France Shore Excursions - French Riviera, Provence & Normandy

Le Havre is the closest cruise port to Paris - approximately 2 hours by private vehicle. A full-day Le Havre shore excursion to Paris runs 12 to 13 hours and covers the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Seine, with a drop-off at your hotel or return to the pier. Cherbourg is slightly further from Paris but is the best port for Mont-Saint-Michel, which many guests consider the highlight of their entire cruise. If your itinerary includes both Le Havre and Cherbourg, save Paris for Le Havre and Mont-Saint-Michel for Cherbourg.

Nice is one of the most well-positioned ports on the French Riviera. From the pier you can reach Monaco in 30 minutes, the hilltop village of Eze in 20 minutes, and the old town of Antibes in 25 minutes. A full port day comfortably covers two or three destinations - a popular combination is Nice old town and the Cours Saleya flower market in the morning, followed by Monaco in the afternoon. Villefranche-sur-Mer, the next bay east, is one of the most beautiful small harbors on the Riviera and is a 15-minute drive from Nice.

Yes - Mont-Saint-Michel is most accessible from Cherbourg (approximately 2 hours) and St. Malo if your itinerary includes that port. From Le Havre the drive is closer to 3.5 hours each way, making it a very long day - most guests prefer to combine Le Havre with closer destinations such as the D-Day beaches, Giverny, or Honfleur, and save Mont-Saint-Michel for a Cherbourg port call. Our Cherbourg shore excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel runs approximately 8 hours and gives you 2 to 3 hours at the site itself.

Marseille offers an unusually wide range of options for a single port. The city itself rewards 3 to 4 hours with a private guide - the Vieux-Port, Notre-Dame de la Garde, the Panier quarter, and the MuCEM museum of European and Mediterranean civilisations. Beyond the city, Aix-en-Provence is 30 minutes away and one of the finest examples of French classical architecture in the south. Cassis and the Calanques - limestone sea cliffs with turquoise coves - are 45 minutes east. Les Baux-de-Provence, Avignon, and the Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct are all reachable in a full day. Marseille is also one of the few French ports where a single tour can combine city, countryside, and coastline.

Yes - the Normandy D-Day landing beaches are accessible from both ports. From Le Havre the beaches are approximately 2 hours west, making a D-Day tour a natural full-day excursion with time at Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Memorial, and the town of Bayeux. From Cherbourg the beaches are closer - about 1 hour - so a Cherbourg D-Day tour can cover more ground in the same amount of time. Your guide is a local historian who has studied this terrain for years and brings the landings to life far beyond what any group bus tour can offer.

Our back-to-ship guarantee means that if an unforeseen delay during your private France shore excursion prevents you from returning to the pier before your ship departs, we will arrange and cover the cost of transportation to your next port of call. This guarantee applies to all private shore excursions booked through us from any French cruise port. Your tour must be scheduled to return 1.5 hours before the ship departs.