This city was made for walking. Stroll grand boulevards with sweeping views of the city, pristine parks with trees planted in perfect rows, and narrow streets crowded with vendors selling flowers, pastries and cheese. Your Tour Director will show you some of the most famous sites, including the ornate, 19th-century Opera, the Presidential residence, the ultra-chic shops of the Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, and the gardens of the Tuileries. You'll pass the Place de la Concorde (that pointy thing in the middle is the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt in 1836), and the Place Vendôme, a huge square surrounded by 17th-century buildings.

The world's largest art museum, the Louvre is housed in a medieval fortress-turned-castle so grand it's worth a tour itself. You walk through the 71-foot glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei and added in 1989, and step into another world-one with carved ceilings, deep-set windows, and so many architectural details, you could spend a week just admiring the rooms. But check out the art on the walls. The Mona Lisa is here, as well as the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory (the headless statue, circa 200 BC, discovered at Samothrace). The Louvre has seven different departments of paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and antiquities. Don't miss the Egyptian collection, complete with creepy sarcophagi, or the collection of Greek ceramics, one of the largest in the world. (Please note the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.)

What's that huge white arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées? The Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. A licensed local guide will give the goods on this, and other, Parisian landmarks. Spot chic locals (and tons of tourists) strolling the Champs-Élysées. Look up at the iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. See Les Invalides (a refuge for war wounded), the École Militaire (Napoleon's alma mater), and the Conciergerie (the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept during the French Revolution). Then head to the Île de la Cité -- a small island in the Seine -- to see Notre Dame Cathedral. Look up at the great gray spires, grotesque gargoyles, and huge, round stained-glass windows (even more impressive than in the Disney version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”).

The ultimate palace, Versailles was built by Louis VIX, and housed the royal family and its groveling court from 1582, when the Sun King moved in, to the French Revolution. Everything in Versailles is worth a look, from the 250-foot-long Hall of Mirrors, with themed salons-"war" and "peace"-on either side, to Marie Antoinette's faux country hamlet. When being a queen became too much to bear, she would pretend to be a commoner, tending her sheep and wearing peasant clothes. (Please note Versailles is closed on Mondays.)

See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.

See the charming walled city of Avignon, which for a time was the seat of the papacy. See the town square, where a merry-go-round from 1900 amuses patrons at the surrounding sidewalk cafés

Lush lavender fields, olive groves, terra-cotta roofs, and ochre walls lit by golden sunlight...your Tour Director will guide you through the splendor that is Provence. Explore legacies of the Roman Empire like the Pont du Gard aqueduct, a sophisticated work of engineering that is intact after more than 2,000 years, and visit the Nîmes amphitheater. Built by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago, it was once the site of gory gladiator and animal combat, and is still used today for performances and bullfights (some things never change). Also visit the medieval ruins of Baux-de-Provence.

Journey to the Côte d’Azur by way of the tree-shaded boulevards and carved fountains of Aix-en-Provence and Cassis, where the coast is riddled with Calanques. These deep channels, carved into the white limestone cliffs by ancient rivers, make a perfect backdrop for your cruise through the crystalline waters.

Study French in the heart of Nice at the Azurlingua school. Lively, fun lessons and a building with spacious, air-conditioned classrooms, a computer room with internet access, and a large central garden provide the perfect setting for learning or improving your language skills. Students learn from degree-holding teachers, all native French speakers, in small-class settings. Six course levels cover everyone from total beginners to proficient speakers, and there are four 45-minute lessons each day with course books (included in the fee) developed by the school. Chaperones may participate in the language lessons for free. Students who study during June reside in a two- or three-star hotel, with three students per room and each room with private bathroom; breakfast and dinner are included each day. In July, students room in two- and three-bed dormitory rooms, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included. A full-day excursion to Monaco and Eze and a half-day excursion to Cannes, Antibes, or St. Paul de Vence are also included. Azurlingua is accredited by SOUFFLE Professional French Federation and the Council of Europe (European language framework, European Comenius program). Academic credit is available to students through Truman State University.