Burgundy, the River Rhône & Provence River Cruise
8 days from only $2,349pp
8 days from only $2,349pp
If you book before 15 December, you will get 50% off the brochure price on ALL 2026 river cruises.
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Our journey through France explores the beautiful Saône and Rhône French rivers, the preferred route of traders and invaders alike since the dawn of recorded history. Everywhere there are reminders of the Romans and the greatest empire of the ancient world. There are guided tours to Lyon, historic Vienne, and Beaune, with a wine tasting. You will be staggered by the engineering genius of the amphitheatre at Arles and the huge aqueduct at the Pont du Gard. Avignon was the seat of the Papacy during medieval times, heralding a century of greatness crowned by the absorbing Papal Palace and its renaissance art collection. Van Gogh created his greatest works in Provence, and all this is set in some of France’s stunning natural beauty.
Embark in Lyon
On arrival we transfer by coach to our ship moored in Lyon’s historic centre. The dedicated English-speaking crew will welcome you on board and help you to your cabin. After settling in to your spacious and tastefully furnished accommodation, there’s time to familiarise yourself with this five-star floating hotel.
Lyon
After our first splendid breakfast, we’ve a leisurely start enjoying a guided tour of Lyon, one of France’s most fascinating cities. The Rhône Valley had been the route of choice for marauding armies and peaceful traders for centuries, and Lyon’s current site, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, cried out to be fortified.
In 43 BC the Romans founded the city, which subsequently grew in importance; the Emperor Claudius, conqueror of Britain, was born here. There are many Roman remains to see, but it was the production of silk that brought Lyon to prominence during the Middle Ages, and throughout the city you can see signs of the wealth that poured in – Renaissance buildings, imposing churches and Europe’s largest pedestrian square, Place Bellecour, with a statue of Louis XIV as its focus.
The Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is crammed with antique shops and intriguing traboules – narrow covered passageways enabling silk merchants to transport their wares to the river without getting wet – that today are a joy to amble through. As well as its glorious architecture, Lyon is generally acknowledged as France’s (and to locals the world’s) gastronomic capital.
In fairness it has much to commend it: nouvelle cuisine was invented near here and the city boasts a huge array of speciality food shops and eateries, including 20 restaurants with one or more Michelin stars and countless little places to eat.
Cruise on the Saône
While you enjoy your first lunch the ship quietly slips its mooring. Cruising upstream, we catch the first glimpses of the vine-clad slopes of the hazy green Beaujolais hills as we approach one of the world’s most revered red-wine-producing regions. On our left we see the picturesque villages of Morgon, Fleury, Juliénas, Chénas and many more, while on the right you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of snow-capped Mont Blanc – Western Europe’s highest mountain.
As the afternoon drifts into evening and we cruise past the town that gives them their name, the white wines of Mâcon hold sway – and what could be better than a cool, crisp glass in the lounge before enjoying this evening’s culinary delights in the restaurant, prepared by our outstanding chef.
Included experience:
Guided tour of Lyon.
Beaune
Rising this morning we’re berthed in Chalon, gateway to Burgundy and home of Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography. On this morning’s tour we see some of the pretty yet surprisingly small villages that produce some of the world’s most sublime wines – Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, Gevrey-Chambertin and many more.
Nearby is medieval Beaune, Burgundy’s wine capital, which is wonderful to wander around. At its centre is the Hospices de Beaune, also known as the Hôtel-Dieu. Originally built in the 15th century as a hospital for the disadvantaged, it’s a jewel of High Gothic architecture, instantly recognisable for its colourful glazed roof tiles arranged in dazzling geometric patterns.
A prestigious annual wine auction takes place here each November, with proceeds going to benefit the Hospices and its charity work. Of course, you can’t visit Burgundy without sampling its amazing wines, so we visit the cellars of a leading traditional winemaker for a tour and tasting before returning to the ship for lunch.
Cruise towards Vienne
This afternoon relax on board as we retrace our steps back towards Lyon where we join the river Rhône on our way to Vienne.
Included experience:
Tour of Beaune with wine tasting.
