Designed with the car lover in mind, we have curated this 15-day tour to combine the classic with the sparkling new, the fast with the slow, across some of the most spectacular roads and surfaces around Europe. Driving iconic names from a 2CV to a Ferrari, guests will experience the nostalgia of quintessential classics and the thrills of supercars whilst travelling through the most scenic parts of Europe.

Direct and comfortable air travel by private jet ensures access to those places we plan to visit, maximising our time to enjoy driving and sightseeing en-route. Private jet transport means that we can generally avoid airport crowds, lengthy boarding processes and queues at immigration and customs.

Guests jump on-board, relax with a glass of champagne and enjoy our thrilling ride as we connect amazing Continental destinations by jet and car on this incredible adventure.

Day 1 | Departure

Guests meet at London City Airport at the private jet lounge for refreshments before we board our private jet and settle in for the short flight across the Channel to Normandy in France whilst enjoying a light lunch.

As the Normandy Coast comes into view, guests can reflect on the fierce fighting here that started the liberation of Europe towards the end of World War II. We land near Caen and transfer to Chateau d'Audrieu. As we enter the grounds guests will be greeted by our waiting fleet of 2CV’s for the start of our journey to Carcassonne. Dinner at the Chateau this evening.

Day 2 | Le Mans, France

After a brief introduction of the 2CV, our route will take us south to Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world and is often called the "Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency".

Part of the race is driven on a specialist racing circuit and we will give our 2CV’s a run here! After our ‘race’ we enjoy lunch before driving on to Tours, our stay for the night at the stunning Domaine de La Tortiniere.

Day 3 | Tours to Bordeaux

After a hearty French breakfast, we continue our journey, joining the A10 from Tours which will ultimately lead us to Bordeaux. A slight detour from the route to visit the pretty town of La Rochelle on the coast, and a delightful seafood lunch, before continuing our journey to the heart of the French Wine making region – Bordeaux.

We stay at Les sources de Caudalie, set in the midst of the Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte vineyards, one of the grapes first growths. We have dinner at the Michelin Star restaurant this evening.

Day 4 | Bordeaux wine region

We continue to explore the Bordeaux wine region by 2CV, visiting Chateau de Pitray, close to Saint-Emilion one of the most famous wine producing areas of France. For our second wine tasting we make our way to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, the famous wine producer. We return to the hotel late afternoon.

Day 5 | Bordeaux to Carcassonne

Leaving behind the wine producing region of Bordeaux we drive deeper into the mysterious Cathar region of Southern France on our way to Carcassonne. The medieval town of Carcassonne is incredibly beautiful and wandering through the old town guests can absorb the distant sounds and scents of centuries ago. Our journey here, off the main motorway, takes us through the wild and untamed foothills of the Pyrenees where the legends of the Knights Templar and their long-lost treasure still fascinates people.

We stay at the Hotel de la City, in the heart of the old town of Carcassonne and dine at the 1 Michelin Star restaurant La Barbacane.

Day 6 | Fly to Sicily

Bidding farewell to our 2CV’s, we make the short transfer to the airport where our jet and crew are waiting to take us to Sicily. Champagne and lunch await us onboard our flight to Catania where we are transferred to the San Domenico Palace Hotel. A spectacular Michelin Star seafood dining experience awaits guests at La Capinera.

Day 7 | Sicily

Guests are met with the incredible sight of our fleet of vintage Fiat 500’s in which we will explore the Sicilian countryside. A short briefing explains how to get the most out of this Italian classic before the signal is given to be on our way. The fertile volcanic fields around imposing Mount Etna are perfect for growing vines and during our drive we will pass many wineries. Some of the old villages and hamlets look like they haven’t changed for Centuries. We will stop at a winery at the foot of Etna for lunch before continuing our journey through the spectacular Sicilian countryside.

This evening guests have a choice of restaurants, both in Taormina itself as well as the hotel. Guests make the choice; we make the arrangements.

