What a luxury private tour of France includes with us: 5-star and palace hotels, private guides and drivers, first-class TGV, sample routes and real prices.
A luxury France tour with us is a private, tailor-made trip: 5-star or palace hotels, a licensed guide and a driver where they change the day, first-class TGV between regions, and experiences arranged for you alone. Our most complete version, the 14-day Paris to Provence honeymoon, starts from EUR 9,999 per person (about $11,400) with 5-star hotels throughout. Shorter trips to the Riviera or Cognac, with 4-star or 5-star hotels, start from EUR 1,899 to EUR 1,999 per person for a week.
We are a French travel company based in Villefranche-sur-Saône, in Beaujolais, with an office in Nice, and we design and book every trip from France. Below: what the word "luxury" covers in our quotes, what it costs, four routes built from trips we sell, and an honest view of who this kind of trip suits.
The difference between a good private trip and a luxury one is not only the hotel. It is how much of the day is handled for you.
| Our standard private trip | Our luxury version | |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | Central 4-star hotels, breakfast included | 5-star and palace hotels, suites where the hotel allows |
| Between regions | TGV with seat reservations | TGV in first class, with a driver at both stations |
| Inside a region | Train, rental car or the transfers listed | Private driver in a premium vehicle for wine and coast days |
| Guiding | A licensed guide for the key sites | A private guide most days, specialists for wine, art and food |
| Experiences | Tastings, a cooking class, a boat trip | Private boat, helicopter, after-hours visits, a chef's class |
| Restaurants | A list of addresses we like | Tables booked ahead, including starred restaurants |
| On the ground | 24/7 assistance | 24/7 assistance, plus an optional concierge service |
France has an official category above five stars: the Palace distinction, awarded by Atout France, the national tourism agency. In June 2026, 33 hotels held it, most of them in Paris, on the French Riviera and in the Alpine ski resorts. Le Bristol and the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, or the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, are examples of the category.
A palace is not always the best choice. In Burgundy or on Lake Annecy, the finest addresses are smaller 5-star hotels and inns, such as the Auberge du Père Bise on Lake Annecy, which we use on our honeymoon route. Several Riviera palaces are seasonal and close for the winter, and the Courchevel palaces open only for the ski season, so the month you travel decides part of the hotel list. Within a hotel, we ask for the room that justifies the price: the Seine view, the lake-facing balcony, the quiet courtyard side in Paris.
In French museums and historic monuments, a guided visit sold by a travel company must be led by a holder of the professional card of guide-conférencier, a protected title. That is the level of guide we book for the Louvre, Versailles or Vaux-le-Vicomte. For wine, we work with specialists who take you to the estates and arrange to meet the winemaker rather than a tasting-room host.
Drivers matter most where trains stop: the Burgundy vineyards, the Luberon, the Riviera corniches. In a wine region, a driver also means nobody in your party has to count glasses.
Between regions, the TGV is faster and calmer than any car: about two hours from Paris to Lyon and about 5 hours 40 minutes from Paris to Nice. We book first class as soon as sales open and arrange a driver to meet you at the arrival station, so the change of region costs you a few hours of reading, not a day on the highway.
These are the published "from" prices of our France trips that reach the 5-star level, per person, two people sharing, flights excluded.
| Trip | Days | Hotels | From, per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxury France Honeymoon: Paris, Burgundy, Alps and Provence | 14 | 5-star throughout | EUR 9,999 (about $11,400) |
| French Riviera: Saint-Tropez, Porquerolles, Nice and Monaco | 7 | 4-star, or 5-star palace on request | EUR 1,899 (about $2,165) |
| Cognac Getaway | 6 | 4-star, or the 5-star Chais Monnet | EUR 1,999 (about $2,280) |
| French Christmas: Alsace, Lyon and Val d'Isère | 7 | 4-star in Colmar, 5-star in Lyon, 4- or 5-star in Val d'Isère | EUR 2,099 (about $2,390) |
The "from" price corresponds to the base hotel category and season. The 5-star versions of the Riviera and Cognac trips are priced on request, because the rate depends heavily on dates.
For a trip in 5-star hotels with a private guide and driver most days, we budget about EUR 800 to 1,400 per person per day (about $910 to $1,600), before international flights. The honeymoon above works out at about EUR 770 per person per night, slightly below that range, because it spends five of its thirteen nights in Provence, where 5-star hotels cost less than in Paris. Paris and the Riviera in July and August are the most expensive combinations.
What is not included on our trips: international flights, travel insurance, most dinners (we list the meals included), gratuities and city taxes. In a Paris palace, the city tax alone was EUR 15.93 per adult per night in 2026. Our France trip cost guide breaks down every line, from hotel rates to museum tickets.
This is our Luxury France Honeymoon, and it works just as well for an anniversary.
