Cruising Burgundy & Provence to the Cote d'Azur (2012)

Depart today on your overnight flight to Paris, France.

Arrive today in Paris. You are met at the airport by a Grand Circle representative and transferred to your hotel where you'll meet your Program Director. During the afternoon, you may want to participate in a leisurely orientation walk to get acquainted with the area around your hotel.

Gather in the early evening with your Program Director and traveling companions for a Welcome Drink. You dine on your own this evening; you can choose to relax over dinner at your hotel or ask your Program Director for restaurant suggestions in the area.

This morning, join us for a half-day panoramic tour of Paris that introduces the city’s classic highlights. You’ll see the Eiffel Tower from different perspectives as you travel along the famed Champs Elysees. View the Arc de Triomphe (commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, and completed in 1836) standing at the end of the Champs Elysees at the large central roundabout where twelve elegant tree-lined avenues converge. You’ll also drive by the magnificent Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame. Afterwards, enjoy time at leisure to explore Paris on your own.

Or, join us on an optional afternoon tour to the Palace of Versailles. Your excursion includes a guided tour through the palace’s Grand Chambers, the Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, was signed in 1919), and the Royal Chapel. You'll also enjoy time to visit the expansive French gardens at your leisure. Please note: Due to limited space, this optional tour must be reserved at least ten days prior to departure and cannot be booked on-site. Versailles is the most-visited attraction in France. To ensure that all guests are able to view the exhibits, the time you spend in each room is limited by palace staff. Expect lines at the entrance in peak season, even for groups with reservations.

Savor a Welcome Dinner tonight at a local restaurant.

Today is free for independent exploration. If you like, you can go to the Louvre using public transportation. Stroll around on your own through gallery after gallery of works by the likes of Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Matisse. Linger in front of your favorites as long as you wish.

Or, join us on a half-day optional tour into the countryside to see the lovely landscapes that inspired Monet.

The unique light of the area’s Seine Valley in Normandy kept Monet in residence for 43 years after he “discovered” the village of Giverny while looking out a train window in 1883. He stayed here until his death in 1926, and his grave is in the family vault at the town’s Romanesque church. You'll travel to Monet’s beloved village of Giverny, and explore the artist’s home and gardens, now a museum dedicated to the great painter. The house is furnished as it was when the leader of the Impressionist School lived here, including his precious collection of Japanese engravings. The gardens have been replanted, and as you stroll through them, you’ll see with your own eyes the landscapes that have graced countless Monet paintings. Here are the familiar Japanese bridge and water garden shaded by weeping willows, with its pond still full of the water lilies that so inspired his work. Please note: This optional tour is available on April through mid-October departures only; all other departures feature an optional Louvre tour.

After breakfast, depart Paris for the renowned province of Burgundy, one of France’s eleven major wine-producing regions. Perhaps more than anything else, France is known for its legendary wine, which is part of the country’s heritage and a great source of national pride. Wine has been produced in France for centuries, and in Burgundy there are vineyards nearly everywhere.

 

Along the way, you'll stop for a visit in Beaune, which is one of the main towns of the Cote d'Or region. The rich soil of Beaune produces many of the world's finest wines. Here you'll enjoy a walking tour through the old town, with its winding cobbled streets dotted with outdoor cafes and open-air markets. The tour includes one of Beaune’s most notable landmarks, the 15th-century charity hospital Hotel Dieu (also called les Hospices de Beaune). This is now a museum housing the original sickbeds and art treasures accumulated over the centuries. Afterwards, you are free to discover more of the treasures of Beaune on your own. Perhaps you'll explore the Musee du Vin, a wine museum that was a former private residence of the Dukes of Burgundy.

From Beaune, enjoy a scenic ride along Burgundy’s Route des Vins ("Wine Road") as you proceed to Macon to embark your river ship, arriving in the late afternoon.

This evening, enjoy a Welcome Drink with your fellow passengers and meet your ship’s crew. Then savor your first dinner onboard.

This morning you go ashore for a walking tour of Macon—considered the door to the Burgundy region and the end of the Beaujolais region. Macon’s old town has been renovated with pedestrian streets and public parks.

Return to the ship and start cruising the Saone River. Find a comfortable deck chair and view the riverside scene. Or find a favorite spot onboard to sip coffee and unwind with a book. Enjoy lunch onboard before the ship arrives in Trevoux.

In the afternoon, embark on an included tour to explore the beautiful Beaujolais region north of Lyon, home to 13 French wine appellations. You’ll see historic highlights including the Pierres Dorees—villages built of golden stone—and the 14th-century Chapel of Saint-Claude. Then you’ll meet a local vintner at the Domaine des Averlys and taste a sampling of his wines accompanied by local cheeses and sausages for a truly French degustation.

This evening features the Captain’s Welcome Reception and a port talk, followed by the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. Enjoy some scenic night cruising on your way to Lyon, where you'll dock and remain for the next two nights.

You'll experience the delectable goodness of the many kinds of French breads, from the long, thin baguettes to the plumper loaves of pain (bread) during an exclusive Discovery Series event.

