Travel to French Riviera with regional chamber

Looking for an affordable way to visit France? North San Diego Business Chamber might have just the ticket.

The chamber’s third organized overseas trip will be to France and the French Riviera, scheduled for March 24 to April 1, 2015.

An informational meeting about the trip’s itinerary, cost and other details will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 in the chamber’s office, 10875 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 104 in Rancho Bernardo.

Travelers, potentially limited to a group of up to 50, will fly out of San Diego and arrive in Cannes on France’s Mediterranean coast. The group will also visit Antibes, Sophia Antipolis and have many optional excursions. Those who would also like to visit Paris for two days can have that option added to the end of the trip.

The eight-day trip includes touring Cannes; the Palais del Festivals; La Croisiette; town of Le Suquet with its medieval streets and Renaissance houses; Antibes; the world Internet headquarters Sophia Antipolis; and Grasse, center of the French perfume industry, dubbed “the world’s perfume capital.” The optional excursions are to St. Paul-de-Vence, a medieval-looking village; Monaco, an independent principality known for its casino and international social life, contained within an area of less than one square mile; Villefrance; and the St. Tropez wine region.

The trip costs $2,999 per person for a double occupancy, though those who place a deposit by Dec. 31 will receive a $100 discount. The cost includes round-trip airfare from San Diego, first class hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and one dinner, professional tour escort, baggage handling and transfers, local taxes and service charges. The optional trips cost 90 euros each and the Paris post-tour is an additional $599.

Debra Rosen, NSDBC president and CEO, said the chamber’s trips to China in 2012 and Spain earlier this year have been popular because they make traveling overseas so affordable. They attracted 53 and 60 attendees, respectively.

“It is because airfare alone can be almost 70 percent (of the cost) if they go on their own,” Rosen said. “It is really a very economical way to see different parts of the world without spending a lot of money. Everything we do is first class.”

There is a business-oriented component to part of the trip — there are efforts underway to meet with French government and business leaders through the French Riviera Chamber of Commerce — but those are optional and Rosen said the previous trips had a 50/50 split between chamber members and local residents.

“The neat thing is the trips give an opportunity to be immersed in the culture and experiences of a different country,” she said. “It is so different — their food, culture and way business is done.”

For details, call the chamber at 858-487-1767.