join my facebook group

CITY FARMHOUSE IN FRANCE

April 9–17, 2027

Once upon a time, there was a version of life that moved more slowly.
Meals lingered. Beauty mattered. And no one expected you to optimize yourself.

This journey is a return to that feeling.

City Farmhouse in France is not about seeing everything.
It’s about living well — simply, intentionally, and beautifully.

Think golden light on stone streets.
Fresh bread wrapped in paper.
Markets, antiques, long lunches, and conversations that don’t need an ending.

This is where time softens — and you remember who you are when nothing is being asked of you.

  • Hosted by: Jennifer O’Brien, creator of City Farmhouse
  • Curated by: Kate Ciullo, Lumina Literary Tours
  • On-the-ground leadership: Dedicated French tour manager & local guides
  • Route: La Rochelle → Marennes → Western French Countryside → La Rochelle

A Nancy Meyers
Inspired Escape

1
country

8
Days

5
Locations

Women Only 
Travel

lock in your spot

What’s Included in Your Escape

8 nights in curated 4-star accommodations

Daily breakfast

Select group lunches

Private touring coach & driver

Guided cultural experiences & admissions

Welcome dinner & farewell dinner

Author-hosted moments with Jennifer O’Brien

All taxes & fees

Highlights
  • Group arrival in France & private transfer west
  • Check-in in La Rochelle
  • Welcome dinner at a local restaurant

Today is about crossing a threshold.

You arrive in France independently and meet the group in Bordeaux, where a private transfer carries you through the countryside toward the coast. Fields stretch out. Villages pass quietly. Your body begins to register that you are no longer responsible for anything except being here.

By late afternoon, we arrive in La Rochelle — a harbor town shaped by light, water, and time.

This evening, we gather for a welcome dinner. The table is set. Wine is poured. Names are exchanged without pressure. There is nothing to perform. This is the beginning of the week gently holding you.

La Rochelle

Easy

Saturday, April 10

Arrival & A Gentle Beginning

Welcome Dinner

Private arrival
transfer

🍽️

🚙

📍

🚶‍♀️

Highlights
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Travel into oyster country
  • Visit to a working oyster farm in the Marennes-Oléron basin
  • Leisurely lunch with local oysters and wine
  • Free time in a nearby seaside town

Morning arrives softly — coffee, bread, sunlight through the window.

Today we travel into oyster country: the marshes and waterways of the Marennes-Oléron basin. At a working oyster farm, you’ll learn how tides, salt air, and time itself shape the flavor of what ends up on the plate.

Lunch is unhurried, enjoyed right where the oysters are grown. Conversation stretches. Afterward, there’s time to wander the nearby seaside town, letting the slower rhythm set in.

We return to La Rochelle in the early evening. Dinner is on your own — perhaps something spontaneous, perhaps something quiet.

Marennes-Oléron Basin · La Rochelle

Private Coach

Sunday, April 11

The Coastline · Slowing Down

Breakfast

Light Walking

🚶‍♀️

📍

🍽️

🚙

Highlights
  • Guided walking tour of La Rochelle’s historic center
  • Old harbor, medieval streets & iconic harbor towers
  • Group lunch near the port
  • Coastal time at Pointe des Minimes
  • Café stop for coffee or pastries

This morning, we explore La Rochelle on foot with a local guide.

After breakfast, we walk through the historic city center, tracing the harbor, medieval streets, and landmarks that once guarded access to the Atlantic — including the Grosse Horloge, the Renaissance-style Town Hall, and the iconic harbor towers.

Midday brings a relaxed group lunch near the port, followed by a short drive to Pointe des Minimes. Here, the afternoon opens up — time to walk along the water, explore beach paths, or simply sit with the Atlantic air.

We pause for coffee or pastries before returning to the hotel. The evening is free and unhurried.

La Rochelle · Pointe des Minimes

Private transfer

Monday, April 12

La Rochelle · History & the Harbor

Included Meals:
Breakfast, Lunch

Moderate Walking

🚶‍♂️

📍

🍽️

🚙

Highlights
  • Guided visit to traditional French markets
  • Brocantes and small antique shops
  • Group lunch at a local restaurant
  • Open, unstructured afternoon

After breakfast, we set out with a local guide to explore traditional French markets and brocantes in and around La Rochelle.

The morning is intentionally slow and tactile — open-air stalls of flowers, produce, linens, ceramics, and everyday objects that make French life feel quietly beautiful. From there, we wander small antique shops and brocantes, places layered with history where drawers are meant to be opened and nothing is rushed.

Midday, we gather for a relaxed group lunch. The afternoon remains open: return to a favorite shop, sit at a café with a book, journal, or wander without a plan. Dinner is on your own this evening.

