Europe Trip 2026 — Day by Day

Collin hosts a wine education dinner focused on Right Bank Bordeaux — specifically Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. A deliberate pre-trip primer so the Bordeaux leg has more meaning. When we stand in those vineyards in July, we'll know what we're looking at.

A second pre-trip wine tasting / dinner hosted by Collin — building on the May 9 Right Bank primer. Two weeks before wheels up, this is the final tune-up for the Bordeaux leg.

Day trip to Pisa (PEE-zah) — the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral, and the Baptistery in the Piazza dei Miracoli (pee-AHT-zah day mee-RAH-koh-lee). Skip the tower climb — just take photos and move on. First full day in Italy after jet lag arrival. Then drive ~20 km (~25–30 min) up the coast to Viareggio (vee-ah-REJ-joh) for the afternoon and dinner on the Versilia coast.

Day trip to Siena (see-EH-nah) — a stunning medieval hilltop town ~1 hr south of the Tuscany Airbnb. Laura Cole (Court Travel) is organizing a ~3-hour guided tour in the morning, then lunch in town, then wander through the afternoon and into dinner. The whole city is compact and walkable once inside the walls.

La Scala Santa (lah SKAH-lah SAHN-tah) — the Holy Stairs. 28 marble steps said to be from the palace of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, brought to Rome by St. Helena in 326 AD. Pilgrims ascend on their knees. Located near the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.

June 10, 1944 — four days after D-Day — the SS Das Reich division marched into this quiet village and killed ~600 inhabitants (~6 survivors). Men were shot in barns. Women and children were locked in the church and burned alive. The French president ordered the town left exactly as-is as a living museum.

It has been decomposing in place for 80+ years as a permanent national memorial — rusting cars, collapsed buildings, personal belongings still inside homes.

Drive ~2.5 hrs east into the Dordogne. MUST be this day — Wednesday is market day. Sarlat is the truffle capital of the world and the gastronomic heart of France. One of France's great food markets filling medieval streets. Morning exploring + eating. Spend the day there. Stay overnight in hotel in Sarlat — dramatically more beautiful at night when the honey-colored limestone glows under lamplight.

Original cave discovered in 1940 by four teenagers following their dog. Over 600 paintings — horses, bison, aurochs, deer, a mammoth — approximately 17,000 years old. Not stick figures: perspective, motion, anatomical precision.

Original permanently sealed in 1963 (human breath was destroying the pigments). Lascaux IV (2016) is a government-commissioned full-scale replica with millimeter precision. Stunning modern building in the hillside.

Back at Mount Louie for a relaxed evening after two packed Dordogne days. Fire up the grill, open local wine, decompress.

Full day at Musée d'Orsay (myoo-ZAY dor-SAY) — possibly the greatest art museum in the world. Plan for 5–5.5 hours. Study the key works beforehand so you know what you're looking at.

Return to condo for a nap after 5+ hours in the museum. Recharge before the evening.

Dinner out, then evening Seine boat ride (2nd day of 2-day pass). Paris at night — Parisian landmarks lit up from the river.

The Louvre — right down the street from the condo. Everyone picks their top 10 things to see. Study beforehand. Cherry-pick efficiently. It will be ridiculously crowded in July.

Père Lachaise (pair lah-SHEZ) — Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, Chopin. Collin has been before and wants to go. Free admission.

Montmartre (mon-MART-ruh) — bohemian Paris, home of the Moulin Rouge (moo-LAN ROOZH). 125–140 years of artistic/alternative Paris. Artists, cafés, Sacré-Cœur basilica.

Champs-Élysées (shonz ay-lee-ZAY) military parade. Macron attends. The French are deeply patriotic — comparable to or exceeding American July 4th. Up to a million people on the streets.

Return to Paris ~3 PM. Rest and freshen up before the farewell dinner.

5,500 prehistoric stones placed in mysterious alignments stretching across the Brittany countryside. This is a pre-written-history site — we don't know how or why ancient peoples erected these megaliths. Older than Stonehenge. The stones sit on ley lines — proposed alignments between ancient sacred sites across vast distances.

Arrive ~5:30 PM. Dinan is one of Brittany's best-preserved medieval towns — cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses, ancient ramparts. A perfect place to decompress after the travel day before heading into Normandy.

Mont Saint-Michel (mon san mee-SHELL) — UNESCO World Heritage Site. A medieval abbey perched on a tidal island, surrounded by vast sand flats that flood with the tides. One of France's most iconic landmarks — instantly recognizable, utterly unique.

The abbey dates to the 8th century. At high tide, it becomes an island. The narrow streets wind up to the church at the summit. Allow time to explore — it's a small village unto itself.

St. Lo serves as home base for the next three nights. Centrally located for all the D-Day sites. The town itself was nearly destroyed in WWII — 95% of it was leveled during the Battle of Normandy. Known as "The Capital of Ruins."

Chartres Cathedral (SHART-ruh) — 12th century Gothic masterpiece. Home to the Rose Window — considered the finest medieval stained glass in the world. Better preserved than Sainte-Chapelle. The famous labyrinth is built into the floor.

Chartres en Lumières (shart on loo-mee-AIR) — Permanent nightly light projections mapped onto 26 historic buildings. Not seasonal — every night from dusk. Fun fact: The Lumineers (the band) are named after this.