YOUR O.A.T. ADVENTURE TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDE® French Impressions: From the Loire Valley to Lyon & Paris 2021 Small Groups: 8-16 travelers—guaranteed! (average of 13) Overseas Adventure Travel ® The Leader in Personalized Small Group Adventures on the Road Less Traveled 1 Dear Traveler, At last, the world is opening up again for curious travel lovers like you and me. And the O.A.T. French Impressions: From the Loire Valley to Lyon & Paris itinerary you’ve expressed interest in will be a wonderful way to resume the discoveries that bring us so much joy. You might soon be enjoying standout moments like these: I love to see how the people live, work, and play in communities like Angers, a city nestled at the edge of the Loire Valley. When you enjoy a Home-Hosted visit to a local family’s home here, you’ll get an intimate view into what daily life is like in the west of France. You’ll also enjoy a l’apéro, a traditional French social gathering over drinks and regional appetizers, with your hosts. Visiting the village of Oradeur-sur-Glane was a profoundly sobering and saddening experience for me. Four days after the Normandy landings, a German SS company killed all 642 residents of the village and left nothing but devastation in their wake. As I walked the winding lanes of the village with crumbling ruins around me, I felt like I was stuck in time. The atrocities that took place were still on full display so visitors like me can never forget the unthinkable horrors that occured between the Nazis and wartime France. The way we see it, you’ve come a long way to experience the true culture—not some fairytale version of it. So we keep our groups small, with only 8-16 travelers (average 13) to ensure that your encounters with local people are as intimate and authentic as possible. It’s also why your O.A.T. Trip Experience Leader will be a resident “insider” who can show you the culture as only a local can. To ensure that your adventure is truly unique, put your own personal stamp on it. You can arrive early and stay later, add a pre- or post-trip extension, spend time in a Stopover city, or combine two or more trips. Plus, your itinerary offers ample free time so you can pursue your own interests. So until the day comes when you are off to enjoy your French Impressions: From the Loire Valley to Lyon & Paris adventure, I hope you will relish the fun and anticipation that this O.A.T. Adventure Travel Planning Guide® will inspire. Should you have further questions, feel free to call our Regional Adventure Counselors at 1-800-955-1925. Love and peace, Harriet R. Lewis Vice Chairman, Overseas Adventure Travel P.S. For more inspiration, you can watch videos and slideshows from travelers like you at www.oattravel. com/traveler-moments. You can also share some of your own favorite moments by uploading your travel videos and slideshows directly onto the trip-specific pages of our website. USA Today “Best Tours” 10Best Readers’ Presented by Choice Awards Solo Traveler 2 CONTENTS A Letter from Harriet Lewis ................................................................2 The O.A.T. Difference......................................................................4 The Grand Circle Foundation...............................................................6 The Leader in Solo Travel ..................................................................7 FRENCH IMPRESSIONS: FROM THE Suggested Packing Lists .................. 56 LOIRE VALLEY TO LYON & PARIS Electricity Abroad ....................... 59 Your Adventure at a Glance: Climate & Average Temperatures .......... 61 Where You’re Going, What it Costs, and What’s Included .......................8 ABOUT YOUR DESTINATIONS: Your Detailed Day-To-Day Itinerary ..........9 CULTURE, ETIQUETTE & MORE Optional Tours .......................... 28 French Culture .......................... 65 Pre-Trip Extension ....................... 29 Religion and Religious Observance ........ 66 Post-Trip Extension ...................... 37 Language .............................. 66 Dates & Prices ........................... 42 Spanish Cuisine ......................... 70 Shopping: What to Buy, Customs, ESSENTIAL TRAVEL INFORMATION Shipping & More ........................ 71 Travel Documents & Entry Requirements. 43 No Visas Required ....................... 43 DEMOGRAPHICS & HISTORY Rigors, Vaccines & General Health ......... 45 France.................................. 74 Vaccines Required ..................... .. 46 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ........ 74 Money Matters: Local Currency & France: A Brief History ................... 75 Tipping Guidelines....................... 48 Spain................................... 76 Top Three Tips .......................... 48 Facts, Figures & National Holidays ........ 