866 and 1872 and finish our morning program in the calm and peaceful Crypt bellow the Basilica. Afternoon is at leisure to discover the other sites of the sanctuary as the Rosary Basilica, the Church Sainte Bernadette, the Boly Mill birthplace of Bernadette, the Cachot Bernadette where Bernadette lived while she experienced the apparitions at the Grotto. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Lourdes.
Day 4: Lourdes Carcassonne (260 kms)
After a last prayer in the basilica we leave for Carcassonne. Arrival in the afternoon in Carcassonne and check into our hotel. Discover of the outstanding city with its military and religious architecture from the Middle Ages including fastening rings, 52 towers, a castle and a cathedral. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Carcassonne.
Day 5: Carcassonne – Avignon –Le Puy (450 kms, 5 h 30)
Early Mass and after breakfast then depart for Avignon. Its bridge is famous the world over in the beloved children's song, the Palace of the Popes, testimony to its prestigious past as Capital of Christianity in the Middle Age. Avignon offers grandiose architecture, ranked among UNESCO's World Heritage sites. Visit of the Pope’s Palace and time at leisure to stroll the shopping streets in the pedestrian area. You will find Provencal materials, ceramics and pottery, terra cotta figurines (santons), and other specialties of the region. We depart for Le Puy en Velay in the Auvergne region in the southwestern part of the Massif Central (250 km). Well known for the Shrine of the Black Virgin, Le Puy is one of the starting points on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella since the 10th century and attracts more than 700.000 visitors’ pilgrims each year. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Le Puy
Day 6: Le Puy en Velay – Lyons – Notre Dame de la Salette (325 kms, 4 h 15)
After breakfast we climb the great stairway which leads to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Le Puy. Holy Mass will be celebrated, and then we will have the opportunity to enjoy the specialties of the town including “Fuseau” lace which one can see being made in front of shops around the city. Mid-afternoon we proceed for Lyons where we visit the Basilica of our Lady of Fourvière on the top of the Fourvière Hill, offering a magnificent view on the city. The Basilica is an outstanding example of the French 19th century religious architecture and one of the busiest sanctuaries sites in France. For more than a thousand years The Virgin Mary has been honored here. Next, we leave for Grenoble, through a picturesque road we reach Notre Dame de la Salette. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 7: La Salette –Nice (390 kms, 4 h 15)
Following breakfast in la Salette, we will take time to visit the Shrine, attend spiritual activities and admire the beautiful surrounding hillsides and for those who wish it, experience a nice hike along one of the many designed trails and a lunch facing the beautiful mountains. After the lunch, we proceed to Aix-en-Provence and reach the French Riviera in the afternoon. We will enjoy dinner and overnight at your hotel in Nice or Cannes.
Day 8: Nice, Monaco (45 kms, 1 h 30)
After breakfast we visit Nice: the capital of the Cote d'Azur situated along the "angels bay", home to the famous Promenade des Anglais. The Old Town with its floral fragrances on the market, the baroque churches and the colorful houses are reminiscent of the Italian history of the town. Then drive to Monte Carlo. On the way, we visit the Fragonard perfume manufacturer in Eze. In Monte Carlo, visit of the small independent and sovereign Principality of the Grimaldi family, which offers very attractive places. The neighborhood "Le Rocher" is famous through the Prince's Palace, the Cathedral and the famous oceanographic institute. The sophisticated "Monte Carlo" has the largest European Casino. Here are the luxury hotels and boutiques where the famous stars from all over the world meet. Back in the hotel for dinner and our last night on the Côte d’azur.
Day 9: departure Transfer to the international airport in Nice, the end of a memorable pilgrimage to France.