La Rochelle

Private transfer

Tuesday, April 13

Markets & Brocantes · The Art of Noticing

Breakfast, Lunch

Light Walking

🚶‍♂️

📍

🍽️

🚙

Highlights
  • Full-day guided coastal exploration
  • Western shoreline, villages & lighthouses
  • Group lunch
  • Time for walking, reflection & creative wandering
  • Golden-hour time along the coast

After breakfast, we depart La Rochelle by private coach and follow the western coastline.

This day is designed around seeing — not performing. We stop at rugged shorelines, quiet beaches, working harbors, weathered lighthouses, and small seaside villages where life still moves with the tides.

There’s no pressure to photograph or capture anything perfectly. The invitation is simply to notice texture, color, and how the light shifts throughout the day.

We pause for a relaxed group lunch, then continue along the coast with time to walk, reflect, or wander. As evening approaches, we settle along the shoreline to experience the coast in golden light before returning to La Rochelle.

Dinner is on your own.

Western French Coastline · La Rochelle

Private transfer

Wednesday, April 14

The Coastline · Light & Seeing

Breakfast, Lunch

Moderate Walking

🚶‍♂️

📍

🍽️

🚙

Highlights
  • Visit to Château de la Roche Courbon
  • Guided interior château tour
  • Time to wander formal French gardens
  • Picnic lunch on the grounds
  • Evening French cooking class & dinner

After breakfast, we travel from La Rochelle into the countryside to Château de la Roche Courbon.

Stone towers and a surrounding moat rise from the marshland, creating a setting that feels both grand and intimate. A guided interior tour leads through lived-in rooms filled with period furnishings and family heirlooms, followed by time to wander the formal French gardens at your own pace.

Lunch is a picnic on the château grounds (weather permitting). The afternoon is left open for rest, journaling, or stillness back at the hotel.

In the evening, we gather for a hands-on French cooking class. Together, we prepare a multi-course meal using local ingredients, then sit down to enjoy dinner — shared and unhurried.

Château de la Roche Courbon · La Rochelle

Private Coach

Thursday, April 15

The Château · Beauty & the Table

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Moderate Walking

🚶‍♂️

📍

🍽️

🚙

Highlights
  • Travel to the Arvert Peninsula
  • Vineyard visit & guided tasting
  • Free time in La Tremblade
  • Coastal stop near La Coubre Lighthouse
  • Farewell dinner together

After breakfast, we depart La Rochelle by private coach and travel to the Arvert Peninsula, a quiet coastal region of vineyards, pine forests, and salt air.

The morning begins with a vineyard visit and guided tasting, where a local winemaker introduces the region’s wines and specialties, including Cognac and Pineau, in a setting that feels personal rather than polished.

From here, we continue to La Tremblade for free time to stroll the riverfront and enjoy lunch on your own. In the afternoon, we stop near La Coubre Lighthouse, with time to walk along the beach, take in the Atlantic air, or simply sit and let the week settle.

We return to La Rochelle in the late afternoon before gathering for a farewell dinner — a final shared table to mark the close of our time together.

Arvert Peninsula · La Rochelle

Private water taxi

Friday, April 16

The Peninsula · Savoring & Farewell

Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

Easy Walking

🚶‍♂️

📍

🍽️

🚙

your itinerary

Deposit: $100 per person


Double Occupancy: $4,655 pp


Solo Occupancy: $5,365 pp


Final Payment Due: January 24, 2027

This journey is intentionally limited to preserve the pacing, intimacy, and depth that make Lumina tours feel different. Pricing reflects a thoughtfully curated, small-group experience shaped by story, place, and exceptional local partners.

Registration

pricing &

after you register

You’ll receive immediate confirmation, access to your personal travel portal, and a warm welcome from Kate & April. Everything you need to feel prepared — without overwhelm — arrives gently.

reserve your spot

HOST

meet your

Jennifer O’Brien is the creator of City Farmhouse, a world shaped by French-inspired living, timeless interiors, and the belief that beauty belongs in everyday life — not just special occasions.

She is also the author of The Summer I Found You, a novel rooted in home, creativity, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. Her work blends story and place in a way that feels deeply lived-in, never staged.

On this journey, Jennifer isn’t hosting from a distance. She’s traveling alongside you — sharing meals, conversation, inspiration, and the places that shaped both her aesthetic and her story. This is not a performance or a workshop. It’s an invitation into a rhythm of life she genuinely lives.

Expect thoughtful moments, unhurried days, and the kind of presence that makes space for everyone to simply be themselves.

Jennifer O’Brien
Creator of City Farmhouse · Author of The Summer I Found You

Submit Form

 I’d love to connect! Whether you need more details, want to chat through the itinerary, or are ready to start the process of reserving your spot, I’m here to help.  💬 Fill out the form below, and I’ll personally get back to you.

Thank you for getting in touch.
We will reply to you within 24 hours.

Interested...
but have questions?

accreditations: