Birding Paris and Brittany France

If you are interested in Birding Paris and Brittany France, come and join us at Kaiyote Tours!

Birding:  Paris and Brittany, France

This tour combines birding, art, and culture.  You will enjoy this tour if you only wish to see Paris, Brittany, walk the land and enjoy the sights.  You will enjoy this tour if you only wish to see the birds of Brittany.  On this tour, we will spend three full days in Paris.  Paris is one of the art centers of the world.  Not just for the collections that the museums hold, but for the inspiration is still gives to artists today.  On this tour we will be taking the train to Brittany and spend 4-days visiting three very idyllic and historic villages: St-Malo, Saint Suliac, and Mont Saint Michel.  Each day there will be time for birding, walking, exploring and learning. Where a better place to enjoy crepes and the French countryside, but in Brittany?  Voila!!

Printable Bird List
(This is a checklist of the birds that we have seen on this trip)

• Travel Dates
• April 12 - 21, 2025, spots left = 2
• April 9 - 18, 2026, spots left = 4
• Additional Tours by request
• Group Size: 4 travelers plus guides
• Trip Length: 10 days
• Rates: Rate per person = $4,650 (based on double occupancy)
• Rates include: Domestic transfers and travel within France, lodging, breakfast, lunch, dinner, scheduled group tours, park entrance fees and basic travel insurance.
• Not included: International airfare, customs & immigration fees and visas, alcohol, trip cancellation insurance.
• Adventure level:  Easy, please check the "Welcome" page for definition

Map of the travel route here:  France Map (this map will enlarge when clicked on, opens a new page)

Basic Itinerary

Day 1:  Paris Arrival Day 
Flights are usually overnight with early morning arrival at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) in Paris.  You will be met at the airport and shuttled to the hotel, where we will be staying for 3-nights at the Hotel Paix Republique. This great hotel is located in the heart of Place de la République, which is a wonderful neighborhood in Paris and provides easy access to all the great sights. Activities for the day will depend on your arrival time in Paris. Sites that are close to our hotel include the Place de la Bastille, the Musée Carnavalet, and the National Picasso-Paris Museum. And besides museums, Paris has excellent parks and gardens for walking. Close to our hotel is the Garden of the National Archives. Birding:  There are birds to see in the city parks and gardens.

Day 2:  Paris 
A full day to visit the best sites in Paris for art, history, and food.  The specific locations will depend on the key interests of the group.  Overall, we will have four full days in Paris.  There is a lot to see, and we will prioritize museums to make sure you see everything you want. The list of museums, historic sites, and simply fun things to do in Paris is tremendous and is too long to list here.  We can discuss these details when you book your tour, but I have listed some of the best museums in the itinerary on "Day 3".  If you like history, you will want to visit the Hôtel des Invalides and here you will also find the Tomb of Napoleon and the Musée de l'Armée. And at the end of the day, a fabulous dinner in Paris. Birding:  Over 400 species of birds have been seen in Paris. The Bois de Boulogne, which is a 2,100-acre park with woods and gardens just on the western edge of Paris, has a bird list of over 200 species and is one of the best birding areas in Paris.

Day 3:  Paris
A second full day in Paris to visit the best sites for you. Please let us know what interests you have.  Some museums are must sees:  The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Rodin Sculpture Museum, Musée de l'Orangerie, and the Pompidou modern art museum.  And when we become overwhelmed by great artwork, Paris has great gardens to visit:  Jardin du Luxembourg, and the Jardin des Plantes, or perhaps take a stroll down the 1.2 mile Avenue des Champs-Élysées to see the Arc de Triomphe.  Dinner will be fabulous, because every night is fabulous dinner night in Paris! Birding:  There are birds to see in the city parks and gardens.

Day 4:  St Malo, Brittany 
It is three-hour train ride to St-Malo on the TGV.  The TGV (pronounced tay-zsah-vay) is one of the fastest trains in the world and can travel over 200 miles an hour.  We will be staying in the heart of the old town and there will be plenty of time for walking and sightseeing within the city walls and birding along the beautiful coast and local parks.  We will make St Malo our home-base for 4-nights and explore the area as day trips.  

Day 5:  St Malo, Brittany
St-Malo is a beautiful walled fortress and city.   Construction of this amazing place began in the 12^th century.  St Malo was home to François-René Chateaubriand (1768 – 1848) who is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.  Jacques Cartier (1491 – 1557), an explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France, was from St Malo.  St Malo has also been the home to many pirates… years ago.  St Malo is located at the mouth of the Rance River and is a fishing and sailing area as well.

Day 6:  Mont Saint Michel, Normandy
On this day will take a day trip to the amazing Mont Saint Michel in Normandy; this ancient and massive abbey is a sight to see.  Starting 1200 years ago, this village and abbey is built on an island that is revealed when the tide comes in.  This area is excellent for birding and we will drive the coastal area for birding and walking. 

Day 7:  Saint Suliac, Brittany 
Six miles up the Rance River valley from St Malo is another fishing and sailing village called Saint Suliac. St Suliac is a very old village founded nearly 1500 years ago by a Welsh monk who came to spread Christianity to the area.  The quaint and picturesque village of Saint Suliac is nice for walks and nature.  There are trails that lead in both directions from the village, along the river. The Rance River estuary is at its widest at Saint Suliac (1.3 miles), creating splendid landscapes between the rolling green hills and the deep-blue water. Saint Suliac was recently listed among the most beautiful villages in France and its architecture is protected by national laws.

Day 8:  Paris
It is a 3.5-hour train ride back to Paris on the TGV train.  We will be staying once again at Hotel Paix Republique for 2-nights. Back in Paris, we will have a fabulous dinner and possibly an evening event, like a musical show, if the schedule works out, or maybe a nighttime visit to the Eiffel Tower.  The Palais Garnier is one of the most opulent opera houses in the world, and if we can't see an opera, we can take a tour of this architectural work of art. Birding:  Pére Lachaise Cemetery, besides being the resting place for numerous great artists, writers and composers including Frédéric Chopin, Molière, Eugène Delacroix, Camille Pissarro, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, is an good place to see birds. 

Day 9:  Paris
This will be our last day in Paris to visit any locations we missed the first few days or visit spots that were so great we would like to see them again. A visit to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre is always wonderful.  Besides great museums, Paris also has parks, gardens, and famous cemeteries to visit. Bois de Boulogne (Boulogne woodland) was once a hunting ground for royalty and became a city park in 1852 and contains 2,088 acres. Cemetery Père-Lachaise is full of famous people, beautiful statues, and a nice place to take a walk. And the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is now open after re-construction following the devastating fire of April 2019.

Day 10:  Fly Home
Flights usually leave in the morning, so getting to the airport and getting home is our only scheduled activity for the day.