Paris — Arrival
July 11–13 · Depart Denver · Land & rest · Head south
Jul 11 · Saturday
Denver → Paris
Depart evening. The trip begins.
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Evening Departure
Depart Denver International (DEN) — 5:40pm
Air France AF059 · Premium Cabin · Boeing 777-200 · 9h 30min
Overnight
In the air over the Atlantic
Arrives Paris CDG Sunday July 12 at 11:10am (+1 day). Sleep on the plane.
Jul 12 · Sunday
Paris — Arrival Day
Land 11:10am. One job: rest.
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✔ Confirmed — Arrival Night (Jul 12): Courtyard by Marriott Paris Gare de Lyon · 209-211 Rue de Bercy, 75012 · ☎ +33 (3)18 020-6300 · Conf: 75386110 · Booked with Bonvoy points. You're eligible for a Nightly Upgrade Award — request it for this stay. Request early check-in when you arrive.
Morning — Arrival
Land Paris CDG 11:10am
Clear customs — allow 60–90 min. Take RER B to central Paris (35–40 min) or taxi (~€60). Check into Marriott — bag drop if room not ready.
Lunch
Something simple near the hotel
Boulangerie, neighborhood café. Nothing ambitious. You're running on no sleep.
Afternoon
Rest
Short walk to shake off the flight if you need air. Then sleep. Tomorrow you take the TGV south at 9:38am — set two alarms tonight.
Dinner
Early and easy near Gare de Lyon
The hotel's Kitchen & Bar works fine tonight. Or something within walking distance. In bed early — you leave by 8am tomorrow.
Jul 13 · Monday
Paris → Cassis
TGV south. First taste of Provence.
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✔ TGV INOUI 6107: Paris Gare de Lyon 9:38am → Marseille Saint-Charles 12:57pm · Coach 13, Seat 370 · Ref: YJDYUP
✔ La Cigale confirmed: 8 Rue Docteur Séverin Icard, Cassis · Host Marc · HMBCD3YBZE · Check-in from 4:00pm
Morning — Depart
Leave hotel by 8:00am → Gare de Lyon
Boarding opens 9:08am. Platform: check the composition board for Coach 13 location. Upper deck, Seat 370.
Train — 9:38am–12:57pm
TGV south — 3 hours 19 minutes
Watch Provence appear outside the window. The landscape shifts from Loire plains to limestone and lavender as you approach Marseille. WiFi + bar car on board.
Lunch — Marseille
Quick stop near Marseille Saint-Charles
Pick up your Sixt rental car at the station (allow 30–45 min). Grab lunch nearby before driving to Cassis — don't arrive starving.
Afternoon — Arrive
Drive to Cassis (~30 min) · Arrive ~2:30pm
Drive the A50 autoroute (28km). Message Marc in advance about early bag drop. Walk straight to the port when you arrive — first look at the water, first espresso. Check in at 4pm.
Dinner
Port de Cassis — Impromptu
Walk the port at golden hour. Sit where it looks right. Order rosé. Watch the boats. Do not overthink your first night.
Cassis — The Southern Base
July 14–18 · La Cigale · 8 Rue Docteur Séverin Icard
You wake up and the Mediterranean is five minutes away. The Calanques National Park begins at the edge of the village. Marseille is 30 minutes. The lavender plateau is 90 minutes. Stay in the village for the magic hours — before 10am and after 7pm — and use the car for everything else.
Jul 14 · Tuesday
Cassis — Calanques Day
Dawn port. Boat into the inlets. Quiet beach afternoon.
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📷 Pre-Dawn · 6:00am
Port walk — empty quays, first light
The port at this hour is completely yours. Fishing boats returning. Limestone cliffs catching first light. 30–45 minutes. Wife can join or sleep in. Back for breakfast by 7:30am. Shoot toward the château and Cap Canaille.
