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Follow the path of the backstabbing, brave, and utterly ruthless Plantagenet family through France, exploring the tense, and often tragic battles of Agincourt and Poitiers. With your specialist Tour Manager to lead the way, you'll be transported to a time of fragile English, French relations.
Meet your Tour Manager, a Plantagenets expert, at St Pancras for your afternoon Eurostar service to Paris, continuing to Tours on arrival. This city, played an all-important role in the history of the Plantagenets when, in 1444, Henry VI and Charles VII signed the Treaty of Tours in an attempt to bring peace to the region.
This morning we head out on a full-day's coach excursion, beginning at Poitiers battlefield, site of a celebrated English victory in the Hundred Years' War, as well as the town itself. Here we take in the Palais de Justice and Poitiers Cathedral, a magnificent Romanesque and early Gothic building built in 1162 by order of Henry II. Our next stop is Fontevraud Abbey, in the county of Anjou. Before dinner we delve deeper into this fascinating and very often bloody family story before dinner, enjoying a talk from our expert Tour Manager.
We visit Château de Chinon today, on the banks of the Vienne River. This turreted masterpiece once belonged to Henry II's brother Geoffrey, count of Anjou, and it was here that the fiery Plantagenet king died in 1189. During our visit we take an tour of the castle, learning about the tumultuous stories that took place under its roof. There is free time for you here to look round independently, before we return to Tours this afternoon.
After breakfast this morning we check out of our hotel, and begin our journey by coach to Abbeville in the Picardy region of France. The town was a lynchpin in the Hundred Years' war, changing hands multiple times during this period. We set out on a guided walking tour of the are which includes the Collegiate Church of Saint Vulfran and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We also pass by the Boucher de Perthes Museum, built in honour of the archaeologist Jacques Boucher de Crèvecoeur de Perthes, and spend tonight at the Mercure Hotel in Abbeville, enjoying a final group dinner together.
Today we visit two critical battlefields of the Hundred Years War, Crécy and Agincourt. After taking in the battleground, we visit the Crécy Museum before continuing to Agincourt, where the Lancastrian King, Henry V led his troops into uncertainty on October 25 1415. It was such a dramatic moment in Plantagenet history, that it inspired the rousing 'band of brothers' speech from Shakespeare's Henry V. We also visit the Azincourt Centre Historique Médiéval Museum before we return to London via the Eurostar from Lille.
A former police officer with a passion for medieval history, John Giblin has been involved in guiding our Plantagenet-era tours since their inception. With both a BSc in History & Politics and post-graduate teaching qualifications under his belt, John is able to bring this incredible period to life with expert skill, as you tour poignant sites related to the Plantagenets' turbulent past.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.
An escorted experience and all travel arrangements
Comfortable accommodation in your destination
Delicious meals included
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Enhancing your tour
Be transported to a time of fragile English, French relations.
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