DAY 1: Arrival.

DAY 2: PARIS Bienvenue! Paris greets you today. Meet your tour manager and acquaint yourself with the Métro.

DAY 3: PARIS A morning tour with a local guide shows you Paris' monuments-from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. This afternoon use your ACIS Walking Tour to discover the magnificent Louvre. The rest of the afternoon is free to visit the Centre Pompidou or the Rodin Museum.

DAY 4: PARIS You may choose to travel on an optional trip to Monet's famed gardens and house at Giverny (open April 1). Return to Paris for a free afternoon. Walk across the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay to discover other Impressionist gems. Tonight enjoy a boat ride along the Seine.

DAY 5: LOIRE VALLEY Depart Paris for Louis XIV's Versailles. Within 250-acre gardens, you'll visit the Latona Fountain and the Grand Canal of "Little Venice:" In the afternoon, drive to Chartres Cathedral, famous for its precious stained glass windows. Continue to the Loire Valley for dinner.

DAY 6: LOIRE VALLEY Visit Chenonceau, the château of six women, built over the River Cher in an exquisite Renaissance design. Drive past the château of Amboise, perched on a bluff above the Loire. Spend a little free time in the town. Finally, discover mighty Chambord, the sprawling creation commisioned by Francis I, towering over its deerfilled park.

DAY 7: DINARD Drive to the Normandy coast for a visit to the lovely island monastery of Mont St. Michel. This medieval abbey, once an important pilgrimage site, is still surrounded by water at high tide. Continue to the charming Breton fishing village of Dinard.

DAY 8: PARIS Relive the battles of WWII, beginning with Omaha Beach and the American Memorial. Then follow the Norman Conquest of England at the Bayeux Tapestry, a living record of the events of 1066. Return to Paris this evening.

DAY 9: Depart