Morning
8-Calanques Boat Tour
Book the 8-calanques tour — not the standard 3. Departs Quai Saint-Pierre, east side of port. 1.5 hours, ~€15pp. Covers Port-Miou, Port-Pin, En-Vau, L'Oule, Devenson, Oeil de Verre, Sugiton, Morgiou. Departures from 11:15am. Bring towels + high-SPF sunscreen for the swimming stop.
Lunch
Port terrace — Cassis AOC white
Back at the port. Long slow lunch. Fresh fish + a bottle of Cassis AOC white wine — one of France's smallest appellations, made on the limestone hillsides above you. Drink it here; you won't find it anywhere else.
Afternoon
Plage du Bestouan
10 minutes' walk west of the port, on the other side of the harbor from La Grande Mer. Quieter, more local. Steps around the corner give an elevated view of the port and lighthouse — a different angle from sea level. Bring the camera. Swim. Sit. Let time dissolve.
Dinner
One block back from the port
The waterfront restaurants are good but pricier and touristic. The locals eat one street in. Walk until something looks right, check the menu, sit down.
Jul 15 · Wednesday
Day Trip — Marseille
France's oldest city. Culture, art, history, Michelin dinner.
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⚑ Reserve now: L'Épuisette — 1 Michelin star, Vallon des Auffes. Books weeks ahead in July. Call or book online for July 15 dinner.
📷 Golden Hour · 6:30am
Château viewpoint — elevated harbor shot
The shot most visitors never get. Walk from port along Quai des Baux → signs say "Traverse du Château" → Rue Marcel Barthélémy → right Rue Gambetta → left Place Montmorin → follow Promenade des Lombards to the Pointe. Look for "Vue panoramique du cap cable au port de Cassis" on Google Maps. Shooting down onto the harbor with Cap Canaille behind it at first light. Back for breakfast, on the road to Marseille by 9am.
Morning — Marseille
MuCEM + Fort Saint-Jean
Drive 30 min. Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations — stunning glass mesh architecture, footbridge to Fort Saint-Jean. Allow 2–3 hours. Walk the fort ramparts after for panoramic harbor views.
Lunch
Le Panier — Marseille's oldest neighborhood
Labyrinthine streets, street art, artisan workshops. Find a neighborhood café for a simple lunch. Wander without a map after — this is the point.
Afternoon
Notre-Dame de la Garde + Vallon des Auffes
Go to Notre-Dame de la Garde at 4–5pm when the heat softens — best panoramic views in Marseille. Then walk 15 min to Vallon des Auffes before dinner — a tiny fishing inlet that feels like a different century.
Dinner ★ Michelin — Reserve Now
L'Épuisette — Vallon des Auffes
1 Michelin star. Perched on a rock above the fishing inlet with panoramic Mediterranean views. Chef Guillaume Sourrieu. Local seafood, Provençal technique. From ~€95pp. Your fine dining night of the trip.
Jul 16 · Thursday
Day Trip — Lavender Fields
Valensole Plateau at peak bloom. Depart 7:30am.
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⚑ Reserve now: Chez Fonfon — Vallon des Auffes, Marseille. Traditional bouillabaisse institution. Books ahead in July. For dinner tonight.
Wear white, yellow, or pastel — you'll stand out against the purple. Avoid wearing purple. Go low for the best angles. Depart 7:30am — best light, no tour buses.
📷 Morning Fields · 7:30am departure
Lavender plateau — work field to field
Drive 1h 30min north (110km). Work roughly south to north through the fields:
Lavandes Angelvin (Field #3) — famous lone tree in the middle. Open 9am–7pm. Visual anchor.
Terraroma (Field #2) — souvenir stop for honey, oil, bundles. Open 8:30am. Don't linger.
Valensole village — coffee break + lavender gelato.
Fields #4–7 — rolling slopes, stone huts, endless purple. Tour buses stop before here. Take your time.
Puimoisson — quieter fields, zero crowds.
Lavandes Angelvin (Field #3) — famous lone tree in the middle. Open 9am–7pm. Visual anchor.
Terraroma (Field #2) — souvenir stop for honey, oil, bundles. Open 8:30am. Don't linger.
