PRIVATE TOURS

PRIVATE TOURS FOR GROUPS 1 TO 25

designed/tailored according to your group's desires, tastes and interest.

If you wanted to have a private tour anywhere in the World, to discover your roots or for whatever reasons, with members of your family, co-workers, or friends, or just with your better half,

give me a call or send me an email.

I have taken private groups, from 1 to 32 participants on private, tailored tours many times, between 1996 and today:

- A couple on an 18-day around France, from Paris to Provence and back.

- Three members of a family wanting to visit the Landing Beaches of Normandy, and give homage to their uncle, buried in the American cemetery.

- Two architects on a private tour of Athens and the Peloponnese.

- Three friends on a tour of Burgundy.

- A couple to Dordogne.

- Seven friends to Rome, and Venise.

- Six friends on a tour of Northern Italy.

- A couple in 2019 to Greece.

- A couple in 2020 to Provence.

- A couple to Alsace and Paris in 2021, Provence in 2022, and the Loire Valley in 2023.

- In 2019 and 2022, each time a single-person private tour to Paris.

- Three couples, who are friends, on 15 different tours in 17 years.

- In 2023, a group of 8 friends who already traveled 6 times with me, were taken on a trip to Portugal.

- A private tour for 31 participants, members of the Speed Art Museum of Louisville.

- A group of 32 people who had taken my 5-week course at UNC-Asheville, on French history, and civilization to Dordogne.

- A couple in 2020 to Provence.

- Private tour for 8 participants in Morocco.

- Private tour for 3 participants to Peru.

If a tour interests you, but the dates are not convenient,

I can schedule a tour for you, rearranged to your preferences.

Or you can choose wherever you want to go, and tell me about what interests you.

Bonjour Jean! I’ve been reflecting about our Portugal trip, especially as people ask me about it.

Thank you again for putting together a wonderful trip.

What great places we went and what interesting and beautiful things we saw!

You put so much work in organizing everything, and Gary and I both appreciate it so much.

Your consistent verve for life and exploring is beyond belief, and your energy surpasses that of all of us together!

Caron & her husband Gary were on their 6th tours with me, coming with employees of their architectural firm,

and three friends, in May 2023

Below is what someone thought of a tour I created for 4 architects, who were friends, and their spouses who went with me on a Le Corbusier architectural tour in France:

Dear Jean,

I was one of 7 on your custom tour of France and Germany to see the work of the famed Architect Le Corbusier. I know that I personally had a fantastic trip. You arranged visits to 'the' top 4 Corbu buildings and many other wonderful architectural treats.

The education was fun, the food was fabulous, and your help and hospitality were greatly appreciated. You have my endorsement.

Regards,

Jim Vignola, AIA - Gainsville, FL

I helped this gentleman to get more out of his own trip to Israel.

I have had the privilege of working with Jean for the past year. His personality and charm have brightened my day many times. He is very well versed on architecture and world travel. It is safe to say that he knows the world as well as most of us know our own backyard!
In January, I went on a trip to Israel. Jean gave me great tips on what to see and what to avoid, all of which were very helpful tips during the journey. I would recommend him to anyone looking to have a fun trip and learn something along the way.

Alec Sandler, ITIL v3, CSM Senior Business Analyst / Scrum Master / ISO at B3 Group, Inc.

Six people on their 14th PRIVATE TOUR:

“Dear Jean,

Both Paz and I, want to express our fondest gratitude for providing to us and our gang the most wonderful experience that makes us wish for the next great adventure in the near future. Thank you for your great patience and friendship and professionalism.

Fondly with warm regards,”

Boris and Paz Baranovich, New York, NY

The September 2014 Croatia/Slovenia/Venice was their 9th PRIVATE TOUR with me and the same two other couples (The Gang). They then, went on a September 2015 PRIVATE TOUR to Portugal/Spain, the June 2016 Copenhagen/Helsinki PRIVATE TOUR; the September 2017 PRIVATE TOUR to Scotland, the 2018 PRIVATE TOUR to Tuscany; and are going on a 2019 PRIVATE tour to Netherlands/Belgium.

