We leave Belfast on the early morning HSS and travel from Stranraer to Hull where we catch the overnight P&O sailing to the Continent.

From Zeebrugge we travel through Flanders and into Northern France. We stop briefly in Arras before continuing through Picardy to arrive, in mid-afternoon, at our hotel in the cathedral city of Reims, in the Champagne Ardennes.

Further south, in the heart of the Camargue, the Laurent family has been raising bulls and horses since 1944. In the French version of bullfighting, the young men pit their wits against the most aggressive animals in the bull-ring, as they attempt to remove trophies from the tips of large horns. Unlike the Spanish, they do not kill the bulls.

The Laurent family, each on a grey Camargue horse, take us on a hay-wagon trip through their ranch to see their horses and the wild bulls in their unique, natural habitat (long sleeves and sun hats are advised).

In the afternoon we travel to Arles where Van Gogh spent many productive years, the Yellow House and the ‘Starry Night’ café are probably the best known subjects from this period of his life.

Today we visit the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in the world and the celebrated Pont d’ Avignon. The rest of the day is free to explore the city.

Our guide joins us today for our journey to Marseille, a city which can claim an amazing history dating back 26 centuries. It rose to prominence as a major Roman port and it is at the Old Port where we begin our tour of the city that gave its name to the French national anthem. We begin at the famous fish market and include a memorable view over the city from Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, with a little time free to explore in the afternoon.

Quite close to Avignon is L’Isle sur la Sorgue, famous for its Sunday morning antique and Provencal market. There are many paddle wheels on the river and an abundance of restaurants and street cafes - a unique Provencal experience.

In the afternoon we visit Le Parcours Sensoriel in the tiny village of Cairanne. Surrounded by vineyards, wine is, the locals say, “an integral part of the art of living”. The Cairanne wine growers cordially invite you to ‘share their attitude’ and learn about their landscape, their history, their lifestyle and, of course, their wine - all by using your own senses - through your eyes, nose, ears, fingertips and, not least, your tongue. Dinner tonight, our last evening in Provence is in the hotel.

Today, our last day in France, we travel around Paris and on to Zeebrugge, in Belgium, where we catch the evening sailing to Hull.

From Hull we retrace our outward journey and catch the evening HSS back to Belfast, arriving at the Europa Buscentre around 10.00pm.