Valensole village — coffee break + lavender gelato.
Fields #4–7 — rolling slopes, stone huts, endless purple. Tour buses stop before here. Take your time.
Puimoisson — quieter fields, zero crowds.
Lunch
One of the most beautiful villages in France — Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Perched in limestone cliffs. Spot the star hanging between the two cliffs (hung by a knight returning from the Crusades). Browse earthenware ceramics workshops after. Then: Le Bistrot des Apiculteurs Brasseurs — tiny local microbrewery, honey-note brune beer. Closed Tuesdays — you're there Thursday, you're fine.
Afternoon — Optional
Lac de Sainte-Croix: 30 min from Moustiers — turquoise freshwater lake, kayak rentals. Then drive past Pont du Galetas to see the Gorges du Verdon open up — Grand Canyon of Europe. Even 20 min here is worth the detour. Then head south toward Marseille for dinner.
Dinner ★ Institution — Reserve Now
Chez Fonfon — Vallon des Auffes, Marseille
A Marseille institution. The definitive traditional bouillabaisse — the dish was invented in this city. Full ceremony: broth first, fish tableside, rouille, croutons. Allow 90 minutes. Drive back to Cassis after (~30 min).
Jul 17 · Friday
Cassis — Photography Day
Loose arc. No hard timing. Full opt-out at any point.
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Morning
Friday market + old town streets
Place Baragnon market — local produce, cheese, olive oil, lavender. Go early. Then walk Rue Frédéric Mistral — most photogenic street in the old town. Church bell tower, cobblestone, blooming flowers. 20 minutes and a handful of frames. Coffee on a terrace. No rush.
Lunch / Midday
Beach or nothing — your call
Plage de la Grande Mer — 10 min walk from La Cigale. Sandy, cliff views, lifeguard. Or: Plage du Corton — 10 min by car, smaller, rocky, pine trees, quiet. Or: sit at the port with a book and do absolutely nothing. This is also valid.
📷 Afternoon — Correct Light Direction
Route des Crêtes drive toward La Ciotat
Drive in the afternoon — the sun is behind you heading toward La Ciotat, and the cliffs are lit up beautifully. Morning goes the wrong direction for photography on this road. Take D141 (Route des Crêtes) — highest coastal cliff road in France. Windows down in the convertible. Stop at any viewpoint. La Ciotat at the end is a working port town — real, local, no tourists. Espresso at the port. Return via lower coastal road for a different perspective.
📷 Evening — Last Shot
Port sunset — Cap Canaille turns orange
Be at the port with the camera by 8:30pm. Cap Canaille glows orange and red as the sun drops. The fishing boats, the water, the château above — your last Cassis frame. 15 minutes of standing still. Pack bags after dinner tonight.
Dinner — Option
Chez Gilbert — Port de Cassis
One of the best bouillabaisse experiences right here in Cassis. ~€65pp for the full ceremony. Your last night — stay local if you don't want to drive. Or revisit anywhere from earlier in the week that pulled you.
Jul 18 · Saturday
Cassis → Paris
Checkout 10am sharp. TGV 12:46pm. The final chapter.
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⚑ Hard checkout: La Cigale — 10:00am. Bags packed the night before.
✔ TGV INOUI 6174: Marseille Saint-Charles 12:46pm → Paris Gare de Lyon 3:51pm · Coach 5, Seats 572 & 573, Upper Deck · Ref: YJDYUP
Morning
Final port espresso — 8:30am
One last walk on the port. Watch the fishing boats. Espresso at the dock. Then back to La Cigale for checkout at 10:00am sharp.
Late Morning
Drive Marseille · Drop Sixt · Lunch
Drive 30 min to Marseille Saint-Charles. Drop the Sixt at the same location as pickup. 90 minutes to spare — lunch at the station or nearby.
Afternoon — Depart
TGV 12:46pm → Paris 3:51pm
Board Coach 5, Seats 572 (window) + 573 (aisle), Upper Deck. Arrive Paris Gare de Lyon 3:51pm. Friends, check-in, the last four nights begin.
