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Reims Cathedral
North European Cities:
Paris, Lille, Bruges, Reims, Berlin
Paris: short stays
Berlin: included in our Cold War & Peenemünde tours
Reims, France - Champagne country: short stays
Lille, France: day trips
By Eurostar to Paris or Lille
The Eurostar high-speed train through the Channel Tunnel stops at Ashford International Station in Kent, just 30 minutes drive from Canterbury. If you get up very early, you can leave Canterbury at 5.15 a.m., in good time to check-in for the 6.16 a.m. train to Paris - and then step off the train in Paris at 8.23 a.m. (9.23 a.m. French time)! 10-hours in Paris is possible on a day trip - getting you back in Canterbury at 10 p.m. Once through the Tunnel (a 20-minute stretch, at 90 m.p.h.) the train doubles its speed to 180 m.p.h. (300 k.p.h.) making the journey just 2 hours from Ashford to Paris, or 1 hour 45 minutes to Brussels. The lines to Paris and Brussels split at the northern French city of Lille; Lille is just one hour from Ashford - less time than to London. Kent is the location to exploit the fullest potential of Eurostar.
See our Photo Gallery: Paris for a full appreciation of the delights of the French capital. From glorious city walks to museum-visiting to superb meals to shopping & sightseeing, Paris is a gift. Check out Paris: the top 9 sights, and Getting your bearings; using the Métro for more information. Ask for a Quotation for an escorted visit - families, groups; day trips or overnight stays. See also Paris 9 Sites
Just one hour away by Eurostar or a 75-minute drive from Calais, the big northern French city of Lille is the perfect choice for a day trip to sample the urban scene in continental Europe with the least amount of travelling.
Escorted Day Trips with Dr Thomson's Tours
The choice of travel by Eurostar or travel by car door-to-door from Canterbury - taking the car on the car-transporter train through the Channel Tunnel and then driving on the fast autoroute to Lille (door-to-door journey time is a little under 3 hours from Canterbury). Coach days out from South-East England are possible too. With Eurostar, if you are coming from London, Dr Thomson will meet you onboard the train at Ashford.
If you are coming from Canterbury, we can drive you to Ashford. On the train we show you the options of places to visit, and fill you in on how the city is laid out, and how to get around.
On arrival in Lille we will take you on a personally-guided walking tour during which we will tell you the history of Lille and of the Flanders region of which it is one of the main cities. The tour will take in the
impressive Place General de Gaulle, the beautifully-restored Vieux Bourse building, the Vieux Quartier with its seventeenth-century buildings, and will end up in the Place Rihour for the Office de Tourisme, shops (including what is reputedly the largest bookstore in France!) and a wide choice of restaurants. After Lunch you can choose free time for the streets and shops, or take in one or more of the museums - the Palais des Beaux Arts, Musée General de Gaulle (his birthplace), Musée des Hospice Comptesse.
Bruges, Belgium: day trips or short stays
Canterbury. Over coffee during the Channel transit you would hear about the history of the city, its place in today's Belgium, and what there is to see. On arrival you receive a personally-guided walking tour - 'Briefly Bruges' - to help you get to know your way around, to show you places you could return to in the afternoon, and to take you into three of the major sites: the Begijnhof (old convent), the Church of Our Lady (with its medieval tombs and Michelangelo sculpture), and the Stadhuis (with a spectacular Gothic ceiling). After Lunch the afternoon would be yours for museums, a canal cruise, and shopping; if you wished, a second tour ('Hidden Bruges') could be undertaken for no extra charge.
2. Short-Stay: an overnight - or longer! - extension of an escorted Day Trip. Accommodation is in comfortable hotels right in the centre of the city, just 5 minutes walk from the Markt main square.
Just one hour's drive from Calais, Bruges is a world-class tourist destination within easy reach for a Day Out from Kent.
Visit with Dr Thomson's Tours:
1. Private Day Trip (escorted): Bruges is just over an hour from the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais, making it a door-to-door time of just under 3 hours from
3. Group visit: whether for the day (from Kent by coach, or from London by Eurostar to Lille and then by coach) or for an overnight stay, your group will benefit from an Introduction to Bruges and its History - delivered aboard the coach - followed by our 'Briefly Bruges' personally-guided walking tour. An overnight stay would include a second tour, 'Hidden Bruges'. A 2-night stay is possible, with the full day devoted to a visit to Ypres
See also: Bruges Photo Gallery
A two and a quarter hour drive from Calais, Reims combines the charms of a classic French city with the delightful countryside of the champagne fields roundabout.
Escorted short-stays with Dr Thomson's Tours.
We can put together a fine weekend guided visit for either a private group or a larger group by coach. We use hotels right in the centre, on the Place Drouet d'Erlon, the main pedestrianised central area with pavement cafés and restaurants in abundance. A visit would include a walking tour of the city centre, a visit to the fine 13th-century Cathedral (with spectacular stained glass, including Chagall windows at the east end), a tour of the famous Mumm Champagne house, and a drive through the champagne fields. For free time, a choice from: a visit to the May 1945 Surrender Room (where the Nazis surrendered to Eisenhower), a snail farm (!), Moet-et-Chandon's champagne house in Epernay, or shopping and museums in Reims.
See also: Photo Gallery: Reims Cathedral
One of the portals around the doors on the West Front of Reims Cathedral
Berlin forms a most important part of our Cold War and Peenemünde & Berlin programmes. Both tours cover the fascinating mix of World War II, Cold War and post-Reunification history that this city has to offer. Berlin has a heady blend of reminders of the Cold War alongside spectacular modern
The restored Reichstag building, where the German Parliament has met since 1999
architecture, with the World War II heritage less visible but 'underpinning' the rest. With both tours we offer on-ground arrangements - you book your own flights using low-cost airlines.
See: Germany Cold War & WW2 Tours
Lille city centre
Join our special public group tour in December 2008: