Cross Stitch in France and Pour l’Amour du Fil

Join the coach at one of four pick up points (Fairford Gloucestershire, London, Maidstone and Folkestone). Continue to Rouen via Eurotunnel. Get to know your fellow crafters over the included dinner at the hotel this evening.

Enjoy a half-day workshop with Jane this morning. Make the most of your free time this afternoon to explore Rouen, described by 19th century poet and novelist Victor Hugo as 'the city of a hundred spires'. See Notre Dame Cathedral with its splendid Butter Tower, immortalised in paintings by Claude Monet, and admire the Gros Horloge, a huge astronomical clock dating back to the 16th century. In the centre of the Old Market Square stands the church of St Joan of Arc, whose design represents the pyre on which Joan perished in 1431. The former Archbishops Palace houses Historial Jeanne de Arc, a museum dedicated to the life of Joan of Arc

We leave Rouen this morning and continue through France to the cosmopolitan city of Paris. A large portion of the capital, including the River Seine, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy a sightseeing tour with our local guide, who will introduce us to some of the city’s famous sights.

This afternoon we'll have the opportunity for some retail therapy at Le Bonheur de Dames, a cross stitch and embroidery shop.

Excursion to Monet's Garden in Giverny. The perspectives, symmetries and colours of the flower and water gardens were the inspiration for some of his most famous works. The artist lived here from 1883 until his death in 1926, and today his house and  in particular the gardens, made famous by his painting of the water lilies, have been restored to Monet’s original designs.

We leave Paris this morning and continue through France to Nantes. We stop on route at Château d'Angers to view the Apocalypse Tapestry – a large set of medieval tapestries commissioned by Louis I, and woven in Paris between 1377 and 1382. The tapestry depicts the story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation by Saint John the Divine in colourful images, spread over 6 tapestries that originally totalled 90 scenes, and were about 6 metres high and 140 metres long.

Our second stop is at the Jean Lurcat & Contemporary Tapestry Museum to view Jean Lurcat's Chant du Monde tapestry and also to discover tapestry collections from the 1930’s to contemporary approaches to textile design.

This morning we marvel at Les Machines de L’Ile and take the Great Elephant Ride, travelling aboard the motorised elephant as we find out how the gears and the legs work from a machinist as we enjoy a stunning view of the site of the former shipyards.

This afternoon we enjoy our second half-day cross stitch workshop with Jane.

A full day at the Pour l’Amour du Fil Show- the meeting place for enthusiasts of patchwork, sewing, embroidery, and many more textile crafts. Come together with your fellow crafters over dinner in the hotel this evening.

Return to the UK with a stop at the Cite Europe Mall in Coquelles for some retail therapy before crossing the channel on the Eurotunnel and back to our points of departure.