DAY 3 Wednesday 21 May 2008 London
After breakfast, we visit Hampton Court Palace and garden. The palace is an interesting place to study the British monarchs from Henry VIII onwards. The garden is most famous for its Great Vine, planted in 1768, which still produces hundreds of Black Hamburg grapes each year. The Pond Gardens offer a magnificent display of bedding plants and the newly restored Privy Garden of William III is a spectacular example of the baroque, with parterres, cut work, clipped yews and spring and summer displays of 17th-century plants. This afternoon will be free for individual activity. You may wish to explore the many attractions of London at night.

DAY 4 Thursday 22 May 2008 London
The highlight of our time in London will be an escorted visit to the famous Chelsea Flower Show. Chelsea is the main event in the English horticultural calendar and boasts wonderful displays of flowers, trees and new release plants as well as the famed show gardens. Paul will make sure that we get the most out of our visit to Chelsea. We will return to our hotel midafternoon, with a drop off at Harrods for anyone who would like to do a spot of shopping. The rest of the day will be free for independent activity or you might like to go to a West End show in the evening.

DAY 5 Friday 23 May 2008 Avignon
Today we will fly to Marseille and drive to the attractive town of Avignon. Avignon stretches along the banks of the River Rhone. Ramparts surround the city dominated by the Rocher des Doms, the majestic cathedral and the Palace des Popes, which was the seat of the popes from 1309 until 1377 and the Place de l’Horloge, an attractive square shaded by plane trees. The theatre and town hall are located in this square. The tour manager will recommend a good restaurant to soak up a little of the atmosphere of this historic town.

DAY 6 Saturday 24 May 2008 Avignon
We will have a morning walking tour to explore the sights of Avignon. We will see the Palace of the Popes, the Place d’Horloge and learn about the interesting history of the city. The afternoon will be at leisure to explore Avignon.

DAY 7 Sunday 25 May 2008 Avignon
This morning we travel to visit L’Alchimiste, which has successfully blended the contemporary with classical design. This garden has been divided into three distinct spaces using ancient plants and modern materials. The plants have wonderful stories associated with them, many originating from Provencal custom and with a pagan bent. We continue to visit Pont du Gard, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. The aqueduct is part of a system, which brought spring water from a catchment area near Uzes to Nimes: it was built in the 1st-century and in spite of its two thousand years it is still in good condition. As we return to Avignon stopping at the nearby village of Villeneuve-les-Avignon to visit the delightful gardens of the Abbaye St Andre. This garden was developed by Mlle Koeberle at the beginning of the 20th-century. In spring the walks are alight with coronilla and irises. There are many species of old roses, which will perfume the air.

DAY 8 Monday 26 May 2008 Avignon
This morning we travel to the Bambouseraie, a unique bamboo forest. The garden was started by Eugene Mazel in the middle of the 19th-century. He spent so much on the watering systems for the garden that he died a ruined man. There is a surprising variety of bamboo and with their coloured stems – glaucous green, emerald, yellow and black they are an interesting species. We stop for lunch before visiting Jardin de l’Noria in Uzes for a guided tour. This garden was conceived by the landscapist, Arnaud Mauricres and Eric Ossart. It encourages visitors to wander slowly and surrender to the delights of water, shade, perfume and colour and enjoy the wonderful sculptures.

DAY 9 Tuesday 27 May 2008 Sarlat la Caneda
We will travel north through the beautiful rolling French countyside to the Dordogne region. We will stay in Sarlat la Caneda for four nights. The town has all the atmosphere of a well-preserved market town of the time of the Ancient Regime. Its narrow medieval streets, Gothic and Renaissance buildings add to the atmosphere. The tour manager will recommend a good restaurant to soak up a little of the atmosphere of this historic town.

DAY 10 Wednesday 28 May 2008 Sarlat la Caneda
This morning we will have a guided tour of this fascinating town. The town grew up around the Benedictine abbey founded in the middle of the 9th-century. Sarlat reached its peak during the 13th and 14th-centuries. There are houses full of charm all over the town, many with attractive courtyards. The town is host to interesting fairs and markets. We will see Maison de la Boetie, one of the finest houses and Renaissance building of 1525. This afternoon will be free for individual activity.

DAY 11 Thursday 29 May 2008 Sarlat la Caneda
This morning we will travel east to visit the Manoir d’Eyrignac. Themanor house dates from the 17th-century and the elaborate formal garden, dates from the 18th century. The garden was comprehensively recreated in the 1960s. Elaborate topiary and hedging frames a sequence of rooms and passages that lead to the house. Near the house, is a stylised parterre a la francaise with sweeping curves of clipped box and soaring Italian cypresses. In the afternoon, we visit Chateau de Hautfort, which holds a commanding position surrounded by the woodland landscape of the Perigord region. The Count of Choulot completely redesigned the park and gardens in 1853. Baron and Baroness de Bastard bought the castle in 1929 and the formal gardens were restored. A conifer tunnel with windows cut out to give framed views across the surrounding countryside is a unique feature of the garden.

