France-Italy-Switzerland Group Tour – France Chapter (The Ultimate Rule: Sleep on the Bus, Snap Photos When You Get Off)
The France-Italy-Switzerland tour is a classic European group trip. Itineraries are largely similar, but each group stops at slightly different places. Let me switch on memory mode~
Advantages of group travel: The bus is provided, saving money and hassle compared to renting a car yourself.
Disadvantages: The three meals included in the tour fee are just enough to stave off hunger. If you want to eat well, you have to find it on your own.
Group travel essence: Sleep on the bus, take photos when you get off.
I’ll split my travelogue into several posts, using the scenery photos I took along the way as a thread. Let’s start with the 【France Chapter】~
Airfare is inversely proportional to city size—the bigger the airport, the cheaper the ticket. For flights to France, Italy, or Switzerland, the main options are essentially Paris or Rome. This trip began at the tiny Charles de Gaulle Airport. The guide kept reminding us that there are many pickpockets in Western Europe, so watch your luggage as soon as you get off the plane.
We assembled and boarded the bus, officially heading into the city. As the sky gradually brightened, the French buildings along the road looked like this.
Compared to Italy and Switzerland, French architecture is more intricately carved and detail-oriented.
We headed straight to the Palace of Versailles.
Just the overall exterior of the palace is quite impressive.
Let’s get another angle.
Inside the palace, gold is the keynote, forming various combinations like gold + white, gold + green, gold + red.
I personally think gold + white has the most class.
Gold + green is a different kind of solemnity.
Red + gold is elegant yet dignified.
Exquisite murals are everywhere on the domes of each room.
The overall quality of the paintings is very high, with extremely fine detail.
The main tone is universally gold.
The surroundings of windows must be well decorated—no cutting corners.
Bathing in sunlight under such a window would fully showcase the royal family’s high style.
Look at the opulence of this fireplace.
The photo below was taken in Versailles’ most famous Hall of Mirrors, named after its 17 floor-to-ceiling mirrors made of 483 glass panes.
Another angle.
Why did I only capture the upper part near the dome? Because if I lowered the lens toward the crystal chandeliers, it would be packed with tourists~
A shot in front of the Hall of Mirrors.
Apart from the Hall of Mirrors, I personally believe that Versailles...
I snapped a souvenir photo in front of the bed of Louis XIV, the most powerful king of the French Bourbon dynasty.
From 1701 to 1715, Louis XIV spent his time in this bedroom.
Just as the Forbidden City served as the palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Palace of Versailles witnessed many kings of the Bourbon dynasty.
In the Coronation Room, there’s a copy of "The Coronation of Napoleon"—the original, painted in 1807, is in the Louvre.
A souvenir photo of my wife.
And one of me too.
Unfortunately, group tours have tight schedules, so we couldn’t savor every detail of Versailles at leisure.
Looking out from inside the palace at the gardens below.
That touch of green in the royal courtyard of Versailles.
A tip for traveling in Europe: always keep your bag with you.
We went down to the gardens ourselves.
Again, limited tour time meant we couldn’t venture far.
Just a hasty stroll through the gardens.
Looking back at the palace from the gardens.
Goodbye, Palace of Versailles. I used my DSLR’s panorama feature for two shots. I think Versailles and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, each have their own merits.
After leaving Versailles, the group tour arranged a boat sightseeing trip on Paris’s Danube River~ (I can’t remember if it was at our own expense—this travelogue won’t record what was extra cost. I say: since we’re here, just join in.)
I believe the Danube riverside in Paris is absolutely worth a visit.
It has a much better waterscape than Venice, Italy—Venice is actually quite dilapidated.
So many charming buildings line the banks.
Golden France.
This was taken when the cruise passed the famous Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
The bridge decorations are very distinctive.
Bronze obelisks and bronze statues highlight the historical feel of Paris.
The Danube river cruise business is really doing well—a boat caught up beside us.
Another one came from the opposite direction; two boats passed each other.
The local tourists on the boat were also streaming in.
Everyone probably felt the trip was worthwhile.
Each time we passed a magnificent building, people would raise their hands again and press the shutter.
I couldn’t resist using my DSLR’s panorama function for two more shots.
My wife and I took a photo together on the Danube~
Many people don’t know that not far from the Eiffel Tower there’s a Statue of Liberty.
The cruise boat will pass by the Eiffel Tower, you know.
When we disembarked, we found our group’s bus had considerately waited near the Eiffel Tower. Snapped more photos.
On this tour, there was no time to leave the group and climb the Eiffel Tower. In the evening, it was free time to explore the city on our own. Shops in Western Europe close very early, so my wife and I headed straight to Galeries Lafayette to shop. The iconic ceiling of Galeries Lafayette: 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris.
The Galeries Lafayette bag-carrying guy.
Back then, my wife and I were still young and building our careers. After a whole session of shopping, when we got home and reviewed, we realized we had actually bought very little...
Galeries Lafayette is so fun to browse. We shopped until closing time at 8 pm. On our way out, we bought Parisian bread and pastries—yummy and delicious~
Yesterday, the tour group visited the hunting lodge turned palace built by King Louis XIII in 1624: the Palace of Versailles. Today, right after breakfast, the whole group headed to the original royal palace in Paris, founded in 1204: the Louvre.
The Louvre’s exterior is a U-shaped courtyard formed by three palaces. In the center is the glass pyramid designed by I. M. Pei, added in 1989.
Beneath the pyramid is an underground level; the entrance to the Louvre is on this lower floor.
Starbucks is amazing—there’s even a branch on the basement level of the Louvre.
The Louvre is not only a historic palace of French royalty but also an incredibly rich museum with over 400,000 pieces in its collection—truly a treasure trove. Its three most famous treasures are: 1. "Venus de Milo," 2. "Winged Victory of Samothrace," and 3. "Mona Lisa."
The original "Venus de Milo" is in the 【Ancient Greek Art Gallery】 (which I personally think of as the sculpture gallery).
The "Winged Victory" statue is located on the staircase leading to the upper floor.
Get closer for two more shots of "Winged Victory."
"Mona Lisa" is in the 【Grand Gallery】; the real painting is very small.
【Ancient Greek Art Gallery】
Besides "Venus de Milo," there are many other sculptures.
Zoom out, and the entire hall is filled with various sculptures.
Several sculpture halls are lined up.
Here are some sculptures that I consider masterpieces.
This angel statue has a nice composition.
One with a different color.
My wife and I took a photo together.
【Grand Gallery】
The painting collection in the Louvre is housed in the magnificent Grand Gallery, which is 300 meters long. All the works in it are genuine originals by generations of painters—over 2,200 of them! Incredibly precious!
"The Wedding at Cana" by Paolo Veronese, painted in 1563—quite ancient.
"La Grande Odalisque" by Dominique Ingres, painted in 1814; we see the back of a Turkish odalisque.
A beauty must be paired with a handsome man. "The Sleep of Endymion" by Girodet-Trioson.
Religion and history are always inspirations for paintings: "The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" by Raffaello Santi, an original from 1508, and "Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII" by Dominique Ingres, painted in 1854.
In the Louvre, I found the original 1807 painting "The Coronation of Napoleon" by Jacques-Louis David—the one in Versailles is a copy.
A work I personally find very distinctive: "David Triumphing over Goliath," which is double-sided. Here’s one side:
In front of "Liberty Leading the People" by Delacroix (1831), we took a photo together.
【Treasure Gallery】
Seeing the entrance to the Treasure Gallery instantly felt like reaching a treasure room after fighting monsters.
Here are my two most admired French kings in the Treasure Gallery: "Francis I (on the left), the ninth king of the Bourbon dynasty, the first Renaissance monarch, one of the most beloved French kings—he brought French culture to a brilliant peak" and "Louis XIV (on the right), the French 'Martial Emperor,' who experienced the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, and the War of the Grand Alliance, making the French navy fleet unprecedentedly dominant and fighting the combined forces of Europe to a draw on land."
All kinds of royal treasures.
Various crowns of French kings.
Apart from the collections, the Louvre itself is an outstanding palace. Just look up to see domes like this—really nice.
One more shot of the ceiling.
The full view of the Louvre is below. Because it’s so huge, besides the 【Ancient Greek Art Gallery】, 【Grand Gallery】, and 【Treasure Gallery】, there are also the 【Ancient Egyptian Art Gallery】, 【Oriental Art Gallery】, and 【Ancient Roman Art Gallery】, all with extremely rich exhibits. Due to time constraints on the group tour, for the Egyptian (mummies, etc.), Oriental (Islamic, Indian, Chinese collections), and Roman (mosaic paintings) galleries, I could only rush through following the map and didn’t get to savor them—such a pity~
Goodbye, Louvre.
After the Louvre, the tour bus headed directly to 【Place de la Concorde】 (in fact, if you’re traveling independently, it’s just two metro stops and 20 minutes between them). On the square stands an Egyptian obelisk, also known as the Cleopatra’s Needle (Cleopatra the Egyptian queen who conquered Caesar). Originally from in front of the Luxor Temple in Egypt, it is 23 meters high and weighs 230 tons. It’s said that one each ended up in Paris, New York, and London. The ruthless law of the jungle—if you fall behind, you can’t protect your country from plunder.
A few more angles: pose with the ancient obelisk, and a backlit shot of it.
On the north side of Place de la Concorde is the River Fountain (La Fontaine des fleuves), and on the south side is the Maritime Fountain (la fontaine des mers).
If traveling independently, definitely walk along the 【Champs-Élysées】 on the west side of Place de la Concorde. The avenue stretches from Place de la Concorde in the east to Place Charles de Gaulle in the west—Paris’s number one avenue.
During our free time, time was truly limited, so I took the metro directly from 【Place de la Concorde】 to 【Place Charles de Gaulle】. Here comes the Arc de Triomphe—first a distant shot.
Let me borrow a stunning photo taken by another expert online.
Because Place Charles de Gaulle is a roundabout, and the Arc de Triomphe faces the traffic circle, it’s hard to photograph it without any cars.
Details of the Arc de Triomphe’s front and sides.
A photo with the "PLACE CHARLES DE GUALLE" sign.
A real shot nearby, plus one with the police car next to the Arc.
From Place Charles de Gaulle, looking back at the end of the Champs-Élysées.
The main itinerary in Paris has come to an end. Here are some street scenes I randomly captured in Paris (some taken from the tour bus).
It was a November trip; the trees in France had already lost their leaves, but that couldn’t dampen the Parisians’ enthusiasm for the market.
An elderly couple looking at Russian nesting dolls.
A lawn still lush and green.
Parisian streets are narrow, and small French cars are easy to park.
The final activity in Paris that day ended with the bus heading to 【Montparnasse Tower】, where we paid to go up and take in the view. Paris in the thick fog~
Goodbye, Paris~
Leaving Paris for the next stop: Switzerland. Stay tuned for my posts: "France-Italy-Switzerland Group Tour – Switzerland Chapter" and "France-Italy-Switzerland Group Tour – Italy Chapter".
Travelogue Directory
1. 【France Chapter Introduction】
2. 【First Day in Paris】Palace of Versailles + Danube River
3. 【Second Day in Paris】Louvre + Arc de Triomphe and other city sights
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