April 7–15, 2027 · 8 Nights · Three Houses
From the great châteaux of Bordeaux to oysters on the Bassin d'Arcachon — eight nights of vines, markets and the Atlantic, lived across three private houses: the city, the wine country, and the coast. Founder-led by Desta. Solo travelers first, six guests at most. Reserve early, and pay your way there by the month.
In April the Médoc is waking — buds breaking green along the gravel rows, the rivers high and bright, the Atlantic light coming back long and gold. The crowds of summer haven't arrived. The oyster beds of Arcachon are at their cold-water best. This is Bordeaux before the season turns it loud.
You live it from three private houses — a townhouse in the heart of the city, a stone manor among the vines, then a wood house in the maritime pines above the bay. No lobbies, no packing each night. Days among the classified growths and medieval Saint-Émilion; afternoons on a terrace over the water with a plate of oysters and a glass of something cold. Small, slow, and yours.
No hotels. You settle into three homes — a bright townhouse in the city, a stone manor among the vines, and a wood house above the bay. Each its own world; each entirely yours. Step inside.
Our home among the vines since 2022 — a stone chambre d'hôte on the Dordogne, restored by our friends Olivier, an architect-turned-pastry-chef who designed and built it by hand, and Natalie, a professional chocolatier whose studio warms the whole house with the scent of cocoa. A hundred-year-old magnolia stands watch out front; a garden and terrace open at the back. Four rooms only — each modern and quietly luxurious, each with its own beautiful bath. If the spirit moves you, Olivier and Natalie open their kitchen for a cooking or chocolate class. From here we make our days into Saint-Émilion, Libourne and Sauternes, and come home each night to one long table.
Click any image to look closer.
Eight nights, three houses, one unhurried arc — the city, the vines, the sea. Click any day to look closer.
Land in Paris and give yourself to it — twenty-four hours in the City of Light. The river, a café, a quiet church at dusk, a first dinner together, before we turn south. (Depart the U.S. April 6.)
A morning TGV south in first class — spring countryside racing past, rapeseed fields in yellow, stone villages catching the light. We arrive at Gare Saint-Jean, where the City of Stone awaits, and settle into the Bordeaux townhouse for two nights. An evening on foot through the old quarter — the Grosse Cloche, Porte Cailhau — and out to the Chartrons for a glass of something cold on the quay.
A full day to give Bordeaux its due — the Cathédrale Saint-André, the Marché des Capucins at its spring best, the Cité du Vin, the long curve of the river in golden light. Time to wander, to taste, to let the city set the pace. Home to the townhouse for the night.
We leave the city for the countryside. On the way out, Château de la Brède — Montesquieu's moated home, a little history under our feet. Then on to the Right Bank and the Dordogne, to Malis Castera, our home among the vines for three nights, where Olivier and Natalie are waiting and the house already smells of chocolate.
Morning at the riverside marché in Libourne — white asparagus, the first strawberries, herbs by the armful, oysters on ice. We carry our finds home to Malis Castera, where Natalie and Olivier turn the market into dinner at the long table. The kind of evening you remember for years.
A day in the village that started it all. A TukTuk through the underground and out among the vineyards, a private tasting in a historic cellar, and the time and guidance to curate your own case to ship home. Long views over the valley, the smallest gargoyle in France, and a fun dinner at a local gem to close the day.
West to the coast — salt, resin, the Atlantic. We settle into the wood house above the Bassin d'Arcachon for two nights. Time to settle in, then a private boat out from the pier into the bay, dinner at Chez Pierre, and home as the light goes long and pink over the basin.
Breakfast of warm boulangerie goods to set us up for the Dune du Pilat — climb Europe's tallest sand dune, the pine forest on one side, the ocean on the other. Back to the house to refresh, then a sunset dinner at La Corniche — the final night of the tour, the bay below, the week in our glasses.
Our last morning. Your train back to Paris or Bordeaux is already booked; we drive everyone to the station together and say our farewells there. Stay on if France is still calling — Pas Perdu can carry you onward. Until we meet again.
Real frames from the journey we've run since 2022 — the city, the markets, the vines and the bay. Click any to look closer.
Most beautiful trips ask for thousands of dollars a few months out — and most lives don't work that way. We do it differently. Hold your seat with a deposit, then spread the rest across gentle monthly payments until you fly. The earlier you reserve, the lighter each month. Think of it not as $7,950 — but as a little every month, on your way to France.
| Reserve now — about 9 months out | $772 /mo |
| About 7 months out | $993 /mo |
| About 5 months out | $1,390 /mo |
| Within 90 days of departure | Traditional plan |
Your schedule is set the day you reserve — the balance after your deposit, divided evenly across the months until you go. Reserve earlier and each payment is lighter; the trip is the same. Prefer to pay another way? When you reserve, you can also choose our traditional three-payment plan ($1,500 to reserve, then half the balance 60 days prior and half 30 days prior) or simply pay in full.
Your deposit and payments are non-refundable — but fully transferable. If life turns, every dollar moves with you to a future Maison Meritage journey, and you go to the front of the line to choose it. (Within your next two departures.)
Travel insurance is required — your backstop for illness, emergency, the genuinely unexpected. Between insurance and transfer, every circumstance has a soft landing.
Your seat means a house booked, a chef retained, a table set — committed long before we travel. A real commitment is what keeps the journey possible for everyone who gathers at the table.
Your own room in each house — no single supplement, ever. Solo travelers first, and the room we hold for you first.
For couples who travel as one — the rooms solo travelers don't claim. $500 reserves your place, then monthly from there.
Every traveler is chosen for the journey. Apply, reserve your place with $500, and begin paying your way to France — a little every month.
Apply for Spring 2027