Three Weeks' TOur to and from the Riviera, via Aquitaine, Pyrenees and Auvergne
| 1st day | Poitiers (five hours from Paris and three hours from Orleans). This ancient town has a long war record, and is chiefly famous for the great battle of Poitiers in 1356 between the French and English, wherein the former lost more than 10,000 men. The Cathedral, begun by Henry II of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, is well worth a visit. |
| 2d day | La Rochelle (four hours from Poitiers). A seaport which has withstood many sieges, but was starved into submission by Cardinal Richelieu. It was the headquarters of the Huguenots, Coligny and the Prince of Conde, in the religious wars of Charles IX. |
| 3d day | Angouleme (three hours from La Rochelle). Birthplace of Balzac; several times taken and sacked during the wars of the religions. The Cathedral of St. Peter is handsome and interesting. |
| 4th day | Bordeaux (three hours from Angouleme) . A fine commercial city on the Garonne, of which the harbor is its chief attraction. It was a stronghold of the Girondists during the ^Revolution, and, forthree months in 1870-1871, was the seat of the French government whilst Paris was under siege by the Germans |
| 5th day | Arcachon (one hour from Bordeaux). Seashore resort of the Bordelaise, and famous for its Oyster Parks. |
| 6th day 7th |
Biarritz (four hours from Arcachon). A delightful and fashionable southern watering place, from which a short drive can be made to the Basque town of Bayonne. |
| 8th day 9th |
Pau (four hours from Biarritz) . The ancient capital of the kingdom of Beam, and the home of King Henry IV ; a beautiful winter resort from which fine views are obtained of the Pyrenees. |
| 10th day | Lourdes (one hour from Pau). A little town with its famous grotto, to which many thousands of Catholic pilgrims flock. |
| 11th day | Toulouse (three hours from Lourdes). An important town some centuries before it was occupied by the Romans; capital of the Visigoths after the fall of the Roman empire in 419. It was the scene of several struggles between Catholics and Huguenots, and, in 1814, just outside the town was fought the decisive battle of Toulouse, betweenWellington and Soult. |
| 12th day | Carcassonne (two hours from Toulouse). The ideal city of Troubadour Land, and the most perfect specimen of a mediaeval French city. Its history is one of siege, capture and recapture, and the view from its ancient towers and walls is unequaled. |
| 13th day | Arles (five hours from Carcassonne). The " Rome of Gaul." Here are the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater and a Greek Theater. Just outside the city gates is the beautiful " Ales- camp " (avenue of death), where pagan and Christian sleep side by side. Arles is celebrated for the Greek type of beauty of its women. |
| 14th day | Marseilles (two hours from Arles). The breezy city of Provence, celebrated for its harbor, of which the chief attraction is the Chateau d'lf, of Monte Cristo fame. From Marseilles it is supposed that the traveler will wish to visit the resorts along the Riviera, which include Toulon, Hyeres, Grasse, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Mentone and San Remo, all of which have their separate attractions and advantages. Nice is the chief city of the Maritime Alps, with a population of nearly 100,000. |
| 15th day | Avignon (four hours from Marseilles). Temporary residence of the popes from 1309 to 1377, and the scene of revolutionary excesses. The home and burial-place of Petrarch's Laura; in 1873 John Stuart Mill died and was buried here. |
| 16th day | Nimes (one hour from Avignon). A manufacturing city, with well-preserved Roman Amphitheater and Temple; the Maison Carree is one of the best preserved Roman temples extant. A short distance from the city, spanning the River Garden, are the mighty remains of an aqueduct more than twenty-five miles long, built by the Romans to convey water to Nimes. Nimes was the home of Alphonse Daudet. |
| 17th day 18th |
Clermont-Ferrand (four hours from Nimes). In the heart of the Auvergne and Puy-de-Do can be taken, notably to the Puy-de-Dome ( 4,805 feet), to the Spring of La Bourboule, and Mount Dore. From Clermont the first Crusade was preached, at the Council in 1095. |
| 19th day | Vichy (two hours from Clermont-Ferrand). One of the most popular mineral-spring resorts in France. The exports of the Vichy waters alone amount to seven million bottles annually. |
| 20th day | Nevers (two hours from Vichy). Former capital of the old province of Nivernais, and the home of the house of Cleves, the legendary descendants of the Swan Prince of Schwannfield on the Rhine. The view of the Loire from the chateau is superb. |
| 21st day | Bourges (two hours from Nevers). The ancient capital of the province of Berry, and, for a time in the reign of Charles VII, the capital of France. It has one of the five most beautiful cathedrals of France, St. fitienne. The Gothic home of the merchant prince, Jacques Cceur ( one of the most picturesque and tragic figures of French history), is now the Palais de Justice, and must be visited. In the Hotel Lallemont King Louis XI was born. To Paris (four hours) |
