American owned and operated Valesa Cultural Services (based in Madrid) has expanded its offering of tailor-made private services in the French Basque Country. From family touring with sports, cooking and cultural experiences to group touring from cruise ships or academic and special interest groups, Valesa is a one-stop shop for seeing the entire region.
Valesa’s services represent expertise in specialties such as history, art, food and wine in order to offer the best and most attractive trip arrangements for discerning clients. They provide full-service trip management for their groups, allowing groups to enjoy the pleasure of their trip, rather than manage trip details.
“The internet and culture know no national borders,” says Marcy Forman, co-owner and general manager of Valesa. “Europe is a continent of member states, or—even more historically—of regions: areas joined together by nature, geography and culture. Eastern Europe, Pyrenees Mountains, Low Countries, Ireland and the Alps are all such examples of European regions that usually cross country borders through the historic bonds that predate today’s countries. Our aim is to meet client needs and provide authentic cultural experiences in each area.”
Basque Country is made up of seven regions, with three on the French side – although this represents only 20 percent of the entire Basque population. Valesa says the large French tour operators often disregard this area.
These in-depth experiences along the entire Basque Coast, into the mountains for the Route of St. James and around the main cities and villages for cooking classes, market visits, sports activities include bilingual (Spanish and English) guides, who offer the tour in English.
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