Optional — Pull From This List Based on Mood
Photography Spots
Walk from port via Quai des Baux → Traverse du Château → Promenade des Lombards → Pointe. "Vue panoramique du cap cable au port de Cassis" on maps. 15 min walk. Best at golden hour.
Plage du Bestouan elevated corner
Steps around the corner from the beach give a great view of the port and lighthouse. Different angle from anything at sea level.
Calanque de Port Miou on foot
The only Calanque you can walk to without significant hiking. From the parking area near Cassis — no boat needed. Views from above looking down into the inlet are distinct from the boat perspective.
Wine & Local Producers
Cassis AOC winery 10 min from the port. Book a tasting in advance. Mon–Fri 8:30am–noon, 2–6pm. The estate has sea views and the wine is exceptional — one of the best in the appellation.
45 min east toward La Ciotat. One of France's great appellations — Mourvèdre-based reds unlike anything from Provence. Good stop on the Route des Crêtes day.
Beaches
Plage de la Grande Mer
10 min walk from La Cigale. Largest beach in Cassis, sandy, lifeguard, cliff views. The easy default.
Plage du Corton
10 min by car toward Cap Canaille. Smaller, rocky cove, pine trees, quiet. The local choice.
Plage de l'Arène
15 min walk east toward Cap Canaille. Long curving beach, surrounded by pines. Quieter than La Grande Mer.
Nearby Day Trips
10 min drive east. Working port town — real, unpolished, zero tourists. Where the French go. Birthplace of cinema (the Lumière brothers shot their first film here in 1895).
30 min north. Beautiful refined city, wide tree-lined boulevards, Cézanne's studio, excellent markets. Half day is enough — pair with an easy morning.
Paris — Montmartre
July 18–22 · 23 Rue André Barsacq, 75018 · Below Sacré-Cœur · Friends in the 10th
You're staying at 23 Rue André Barsacq in the 18th — right at the foot of the Sacré-Cœur steps, the most beautiful and the most tourist-heavy address in Montmartre. The solution is timing. Before 8am it's empty and extraordinary. 10am–7pm it's crowded — that's when you leave. After 8pm the day-trippers clear out. Your friends are in the 10th arrondissement (Canal Saint-Martin territory) — 15 minutes' walk from you.
✔ Confirmed — Montmartre Finish (Jul 18–22): Apartment in Paris · 23 Rue André Barsacq, 75018 · Host: Valere Pierre Georges · Check-in after 3:00pm Sat Jul 18 · Checkout before 11:00am Wed Jul 22. The dawn Sacré-Cœur shot is a 3-minute walk uphill from your door.
⚑ Alarm required — June 30 at 3:00am Denver time: Septime (#40 World's 50 Best, 1 Michelin ★) releases reservations exactly 3 weeks ahead at 10am Paris time. Go to septime-charonne.fr at exactly that moment. It fills in minutes. Target: Tuesday July 21 lunch. Backup if you can't get in: Clamato (sister restaurant, walk-in only, seafood).
Jul 18 · Saturday
Paris — Arrival Evening
Arrive 3:51pm. Friends. First night in Montmartre.
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Afternoon
Arrive Gare de Lyon 3:51pm → Montmartre
Check in to the Airbnb at 23 Rue André Barsacq (after 3pm) — host Valere. Drop bags. Message your friends.
Evening
Reconnect with friends — relaxed first night
Bouillon Pigalle is right at the base of Montmartre — classic French brasserie, affordable, beautiful Belle Époque room. No reservation needed if you arrive at opening. Perfect first group dinner.
Jul 19 · Sunday
Paris — Antiques + Montmartre
Les Puces. Dawn steps. Explore the hill.
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📷 Dawn · 6:00–6:30am
Sacré-Cœur steps — Paris spread below
The single best panoramic shot in the city. The basilica glows white, Paris lies below, nobody else is there. Literally outside your door. 30 minutes. Wife can join or sleep in.
Morning — Antiquing
10-minute walk from your Montmartre base. Open Sunday 10am–6pm. Head straight for Marché Paul Bert Serpette — skip the junk at the entrance on Rue des Rosiers. High-quality furniture, art, rare objects. Go early — best pieces sell fast. Cash for most stalls, cards accepted at Serpette.
Lunch
Near Les Puces or back in Montmartre
Several good cafés near the market. Or walk back to La Mascotte in Montmartre — classic French bistro with excellent seafood platters.
Afternoon
Musée de Montmartre + vineyard
Former artists' studios. Permanent collection of Montmartre art and history — Renoir, Valadon, Toulouse-Lautrec's world. Beautiful garden with views over the Montmartre Vineyard. Café Renoir on site. 2 hours.
Evening
Place du Tertre at 9pm + dinner nearby
The artists packing up, golden evening light coming in sideways. A completely different scene from the midday version. One of the most characterful squares in Paris at this hour. Then dinner somewhere in the neighborhood.
Jul 20 · Monday
Paris — Impressionists + Canal
Musée d'Orsay. Rue de l'Abreuvoir. Friends on the canal.
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📷 Early Morning · 7:00am
Rue de l'Abreuvoir — empty streets, La Maison Rose
One of Paris's most photographed streets, completely empty at this hour. La Maison Rose is on the corner — the famous pink café frequented by Picasso. Pastel facades, cobblestone, soft morning light. 20 minutes, then coffee somewhere.
Morning
The Impressionist collection. Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette was painted in Montmartre — you'll see it here. Van Gogh's Paris self-portraits. Toulouse-Lautrec's cabaret scenes. Book timed entry in advance for July. The museum that tells the story of exactly where you're sleeping.
Lunch
Les Bouquinistes + riverside walk
Walk the Seine after the museum. The riverside booksellers from Pont Marie to Quai du Louvre — old prints, antique posters, vintage postcards, rare books. Browse, then find somewhere along the river for lunch.
Afternoon
Canal Saint-Martin — friends meetup
Meet your friends from the 10th. Buy wine, cheese, charcuterie from a neighborhood shop and find a spot on the canal banks. Iron footbridges, locals on picnic blankets — this is how Parisians spend summer afternoons. Completely free. The 10th is their territory, they'll know exactly where to go.
Evening
Neighborhood dinner with friends
Let the afternoon on the canal flow into dinner wherever the group wants to go. The 10th and 11th arrondissements have excellent casual dining — your friends will lead.
Jul 21 · Tuesday
Paris — Final Full Day
Septime lunch. Au Lapin Agile. Last evening.
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Morning
Wander Montmartre — last time
Place des Abbesses — one of Paris's few original Art Nouveau metro entrances by Hector Guimard. Coffee in the square. Locals gathering. Then walk Rue Lepic — the street where Van Gogh lived, still lined with cafés and the Moulin de la Galette windmill.
Lunch ★ World's 50 Best
Septime — 80 Rue de Charonne, 11th arr.
#40 World's 50 Best, 1 Michelin star. Vegetable-forward seasonal menus, natural wines, industrial-chic room. ~€85pp for lunch. Book June 30 at 3am Denver time. Backup: Clamato next door, walk-in, seafood.
Afternoon
Last afternoon — your pace
No agenda. Wander wherever the lunch takes you. The 11th is a great neighborhood to drift through after Septime — Bastille area, market streets, the kind of Paris that feels lived-in.
Evening ★ — Book Ahead
Au Lapin Agile — Rue des Saules, Montmartre
The authentic Montmartre cabaret — not Moulin Rouge spectacle. Intimate room, 40–50 people, no microphones, no sound system. Musicianship in a space Picasso and Apollinaire actually used. Cash only, €40pp, one drink included. Book by email via their website. Your last Paris evening.
Jul 22 · Wednesday
Paris → Denver
Depart CDG 1:25pm. Land Denver 3:40pm.
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Morning
Slow final morning
Last coffee in Montmartre. No rush — 1:25pm departure means you leave accommodation at 9:30–10am.