This about a couple's private tour to Provence

Dear Jean,

Our recent trip with you to Provence was delightful, informative and so much fun -- we will always remember it. What a treat to have you all to ourselves. You did a wonderful job of customizing our journey to suit our needs and interests. Knowing that my husband and I were celebrating milestone birthdays, you outdid yourself creating a one-of-a-kind experience. We are so grateful for your time, love and attention. I would recommend your tours to anyone looking for a deeper experience on vacation, one that includes history, education and a fuller understanding of the culture, arts and architecture. It's been a couple of weeks and we are still wandering around in a Provence-induced haze of happiness. Thank you!

My best,

Lisa Kahn

Five PRIVATE TOURs for this group of 8:

Dear Jean,

Thank you for making our trip so interesting, fun, gastronomic, and just amazing!

Caron and Gary Kelly, Stuart, FL

Their 3rd PRIVATE TOUR was to Rome/Venice with six friends.

With seven friends, went on their 4th PRIVATE TOUR to Greece in May 2018, and the 5th was a tour to Portugal in 2023.

They also went on non-private tours, to Charleston, to Columbus, IN, and to the Loire Valley-Paris.

2nd PRIVATE TOUR with a SIXTH already planned:

Jean,
I wanted to let you know that our trip to Morocco was fascinating! As always, you outdid yourself. The trip was well organized, educational, interesting and varied.
Thank you very much for everything you did and looking forward to the next one.
Best,

Jacqueline Albarran, Architect P.A.

(Second PRIVATE TOUR in two years, 2017-2018) ,the 3rd was a PRIVATE TOUR to Northern Italy in 2019, the 4th is a 2020 tour of Alsace, the 5th a 2022 tour in Provence, the 6th a 2024 a tour of the Loire Valley.

This was organized for a family trip, starting in Florence, Italy, then going to Milan, Geneva, also taking a ride to the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix in the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 3,396 to 12,605 ft. They finished their trip in Paris.

I did not go on the tour but planned every of their awake hours. They received a 49 pages booklet of information in which I put not only, addresses of restaurants, museums and interesting things to do, but all the reservations I made about hotels, trains, rental cars, museums, restaurants, guides and sites. They just had to follow the program, without stressing about reservations, tickets, schedule.

They just had to enjoy their time as expressed in this comment:

Dear Jean,

Thank you so much for your invaluable help with planning my family vacation. There were an enormous number of details which, by your expertise, I was equipped to deal with. The quality of this vacation, the precise timing of our activities, all of it was done with your advice and guidance, and the result was an amazing vacation.

This vacation was very significant for both Ken and me because it was probably the last with our unmarried adult kids. They are both moving ahead so fast in their lives that the chances to take a trip together like this may not come again.

Thank you again for your help in creating memories for my kids which will last for a very long time.

Fondest best wishes.

Rebecca and Ken Rahl. Plantation, Florida

I also organized and conducted a tour through four countries (Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Southern Germany) for 15 members of a family, ages ranging from 5 to 84 years, looking to find their ancestor's roots, and meeting family members they had never seen, or never known.

It was a very emotional trip, but filled with very joyous encounters, while traveling to beautiful and captivating countries.

For people wanting to buy antiques, or modern furniture, fabrics, objects of arts, ancient roofing tiles, flooring, chandeliers, decorative pieces, architectural elements, I organize private tours, to help them find, what they need.

I only receive a daily fee plus travel expenses, and do not collect any commissions or kickbacks from any vendors. By doing so, I can fight for the clients, to obtain the best possible prices.

In late October 2019, I took a couple on a Fourteen-Days tour of Greece: Athens, Mykonos, Peloponnese, Delphi and back to Athens.

They are going on a private 12 days tours of Portugal with me, in early June 2014.

Janet Garner, after taking a tour to the Loire Valley in France and loving it (see her comment below), asked me to design a PRIVATE TOUR of the same area for the following year, wanting to take 18 employees from her firm. Then a year later she came on a tour to Italy, prior to retiring.

"The absolute best CEU tour I have taken in twenty years!”

Janet Garner, ASID, Atlanta, GA

Hand built front door for a client - Photo by J Renoux