Day 1 - Friday
We depart from London St Pancras International on the morning Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel to Paris Gare du Nord. (First Class upgrades and regional connections also available on request). On arrival we will be met by our comfortable local coach and travel to the charming town of Chantilly, situated in the heart of the Chantilly Forest, nineteen miles north of Paris. Our hotel, the Château de Montvillargenne, is approximately 3 miles from the town centre set in its own wooded grounds on Avenue Francois Mathet. Please note the hotel has a heated indoor swimming pool. Bedroom upgrades are also available to the executive deluxe rooms, they are all individually designed and offer a higher level of comfort including a private whirlpool bath. In the evening once you have settled into your room join our party for a welcome glass of Kir in the bar before dinner.

Day 2 - Saturday
Enjoy your buffet breakfast. This morning we transfer to nearby Senlis, a pleasant market town typical of Picardy, where we will have some free time to wander round the shops or perhaps enjoy some pâtisserie. Following an opportunity for lunch in Senlis (not included), we return to Chantilly, where we visit the Potager des Princes, part of the extensive Chantilly Domain. The gardens aim to recreate the spirit and exuberance of the 17th and 18th centuries and include a former menagerie and pheasantry; a fantasy garden with gunneras, catalpas, giant ferns and banana palms; a flower garden together with vegetables, medicinal and condiment plants, an orchard and rose garden. Later we will visit the Château de Chantilly, a magnificent structure which stands on a rock surrounded by water. Our visit will include the sumptuously decorated Grands Appartements, dating from the 17th-19th centuries and the Galeries de Peintures, whose collection of pre-1850 paintings is second only to the Louvre. We will return to the hotel in time for dinner.

Day 3 - Sunday
This morning, following breakfast, we depart for Giverny and the world famous house and gardens of Claude Monet. Our early start today will ensure an early arrival at Giverny - a time when the gardens are at their most tranquil. Both the house and gardens have been lovingly and accurately restored - one would believe that the family have just gone out to walk in the garden. You will have plenty of time to explore this marvellous garden at your leisure. Light lunch facilities are available near the garden (not included). Following our visit we will enjoy free time in Giverny along with an opportunity to visit the little church where Monet is buried. Dinner will be served at the Château de Montvillargenne in the evening.

Day 4 - Monday
Enjoy your buffet breakfast. Today we will travel into Paris where we have arranged a short guided tour of the city. We will continue with a visit to the Musée de l’Orangerie des Tuileries, which re-opened in May 2006 after an extensive refurbishment programme. The highlight of the museum’s impressive collection is undoubtedly the series of 2-metre high murals entitled Les Nymphéas, a sequence of impressions such as clouds, reflections and sunsets which Claude Monet installed between 1914 and 1918, when he was at the height of his extraordinary powers. To stand before these unique paintings in peaceful meditation is a moving and memorable experience. In addition to the Nymphéas, the Orangerie offers a fabulous collection of masterpieces from the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume Collection, a highly original insight into modern art featuring Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Rousseau, Matisse, Derain, Modigliani, Soutine, Utrillo and Laurencin. Thereafter you will have free time to shop and sightsee at your leisure. Paris is, of course, the most romantic city in the world with wonderful art galleries, churches, and shops. Later, we return to the Gare du Nord for our Eurostar train back to London where we expect to arrive in the evening.

• The 4 Star Château de Montvillargenne, near Paris