This 30 night ticket-inclusive travel packages includes:
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Return flights to France. Fly into Bordeaux and home from Paris.
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All airport, match and city transfers
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30 nights in central, hand-picked & inspected 4* hotels
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3 nights Bordeaux / 3 nights La Rochelle / 4 nights Nantes / 3 nights Tours / 4 nights Paris / 4 nights Nice / 3 nights Aix-en-Provence / 3 nights Lyon / 3 nights Paris
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Breakfast daily
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Official and Guaranteed Category 4 tickets to Scotland, South Africa and Tonga matches and Category 2 Tickets to Romania Match(upgrades available)
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Sightseeing tours, including admission into many places of interest
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Local English speaking guide
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Stein Travel Tour Director
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24 / 7 Support
The provisional price for this trip is €9,395 per person sharing. You can secure your place on this trip with a deposit of €750 per person.
Itinerary
Friday, 8 September
Your Rugby World Cup 2023 adventure begins here. Fly from Dublin, Cork, Shannon or Belfast to Bordeaux, one of France’s most elegant cities and the host city for Ireland’s first match.
Saturday, 9 September
After breakfast, enjoy a city tour of Bordeaux and discover the many connections between this city’s wine trade and the Irish. In the evening, switch gear and let your adrenaline soar as you cheer on the Irish rugby team in their first match of RWC 2023.
Sunday, 10 September
A full free day to discover Bordeaux at your leisure. Delve deeper into the city. Visit its golden triangle of boulevards which enclose architectural marvels such as The Grand Theatre and France’s biggest square. Stroll through the Chartrons district where the Irish, English and Dutch of old set up wine houses that came to dominate the city’s wine trade.
Monday, 11 September
Today, we leave Bordeaux and travel to the seaside city of La Rochelle. After we check in to our hotel, the rest of the day is at leisure. Get your bearings in the old port. Take in the views of the medieval towers that stand guard at the entrance to the port and take your pick from one of the many quayside restaurants for a seafood dinner.
Tuesday, 12 September
After breakfast, we set off on a half-day tour of La Rochelle and the surrounding area, including L’Ile de Ré. We cross a sea bridge into a world of whitewashed villages, long sandy beaches, vineyards, and sea marshes of oyster beds and salt pans.
Wednesday, 13 September
A full free day to relax and explore La Rochelle at your own pace.
Thursday, 14 September
Today, we leave La Rochelle for Nantes, one of France’s most eccentric cities and our home for the next 4 nights. Discover why it’s thought to be so whimsical with a visit to the Ile de Nantes, where animatronic creatures inspired by Jules Verne’s writings have been brought to life by artists. These extraordinary machines include a 12-metre-high elephant that can carry up to 52 passengers on its back.
Friday, 15 September
After breakfast, we set off for a leisurely walking tour of the centre of Nantes. Our tour includes the Cathedral of Saint Pierre and Paul, with its 16th century marble masterpieces. Our morning also includes a stroll through the Jardin des Plantes, one of France’s finest botanical gardens.
Saturday, 16 September
The morning and early afternoon are yours to spend at your leisure. This evening will be spent in Nantes’ Stade de la Beaujoire where we will shout our support for the Irish team as they play their second match at RWC 2023.
Sunday, 17 September
A full free day to discover Nantes at your own pace.
Monday, 18 September
After breakfast, we say good-bye to Nantes as we set off towards Tours, which will be our home for the next 3 nights. Enjoy a leisurely drive through the magnificent Loire Valley.
Tuesday, 19 September
Today we enjoy a half-day trip of Tours and the surrounding area, taking in some magnificent Châteaux of this world renowned wine producing area.
Wednesday, 20 September
A full free day to enjoy Tours at your own pace.
Thursday, 21 September
Depart Tours for Paris, as the excitement starts to grow for the clash against South Africa. After we check into our hotel, spend the evening becoming acquainted, or perhaps reacquainted, with Paris. Stroll along the Seine. Savour the sight of the illuminated Eiffel Tower. Enjoy some good food and wine. Soak in the sights and sounds of the city.
Friday, 22 September
After breakfast, we will enjoy a half day city tour of Paris, taking in some of the major sights. In the afternoon and evening, enjoy the city at your own pace. If you have already climbed the Eiffel Tower and queued to see the Mona Lisa, you may want to visit some lesser-known attractions. The bohemian Le Maris district is one such place. Its boulangeries, Jewish restaurants, independent fashion boutiques, cutting-edge art galleries and winding lanes are full of surprises.
Saturday, 23 September
Enjoy a day of leisure in Paris. Perhaps, visit the blooms in the tranquil Luxembourg Gardens or revel in modern art at the Pompidou Centre. Another option is to veer off the beaten track to Canal Saint Martin, where you will find cafés, quirky boutiques and a laid-back atmosphere.