 

After lunch onboard, join a tour of historic Lyon, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once the capital of Gaul under the Romans, Lyon flourished as a Renaissance trading center based on its extensive silk industry. In a country known for its fine cuisine, Lyon is also known as a gastronomic capital. Your tour features Old Lyon, once hidden behind medieval ramparts. Among other important landmarks, you'll see the Basilica of Fourviere, which towers above the city.

Later, delight in an onboard theme dinner paying tribute to France. The ship remains docked in Lyon overnight.

Before you leave Lyon, you’ll enjoy a Discovery Series demonstration of silk scarf painting onboard, a craft associated with Lyon’s historic silk industry. It was here that the Jacquard loom (named for its French inventor), the first automatic loom able to weave complex patterns, was invented. Also this morning, onboard ship, enjoy a Discovery Series discussion about World War II and the French Resistance movement in the Rhone Valley. The ship begins sailing toward Tournon in the late morning.

In the afternoon, you eat lunch onboard as you cruise the Rhone, passing vineyards, farmhouses, sleepy villages, and emerald-green wooded hillsides. You'll also have an opportunity to learn about French cuisine during a Shipboard Cooking demonstration with your ship's chef. Later, join a Discovery Series language lesson and brush up on your conversational French in preparation for your Home-Hosted Dinner this evening.

After docking in Tournon, proceed to the home of a local family. Here, you’ll be treated to a home-cooked meal and learn firsthand about life in this region of France. You’ll return to the ship, which will remain overnight in Tournon.

This morning, learn about and sample some of France's culinary delights during a Gourmet Tasting, an exclusive Discovery Series event.

Afterwards, you might want to find a comfortable deck chair and enjoy the passing scenery as you cruise a lovely stretch of the Ardeche region. It is an area of ancient villages and spa towns set against the backdrop of a rugged natural landscape.

Upon arriving in Viviers early this afternoon, you’ll enjoy a closer look at this charming town on an included walking tour. Your explorations include an opportunity to try your hand at petanque, the popular French game of boules.

Return to the ship and set sail toward Avignon. This evening, you’ll enjoy dinner onboard.

When you awaken this morning, you'll find yourself in Avignon. Set off on a walking tour to discover the City of Popes. For most of the 14th century, the popes left the turmoil of Rome and installed themselves in this calm possession of the Catholic Church. In Avignon, beginning with Clement V (who was born here), they built residences, chateaux, a number of fortified palaces, and churches. Your tour includes a guided exploration of the impressive Papal Palace, followed by some free time in Avignon before returning to the ship for lunch onboard. This afternoon, make your own discoveries in Avignon. Perhaps you'll explore the winding streets of some of the city's ancient neighborhoods, or relax at an outdoor cafe.

Tonight, celebrate your journey with your travel companions at the Captain's Farewell Dinner.

Your ship cruises through the early morning hours to Arles. After breakfast, enjoy an introduction to the life and work of Vincent van Gogh. Then disembark for a tour of the town so beloved by the artist. As you explore the town, you’ll encounter signs indicating places rendered in van Gogh’s works, including the lovely bridge over the Rhone River. Here you’ll find still standing the Cafe l’Alcazar, the establishment where the artist stayed and used the manager, Madame Ginoux, as his model for his painting l’Arlesienne.

 

Visiting Arles, one of the most distinctive towns in enchanting Provence, is like journeying back to ancient Rome. The town is filled with landmarks and ruins dating from its periods of Roman domination that began in 30 BC. Here, you’ll view the outside of the colossal hilltop Roman amphitheater, where 21,000 spectators thrilled to gladiator fights in the first century and where bullfights are held today—20 centuries later. You’ll also view the 7,000-seat Antique Theater during your tour of this ancient, cobbled city.

Later this morning, join a gourmet Discovery Series event. You’ll learn about the herbs of Provence and their use in the legendary foods associated with this region. After lunch onboard, you have the afternoon free to relax onboard or explore Arles in more depth on your own. The town is home to wonderful churches, museums, and Roman ruins.

Or, join an optional An Afternoon in Provence tour. You'll discover the Provencal village of Les Baux de Provence during a walking tour, then visit the “Cathedrale d’Images,” where artwork is painted on the walls of carved limestone chambers. You'll also visit a winery and sample the local rose vintages. Please note: This optional tour is only available on the Paris-Cote d'Azur itinerary.

Enjoy a Provencal-themed dinner onboard the ship this evening.

After breakfast, disembark and transfer through a scenic part of Provence to the French Riviera’s Cote d’Azur. En route you’ll stop in Draguignan for a visit to the Rhone American Cemetery. Established just days after Allied troops landed and began an offensive against the German Army in southern France and the Rhone Valley, the cemetery commemorates one of the important battles that followed the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. Today, 861 American soldiers are buried at the memorial site, comprising twelve acres near the city of Draguignan.

 

This afternoon, check into your hotel and get lunch on your own. Nice is the Cote d’Azur’s premier Riviera resort—a city of art and theater known for its lush gardens and superb setting on the Mediterranean’s Bay of Angels. This afternoon join your Program Director for a relaxing walk around the environs of your hotel, stopping at a flower market.

Enjoy a Farewell Drink with your fellow travelers, after which dinner is on your own and your evening is at leisure.

This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight home.