Tours to France

Personalised French cultural tours, with a maximum of eight people travelling together to explore ceramics, art, music, history, food, wine and spectacular countryside while meeting the artists and local people.

To see some highlights of some of our previous tours check the news section

Zeste French Tours - 2012 Tours to France

1. May 19 - June 2.
   "Painting in Provence" with Tutor Chris Pittard
   
   Provence, Aix en Provence, Nice and mountains of Haute Provence. Visit galleries and artists’ studios, paint, draw and photograph in stunning settings, in ancient villages, mountain tops and through rural France with tutor. [7 max]. Tutor Chris Pittard. $4,500
   
   
2. June 7 - 21.
   "Lavendar & Rural Hideaways"
   
   From Lyon, visit the Rhone Alpes, Drome and Provence. Stay in villages off the beaten track. Wine and dine with local chefs. Explore artist studios and “the most beautiful villages of France”. Pottery market at la Cote St Andre. $3,500
   
   
3. June 24 - July 8.
   "Music Tour"
   
   Arrive in Lyon, explore the Drome region and Provence in the first week, returning for the second week for the summer festival of music at Vienne and exploring the Rhone Alpes region. $3,700
   
   
4. July 1 - 15.
   "Music Tour"
   
   Lyon: the summer music festivals. Jazz at Vienne by night and explore the Rhone Alpes region by day, during the first week. Explore the Drome region and Provence second week, ending in Bastille Day. Great food! Yves Gaget will be joining us as a guide for the first week. $3,700
   
   
5. September 7 - 21.
   "Beaujolais, Burgundy & Alsace – wine, art, pottery, history Tour"
   
   The potters market in old Lyon, wind your way north through the vineyards during grape picking season in early autumn; visit artist studios, galleries, chateaux, picturesque villages to cosmopolitan Strasbourg. $3,500
   
   
6. September 24 - October 5.
   "Paris & the Loire Valley"
   
   Explore Giverny, Monet’s garden, Chartres and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, troglodyte caves, artist studios, vineyards and more… $3,500

 

All tours are led by Jane Annois as guide and French speaker. Tours include travel in France, accommodation and most meals. Maximum of 8 people on each tour. [7 for Painting tour].

 

PLAY		PLAY
While relaxing in the garden over breakfast, Jane talks about your Provencal accommodation at the fabulous Moulin de Lavon, a regular stop on our tours to France.		View an unsolicited comment from one of the many happy travellers that have enjoyed one (or more!) of Jane's wonderful tours to France.
Testimonial		Testimonial
To Jane, A great big, big thank you. David and I had a fabulous trip. We couldn’t think of a better way to travel. Your knowledge of the places we visited, the people we met and the places we visited were all more than we could have wished for. The bonuses were travelling with someone speaking the language - and a great driver. France is definitely a beautiful country. We would love to visit again one day. Thank you Jane With love from Jenny and David		Having recently returned from Jane Annois' '09 Pottery & Jazz tour, I've got to say it was one of the best trips I have taken. Jane has sourced some gorgeous gités & chambre d'hote's, with excellent cuisine. Alfresco dining three times a day...hard to beat that! To be in France when the lavender is blooming and the sunflowers are opening was such a delight. Jane is a generous guide and removes all the stresses normally associated with travelling in a country where you don't speak the language. Her contacts are priceless. Robyn, Melbourne, 2009
Read more testimonials and letters of thanks from satisfied travellers

 

Trips to France include items such as visits to artists studios, galleries and museums of interest, vineyards, restaurants, places of interest en route, great food always, local markets, etc.

Galerie des Ocres - Rousillon, Provence	Fontaine de Vaucluse, Provence

Each French tour has a maximum of 8 people. You will travel in a minibus driven by Jane, allowing for flexibility where the group can make day to day choices. Jane speaks French fluently smoothing the way, and gaining introductions to places otherwise unknown. An important aspect of the trip as with any tour to France is the food. We go to restaurants only frequented by the locals, are treated to culinary delights by French potters and discover local wines. Jane has taken many tours to France where people have enjoyed the French hospitality and experienced spectacular landscapes. Many have travelled with Jane multiple times because they enjoyed the tour experience so much.

Discovering the Provence countryside	Marché de Potiers by the historic Lyon cathedral

About your tour guide

Jane Annois has been participating in French Potters markets every year since 1997. As a French teacher and ceramic artist she began combining these two lifetime interests to form an ongoing rapport with French ceramic artists and the French countryside.

Jane has also taught ceramics at TAFE, primary and secondary schools, as artist in residence and in specialist workshops. She has been a demonstrator and guest speaker at numerous conferences in Australia and overseas, a highlight being the Australian representative at an international symposium in Amiens in France in 2001. She has exhibited her ceramic art internationally, notably in Paris in 2000, assisted by an Australia Council grant. The contacts she has made over this time, allow her to share with her fellow travellers a rare insight to French culture, and the ceramic world. Zeste French Tours offers a truly unique tour to France.

Jane has organised an exhibition of French ceramic artists in Melbourne in 2007 and a reciprocal Australian ceramic exhibition in France in 2008.

Enjoying a wine or two, Cassis near Marseille	Australians exhibit at the Lyon Potters Market