Tailor-Made Travel to France

Discover authentic experiences. Plan your trip with local experts.

There is no single France. Beyond Paris, Versailles and the well-photographed stretches of the Riviera lies a country of quiet vineyard lanes in Champagne, stone villages in the Dordogne, morning markets in Bordeaux and long lunches that unfold slowly – the kind of unhurried moments an off-the-shelf tour so rarely reaches. Our tailor-made tours of France are designed to take you there – not as a checklist of sights to tick off, but as a slower, more personal way to see the country.

Every France tailor-made trip we plan is genuinely customised. Drawing on deep local knowledge, regional connections built over more than a decade, and a firsthand understanding of what makes France worth travelling for, our private bespoke tours of France take you deeper into the art, architecture and gastronomy that define each region. Whether your France is cellar visits and cookery lessons in Bordeaux, the cathedrals and modern art of the north, or long train windows opening onto the south, we shape each itinerary around the experiences that matter most to you.

Booking a tailor-made tour of France with Just Explore means travelling at your own pace, with the confidence that everything is taken care of. We know the restaurant worth the detour for a special occasion and the accommodation that suits how you like to stay. In the company of local guides, specialist historians and the winemakers, chefs and artisans who bring each corner of the country to life, your custom France trip will leave you with a sense of place that takes years to find on your own.

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Planning Your Customised Tour to France

1. Dream

Submit your initial private bespoke tour enquiry through the form below. From group size and preferred travel dates to destinations and interests. Whether you’re looking for private art collections, elite gastronomy, or hidden regional heritage, just let us know.

2. Design

We’ll then bring your dream trip to life, drafting a detailed, customised travel itinerary tailored to your exact preferences. With your input, we’ll refine and adjust every detail based on your feedback until you’re completely happy. Once finalised, we’ll send you a booking form and deposit invoice so we can confirm all your travel arrangements.

3. Just Explore

With every detail of your customised travel itinerary planned out for you, you’re free to simply immerse yourself in the experience. Throughout your journey, you’ll have exclusive access to our user-friendly mobile app, providing 24/7 concierge-level support and instant communication with our team. Alongside our expert, English-speaking local guides, you will enjoy a stress-free adventure!

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Featured Example France Tailor-Made Itineraries

Every trip we create is built from scratch, but a little inspiration always helps. The sample itineraries below show how a tailor-made tour of France might come together – from a first sweep through Paris, Versailles and the Riviera to a slower drift among the vineyards of Bordeaux or the stone villages of the Dordogne, or a food-and-wine route through the regions that draw you most.

Think of them as starting points rather than fixed packages: we’ll happily lengthen, shorten, combine or completely reshape any of them around your interests, your pace and the time you have. Most travellers begin with one of these as a rough outline and end up somewhere quite different by the time we’ve finished talking. Each of these itineraries can be tailored, altered and refined until it matches your needs and budget.

Bordeaux and Northern Spain

Embark on a culinary, wine and culture-infused journey through Bordeaux, the Basque Country and Galicia on this 14-day tour of southern France and northern Spain. Beginning in Bordeaux, this journey traces the Atlantic Coast through the French and Spanish Basque Country, culminating in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela. Discover a unique gastronomic heritage, two first-class wine regions, one of the world’s most avant-garde museums, elegant cities and sand dunes stretching for miles in this special and unique corner of Europe.

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France Uncovered

From the elegant boulevards of Paris and the Renaissance châteaux of the Loire Valley to the medieval towns of the Dordogne, the Atlantic coastline at La Rochelle and Île de Ré, and the celebrated vineyards of Médoc and Saint-Émilion, this journey showcases the very best of Western France. Combining history, gastronomy, striking scenery and authentic local experiences, this carefully designed 16-day itinerary – from Paris to Bordeaux – offers an excellent introduction to one of France’s most rewarding and diverse regions.

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Our France Tailor-Made Experiences

What you do each day matters as much as where you go. Some travellers come to France for its tables – markets, cookery classes, a half-day in a Bordeaux cellar; others for its art, its architecture and gardens, or a walk between villages with nobody else on the path. The themes below are the threads we most often weave into a France itinerary, but they’re nowhere near the full list. Tell us what draws you and we’ll line up the growers, guides and makers who do it best.

Gastronomic Tours

Wine Tours

Active Tours

Boat Trips

Cultural Tours

Art & Craft Experiences

Why Travel With Us?

As a small, boutique and independent agency, it’s the personal touch that sets us apart. Plenty of agencies can sell you France, but far fewer have actually met the guides and eaten in the bistro they recommend. We take the time to get to know you, through the initial enquiry and the conversations that follow, so we understand exactly how you like to travel.

