France rewards travellers who go further than Paris, and these multi-city packages make it easy to do exactly that. Each itinerary pairs Paris with Lyon — and select options extend further into Burgundy or south to Marseille — with train travel between cities, hotel accommodation, daily breakfast and included sightseeing built into a single package. These are non-guided, independent itineraries: the logistics of getting between cities are fully arranged, but your time in each place is your own.

All packages include return flights from Canada, intercity rail tickets, hotel stays and daily breakfast. Sightseeing inclusions vary by itinerary and may feature wine tastings in Burgundy, cultural excursions in Lyon, evening entertainment and restaurant dinners. The train journey between Paris and Lyon takes approximately two hours on the TGV high-speed rail, making France’s two great cities closer together than most travellers expect.

Departure airports: nonstop service to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) operates year-round from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) with Air France and Air Transat, with a flight time of approximately 7 to 7.5 hours. Travellers from other Canadian cities connect through Toronto or other North American hubs. If you do not see your departure city listed, please call us — we can price options not shown on our website.

Paris

Every itinerary begins in Paris, and the city justifies as many days as you can give it. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and a recently restored Notre-Dame Cathedral anchor the classic visitor experience, but Paris has enormous depth beyond the main landmarks. The covered passages of the 2nd arrondissement, the medieval streets of the Marais, the hilltop neighbourhood of Montmartre and long evening walks along the Seine all offer a quieter and more local version of the city. The café culture, the brasseries, the open-air markets and the bakeries are as much a part of the Paris experience as any museum.

Burgundy

Select itineraries include time in Burgundy, the celebrated wine region that stretches south from Dijon through the Côte d’Or — one of the most revered stretches of vineyard in the world. Rolling hills planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, medieval market towns, fortified abbeys and historic wine cellars make Burgundy one of the most deeply pleasurable parts of rural France. Wine tastings in traditional cellars, visits to historic towns and long lunches in the regional tradition are the rhythm of a Burgundy stay. It is a part of France that rewards a slow pace and a genuine appetite.

Lyon

Lyon is France’s second city by influence and its undisputed capital of gastronomy. The city has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in France, and its tradition of bouchons — small, convivial neighbourhood restaurants serving the hearty dishes of Lyonnaise cuisine — is a genuine and living part of daily life rather than a tourist reconstruction. The historic districts of Vieux-Lyon and La Croix-Rousse are UNESCO-listed and connected by a network of traboules — the hidden covered passageways that thread through the old silk-weaving buildings and open onto unexpected courtyards. The Musée des Beaux-Arts, one of the finest art museums in France outside Paris, and the twin hills of Fourvière and La Croix-Rousse give the city a topography and character entirely its own.

Marseille

The longest itinerary in this collection continues south by train from Lyon to Marseille, France’s great Mediterranean port city. Marseille is a city of raw, charismatic energy — the oldest city in France, founded by Greek sailors, and still unmistakably shaped by the sea and by the cultures of the southern Mediterranean. The Vieux-Port (Old Port) remains the living heart of the city, ringed with seafood restaurants and the daily fish market. The MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations) is one of the finest contemporary museums in France. The Calanques — a chain of dramatic limestone inlets and turquoise coves stretching east along the coast — are among the most beautiful natural landscapes in the whole of the Mediterranean.

Best time to visit and typical weather

France has a well-defined travel season and the timing of a multi-city trip can be shaped by which cities you are visiting. Paris and Lyon both have a continental climate with four distinct seasons; Marseille and the south run warmer and drier year-round.

• Spring (April to June): 14 to 22°C in Paris and Lyon. The finest overall window for a multi-city trip — mild temperatures, long days and the countryside at its most vivid. Burgundy’s vineyards are particularly beautiful in April and May. Marseille is warm and uncrowded.
• Summer (July to August): 24 to 32°C across all cities. Long days and lively atmosphere, but the main Paris sites are at their busiest. Lyon and Marseille are warm and festive, with the south of France reaching peak season. Book ahead.
• Fall (September to October): 13 to 20°C in Paris and Lyon; still warm in Marseille (20 to 26°C). An excellent time for this itinerary — the Burgundy wine harvest (vendanges) runs through September, smaller crowds at all major sites, and comfortable temperatures throughout.
• Winter (November to March): 4 to 9°C in Paris and Lyon; milder in Marseille (10 to 14°C). Quiet and affordable. The Christmas season in both Paris and Lyon (Lyon’s Fête des Lumières in early December is one of the great public events in France) adds a strong draw for winter departures.

Not sure which itinerary fits your travel style and the time you have available? Speak with one of our agents who has been to France and can help you choose between options, plan your hotel neighbourhoods in each city and sort out the timing. Call us at 1-800-665-4981