Vienne
Overnight the ship has cruised almost imperceptibly downstream, and we enjoy breakfast in Vienne before our guided tour. Strikingly located in a narrow section of the Rhône where the river meanders dramatically around a steep bluff, Vienne is a treasure trove of historic remains, including the stunning Roman Temple of Augustus and Livia, one of only two edifices of this type in the whole of the country.
From the ship, we head to the top of the city, the Mont Pipet hill, where the view onto the Rhône will inspire keen photographers. It’s also where the Romans chose to build the spectacular amphitheatre in the 1st Century AD, which could accommodate 13.500 spectators. Weavings through the charming, narrow streets of the old town, soak up the history of this fascinating place.
We wander back to the ship for another superb lunch, during which we enter perhaps the most picturesque section of the Rhône as the river squeezes and twists past Condrieu, Saint-Rambert-d’Albon and Saint- Vallier, with wooded cliffs rising high on both sides.
Tain l'Hermitage
Later we moor in Tain l'Hermitage, surrounded by steep vine-covered hillsides, where another of the world’s most revered wines is produced. After dinner, prehaps take a stroll along the river and wander across the oldest suspension bridge in France to the pretty provincial town of Tournon on the opposite bank of the river, with its imposing castle and tree-lined avenues.
Included experiences:
Guided tour of Vienne & visit to Tain l'Hermitage.
Cruise to Le Pouzin
This morning we cruise effortlessly downstream. In the distance you’ll catch glimpses of the Alps and, as we approach Valence, the landscape gradually becomes less green with more ochres and magentas, the houses have sloping terracotta roofs typical of the Mediterranean and the air carries heady aromas of pine and cypress. You can only be in the Midi or – as we call it – the south of France. It’s so relaxing to catch up on some reading or just laze in the sun.
Ardèche Gorges
After lunch we explore one of France’s most outstanding landscapes – the Ardèche Gorges, whose scale is a fitting reminder of Mother Nature’s awesome power. Sheer limestone cliffs plunge almost 1,000 feet to the river’s blue waters, which elegantly snake their way through stupendous rock formations, culminating in a huge natural arch, the Pont d’Arc.
Caves, grottoes and natural sculptures create marvellous views at every turn before we return to the gentler slopes of the Rhône Valley, where our ship is moored in charming Viviers, a medieval town clustered around its 12th-century cathedral. We slip our mooring and proceed through the famous lock at Bollène, one of the deepest in France, as you relax over dinner.
After dinner, delight in a ballroom dancing performance in the lounge with the opportunity to learn some basic steps of a French madison line dance!
Included experiences:
Guided tour of the Ardèche Gorges & live ballroom dancing performance.
Arles
You awake under the azure skies of deepest Provence and amid the warm stone colours of Arles, many of whose historic monuments are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Although small in size, it was the key stronghold on the Roman road to Spain, one of the empire’s richest possessions. Seagoing ships could reach here, and the city became a regional capital, briefly ruling over Gaul, Spain and Britain.
Our guided tour will help you appreciate the finer points of Arles’s magnificent Roman remains, including the splendid amphitheatre, one of the best preserved in the world, the earlier theatre built during the reign of Augustus and the Alyscamps, the ancient necropolis with its extraordinary atmosphere.
The disturbed but great genius of an artist Van Gogh lived in Arles for just over a year, from February 1888. It was his most prolific period and, inspired by Arles and the light and beauty of the Provençal countryside, he produced around 300 works, including The Night Café, The Sower and, of course, Sunflowers.
Pont du Gard
After lunch we visit the amazing Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct, one of the wonders of the ancient world. No amount of fame can diminish the first sight of this 2,000-year-old structure, which was the highest bridge built in the Empire –the Romans themselves considered it the most important testimony to their greatness. Its statistics are staggering - over 900 feet long and almost 160 feet high, with its stones each weighing up to six tons.
