Depart London St Pancras in the morning for an early afternoon arrival at Lille. By private coach to visit St Quentin, with its great basilica, a former collegiate church rivalling many Gothic cathedrals in scale, and its highly decorative late Gothic Hôtel de Ville. Continue by coach to our hotel in Reims. Dinner at a local restaurant.

A whole day to discover Reims. In the morning we will explore the magnificent cathedral, and after lunch (independent) visit the adjacent Palais du Tau with the cathedral treasures, the whole complex a World Heritage site. We will conclude the afternoon with a visit to one of Reims’s famous champagne cellars. Dinner at a local restaurant.

Coach excursion to Laon, a strategically important ancient town built on a hilltop and retaining many fascinating mediaeval monuments.  We will discover the high town with its great ramparts, its splendid and dominant cathedral, the contrasting tiny Chapelle des Templiers, Hôtel-Dieu and the remains of the Bishop’s Palace. Return to Reims and independent dinner.

By coach to Soissons, to admire the cathedral, beautifully restored, and visit the spectacular remains of the Abbaye de St-Jean-des-Vignes. After lunch (independent) return to Reims to explore another World Heritage site, the former royal abbey of St-Remi. Dinner at a local restaurant.

By coach to Paris, to visit the Tour Jean Sans Peur, impressive symbol of the power of the Duke of Burgundy in the early fifteenth century, and the church of Saint-Eustache, where Gothic meets the Renaissance. After lunch (independent), transfer by coach to the Gare du Nord to board the Eurostar, returning to London in the late afternoon.