Day 8 | Northern Italy, flightseeing

We depart from Catania this morning and make our way to Northern Italy. As we hug the Italian coastline, we hope to see the city of Positano, clinging to the mountains and the beautiful island of Capri before heading in-land to Siena. We land at a small military airfield near the town and enjoy a short stroll around the town, famous for the annual Palio. Lunch at Antica Osteria da Divo, a traditional Italian family run restaurant near the Dome and the square. We re-join our jet and fly to Bolzano which will be our base for the next two nights. Dinner is a choice of restaurants in Bolzano.

Day 9 | Drive the Stelvio Pass

An iconic roadway, often used in TV commercials and movies, the Stelvio Pass is the one everybody wants to drive. A fleet of Ferrari’s awaits us in front of the hotel and each driver will be given a thorough familiarisation programme before the keys are handed over. These are high performance supercars and due care needs to be taken before we make our way through the street of Bolzano, the foothills of the Dolomites to the start of the Stelvio Pass. Our support car leads the way to lay out a wonderful gourmet picnic at a viewing point overlooking the Pass. This is the ultimate drive. We return to Bolzano late afternoon and gather for dinner at the hotel.

Day 10 – Stuttgart

Our early morning flight will take us over the Dolomites, low over the Bodensee to Stuttgart, home of Mercedes Benz. Upon landing a fleet of Mercedes cars will be waiting to take us to Mercedes Head Quarters to pick up our cars for the next few days. The authentic route taken by Bertha Benz in 1888, not only links almost forgotten original sites she passed on her way, it also leads to one of the most scenic regions in Germany, the wine region Baden.

We begin our journey to retrace Bertha Benz’s historical route, driving from Stuttgart to Baden Baden where we stay and dine in the Brenners Park Hotel & Spa.

Day 11– Heidelberg

Travelling the Bertha Benz Historical Route sees us passing picturesque towns and stops along our route. The town pharmacy in Wiesloch is referred to as the "First filling station in the world", with a monument dedicated to Bertha Benz’s historic first car trip.

We continue our journey to Mannheim, the official end of the route, before driving to Heidelberg, where we stay at Der Europaische Hof Hotel. Heidelberg is a beautiful old university town and we recommend a walk around the town before or after dinner.

Day 12 – Levi, Finland

We transfer to Mannheim Airport to fly north to Levi in Finland for the last driving experience. Our lunch time flight arrives at Kittilä Airport in Finland early afternoon and we travel to Levi where we will stay for the next 3 nights.

Day 13 & Day 14 – Levi

A winter experience driving the Porsche way will be a most thrilling ride. At the Porsche Centre, guests will learn the basics of driving in treacherous conditions, preparing them specifically for the situation in winter. In a brief theory session, guests learn the basics of driving safety and driving dynamics. The Porsche Driving Experience instructors work on special techniques to improve vehicle handling on snow and ice. Guests learn effective braking, changing direction and hill starts on low-traction surfaces.

In addition, guests practise developing so-called ‘muscle memory’. In hazardous conditions, depending on intuition is vital and turning these reactions into reflexes means practice, practice, and yet more practice. And guests certainly will have plenty of opportunity for this.

Guests will also get to explore the wintery delights of Finland when not behind the wheel of a Porsche. With guests at the helm, a snowmobile tour of the rugged countryside of Lapland, home to more reindeer than people, will be the culmination of an unforgettable two days of driving.

Day 15 – Homebound

We board the private jet for our return flight to London, the perfect end to an extraordinary road trip.

Information

Departure can be arranged from other airports
Home transfers in a classic car can be arranged to give a taste of what’s to come
Driving experiences in classic, vintage and supercar models
Fine dining at Michelin Star restaurants, wine tasting and historic tours
A Mercedes Benz model preference is to be given at time of booking and surcharges for top models might apply

Interested? Contact our team at hello@bartelings.com or by phone on +44 (0) 7768 614235 and we can curate an itinerary suited to your client base.

CLASSIC TO SUPERCAR EUROPEAN DRIVING ADVENTURE

THE ESSENTIAL SILK ROAD

A TASTE OF ITALY