We take care of all the arrangements, leaving you free to enjoy the delights of France without worrying about logistical details or language barriers, whether that’s a short customised France vacation or a journey of several weeks. And because we regularly revisit our regions to explore new hotels, bistros and experiences, our recommendations stay current and our service keeps its quality throughout.

High quality

We handpick and personally test all our accommodation, restaurants, experiences and guides to deliver exceptional quality and service.

Personal touch

As a small, boutique agency we pride ourselves on our personal touch, from the moment you first contact us until the end of your trip.

Unique local experiences

We know our destinations intimately and take you off the tourist trail to connect you with local people and authentic experiences.

Attention to detail

We take care of every last detail, leaving you free to just explore without worrying about logistics and language barriers.

24/7 support

We offer 24/7 support throughout your trip, as well as a mobile app so all your itinerary details, accommodation, tickets and maps are always on hand.

Respectful tourism

We prioritise the wellbeing of our local community and natural landscape by partnering with businesses that share our commitment to respectful tourism.

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What Our Guests Are Saying

Rosa and entire team of Just Explore are fabulous. My husband and I are just back from a 16-day trip to Portugal & Spain (our second trip with Just Explore). Everything was planned perfectly with hands-on attention each and every step of the trip.
Lisa C. - Texas, USA
Just Explore really went above and beyond to help us plan a 16-day honeymoon throughout Spain! We could not have planned this amazing trip without Rosa’s help. My husband and I can’t thank her enough for helping us plan the honeymoon of our dreams throughout Spain!.Every tour she set up for us was absolutely amazing!
Abby & Joshua - Vancouver, Canada
This is the third trip Rosa has planned for us. As with our two previous trips to Spain, Rosa created a detailed itinerary that allowed us to experience and taste all the best of Portugal. That itinerary reflected our interests and preferences as well as Rosa’s expertise and first-hand knowledge. Just Explore is a premier travel agency that will not disappoint!
Bob C. - Illinois, USA
To say that Dalia arranged the perfect trip for myself and my wife would be an understatement. Her professionalism never ceased to amaze us. It was 21 days of exciting excursions, beautiful hotels, and out if this world food. We would highly recommend Dalia and Just Explore when planning any trip to Spain
Ramon G. - North Carolina, USA
Our second trip to Spain with Just Explore was another huge success! Rosa Lara already knew about our preferences and coordinated everything in a timely manner. Our 13 day trip spanned across Barcelona, Valencia, San Sebastian and the Rioja wine region. All in all, a great time had by all members of the family, and thanks to Just Explore, everything went smoothly without any hassle.. They can really customize anything for you and provide recommendations for hidden gems & local immersion. I strongly recommend Just Explore to anyone planning a fun-filled and memorable trip to Spain.
Phyllis - Dubai
Rosa and her team put together an amazing trip for us. We were four friends traveling through Bordeaux and Northern Spain. Rosa took care of all the details and the trip was seamless. She arranged for everything from drivers and hotels to restaurants, wineries and historical places. Best of all were Rosa’s fabulous and very fun and knowledgeable guides who gave us a glimpse of the history, culture and local people of this very special corner of the world. We had a blast and highly recommend Rosa and Just Explore.
Charlotte W. - Washington, USA
Well over a year of planning with Dalia enabled us to experience a once-in-a-lifetime, fabulous, unforgettable family adventure to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary
Barbara M. - Toronto, Canada
This was the 4th trip that Rosa and Just Explore planned for me – two in Spain and two in Portugal! It was a seamless trip that allowed us to see all that Portugal had to offer, an incredible family experience showcasing the specialty foods, wine and culture that embrace those visiting the country. and enjoy the culture. Rosa takes care of all the details so we could just enjoy our adventure together – the hotels, the outstanding guides, transportation, suggestions for free time and where to dine – it makes it all so easy and hassle free.
Mimi S. - California, USA
I am so happy I chose Just Explore for this incredible introduction to Spain and Portugal. Everything exceeded our expectations. Rosa curated a combination of private and group tours to maintain our budget, and a perfect mix of history, culture, food and wine!
Nibha M. - Sidney, Australia
Rosa makes travel a dream. She has developed a network of dependable drivers and guides and that is priceless when traveling abroad. She stayed in touch with us and our guides along the way. To sum it up, Rosa has you believing that you are her only client traveling, you are her top priority. The personal attention to detail cannot be matched.
Janice B. - New York, USA

Meet Rosa, the Expert Behind Just Explore

Just Explore was founded by Rosa Lara, a born-and-raised Andalusian whose love of travel has taken her across every region of France over many years. The company grew out of a simple frustration: too many people were visiting extraordinary places without ever really experiencing them – rushed through crowded sights while the people, traditions and flavours that make France special passed them by.

