Highly recommend working with Mathilde! She is fabulous!
France | May 12 - May 25, 2024

Lauren
Lauren V.
Atlanta, GA | Reviewed on May 30, 2024

Mathilde did a fabulous job planning and booking our trip to the South of France, Annecy and Paris! Her knowledge and experience was invaluable, and all of the bookings and directions were seamless. I have worked with other travel advisors in the past, and, hands down, the KimKim platform and Mathilde's expertise were far superior.

All of our hotels were in a great location. Mathilde also recommended staying a night in Moustiers-Saint-Marie, which was not on my radar, and ended up being our favorite part of the trip. We visited the lake (rented the hotel's electric boat) and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the town and shopping for beautiful, artisanal ceramics. It is a true "hidden gem."

Some of our favorite tours included the Cezanne Wine tour that departed from Aix (with guide, Greg); kayaking in the Calanques with (Rafaelle, aka Ellie); cooking class in Annecy with Sibyelle; and a private tour of the Musee D'Orsay with Fabio. Having Mathilde handpick our tours/companies took so much pressure off of us, and they were truly wonderful. We also really appreciated having our transportation (rental car, train tickets, airport transfers) taken care of--it made everything a breeze.

Lastly, Mathilde provided restaurant and "things to do" recommendations in each place during our free days, and we did as many as possible, as time allowed.

I thoroughly enjoyed using the KimKim platform and being able to make small changes and ask questions throughout the planning process...it was so much fun!

Overall, I would highly recommend both Mathilde and KimKim...so much so that we are already planning a second trip with Mathilde's guidance!

Thank you!

Hotel Reviews
Splendid Hotel Lac d'Annecy - Handwritten Collection
Annecy

Completely adequate, great location. Very modern decor.

Authenticity & Character
very modern
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
La Villa Nice Victor Hugo
Nice

Great location. 3 star hotel. Completely adequate. Only complaint was the shower--had half glass and floor was the same level as the rest of the bathroom, making it difficult not to get water everywhere while showering. Solid breakfast. 10 minute walk to train station, 15 minutes to the Cours Saleya Market, less than 10 minutes walk to Promenade des Anglais.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
shower was a bit challenging. no extra pillows. minimal furnishings.
La Bastide de Moustiers
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

I cannot recommend this hotel enough. It was our favorite of the entire trip. We were so sad to leave and wished we had stayed several days. We will be back!

Authenticity & Character
16th century chateau, beautiful grounds
Location
can walk up to the village, 10 minutes to the lake
Staff
truly, the most incredible hospitality
Cleanliness & Comfort
they provided "sleep shirts" at turn down service (which you can purchase in the boutique to take home--we should have!). The restaurant is incredible.
Grand Hôtel Roi René Aix-en-Provence Centre – MGallery
Aix-en-Provence

Completely adequate. Good location. Large breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character
large, corporate hotel
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Chateau des Alpilles

Highly recommend. Very serene setting! The most incredible restaurant for breakfast and dinner (I'm sure lunch is great too, but we only had breakfast x2 and dinner x2). We actually made a reservation for dinner the next night while dining, because it was that good!

Authenticity & Character
Location
peaceful, just outside of town
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
was very warm our first night, despite opening the window all night, as air conditioning had not yet been turned on for the season. Second night was much more comfortable as AC had been turned on. Beautiful pool. Definitely plan to make this our "vacation from the vacation" hotel and relax at the hotel for the day.
Hôtel Bastille Speria 3*
Paris

Great hotel, liked the superior room--good amount of space for Paris. Bathroom was huge! Very close to Bastille metro stop.

Authenticity & Character
Location
close to metro, close to Place de Vosges and shopping. Were excited to stay in a different area than we had before...not our favorite, and will likely choose something close to Rue Cler/Eiffel Tower next trip.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Welcome to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie !
Welcome to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie !
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

A hidden gem that many of our guides on different excursions had not heard of before! The most wonderful town, with beautiful, artisanal ceramics. Natural beauty with Verdon Gorge and lake nearby.

Quality of Experience
Free time in the Verdon Canyon and Moustiers Sainte Marie
Free time in the Verdon Canyon and Moustiers Sainte Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Absolutely loved the canyon and the lake. We rented the hotel's electric boat, but could have easily rented one at the lake. The hotel's boat was lovely. We had a little difficulty finding where to meet the boat.

The French Art of Seduction
The French Art of Seduction
Paris

Very enjoyable stroll through the Montmarte. Wish I had a map of our route and what we saw. Tour was about 2.5 hours, ended with drinks together. Roberto was a joy to spend time with.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Pont du Gard - Entrance tickets to the discovery area
Pont du Gard - Entrance tickets to the discovery area
France
Morning Wine Tour in Cezanne Countryside (Group Tour/3h30)
Morning Wine Tour in Cezanne Countryside (Group Tour/3h30)
Aix-en-Provence

Enjoyed the wine tour on Cezanne's wine route! Meets at tourist information center--easy to find.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Guided Visit of Orsay Museum
Private Guided Visit of Orsay Museum
Paris

Fabio is an amazing guide, and we plan to coordinate with him on future trips so we can go to the Louvre together! Incredibly knowledgeable but also fun. Fabio had our tickets pulled up and guided us quickly into the museum through the priority lane. So efficient.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Welcome to La Ciotat
Welcome to La Ciotat
La Ciotat
Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Calanques National Park Sea Kayaking Tour from La Ciotat
Calanques National Park Sea Kayaking Tour from La Ciotat
France

Loved our private sea kayaking tour with Ellie! She was fabulous and we felt very safe. We went all the way around green island. Ellie also recommended going to the port for lunch, which we enjoyed.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Highly recommend expenature and Ellie (Rafaelle)! She was so kind and took photos of us throughout the experience.
French Dessert Cooking Class
French Dessert Cooking Class
Paris

Semi private experience. Would have been more relaxed with larger group or private class. Enjoyed chef Dominique and the recipes we baked.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Olive Groves & Vineyards
Olive Groves & Vineyards
France

Very enjoyable. Beautiful estate.

Guides, Drivers and Staff
At leisure: Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard
At leisure: Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard
Annecy

Beautiful. Can only see 5-6 rooms. Inside castle with tour only. Unfortunately rained heavily during our visit.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Annecy market visit & cooking class
Annecy market visit & cooking class
Annecy

Amazing experience. We loved our day with Sibyelle.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
fabulous!!!
Transport
Local specialist: Mathilde Dubuisson
Mathilde
Mathilde Dubuisson
Local specialist in Villefranche-sur-Saône | Replied on May 30, 2024

Bonjour Lauren & Greg,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review, it was a real pleasure to work with you to create your French adventure! I look forward to welcoming you again in July!
Best,
Mathilde