Basques and Southern France 2026 PC (BIO-MRS)

DAY 1                 ISTANBUL – BILBAO

Meeting with our valued guests in front of the Pegasus Airlines counter at the International Departures Terminal of Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Flight to Bilbao following baggage and ticket procedures.  Upon arrival, panoramic Bilbao city tour. Our tour will include the Government House, City Hall, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, San Anton Church, Santiago Cathedral and the Guggenheim Museum. Free time after our tour and transfer to the hotel. Overnight at our hotel.

DAY 2                  BILBAO – BORDEAUX

We start the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we depart for Bordeaux, but beforehand our guests who wish may join the Biarritz & San Sebastian Tour (65€ per person), organized by our guide as an extra along the route. On our tour, we will visit the town of Biarritz, one of France’s most famous surfing centers, which became one of the most popular holiday destinations of that period thanks to the summer palace built by Napoleon for his wife, featuring Basque-style triangular-roofed houses, art deco villas and historic buildings. Following our Biarritz city tour, we depart for San Sebastian, the most famous city in the Basque region. Following our arrival, panoramic Bordeaux city tour. The Concha Beach, City Hall and Kursaal Palace, which hosts the San Sebastian Film Festival, are among the places to be seen on our tour. After the tour, we depart for Bordeaux. Arrival in Bordeaux and panoramic Bordeaux city tour. Our tour will include Rohan Palace, St.Andre Cathedral, the Great Clock Tower, the Goranne River, Pierre Bridge, Place de la Bourse, the Aquitaine Museum and St. Michel Basilica. Transfer to the hotel after the tour. Overnight at our hotel.

DAY 3                  BORDEAUX – TOULOUSE

We start the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we depart for Toulouse, but beforehand our guests who wish may join the Albi Tour (45€ per person), organized by our guide as an extra along the route. On this tour, we will have the opportunity to see Albi, the most famous town in France’s Pyrenees region. Albi suffered severe damage as a result of the Albigeois Crusades launched in 1209. Following the Albigeois Crusades, it came under the political and cultural domination of Northern France and the religious domination of the Catholic Church. During the city tour we will take here, the Sainte-Cecile Cathedral, the 22 August 1944 Bridge, named after the day Paris was liberated from enemy occupation, Pont Vieux (Old Bridge) and the Berbie Palace, built by Priest Bernard de Castanet, are among the places to be seen. Following our tour, we depart for Toulouse. Following our arrival in Toulouse, panoramic Toulouse city tour. During our city tour, we will discover the city’s exquisite streets and buildings on foot from Capitole Square. The Saint Sernin Basilica, with the world’s largest Roman-style built gateway, the Jacobins Monastery, one of the finest examples of the southern region dating from the 14th century, City Hall Capitole, and Bernuy, one of the most elegant examples of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles built in the 16th century, are among the places to be seen. Following the free time we will provide after the tour, we depart for our hotel. Overnight at our hotel.

DAY 4                  TOULOUSE – MARSEILLE

We start the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we depart for Marseille, but beforehand our guests who wish may join the Carcassonne Tour (45€ per person), organized by our guide as an extra along the route. During our visit to this city, whose history dates back to the 6th century BC, you will feel as if you have traveled back to the Middle Ages. Carcassonne, one of the most magnificent fortified cities to have survived to the present day, was restored in 1997 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Following our tour, we continue our journey to Marseille. Following our arrival, during the panoramic city tour, the 19th-century Notre Dame de la Gadre Basilica, the Old Port and Marseille Cathedral are among the places to be seen. Transfer to the hotel after the tour. Overnight at our hotel.

DAY 5                 MARSEILLE

We start the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we depart for the Aix-en-Provence & Avignon & Arles Tour (100€ per person), which we will organize as an extra with the participation of our guests who wish to join. Our first stop is Aix-en-Provence, which fascinates us with its natural beauty. The Fountain of the Dolphins, the Albertas and Cardeurs Squares, the Cathedral of Saint Sauveur and Cours Mirabeau are among the places to be seen on our tour. Our next stop is the city of Avignon. The Theatre Festival held every July since 1947 (Festival d’Avignon), the medieval city walls, the Papal Palace (Palais des Papes) and the world-famous Pont St. Bénézet Bridge (Pont d’Avignon), which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, are among the places we will see. Our next stop is Arles. This city, which is home to Van Gogh’s important works “The Starry Night” and “Langlois Bridge and the Umbrella”, is also known as the place where he cut off his ear during a fit of rage. It also hosted Gauguin during the approximately 14 months he stayed in this city. In addition to the place where the painter created his work “The Starry Night”, we will panoramically visit its 25,000-seat amphitheater built during the Roman period and its charming narrow streets. Transfer to the hotel and free time after the tour. Overnight at our hotel.

DAY 6                  MARSEILLE – ISTANBUL    

After breakfast at our hotel in the morning, transfer to Marseille Airport. Departure for Istanbul after completing the check-in procedures. Arrival in Istanbul and the end of our tour.