CORSICA AUTUMN TOUR 2011

A 12 day tour,(with an 8 day tour option), including an 8 day tour of France's spectacular "island of beauty,"Corsica in the Mediterranean.The 12 day tour starts with an overnight ferry crossing to St.Malo and over four days travels down to Nice on the Cote d'Azur with overnight stops in the Loire Valley, the Dordogne, Millau and the Cote d'Azur. Participants on the 8 day tour make their own way down to Nice where they join up with the 12 day tour.On day 5,Monday, we catch the afternoon ferry from Nice to Bastia on Corsica's north east coast.Our 8 day tour of Corsica takes us clockwise around the island on stunning coastline roads with picturesque sea scapes and over mountain passes and villages where time appears to have stood still. Eight days later we arrive back in Bastia to catch the overnight ferry back to Toulon.

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

ANGOULÊME CIRCUIT DES REMPARTS RACES / DORDOGNE TOUR 2011

8-day tour, ( with a 5 day tour option), incorporating a visit to the exciting Circuit des Remparts classic car races in Angoulême,with 4 days in the Dordogne visiting beautiful villages. Our tour starts with an overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St.Malo and then on scenic back roads takes us to the Dordogne with an overnight stop at a sumptuous 4-star chateau hotel in the Loire Valley. Our main hotel for the next 3 nights is in the pretty medieval village of Bourdeilles, just 5 miles down river from Brantome, one of France's prettiest towns but, due to the popularity of this tour, we will also be using other local hotels too.On Saturday morning we visit Brantome and then drive to nearby Champagnac de Belair where we treat you to a wonderful gourmet lunch in the Moulin du Roc a stunning Michelin * restaurant and converted 16th century water mill that never fails to impress.After lunch we drive to Angoulême to watch the preparation for Sunday's street race which uses the same circuit along the old streets of this walled town that it did in 1939 when the "Circuit des Remparts" first started.We also drive a couple of laps around the circuit on saturday evening and visit the paddock to look at the cars.On Sunday we drive back up to Angouleme to watch the nostalgic and exciting classic and vintage car races.On Monday our 5 day tour returns to Caen to catch the afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth.Our 8 day tour participants leave our hotel and drive down to enjoy a leisurely lunch in Sarlat, Europe's best preserved medieval town, stopping off on route to visit the beautiful gardens at Eyrignac Manoir.After lunch we visit two more of France's most beautiful villages; Beynac and La Roque Gageac both of which overlook the river Dordogne,before arriving at our overnight hotel perched on a cliff top in nearby Domme, another "beau village".The following day we visit the stunning gardens at Chateau Marqueyssac where the views over the river Dordogne are quite breathtaking.We then visit nearby Chateau Castelnaud an impressive fortified medieval chateau followed by lunch at Chateau des Milandes the former home of the American singer and dancer, Josephine Baker.On our return back to Bourdeilles we stop off at another of France's most beautiful villages, St Leon sur Vezere, for a coffee before arriving back at our hotels in Bourdeilles for our final night in the Dordogne.On Wednesday our return trip takes us back through the Vienne Valley to the Loire Valley via Oradour Sur Glane and Chinon to our final overnight stop,where once again we stay at the magnificent Chateau de Rochecotte.On Thursday, our final day, we leave the Loire Valley and drive up to Caen where we catch the afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth.

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX / STELVIO PASS / ITALIAN LAKES TOUR 2011

10 day tour, (with 5 day tour option), to watch the Italian Grand Prix in northern Italy's Monza with a stunning route through Luxembourg, France's Alsace region, ( where we visit the Schlumpf auto museum), Germany's Black Forest and Switzerland where we visit Lake Lucerne and other Swiss lakes before arriving in Italy. Here we spend 6 nights in the Italian Lakes visiting four major lakes including; Lakes Orta, Maggiore, Lugano,and Lake Como where we spend 5 nights.We also drive twice over the Stelvio Pass,( in both directions), first from the Davos end on the road described on "Top Gear" as the best driving road in the world and then from Bormio at the southern foot of the Stelvio where we stay overnight in a 5* hotel.Over the grand prix weekend there is an option to visit Maranello, home of Ferrari or alternatively enjoy a day trip to Venice by train.

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

DORDOGNE SUMMER TOUR 2011

This is our third tour of the Dordogne in South West France and incorporates visits to many of France's most beautiful villages," les plus beaux villages" as well as Rocamadour which, although it is in the Lot region and not in the Dordogne, is so stunning and so close that it would be foolish not to include it !

The English have had a love affair with the Dordogne and Aquitaine for centuries so here is your chance to find out why and join us on the back roads of this delightful region so full of history and wonderful vistas. The Dordogne is often described as “the region of a 1001 chateaux” and we visit a few of these on our tour as well as other places of interest such as gardens and museums.

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

SWISS SUMMER/STELVIO PASS TOUR 2011

10-day tour starting with a Friday morning ferry from Dover to Dunkerque and travelling through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to Switzerland where we spend 5 days exploring this beautiful country..Our route takes us to Davos where we drive Top Gears's "best driving road in the world" over the Stelvio pass.Our final two days takes us over the Grand St Bernard pass to Italy where we stay in Cogne a charming mountain resort before returning to Lake Geneva on our final afternoon.En-route we drive over 20 spectacular passes with a combined height above sea level in excess of 44,000 metres including the "daddy of them all", the Stelvio Pass at 2,757 metres with over 60 hairpins,(see photos below).Our stunning route allows us to experience some of Europe's most stunning scenery and, arguably, its best driving roads.The first two days include some motorway and main road sections to make covering the distance a little easier, but once into Switzerland we have a couple of more restful days on Lake Lucerne and in Montreux on Lac Leman, (Lake Geneva).
To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

