France Magnifique

I was not thrilled with Paris at all. I thought the food would have been better as people rave about French cuisine. The pastries were excellent.

Ben Vale was fantastic! Very detailed, very helpful. Really knew the sites. Driver Vincenzo was also extremely accommodating and always ready to help.

war memorials and war museums

My favorite part of the tour was Mont St. Michel and the Normandy area. I enjoyed the tour manager's (Ben) knowledge about the area and the history that he knew.

Becky Reagan was so informative and her knowledge of France and the French language made it so much better than if we had gone on our own.

Good. My favorite was seeing the Mona Lisa and walking where the Popes walked in the 1400's.

Some improvement could be made

Time at the beaches in Normandy,Nice,monte Carlo

The tour was very well organized and enjoyable. There were only 24 people on this tour which was nice compared with the last one. Also, everyone got along well.

I traveled as a "single" woman, but nothing made me feel single, or isolated, ever. Wonderful group, excellent planning, comfortable accommodations. My most memorable experience was the early morning visit to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach...

The comprehensive nature of the tour made it wonderful. So many sites ranging from the medieval to WW II. The castles, the gardens, and the restaurants made it a trip to remember.

The tour hit many of the highlights we wanted to see. Our most memorable was the beaches of Normandy.

Well put together agenda with great experiences. Love the emphasis on local cuisine.

It was a very emotional trip. They were our greatest generation. To go to Normandy was to go back in time!

Having local guides is a great idea! Having said that, our tour manager was excellent. With her help, we were able to arrange a side trip to visit my husband's uncle, who died in France after D-Day.Besides that, we had some wonderful times on our own, finding local shops and restaurants.

Had a blast - and hit all my bucket list items!

The itinerary was excellent but there was not enough time in the places we went to. The tour needs to be 2 to 3 days longer to encompass the itinerary

Normandy and Normandy beaches were so informative and beautiful. Loved seeing the beaches, cemeteries, and memorials.

Several glitches in tour. Bus needing to park far away from some hotels and last night restaurant. Also why did we have to go to a restaurant do far away? Bus could not get close

I recentlyt returned from St Martha's 100th Anniversary Trip, France Magnifique. I have travelled with Collette before. The trip before this was excellent. I couldn't sing enough praises about our tour guide Kathy Fil. This trip however was not the same. The tour guide, Beth Meredith, could use some time management skills as well as compassion. I think the tour guide must take into account the group she has been assigned to lead. This particular group was mostly older adults, many with mobility issues. In our initial brochure it describes "moderate physical activity". That is so wrong on so many levels. Climbing to the top of Mont St Michel is hardly a moderate walk. Beth's favorite phrase during this trip was "just a short walk". I understand that many of the locations we visited or stayed at have historical value and a large tour bus can not park or even get near the entrance. So why does Collette choose these particular hotels and/or restaurants ? How can they expect older adults to walk a mile with their carry on luggage in the pouring rain on cobblestone ? Doesn't seem realistic to me. At some locations there was a van available to transport those who needed assistance. Of course, it could only take a few tourists. Many times, people who really did not need the assistance jumped into the van and left those who truly needed it behind. Most often, they would not offer a second vehicle. Also there was the issue of time management. Beth never allowed enough time to get from one place to another at our expense. We were denied entry into the restaurant on our first night in Paris. By the time we got to a restaurant, it was after 9:00 pm and we had been up for for over 24 hours. Also because of this mismanagement of time, quite often we barely had enough time to eat lunch with the "free time" we were given. Restaurants in France do NOT hurry. If we were lucky, we were able to finish our lunch and get to the bus on time. There was never any time to explore the area we were in. In Lyon for example, we got to the hotel at 9:30 pm and we leaving early the next morning. In Avignon, we arrived in the evening, while it was pouring rain. The following day was our trip to Tarascon, the highlight of our trip to visit the final resting place of St Martha. If we went on that tour, we saw nothing of Avignon. Having us leave at 4:00 am to get to the airport was ridiculous. Our bags had to be out at 3:00 am. Why couldn't we have spent the last night in Marseille ? We were out for our final dinner together, it would have been easier to travel to Marseille after dinner than to be up practically all night. That brings up another point. Why aren't ALL dinners included ? This trip was not inexpensive. I have travelled on other group tours that ALL dinners were included. It seems we are getting less and less service for MORE money. This trip was supposed to be the crown jewel of St Martha's Centennial Celebration. Instead it was non stop chaos and disappointment. Having travelled with Collette before I expected better than this. I think I deserved better than this as did the rest of our group.