To put this in perspective, the span of the Pont du Gard is greater than the width of the River Thames at London Bridge – and no mortar was used in its construction! The situation is lovely too, with pine- and cypress-covered hills adding to the harmonious setting. Re-joining the ship, we cruise along the Rhône and, during dinner, pass the imposing 15th-century castle at Tarascon standing guard on the riverbank.
Included experiences:
Guided tour of Arles and visit to the Pont du Gard.
Avigno
The light catching the red roofs of Avignon’s majestic skyline is a sight to behold over breakfast, after which we embark on a guided tour of one of the most extraordinary and intriguing cities in France. Avignon’s destiny changed during the 14th century, when the Pope’s court moved here to avoid strife in Rome.
Igniting a century of prosperity, the Pontiff commissioned a host of ambitious building projects, and today the city is immaculately preserved, nestling behind its almost-intact 14th-century walls and boasting more remarkable monuments, superbly decorated buildings, churches, chapels and convents than you can possibly count.
Most important is the stunning Popes’ Palace, made up of two buildings that together form the largest Gothic palace in the world. With turrets, towers, parapets and other fortifications, its exterior resembles a mighty fortress, while the interior is a tour de force of medieval architecture and ornamentation, adorned with priceless frescoes, Gobelin tapestries and graceful sculptures. The ceremonial hall, chapels, cloisters and private apartments are all unmissable.
But to truly embrace the feel of papal Avignon, imagine yourself here during the Middle Ages amid the Palace’s rich furnishings and extravagant decoration, with cardinals, princes and ambassadors milling about its candle-lit halls and corridors, while in the streets below countless pilgrims eagerly anticipate benediction. This was Avignon’s brief golden age, when it was truly the centre of Christendom.
After lunch you’re free to explore as you wish, perhaps visiting the nearby Petit Palais, the former home of the archbishops of Avignon, to cast a critical eye over the remarkable collection of over 300 paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, including works by Botticelli and Carpaccio. Or take a stroll on the iconic Pont d’Avignon, which, dramatically, ends halfway across the river, made famous by the melody we all recall from our first French lessons.
It’s our final afternoon so you may wish to do some shopping, or just find a charming café in a shady Provençal square to watch the world go by. Perhaps though, return to the luxurious surroundings of our ship, finding a quiet spot to contemplate the many wondrous places you’ve seen and experienced over a cup of tea!
This evening we enjoy the sumptuous Chef’s Dinner, featuring some of their signature dishes - a truly memorable experience. Afterwards, sit back and relax to the sounds of a talented local pianist who'll entertain us with French songs on board.
Included experiences:
Guided tour of Avignon & on-board piano performance.
Disembark in Avignon
After breakfast this morning, the crew bids you farewell before you disembark the ship, with time to look back on great memories from a superb trip.
Embark in Avignon
On arrival we transfer by coach to our ship moored in Avignon’s historic centre. The dedicated English-speaking crew will welcome you on board and help you to your cabin. After settling in to your spacious and tastefully furnished accommodation, there’s time to familiarise yourself with this five-star floating hotel.
Avignon
The light catching the red roofs of Avignon’s majestic skyline is a sight to behold over breakfast, after which we embark on a guided tour of one of the most extraordinary and intriguing cities in France. Avignon’s destiny changed during the 14th century, when the Pope’s court moved here to avoid strife in Rome.
Igniting a century of prosperity, the pontiff commissioned a host of ambitious building projects, and today the city is immaculately preserved, nestling behind its almost-intact 14th-century walls and boasting more remarkable monuments, superbly decorated buildings, churches, chapels and convents than you can possibly count.
Most important is the stunning Popes’ Palace, made up of two buildings that together form the largest Gothic palace in the world. With turrets, towers, parapets and other fortifications, its exterior resembles a mighty fortress, while the interior is a tour de force of medieval architecture and ornamentation, adorned with priceless frescoes, Gobelin tapestries and graceful sculptures.
The ceremonial hall, chapels, cloisters and private apartments are all unmissable. But to truly embrace the feel of papal Avignon, imagine yourself here during the Middle Ages amid the Palace’s rich furnishings and extravagant decoration, with cardinals, princes and ambassadors milling about its candlelit halls and corridors, while in the streets below countless pilgrims eagerly anticipate benediction. This was Avignon’s brief golden age, when it was truly the centre of Christendom.