TUSCANY SUMMER TOUR 2011

11 day tour, to Italy's Tuscany region with a stunning route through Luxembourg, France's Alsace region, ( where we visit the Schlumpf classic car museum), Germany's Black Forest and Switzerland where we stay just south of Lake Lucerne before arriving in Italy. Here we spend our first night in Italy in Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta before heading to Maranello, home of Ferrari where we also stay overnight.From here we drive south to Tuscany where, at Montespertoli, 20 kms south west of Florence, our hotel for the next 5 nights is located.Over the next 5 days we enjoy relaxed excursions to Tuscany treasures including cities such as Florence, Siena and Pisa and magical towns including Arezzo, Cortona and Lucca and beautiful medieval villages such as San Gimignano with its famous towers, or, the relatively tiny jewel of Pienza in the heart of stunning pastoral countryside.

Click here to visit our photo album containing pictures taken on our 2011 tour:

ALPS SUMMER/STELVIO PASS TOUR 2011

10-day tour starting with an 8.00am ferry from Dover to Dunkerque and travelling through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy back in to France and ending in Monaco.En-route we drive through the spectacular Alps crossing all the famous passes including the Stelvio Pass and experiencing some of Europe's most stunning scenery and its best driving roads before arriving a week later on the Mediterranean coast at Villefranche-sur-Mer where our hotel for the final night is based.Our route takes us over 35 mountain passes with a combined height above sea level of over 69,000 metres or, over seven times the height of Mount Everest ! Included in the "cols" or passes we drive over is Europe's highest road, the Col de La Bonnette at 2,802 metres or 9,192 feet and the most iconic and notorious Stelvio Pass at 2,760 metres, (9,055 ft).

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

SPANISH PYRENEES (ATLANTIC TO MEDITERRANEAN) TOUR 2011

8-day tour starting with a ferry crossing from Plymouth to Santander in North-West Spain. Our scenic route takes us from Santander on Spain's Atlantic coast right across the Spanish Pyrenees to the Mediterranean on wonderful quiet roads amidst spectacular scenery through timeless villages crossing mountain passes and driving through scenic gorges arriving at Aiguablava on Spain's Mediterranean north-east coast.Accommodation most nights in stylish Parador hotels.

To see photos taken on our 2011 tour click here

LE MANS 24 HOURS RACE TOUR

5 day tour including a weekend at Le Mans to watch the exciting, world famous Le Mans 24 hour race with general entry tickets, car park and grandstand seats included.The tour uses an overnight Brittany ferry, Portsmouth -St Malo outward and an afternoon Caen-Portsmouth ferry on the return journey. Accommodation throughout in a sumptuous 4 star chateau hotel on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.The tour incorporates a day's tour of the beautiful Loire Valley.

Photos from our 2011 tour, please click on the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/LeMans24HoursRaceTour2011

MILLE MIGLIA / ITALIAN LAKES TOUR 2011

A 9 day tour with 9 nights' accommodation, (or 5 day tour with 5 nights' accommodation) to watch the 2010 Mille Miglia classic rally "re-run" which starts and finishes in Brescia in northern Italy.The 10 day tour incorporates a 3 day scenic route through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland before arriving in Italy where we spend six days in the Italian lakes with overnight stops on Lake Orta and Lake Como and four nights on Lake Garda ,the largest of the Italian Lakes.The 9 day tour includes visits to the French Automobile museum incorporating the Schlumph classic car collection in Mulhouse and both tours include the option to visit either Venice for the day by train or the Ferrari museum, (Galleria Ferrari) in Maranello and the Lamborghini museum in Sant Agata Bolognese.
ITALIAN LAKES VISITED ON THIS TOUR INCLUDE: Lake Orta, Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como and Lake Garda.

Photos from our 2011 tour, please click on the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/MilleMigliaItalianLakesTour2011

Photos from participants on our 2011 tour, please click the link below.

https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/MilleMigliaItalianLakesTour2011ParticipantsPhotos

DORDOGNE EASTER TOUR 2011

This is our third tour of the Dordogne in South West France and incorporates visits to many of France's most beautiful villages," les plus beaux villages" as well as Rocamadour which, although it is in the Lot region and not in the Dordogne, is so stunning and so close that it would be foolish not to include it !

The English have had a love affair with the Dordogne and Aquitaine for centuries so here is your chance to find out why and join us on the back roads of this delightful region so full of history and wonderful vistas. The Dordogne is often described as “the region of a 1001 chateaux” and we visit a few of these on our tour as well as other places of interest such as gardens and museums.


Photos from our 2011 tour, please click on the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/DordogneEasterTour201102

LOIRE VALLEY SPRING TOUR 2011

7-day tour of the beautiful Loire Valley with accommodation throughout in a sumptuous 4 star chateau hotel.We start with an overnight ferry crossing to St. Malo and travel down to the Loire Valley via Vitre a charming medieval town and the Le Mans motor museum which is next to the Le Mans 24 hours race circuit.We then continue south to the Loire valley where our hotel for the next 6 nights, a stunning four star chateau hotel, formerly the home of Prince Talleyrand, is based, less than a mile from the river Loire itself.Over the next 6 days we visit impressive chateaux, fascinating museums,beautiful gardens, atmospheric wine caves and other places of interest driving on scenic backroads in this beautiful region.Our return afternoon ferry is via Caen to Portsmouth.

Photos from our 2011 tour, please click on the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/LoireValleySpringTour2011

Italy Tuscany Tour 2011 Planning Visit

ITALY TUSCANY TOUR, PLANNING VISIT CONDUCTED IN MARCH 2011
See our website for full details of this tour.

Photos from our planning visit, please click on the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/ItalyTuscanyTour2011