Exploring France's Rivers
Beccy Miller
With its fabulous food, great wine, picturesque villages, and medieval towns, France is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to river cruising. But which river to choose? We have the answers.
The River Seine
Cruises on the Seine are mostly a week, starting and ending in Paris, and they take guests on a journey deep into Normandy. There’s World War Two history on tours to the D-Day Landing Beaches and visits to the garden in Vernon where Claude Monet painted his famous water lilies. In Rouen, you’ll see where Jean d’Arc was burned at the stake and peek into the cathedral, where the heart of Richard the Lionheart is said to be buried. Itineraries also call into Les Andelys to visit Château Gaillard, a castle (now ruined) built by Richard when England owned swathes of France. Most itineraries also squeeze in a day in Paris.
The Rhône River
The Rhône rises in Switzerland, flows into Southeast France and empties into the Mediterranean south of Arles. Cruises here are usually one week sailing from Lyon to Avignon / Arles (and vice-versa) or round-trip from Lyon. You’ll go wine tasting in Tain l’Hermitage, learn why the popes moved to Avignon in the 1300s while touring the Gothic palace they built and see what the Romans - and Van Gogh - did for Arles on walks around the town. Don't hesitate to sign up if there are tours to the stunning Pont du Gard or into the wild Camargue, home of white horses and stocky black bulls.
The Saône River
The Saône rises in France and flows into the Rhone at Lyon, where the two rivers become one. You’ll probably spend time cruising both waterways, but one or two are just on the Saône. Expect tours to medieval villages, plenty of wine-tasting and guided cycle rides along the river.
Bordeaux river cruises
Before you go racing for an atlas, you’re right. There isn’t a river called Bordeaux, but it’s useful shorthand for a cruise that starts, stops and zigzags back to the city now and then as it journeys along three rivers (the Garonne, Gironde and Dordogne). With tours into the Sauternes and Médoc wine regions and to St Émilion, this is one for oenophiles. And Bordeaux is beautiful, with a lovely old town and lively waterfront.
