The capital city of the French region of Upper Normandy, Rouen is a port city on the Seine that rose to prominence during the Roman and Middle Ages. Spend the day visiting this heart of Normandy as you learn about its eclectic history.

Enjoy an approximate 1-hour comfortable and scenic drive from the port of Le Havre in a van that is made for your small group. Once in Rouen, your professional guide will take you on a walking tour along cobblestone streets and past medieval half-timbered houses, while sharing his or her knowledge and passion for this city with you. Your group is kept to a maximum of no more than seven guests so individual attention and quality time with your guide are guaranteed.

Gaze up at the twin towers of Rouen Cathedral, a 12th century Early Gothic church built on the grounds of congregations meeting here since the 4th century. Legend has it Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism, rented an apartment across from the cathedral to capture the changing light in his series of 28 Rouen Cathedral paintings during different times of the day.

Continue to the Antique Dealers District whose atmosphere inspired Picasso’s Urban series. Over at the rue du Gros Horloge you will find a unique double-faced clock fashioned in true Renaissance style. Visit the Courthouse and stand in the ancient market square where Joan of Arc was burned alive at the stake for heresy in 1431 and where today the Church of Saint Joan of Arc stands in her memory. Look for Le Bouchet, a small garden on the premises that marks the exact spot where she perished.

Take some free time to enjoy a delicious lunch (at your own expense), then make your way over to Musee des Beaux Arts of Rouen (optional), a fine arts museum containing an impressive collection of paintings, sculptures and drawing dating from the end of middle ages up until the present day. You will find works from the Masters, including Veronese, Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Fragonard, Ingres, Monet, Sisley, Pissaro, Caillebotte and Renoir.

Conclude your tour with a scenic minibus ride back to La Havre.

Mont-Saint-Michel is one of Europe’s most unforgettable, breath-taking scenes. Set in a bay where Normandy and Brittany merge, the islands staggering location has long inspired awe and imagination drawing views from miles away.

Located just off the coast of Lower Normandy in France, Mont Saint Michel is a small, UNESCO World Heritage Site best known for its well-preserved Norman Benedictine Abbey. This 525 million-year-old rock island is surrounded by a beautiful bay of fluctuating tides, quicksand, and mists that provide a stunning sanctuary for thousands of birds. The island itself provides an interesting slice of societal structure: God and the Abbey at the top, followed by nobility, then stores and housing and, finally, the farmers and fisherman’s housing at the bottom.

Walk the picturesque streets to the top to visit the medieval Abbey of Mont Saint Michel while you learn how the Benedictine monks venerated the archangel Michael and formed the church in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Abbey was at its apex during the 1100s and later used as a prison during Louie XI of France’s reign until 1863. After exploring the Abbey, you will make your way back down to the bay and enjoy a delicious lunch (at your own expense).

From there you will head to the beautiful French port of Honfleur. Tucked on the southern side of the Seine, Honfleur is a charming hub of commerce with a longstanding history as a popular place of trade. Walk along the cobbled streets and note the high-rise houses and yachts of the wealthy that line the basin. Here you will find the magnificent Church of Saint Catherine as well as countless museums and lovely gardens you can visit. A quick stroll around town and the old port and you will feel the inspiration the masters were moved by to make their art.

Throughout the tour your local, professional guide will share his or her knowledge and passion of these areas with you. This full-day small-group tour is a must-do for history lovers and photography buffs!

Impressionism is an art movement founded in the 19th century that ran counter to the accepted artwork of the day, and its painters were considered radicals. The Academie des Beaux-Arts dominated the art scene in France and preferred realistic subjects painted in restrained colors with very precise brush strokes; in contrast, Claude Monet and his cohorts used short strokes and an explosion of colors with the emphasis to emote feeling and capture light. During this full-day, small group tour you will visit the home of Claude Monet, long considered the Father of Impressionism.

Board the air-conditioned minibus for a picturesque, comfortable ride designed for your small group to Giverny where Monet lived and worked. Tour his pink stucco house where his everyday life with eight children is on display. Walk through the drawing room, pantry, bedroom, study, dining room, kitchen and, of course, his studio. Once back outside, take time to meander around Clos Normand, the extensive flower gardens as you walk under the flower-laced metal arches he had erected on the property. Admire the Japanese cherry trees as well as the carefully manicured flower beds full of tulips, roses, and nasturtiums.

Discover in the romantic water garden the Japanese bridge crossing the pond, featured in Monet’s Water Lilies series, with your very own eyes. Monet acquired the property in 1883 and spent countless hours cultivating the gardens which became the subject of some of his most famous works.

After some free time for lunch (at your own expense), make your way to the Giverny Museum of Impressionism for a historical account of this beloved, world-wide art movement. Inside you will find The Garden by painter Mark Rudkin and “Monet Around”, the permanent exhibit that offers to resume “the influence of the art of Claude Monet and his contemporaries and the generations that followed him.” Take some time to explore Giverny with its church, galleries and the Old Hotel Baudy before your return trip to port.

This trip to Giverny is a must-do for Monet fans and those who love Impressionism, book now.