My Trafalgar Tour

I was lucky enough to experience European Tour with Trafalgar Tours.  Our itinerary started in Geneva and finished in Barcelona.  Taking in some of the gems in Provence and Northern Spain. 

Here’s a few of my highlights:

Lyon

Lyon is widely renowned as the gastronomic capital of France.  A visit to Lyon must include the Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse: This renowned covered food market is named after the legendary French chef Paul Bocuse, who was born in Lyon. Les Halles de Lyon is a paradise for food enthusiasts, offering a wide range of high-quality products, including cheeses, meats, pastries, and wines. It's a great place to explore and indulge in the local culinary delights.  Lyon's historic city center, known as "Vieux Lyon," is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vieux Lyon is home to stunning landmarks like the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which is just beautiful! 

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Such a beautiful little French village.  We were lucky enough to be there on market day, a Wednesday  The stalls where so cute and the food amazing!  Down the road is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape famous for It’s full-bodied red wine, largely made from the classic southern Rhône grape trio of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Grape varieties.  We got the opportunity to do some wine tasting and explore the region. 

Avignon and Arles – home of Van Gogh 

Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Provence only briefly, for just over a year towards the end of his life. But he produced his very greatest art in this short time, in this region. He spent much of his time in Arles and and Saint Rémy de Provence.  In Arles you can see Café Terrace at Night and other scenes he painted, and compare them to these sites as they are today.  The Café is still yellow.  In Avignon, don't miss the Musée Angladon. It owns one of the very few paintings by van Gogh on permanent display. 

Barcelona 

I loved this city  with its very cool art seen, unique Catalan culture, and stunning architecture. The city is home to some of the most famous modernist buildings in the world, including the Sagrada Família church by Antoni Gaudí.   It is one of those places that is just breath taking and I am sure you could go back and see it many times and find something new to be amazed by.

All in all I found doing a Tour a great way of seeing a piece of Europe in a very short space of time.  I stayed in lovely hotel, got to experience amazing food, and most importantly learnt so much about the history and culture of the places I was visiting, from local experts, along with meeting some lovely people to share it with.