DAY 12 Friday 30 May 2008 Sarlat la Caneda
This morning we will visit Les Jardins de Cadiot, described as an English garden with Mediterranean plants and many roses. The garden has many wonderful perennial borders planted with mainly white, purple and blue plants in beautiful combinations. There are masses of roses, clematis, delphiniums, peonies and bulbs to delight you. In the afternoon we will visit Le Jardins de l’Imaginaire Terrasson, a very interesting imaginative garden. An amphitheatre has been created in part of the garden by building seats in tiers up the side of the hill. You will see wonderful roses climbing up pillars, and in another section of the garden there are many water jets, which spray in between trees creating a garden of water.

DAY 13 Saturday 31 May 2008 Blois
After breakfast we journey north east to Blois in the scenic Loire Valley, rich in history and exquisite Renaissance chateaux, Blois was once the fife of the Counts of Blois. The Chateau de Blois, located in the town centre, was the principal royal residence until Henry IV moved the court to Paris in 1598. The attractive, hilly, partially pedestrian quarter is enclosed by the chateau, cathedral, and river. The tour manager will suggest some nearby restaurants that offer good food and value.

DAY 14 Sunday 1 June 2008 Blois
Today we travel through the Loire Valley to visit the Festival des Jardins de Chaumont sur Loire. Jean Paul Pigeat established the festival in 1992 with the aim of introducing the public to imaginative and innovative new design. The thirty show gardens are in leaf shaped enclosures, hedged by beech or hornbeam. In the afternoon we visit the fabulous 16th century Chateau Villandry, representing the highest standards of garden design and landscaping. Its gorgeous formal garden has been terraced into three levels, displaying hedges and motifs of box, fine yew topiaries and flowers in season. The lowest level is the potager, which elevates vegetable growing to a fine art. We will return to Blois for an evening at leisure.

DAY 15 Monday 2 June 2008 Blois
The morning is free for you to explore the charms of Blois. The afternoon’s treat is a visit to Chateau de Chenonceau, spanning the River Cher, which reflects its unique beauty. Known as the Ladies Castle, its design and charm are a result of six important women throughout its history. Two large formal gardens and extensive woodland surround this fairytale chateau.

DAY 16 Tuesday 3 June 2008 Paris
We travel north to Paris today, stopping along the way to visit Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte. Paul will lead us around this Baroque chateau garden, which was the first great work by Andre Le Notre, who went on to design Versaille’s gardens. Organized on a central axis, the gardens stretch for 3 km with elaborate parterres, ornate fountains, ponds, topiaries and statues. After settling into our hotel in Paris, those wishing to dine together can meet in the lobby where the tour manager will suggest good value restaurants for dinner.

DAY 17 Wednesday 4 June 2008 Paris
This morning, we have a sightseeing tour with a local guide of the romantic city of Paris. Highlights include the Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Tuileries and a drive along the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe. In the afternoon, we visit the Parc Andre Citroen – the most exciting new park in Paris. Situated where the old Citroenmotor works used to be, it features tiers of banked hedges of contrasting colour and texture, brilliantly sited against modern reflecting office buildings.

DAY 18 Thursday 5 June 2008 Paris
Today is filled with roses, starting with a morning visit to the Chateau de Bagatelle on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. In addition to the noted rose garden with its climbing roses, there is a waterlily pool, grotto, potager and iris garden. In the afternoon, we visit Claude Monet’s famous house and beautiful garden at Giverney. This garden, with its ponds and water lilies and its Japanese bridge, appears inmany of the artist’s paintings. Another section of the garden has amore formal layout, featuring espaliered apples and pears and abundant plantings of roses, irises, spring bulbs, poppies and more. It has been magnificently restored and gives a vivid impression of Monet’s inspiration. Paul willmake sure that we get themost out of this garden. We return to Paris in the early evening.

DAY 19 Friday 6 June 2008 Paris
An entire free day to explore Paris, according your interests. Go shopping, soak up the Parisienne atmosphere, walk along the Seine or visit one of themany famousmuseums and art galleries. Together we’ll enjoy a farewell dinner tonight to celebrate the end of a wonderful garden tour.

DAY 20 Saturday 7 June 2008 In flight
Travel to Charles de Gaulle airport this morning for our return flights to Australia.

DAY 21 Sunday 8 June 2008 Australia
We will arrive in eastern Australian ports this evening and travel arrangements conclude.