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

Paris • Lyon • Avignon • Arles • Nice
  • 12 days
  • from only:
  • $2495
  • $208 per day
    River Cruise Only
  • 13 days
  • from only:
  • $3145
  • $242 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Cruising Burgundy & Provence to the Cote d'Azur
It's Included
Hotel & Ship Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Photos From Our Travelers
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your River Cruise, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle Cruise Line River Cruise that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • International airport transfers to and from your ship or hotel are available for purchase
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle Cruise Line vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

(Paris)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Orlando

9hrs

Baltimore, Dallas, Denver

12hrs

Boston

7hrs

Detroit, Newark, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

8hrs

Houston

10hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco

11hrs

Phoenix

14hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Paris, France. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

(Nice)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Orlando, Philadelphia

12hrs

Boston

10hrs

Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco

14hrs

Denver, Phoenix

17hrs

Detroit, Newark, New York (JFK), Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

Houston, Miami

13hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Nice, France. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle Cruise Line family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle Cruise Line trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

ALSO SEE:
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Optional Tours

Tailor your vacation with our optional tours

Select an Itinerary:
Day 3:
 Versailles $80 per person
G26525

Embark on a half-day excursion to the Palace of Versailles—the former home to 3,000 princes, ministers, and servants. Your guided tour will take you 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 marvel at the luminous decor in marble, chased bronze, and gold leaf, as well as Rococo woodwork and Italian-style painted ceilings. As you explore, you’ll discover how much the palace has been expanded and embellished since Louis XIII first built a modest hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623.

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.
Day 4:
 Giverny $85 per person
G31984

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 of 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. 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 his 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 offered on April through mid-October departures only. When Giverny is closed, an optional tour of the Louvre will be offered.
Day 11:
 An Afternoon in Provence $95 per person
Gems

On this optional tour, we'll see why Provence stirs the imagination and stimulates the senses, with its soft light and vivid landscape of pastel colors that have inspired writers and artists from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Van Gogh and Picasso. The fragrant countryside with its wild herbs and olive tree groves is dotted with historic hilltowns. We begin our discoveries with a stop at Les Baux, a remarkable mix of quaint winding streets, romantic fortress ruins, and lovely vistas over the countryside. During our time here we will also visit the Cathedral d'Images, an ancient quarry that has been transformed into a display of photographs and music, dedicated to Gauguin and Van Gogh, by photographer Albert Plecy. We'll also visit a local winery and sample local rose vintages. On our way back to the ship, we enjoy a panoramic drive with more opportunities for views over the rolling hills, never far from the Mediterranean Sea.

Please note:This optional tour is available on the Paris to Cote d'Azur itinerary only.
Day 11:
 Versailles $80 per person
G26525

Embark on a half-day excursion to the Palace of Versailles—the former home to 3,000 princes, ministers, and servants. Your guided tour will take you 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 marvel at the luminous decor in marble, chased bronze, and gold leaf, as well as Rococo woodwork and Italian-style painted ceilings. As you explore, you’ll discover how much the palace has been expanded and embellished since Louis XIII first built a modest hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623.

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.
Day 12:
 Giverny $85 per person
G31984

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 of 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. 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 his 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 offered on April through mid-October departures only. When Giverny is closed, an optional tour of the Louvre will be offered.