Four bases in 13 nights is the most we put in a trip of this length. Adding a fifth would turn it into a moving trip.
Three nights on the quieter Sainte-Maxime or Grimaud side of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, with a private dinner on arrival and a day on a private yacht to Porquerolles, where you cycle through the vineyards to the Carmignac Foundation. Then three nights in Nice: the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat, the exotic garden of Èze, the Cours Saleya market, an afternoon at Paloma Beach, Monaco at night and your own perfume made in Grasse. A driver handles every transfer. The trip is priced from EUR 1,899 with 4-star hotels; for the luxury version, we move both stays to 5-star hotels or a palace.
Our Cognac Getaway keeps you in one hotel for five nights, and the luxury choice is the Hotel Chais Monnet & Spa, a 5-star in a converted cognac warehouse. The program covers a cognac masterclass, an e-bike ride to a family distillery, a day blending your own Bordeaux wine, a cooking class, a lunch at Rémy Martin and a tasting in the Hennessy cooperage. It suits travelers who prefer depth in one place to a road trip.
Our French Christmas trip starts with two nights in Colmar for the markets and the wine villages with a private guide, then a first-class train to Lyon for a night at the InterContinental Lyon Hôtel-Dieu, a private walk through the traboules of Old Lyon and dinner at Paul Bocuse's restaurant. It ends with three nights in a 4- or 5-star ski hotel in Val d'Isère. Ski passes and equipment are extra.
The rest of our France range is priced with 4-star or family hotels, and each can be rebuilt at the 5-star level:
All of them are on our France page.
It suits:
It does not suit:
Luxury does not remove crowds either. A private guide gets you through the Louvre efficiently and to the right rooms, but the Mona Lisa room is still full at 11 a.m.
Season matters as much as category. May, June and September give the best balance; mid-June to mid-July is the window for lavender in the Luberon; and in August many Paris restaurants close for the holidays.
Recent and renovated 5-star hotels usually have accessible rooms, but historic buildings vary a great deal, from door widths to the number of steps at the entrance. On our accessible trips, our designer Caroline Kennedy checks door widths, bathroom layouts and elevator sizes with the hotel before anything is confirmed, and we apply the same checks to a luxury trip on request. Adapted vehicles replace standard cars for transfers and day trips.
If you would like a designer to build the 5-star version of one of these routes for your dates, tell us about your trip.
More guides: PlanningTrip costs
With 5-star hotels, a private guide and a driver most days, we budget about EUR 800 to 1,400 per person per day, before international flights, for two people sharing. Our 14-day Paris to Provence honeymoon in 5-star hotels starts from EUR 9,999 per person. Paris and the Riviera in July and August cost the most; Burgundy, Annecy and Provence give more for the money.
Palace is an official distinction above the five-star rating, awarded by Atout France, the national tourism agency, to a small number of 5-star hotels judged exceptional. In June 2026, 33 hotels held it, mostly in Paris, on the Riviera and in the Alpine ski resorts. Outside those areas, the best addresses are often smaller 5-star hotels and country inns.
Both, for different legs. Between regions, the TGV in first class is faster and more comfortable than a car: about two hours from Paris to Lyon. Inside a region, such as Burgundy, the Luberon or the Riviera, a private driver is the better choice, because estates and villages are spread out and poorly served by public transport.
May, June and September give mild weather, full opening hours and lower rates than July and August. Mid-June to mid-July is the lavender window in Provence, December brings the Alsace Christmas markets, and winter suits the Alps for skiing. Check that your chosen hotels are open: several Riviera palaces are seasonal and close in winter.
Day by day, with prices. Each one is reshaped around you.
Thirteen nights in 5-star hotels from Paris to Aix: a Seine cruise, Dior and Place Vendôme, the Grands Crus of Burgundy, a helicopter over Mont Blanc, Lavaux, lavender by 2CV, the Camargue and a chef's class. Private guide daily.
From €9,999 per person
Six nights, three in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and three in Nice: a private dinner on arrival, a yacht day to Porquerolles, the gardens of Cap Ferrat and Eze, Monaco at night and your own perfume in Grasse. Driver throughout.
From €1,899 per person
Five nights in one hotel in Cognac, 4-star or the 5-star Chais Monnet: a masterclass, an e-bike ride to a family distillery, a Bordeaux blending workshop, a cooking class, lunch at Rémy Martin and the Hennessy cooperage.
From €1,999 per person
Nice to Monaco in 22 minutes by train: 2026 fares for the TER, bus 600, private drivers and helicopter, where to sit, the three corniches and step-free tips.
How many days in France? Ten for a first trip: Paris plus two regions. Our designers share 7, 10 and 14-day plans, nights per region and train times.
Before you choose a destination, choose a feeling. The rest will follow.
Two minutes, three steps. Free and without obligation.