After lunch you’re free to explore as you wish, perhaps visiting the nearby Petit Palais, the former home of the archbishops of Avignon, to cast a critical eye over the remarkable collection of over 300 paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, including works by Botticelli and Carpaccio. Or take a stroll on the iconic Pont d’Avignon, which, dramatically, ends halfway across the river, made famous by the melody we all recall from our first French lessons.
You may wish to do some shopping, or just find a quiet café in a shady Provençal square to watch the world go by.
Returning on board for dinner, the ship sets sail towards our next destination, Arles, arriving later that evening. After a welcome dinner, sit back and relax to the sounds of a talented local pianist who'll entertain us with French songs on board.
Included experiences:
Guided tour of Avignon & on-board piano performance.
Arles
You awake under the azure skies of deepest Provence and amid the warm stone colours of Arles, many of whose historic monuments are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Although small in size, it was the key stronghold on the Roman road to Spain, one of the empire’s richest possessions. Seagoing ships could reach here, and the city became a regional capital, briefly ruling over Gaul, Spain and Britain.
Our guided tour will help you appreciate the finer points of Arles’s magnificent Roman remains, including the splendid amphitheatre, one of the best preserved in the world, the earlier theatre built during the reign of Augustus and the Alyscamps, the ancient necropolis with its extraordinary atmosphere.
The disturbed but great genius of an artist Van Gogh lived in Arles for just over a year, from February 1888. It was his most prolific period and, inspired by Arles and the light and beauty of the Provençal countryside, he produced around 300 works, including The Night Café, The Sower and, of course, Sunflowers.
Pont du Gard
After lunch we visit the amazing Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct, one of the wonders of the ancient world. No amount of fame can diminish the first sight of this 2,000-year-old structure, which was the highest bridge built in the Empire –the Romans themselves considered it the most important testimony to their greatness. Its statistics are staggering - over 900 feet long and almost 160 feet high, with its stones each weighing up to six tons.
To put this in perspective, the span of the Pont du Gard is greater than the width of the River Thames at London Bridge – and no mortar was used in its construction! The situation is lovely too, with pine- and cypress-covered hills adding to the harmonious setting. Re-joining the ship, we cruise along the Rhône and, during dinner, pass the imposing 15th-century castle at Tarascon standing guard on the riverbank.
Included experiences:
Guided tour of Arles and visit to the Pont du Gard.
Ardèche Gorges
This morning we disembark after breakfast and whilst our ship effortlessly cruises upstream towards Le Pouzin, we will explore one of France’s most outstanding landscapes – the Ardèche Gorges, whose scale is a fitting reminder of Mother Nature’s awesome power.
Sheer limestone cliffs plunge almost 1,000 feet to the river’s blue waters, which elegantly snake their way through stupendous rock formations, culminating in a huge natural arch, the Pont d’Arc. We enjoy marvellous views at every turn of caves, grottoes and natural sculptures before returning to the ship moored in Le Pouzin.
Tain l'Hermitage
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon on board – perhaps catching up on some reading or just lazing in the sun as the temperature rises, before we arrive in Tain l'Hermitage, surrounded by steep vine-covered hillsides, where another of the world’s most revered wines is produced. After dinner, perhaps take a stroll along the river and wander across the oldest suspension bridge in France to the pretty provincial town of Tournon on the opposite bank of the river, with its imposing castle and tree-lined avenues.
After dinner, delight in a ballroom dancing performance in the lounge with the opportunity to learn some basic steps of a French madison line dance!
Included experiences:
Guided tour of the Ardèche Gorges & visit to Tain l'Hermitage & live ballroom dancing performance.
Cruise through the Rhône Valley
During breakfast this morning, we’ll slip our moorings and cruise north through one of the most spectacular sections of the Rhône Valley, as the river squeezes and twists pasts Condrieu, Saint-Rambert-d’Albon and Saint-Vallier, with wooded cliffs rising high on both sides.
