This tour looks awesome but I am wondering if my teens (19 and 17) will like it. Did anyone take kids on this? What are the bus trips like? Some look long?
What are the accommodations like on Mt. St. Michel?
Is it nice to get out of the city and into the countryside?
Has anyone gone in July? And been there during Bastille Day?
I didn’t take teenagers but there were 4 of them in my tour group and they seemed to enjoy themselves.
I've also done this trip but was a solo traveler. I did it in a September so during the school year and no teens on it.
The bus trips are broken up by stops for various things. For instance, Day 4 lists "Bus 5 hours". Well, it's 2h45m from Paris to Guedelon where you'll tour the newly built castle, have talks from various artisans and have lunch. Then you'll ride another 1h 45m or so to Bourges for the overnight.
The accommodations on Mont-Saint-Michel are varied. Tour members are divided between a few different locations. My solo room was OK for one night. Will your teens be sharing a room? You might want to talk with the RS office about making sure you all are in the same building or actually this is a very safe-feeling location so it would probably be OK for them to be housed in a different building.
It IS nice to get out of the city and you will see a lot of interesting countryside on this trip.
The only thing I would worry about in July is heat unless you all are tolerant of warm temps. I am not.
I'll add:
I'd have the family watch the old black and white film The Longest Day. It runs on Turner Classics from time to time and is also available on Youtube. The day you tour the Normandy landings will be an important history lesson for them.
IF by the time you get to Giverny you and your kids are very interested in WWII history I'd recommend a walk down the main street of Giverny to the church where Monet is buried. In the churchyard is a memorial to a Lancaster Bomber crew that went down on the night of June 7/8 near Giverny with all on board killed. In this beautiful peaceful looking village it's a shock to realize this was in the center of fighting in June 1944.
IF you can go a few days early to Paris I would. Even if you've been there before there is SO much to see!
I cannot answer about teens, but we are taking this trip this year. My question is, does the tour go inside Saint-Chapelle? I know it does not go into Notre Dame so we will book the free tickets to do so.
cksimm, yes you go into Sainte-Chapelle on the tour. There's no going around the perimeter of it or past it to view unless you are inside to see the chapel. It's past security and behind the gates of the Palais de Justice.
Hi Angela.
My husband and I took this tour last May and thoroughly enjoyed it. We liked the mixture of big city and countryside for a well-rounded experience.
The accommodations on Mt. St. Michel were basic but so very cool! The room had low beams and angled walls and ceilings plus a view of the sea. Being there after the tourist crowds left gave us a chance to wander and explore while watching the tide come in. We used our imagination to come up with stories about who may have lived in the same room hundreds of years ago and what their life was like there.
The bus rides really didn't seem that long. Our wonderful guide did a great job of arranging breaks along the way.
If your teens are into art, history, photography and open to trying different cuisines, they are in for a treat.
Best of luck!