Rosa’s connection to France goes back years – she studied and lived there, and still has close friends who keep pulling her back. Over the years, that’s grown into a real passion for the country – its regions, its culture, its food, and its way of life – so offering France as part of Just Explore felt like the natural next step.

France also sits beautifully alongside Spain: two neighbouring countries with very different but complementary cultures and landscapes, which makes them a perfect combination for longer itineraries. A lot of our clients asked for it directly, too – after travelling with us in Spain, many asked what else we could offer with the same personal attention and local knowledge.

So Rosa set out to design the kind of trips she’d recommend to her own family and friends. Sometimes that means a quiet village over a famous landmark, or longer in fewer places. Always it means honest advice and itineraries built on first-hand knowledge – the bistros she’s eaten in, the guides she’s met and the routes she’s travelled herself.

More than a decade on, Rosa and her team still plan every journey personally – and you’ll deal directly with the person shaping your trip, from your first message to your final day in France.

The Insider Guide to France

Planning a tailor-made trip to France means knowing more than just the highlights – it means knowing where to go, when to travel, and how the regions fit together.

Choosing Your Region

France packs an extraordinary amount into one country, and no two regions travel the same. The north gives you Paris and its galleries, the Champagne cellars and the cathedral at Reims, with the D-Day beaches of Normandy within easy reach.

Head west for the Loire’s châteaux and Brittany’s rugged coast; south-west for Bordeaux, the medieval Dordogne and the long Atlantic beaches. The south-east is Provence and the Côte d’Azur – lavender fields, Roman stone, Cézanne’s hills and perched villages like Gordes.

Inland run the great wine roads of Burgundy and the Rhône, and to the east the Alps – walking in summer, skiing in winter. Most first trips settle on two or three of these, and we’ll help you choose well rather than cram.

When to Visit France

France has no single best season – it depends entirely on where you’re headed. May, June and September are our safe all-rounders: kind weather, thinner crowds. Provence’s lavender peaks from mid-June into July, and the vineyards turn to harvest in September and early October.

Paris is at its loveliest under spring blossom or autumn leaves, the Riviera hums from May to September, and the Alps split cleanly between a green summer and a white winter. We time each itinerary to catch its region at the right moment – and to keep you a step ahead of the tour buses.

How We Plan it Differently

France is the sort of place where the small choices make the trip – which village you base yourself in, whether you take the back roads or the fast train, which grower opens the cellar door. Because we’ve travelled these regions ourselves, we build each journey around those specifics rather than a one-size template.

Groups stay genuinely small, private journeys stay private, and you deal throughout with the person planning your days. The result reads less like a tour and more like a trip a well-travelled friend laid out for you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a tailor-made tour of France?

It’s a private trip we build from a blank page rather than a fixed package. Every detail, from the route and the hotels to the guides, the pace and the daily plan, is chosen for you and adjusted until it’s right. No two of our customised France tours, or custom-made holidays to France, look the same, because no two travellers want the same things.

Which parts of France do you cover?

Right now, we cover Paris, Champagne, the Loire Valley, the Dordogne, Bordeaux and the French Basque Country. – whether that’s a single region in depth or several stitched together. We’re introducing France gradually, building the same first-hand knowledge here that we have in Spain and Portugal before adding further regions. As we also run trips in Spain and Portugal, a French journey can carry on across the border too

When should I start planning a bespoke trip to France?

We’d suggest getting in touch six to ten months before you travel, and earlier for spring, autumn and peak dates, when the best guides and small hotels in Bordeaux and the Dordogne book up quickly, especially around the wine harvest. That said, we’ve arranged wonderful trips at shorter notice, so it’s always worth asking.

What’s included in a customised France tour?

A typical custom France travel package covers your accommodation, private transport, hand-picked experiences and English-speaking local guides, plus a day-by-day plan and round-the-clock support while you travel; international flights are normally the one thing we leave with you.

Do you offer small group tours as well as private trips in France?

Yes, we offer both. Alongside fully private, tailor-made journeys, we run small group tours through Bordeaux and the Basque Country – taking in Saint-Émilion and the Bay of Arcachon before continuing through the French Basque Country and finishing in Bilbao, Northern Spain. Whichever you choose, you’ll travel with knowledgeable local guides and deal directly with the team designing your trip.

Ready to plan your tailor-made trip to France?

Give us a sense of the France you’re after – the region, the pace, whether it’s the food and wine or the landscape and culture pulling you – and we’ll do the rest.

Every Just Explore journey is planned from scratch and directly with you , drawing on years of first-hand experience in France. Whether it’s a private wine tour through Bordeaux, a week in the Loire Valley , a journey through the Dordogne, or a longer route combining several regions, we’ll shape an itinerary around you.

Submit Your Bespoke Enquiry