I am planning a French Corb tour for 11 – 24 September this year. I’m doing all the booking myself this to keep the pricing as cost effective as possible. The cost looks like between R29,000 (€1993) and R31,100 (€2131) per person sharing dependent on the number of people on the trip (24 or 20). This excludes airfare.

Below is an itinerarhy of this once-in-a-lifetime experience:

Day 1: Arrive in Paris, go to Chartres

Day 2: Chartres to Loches.  Loches is just out of the busy Loire valley, but close to the main chateaux, and apparently it’s a great medieval town. On the way there we visit a couple of chateaux, Amboise and Chenonceaux. (I remember having to draw and elevation of the latter for my second year History of Architecture exam!)

Day 3: A drive around the Loire valley looking at two more chateaux. Return to Loches.

Day 4: Now we’re heading towards La Tourette.  We go via Bourges, where we stop off to look at the wonderful Gothic cathedral there and then spend the night in Autun, a town founded by the Romans, with a great Romanseque cathedral.

Day 5: Go to La Tourette, Le Corbusier’s monastery, where we spend the night.  On the way, it’s about 220km, we stop at Tournus where there is another classic Romanesque cathedral.

Day 6: Have some time in La Tourette and head for Lyons, France’s second biggest city. Where there is lots to see. Night in Lyons.

Day 7: Day trip to Firminy about 80km away, where there is a Corb church, stadium and big Unité residential building. Return to Lyons.

Day 8: Travel  towards the eastern edge of France to Besançon.  It’s another rather wonderful, ancient town which lies inside the horseshoe bend of a river and has a great citadel towering over it. 

Day 9: The Ronchamps church is not very far away so we can get there by about 10:00am, spend a good part of the day there and head off towards Paris, spending the night on the way at Langres.

Day 10: Paris.  We spend 4 nights in Paris.

Day 11: Looking at some of Corbusier’s classic buildings

Day 12: Ditto

Day 13: Free day

Day: 14: Free day and departure in the evening.

Thus the trip includes 13 nights in a hotel. I’ve also allowed for all breakfasts – note that the French do not have big breakfasts! 7 dinners at €35 per person are also included.  We have the bus for the whole trip, including transport to and from the airport (excluding days 13 and 14). Entry fees to everywhere on the list as well as tips for meals and the bus driver are covered.

Please email me if you are interested - julian@claarchitects.co.za

Julian Cook