Our favorite memorable experience is hard to pinpoint. We enjoyed everything on the tour. The highlight was our once in a lifetime visit to Tarascon, where our pastor was able to celebrate mass for us in the crypt of St. Martha. It was an emotional experience that we will never forget and feel so very blessed to have experienced. Our tour highlights also would include our 2 days in Normandy, at the WWII sites. A personal highlight was being chosen to assist the chef at our final night's dinner as he made creme brulee - such fun!

Tour was as described and visit to Tarascon which is St Martha’s burial place was nice visit.

Good value for the money - saw a whole lot of France for reasonable money! Really moved by visiting Normandy!

Please see previous comments.

Dinner at the Abbey. Normandy Coast and WWII Museum

small group allowed getting to know everyone quickly plus allowed us to move about easily and stay together. Seeing a cross-section of French towns and sites was the highlight to me

See above. The Normandie experience was most memorable . I was able to find a friend relative in the cemetery .

the whole trip was memorable, no favorites!

Too many self touring stops .We really appreciate the Palace of the pope's special guide. We had been there before,on our own,so we were wowed by his knowledge of the place.

The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach on Memorial Day and the top of Mount St. Michel were my favorites. On the negative side I wish I had known in advance that not all of the hotels were reachable by bus and required a long walk after a full day of touring. It was great being picked up at our home and taken to the airport when leaving for Paris (even though we left early). It was not as nice that we did not get transfers from the airport to our hotel once we arrive in Paris.

2 days in Normandy to see D-Day sites was great, with time at the American cemetery and Omaha Beach being especially emotional. Also, time in several old walled cities was fascinating.

The country itself has to

This tour hit all the sites I had on my France bucket list. The hotels were conveniently located near restaurants and within walking distance of sites of interest.

The itinerary was more than expected. Mount ST Michael was the highlight for my husband, for me it was actually staying in Fontevraud Abbey, a dream come true.

Excellent tour manager.Too much time at the Memorial Museum. A visit to Monet's garden would have been right on the way, too bad we missed it. Lavender Farm a commercial waste of time. Appreciated Beth changing our flights home--arrived safely with wonderful memories.

Our visit to the Normandy area was moving and educational. We have seen movies and read books, but the actual beauty is being on the beach and seeing where our brave soldiers fought and sacrificed for the French People and our liberties. On the next section I found all the accommodations really excellent, except for the first pre-nights (days). The Hyatt was under full construction and it was not possible to rest or stay inside during the day, forget about resting up after the long flight. But, this hotel will be ready for prime time by 2018!

We enjoyed Normandy the most.

Colette was very accommodating and flexible. We chose to lop off the end of the tour to spend a few days in Paris and our tour was adjusted for that

The tour included stops at sites we were interested in seeing. The two sites most memorable were the Normandy Beaches of Dday and the wine tasting in Avignon.

Paris and Normandy were worth the trip. We loved Fountainbeau the home of Kingsand Napolean.

Saint Malo was just breath-taking ! We enjoyed walking the ramparts of this walled city and the hotel was on in such a convenient location ! Every hotel was wonderful !

Seeing the American and German cemeteries from WW11 were profound and moving experiences never to be forgotten.

I think that the itinerary was nice. I really loved going to Normandy. I now understand D-Day a lot better and I REALLY got a feel for the ultimate sacrifice that our soldiers made. I would point out to future guests that their is not a lot of souvenir shopping until you get to Avignon so they dont get frustrated the whole tour trying to figure out where to get souvenirs. I don't think France is big on selling touristy things in general. Please make sure the tour manager points that out.