Departure
Leave accommodation 9:30–10:00am
RER B to CDG: 35–40 minutes from central Paris. Check in online the day before — US-bound flights open 24 hours prior. Air France AF058 departs CDG 1:25pm. Land Denver 3:40pm same day.
Optional — Paris Menu · Pull Based on Mood
Art & Culture
Former artists' studios, Renoir's garden, Café Renoir. The history of exactly where you're sleeping.
Dedicated Dalí museum in a quiet street off Place du Tertre. Surrealist sculpture and prints. Compact and genuinely interesting.
Right next to Sacré-Cœur. Art brut and outsider art in a 19th-century market. Unconventional. Bookstore and café inside.
20 min from Montmartre. Modern art in one of the most extraordinary buildings in Europe. Rooftop view is free with entry. Good rainy day option.
Thirteen 15-metre stained glass windows. One of the most transcendent interiors in the world. Book timed entry in advance.
The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Medieval art, intimate scale, almost never crowded. 2 hours.
Antiquing
The serious antiques section. High-quality furniture, art, goldsmithery. Push past the junk at the entrance on Rue des Rosiers. Many stalls accept cards.
Sat–Sun mornings, 7am–1pm, south Paris. Local alternative to Clignancourt — more relaxed, better for negotiating. Vintage prints, jewelry, ceramics, small furniture. Arrive before 9am.
Old prints, antique posters, vintage postcards, rare books. Pont Marie to Quai du Louvre. One of the most distinctly Parisian experiences. Free to browse.
12th arr. Food market + antique section. Sat–Sun morning. Less touristic. Baron Rouge wine bar right next door — perfect glass after browsing.
Drinks & Bars
Hiru — 14 Rue Duc
Low-lit cocktail bar in Montmartre. Excellent tapas menu. The espresso martini is reportedly one of the best in Paris.
Wine shop with hidden back bar — near Abbesses metro
Small wine shop with a bar in the back. Classically French selection, excellent small-producer charcuterie and cheese from the South of France. Quiet, romantic, genuinely local.
La Cave Café — 134 Rue Marcadet
Slight dive bar energy, good drinks, moody bartenders, refreshingly unpretentious crowd.
1928 Art Deco cinema. First avant-garde cinema on the Right Bank. Tiny café-bar under film posters and fairy lights. Check program online — restored classics and French indies.
Au Clair de Lune
Unpretentious local bar. Happy hour 6–10pm, very affordable. Locals gathering for aperitif. Zero tourist presence.
Food
Classic French brasserie at the base of Montmartre. Affordable, excellent, beautiful Belle Époque room. Arrive at opening or expect a queue.
Classic French bistro, some of the freshest seafood in Montmartre. The seafood platter is exceptional.
Trendy but casual. Sit upstairs and watch the metro pass overhead. Great for a long leisurely lunch.
Clamato — 80 Rue de Charonne
Septime's sister restaurant. Walk-in only, seafood focus, same sourcing philosophy. Your Septime backup — and worth going to regardless.
With Your Friends (10th arrondissement meetups)
Buy wine, cheese, charcuterie from a neighborhood shop, find a spot on the canal banks. This is how Parisians spend summer evenings. Completely free.
Sacré-Cœur steps at 8pm
Meet your friends here at golden hour. Paris spread out below, everyone with a drink. Simple, free, one of those evenings that needs no planning to become memorable.
Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Proust, Édith Piaf, Chopin. One of the great cemeteries in the world. Genuinely beautiful as a walk. Between the 10th and 20th. Free.
Suggest this to your friends. An authentic Montmartre cabaret evening that none of them will have done. Book two tables by email. Cash only, €40pp. One of those Paris evenings nobody forgets.
10 min walk from your base. Everyone finds something different, split up and regroup. Head to Paul Bert Serpette. Follow with lunch nearby.
Book tickets together in advance. The Impressionist collection connects directly to Montmartre's history — makes your stay feel rooted in what you're seeing.