Come late afternoon, it’s time once again to support the boys in green as they take on world champions South Africa in their third match of the tournament.
Sunday, 24 September
A full day to enjoy Paris at your own pace. Sunday mornings in Paris are for pottering around markets. The Marché d’Aligre is one of the best and it’s conveniently located for Place des Vosges, one of the oldest and most beautiful squares in Paris.
Once you’ve stocked up on supplies at the market, you can stroll under the arches of the square, browsing through its shops and being serenaded by live music before enjoying a picnic in the park at its centre. To end your day, make for Montmartre, where the Butte Montmartre offers the best free vistas over the city.
Monday, 25 September
Today, we travel to Nice -the capital of the French Riviera, this is a city of art, culture, and sunshine. Your first destination should be the Promenade des Anglais, where the city meets the Mediterranean. Here, you can stroll under palm trees, sip on a cocktail and soak in the glamour of the most seductive seafront in France.
Tuesday, 26 September
After breakfast, we set off on a half-day tour of Nice, visiting some of it’s famous sights.
Wednesday, 27 September
A full day to relax and explore Nice at your own pace. Get lost in the dark winding alleyways of Old Town this morning. It’s full of flea markets and antique shops and the unmissably colourful flower market on Cours Saleya. Spend your afternoon in the Cimiez district. Art lovers will be enthralled by the internationally-renowned Chagall Museum and Musée Matisse.
Thursday, 28 September
A full day to relax and enjoy Nice at your own pace. You may wish to visit some of the other attractions of the French Riviera. There’s the city state of Monaco with its glitzy casinos, or elegant Cannes with its seafront boulevards, yacht-filled marina, and iconic film festival. For the old-school, there’s Saint-Tropez, the iconic city that put the south of France on the map. With its ramshackle cobbled streets and vibrant seafront culture, it’s as enticing and opulent as ever.
Friday, 29 September
Bid farewell to the French Riviera and travel inland to the historic city of Aix-en-Provence, or Aix, as it’s known to locals. After we check in to our hotel the rest of the day is at leisure. If you’re hungry, head for the market stalls in Place Richelme, where you can assemble a picnic to enjoy on the steps of the fountain in the middle of the square.
Saturday, 30 September
After breakfast, we set off on a half-day trip to discover why this town is regarded as the most beautiful in France.
Sunday, 1 October
A full day to relax and explore Aix and the area at your own pace. Explore the landscape that so inspired Cézanne by taking a day trip to the towns and villages that have made Provence famous all over the world. There’s the russet-toned village of Roussillon. There’s Loumarin with its winding streets, café terraces and surrounding vineyards, olive groves, and almond trees. There’s the hillside village of Gordes with its cobbled lanes and 10th-century castle overlooking lavender fields. Almost everywhere you look, you will find centuries of unspoiled beauty.
Monday, 2 October
Today, you leave Aix for Lyon, a city regarded as the culinary capital of France. After we check in to our hotel, the rest of the day is at leisure. Get your bearings with a coffee at any of the pavement cafés on Place des Terreaux, the grandest square in the city centre.
Tuesday, 3 October
After breakfast, we enjoy a half-day tour of Lyon, visiting some of it’s famous sights.
Wednesday, 4 October
A full day to relax and explore Lyon at your own pace. Why not explore Lyon’s food scene to discover what makes it the culinary capital of France. The Marché de la Croix-Rousse is an open-air market selling the best local produce. Les Halles de Lyon is a sprawling covered market founded by the city’s most influential chef, Paul Bocuse. Its charcuterie and cheeses are to die for.And we mustn’t forget the city’s Michelin-starred restaurants and bouchons, traditional taverns serving regional specialities such as coq au vin along with local wines.
Thursday, 5 October
Back to Paris, the city of lights. After we check in to our hotel the rest of the day is at leisure. Why not make for the Right Bank of the Seine and take in this most scenic stretch of the river, starting at Pont Neuf and continuing to Pont Alexandre III. If you’ve got time and energy, cross the river to Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries Gardens until you end up by the glowing pyramid at the centre of the Louvre. Those are some of Paris’s greatest hits in one short stroll.
Friday, 6 October
After breakfast, we set off on a half-day city tour, taking in different areas and sights from our first visit.
Saturday, 7 October
A free morning to enjoy Paris at your own pace. Perhaps, visit the Rodin Museum with its walled garden full of sculptures. Browse through the bookshops of the Latin Quarter. Or enjoy the tranquil Luxembourg Gardens, with their plane trees, ornamental flower beds, and the tip of the Eiffel Tower visible in the distance.
Come evening, you’ll be shouting for Ireland as your team fights to secure its place in the quarter final of RWC 2023 in this highly anticipated showdown against Scotland.
Sunday, 8 October
Return to Ireland, with thrilling memories of rugby matches and the many and varied wonders of France.