76 How to Exchange Money ................. 48 Spain: A Brief History .................... 77 Tipping Guidelines....................... 50 Air, Optional Tours & Staying in Touch ..... 52 RESOURCES Optional Tours .......................... 52 Suggested Reading ...................... 79 Communications ........................ 53 Suggested Film & Video .................. 81 Packing: What to Bring & Luggage Limits . 55 Your Luggage............................ 56 Clothing Suggestions .................... 56 O.A.T. Health & Safety Measures.......................................................... 84 Notes.................................................................................. 85 Map ................................................................................... 87 3 EXPERIENCE THE O.A.T. DIFFERENCE in France This adventure not only showcases iconic sights, but takes you beyond them to experience the culture through unique activities, engagement with the natural world, and authentic encounters with local people. Since our founding in 1978, O.A.T. has become America’s leader in personalized small group journeys on the road less traveled. SMALL GROUPS: 8-16 TRAVELERS LOCAL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION (AVERAGE OF 13)—GUARANTEED To see the world like the locals, you should The world feels more intimate and engaging travel like one. Our small group size allows when your experience of it is also personal us to take the roads and waterways that are and genuine. That’s why our groups never less traveled, and we often follow them using exceed 16 travelers. This gives you access to the same unique modes of transportation people and places larger groups simply can’t that the locals use—be it a canoe, a camel or a reach. More authentic interactions. Deeper vintage cab. bonds with your travel mates. Personal service from your Trip Experience Leader. Smoother UNIQUE LODGINGS transitions. And a far more satisfying Our lodgings reflect the local character, experience than any traditional tour offers. from smaller family-run hotels and historic manors to comfy inns. Occasionally, larger THE BEST TRIP EXPERIENCE LEADERS hotels closer to city centers are used. Wherever Your English-speaking, O.A.T. Trip Experience you stay, you’re assured fine comfort and Leader is a resident of the region you are hospitality. visiting, so you will get a true insider’s perspective that brings each place alive—the OUR WORLDWIDE OFFICES stories, food, customs, hidden treasures With 36 regional offices around the world, and more. we are perfectly poised to leverage our local relationships to deliver an excellent experience AUTHENTIC CULTURAL CONNECTIONS and value. During this trip, you’ll be supported Engage with local people through visits to by our team in Lyon. farms, factories, markets, and artisans’ studios; school visits; Home-Hosted meals; and more. Explore the rolling vineyards of the French countryside Savor the gastronomic delights of France 4 THE PILLARS OF DISCOVERY Enriching. Inspiring. Unforgettable. These features form the foundation of your French Impressions adventure. GRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION (GCF) VISIT discuss women’s roles and the challenges they GCF was established in 1992 to help change face in contemporary Moroccan society. people’s lives in the world where we live, A DAY IN THE LIFE work, and travel. To date, we have pledged or Do you ever wonder, “What would it be like donated $200 million worldwide. to live here?” when you visit new lands? Let’s By investing in the places we explore— find out during your O.A.T. A Day in the Life, an including local schools, cooperatives, or arts exclusive, immersive experience that places centers—we hope to give locals the skills and you in the heart of a community where you’ll confidence they need to become leaders of meet various people where they live, work, their generation and preserve their heritage and play; visit the neighborhood school; lend a for many years to come. We’re proud to play hand with daily chores; and break bread with a part in preserving precious locales like the our hosts. Bryggen waterfront district of Bergen, a living Perhaps you’ll join a local resident or example of the glory days of the Hanseatic community leader for a guided walk through League, and supporting villages like Harmi in the town, visit a market, or enjoy a unique Estonia, whose once-struggling school is now opportunity to meet teachers and students at a center of community life. a local school if school is in session. CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS HOME-HOSTED EXPERIENCES Every culture has its joys and achievements, Stories shared. Differences solved. Taste buds and we celebrate them all. But every place engaged. Good will extended. It’s amazing the also has its challenges, and to gloss over them things