Traditionally these stretches were the most dangerous due to fierce currents and varying water levels but, with the waters now tamed by a series of locks whose complex mechanisms never cease to fascinate, you can relax on the Sun Deck taking in the exceptional views.
Vienne
After lunch we arrive in the ancient Roman stronghold of Vienne, first a Celtic settlement, then a Roman stronghold under Julius Caesar. Here you'll be taken on a captivating tour, hosted by a local expert. Strikingly located in a narrow section of the Rhône, where the river meanders dramatically around a steep bluff, Vienne is a treasure trove of historic remains, including the stunning Roman Temple of Augustus and Livia, and a walk around its streets really brings its heritage to life.
You will also have some free time to explore at your leisure before returning to the ship for dinner, during which we commence our cruise towards Chalon-sur-Saône.
Included experience:
Guided tour of Vienne.
Beaune
Overnight we have made steady progress north and mid-morning we arrive in and berth in Chalon, gateway to Burgundy and the home of Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography. On today’s tour we see some of the pretty yet surprisingly small villages that produce some of the world’s most sublime wines – Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, Gevrey-Chambertin and many more.
Nearby is medieval Beaune, Burgundy’s wine capital, which is wonderful to wander around. At its centre is the Hospices de Beaune, also known as the Hôtel-Dieu. Originally built in the 15th century as a hospital for the disadvantaged, it’s a jewel of High Gothic architecture, instantly recognisable for its colourful glazed roof tiles arranged in dazzling geometric patterns.
A prestigious annual wine auction takes place here each November, with proceeds going to benefit the Hospices and its charity work. Of course, you can’t visit Burgundy without sampling its amazing wines, so we visit the cellars of a leading traditional winemaker for a tour and tasting. During dinner back on board we retrace our steps on the Saône back towards Lyon.
Included experience:
Tour of Beaune with wine tasting.
Lyon
One of river cruising’s great pleasures is the fascination of waking in a completely different location and on waking this morning, the ship arrives in Lyon. After another splendid breakfast, we’ve a leisurely start enjoying a guided tour of Lyon, one of France’s most fascinating cities.
The Rhône Valley had been the route of choice for marauding armies and peaceful traders for centuries, and Lyon’s current site, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, cried out to be fortified. In 43 BC the Romans founded the city, which subsequently grew in importance; Emperor Claudius, conqueror of Britain, was born here.
There are many Roman remains to see, but it was the production of silk that brought Lyon to prominence during the Middle Ages, and throughout the city you can see signs of the wealth that poured in – Renaissance buildings, imposing churches and Europe’s largest pedestrian square, Place Bellecour, with a statue of Louis XIV as its focus.
The Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is crammed with antique shops and intriguing traboules – narrow covered passageways enabling silk merchants to transport their wares to the river without getting wet – that today are a joy to amble through. As well as its glorious architecture, Lyon is generally acknowledged as France’s (and to locals, the world’s) gastronomic capital.
In fairness it has much to commend it: nouvelle cuisine was invented near here and the city boasts a huge array of speciality food shops and eateries, including 20 restaurants with one or more Michelin stars and countless little places to eat.
It’s our final afternoon in which you are free to explore Lyon further or perhaps though, return to the sumptuous surroundings of your ship, head up on to the Sun Deck and just contemplate the wondrous places you have seen and experienced over a quiet cup of tea.
This evening we enjoy the sumptuous Chef’s Dinner, featuring some of their signature dishes - a truly memorable experience.
Included experience:
Guided tour of Lyon.
Disembark in Lyon
It’s time to say goodbye to your crew and start the journey home.
Prices are per person, based on two people sharing a twin cabin with a limited number of sole occupancy cabins available, at the relevant supplement. The price includes:
Fact File
Wi-Fi
Complimentary Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship for the duration of your cruise. Please note that speeds may vary.
Mobility
We want to ensure you make the correct choice before you book your vacation with us. If you have any concerns regarding the suitability of the vacation due to reduced mobility we would encourage you to contact us to discuss these concerns.
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