Travel to France

For a unique romantic holiday to France, book a gourmet or wine experience with one of the many online tour operators. Shop around for the best deal that meets your desires.

For example, a search online found two-day to seven-day experiences priced from 130 pounds per person to 1,700 pounds per person. Most deals include airfare, transportation, accommodations, tastings and lessons. The more expensive tours often include many opportunities to taste classified growths, signifying a top-rated vineyard.

Visit the Bordeaux region to taste the latest vintage right from the barrel or to indulge in older vintages. Visitors new to the delicacies of wine can attend a two-hour class at the local wine school, L’Ecole du Vin. The school also offers more elaborate courses for those wanting to improve their tasting skills.

Stop at the Maison du Vin de Bordeaux to get maps, vineyard guides and information on the 57 districts of the six great families of Bordeaux wine. Self-guided tourists can board the Ville de Bordeaux, which offers river trips to the vineyards for tours and wine tasting.

Wine Travel Guides recommends visiting the Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, which hosts more than 200,000 visitors each year in seamless style. Learn about the famous history behind its motto, "First I am, second I was. Mouton, I remain."

Also recommended is the Saint Emilion vineyards on the hillsides overlooking the Dordogne valley, whose prestigious soil produces mostly Merlot grapes. The vineyards and landscape of this town are a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site.

Many packages offer holiday-makers a chance to not only taste the local gastronomic accomplishments but to perfect the dishes themselves. Dishes you may learn to cook include quail with juniper berries and brandy, salmon with sorrel sauce, pate and tomato and goat cheese tarts.

Don’t worry about being bored in between vineyard tours and lessons. Most tour packages also come with additional excursions, such as a trip to Chocolaterie Delice in Bordeaux, which has handmade, themed chocolates made on the premises, or to the Forest of Troncais — with its 300-year-old oaks — in central France near Allier.

In the evenings, enjoy an opera, ballet or classical music concert at the Grand Theatre.

Airfare prices include taxes and are courtesy of each airline’s Web site. Prices were verified as of Monday afternoon when Stripes UK went to press. Deals are not guaranteed to be available; restrictions may apply.