Every Shore Excursion I Took on My Rhône River Cruise

What makes river cruising so wonderful is the ability to sail right into the hearts of towns and villages.

I sailed down the Rhône River this past August aboard the beautiful and sleek AmaKristina by AmaWaterways.

The ship of course was magnificent with huge staterooms, a great top deck with a pool, golf, and activities, and wonderful dining. But, the real joy of river cruising with AmaWaterways is the fantastic selection of shore excursions. The tours and excursions took us directly into the cultural centers, had us tasting local flavors, and admiring ancient Roman ruins. Even though it was one of France’s hottest summers in recent history, we still had an amazing time exploring at each port.

Here is a recap of each of the excursions I took while sailing from Lyon to Arles, France with AmaWaterways.

LYON

Our first two days were spent in the beautiful, food-loving city of Lyon.

Lyon is the home city of famed late French chef, Paul Boucuse, who is often referred to as the “pope of gastronomy.” His most famed luxury restaurant is L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges. It is located near Lyon and renowned for holding 3 Michelin stars for 55 years.

Naturally, since Lyon is such a bustling culinary hot spot, we opted to take the Les Halles Market Tour. The Market is a glorious indoor hall bursting with delicious treats from every storefront and corner. Its significance is well summed up by the Lyon Tourism website:

“If gastronomy were a religion, Lyon would be a pilgrimage site, Les Halles would be the temple and its sixty-or-so shopkeepers would be the preachers.”

The shops had everything we could have dreamed of in a French market:

Candied fruits, macarons, pastries, cured meats, fresh produce, cheeses, bread (oh, the perfect bread…), delicacies of all sorts, you name it! One particularly notable sweet treat was the giant brioche aux pralines. These were massive sugar bombs that – while maybe a little too sweet for my taste – the locals and tourists love. They’ll often purchase a big one to cut up into sharing size portions. When in Lyon, one must try the brioche aux pralines either for breakfast or as a yummy dessert. Don’t worry about the calories – by the end of our first day, I had walked over 13,000 steps!

 

BEAUJOLAIS & VIENNE

Our third day took us out into the Beaujolais wine region of France just north of Lyon for a private wine tasting at a local vineyard.

Getting out into the countryside was heavenly. All the vines were full of lush green leaves and purple grapes on the cusp of being ready for harvesting. While I am more of a martini girl than a wine gal, I did enjoy our guided tasting at Domaine Riviere.

After the half-day excursion to the wine region, we climbed back aboard the AmaKristina to head south to Vienne.

Here we joined the Footsteps of Ancient Romans Tour to get up close to ancient and remarkably well-preserved Roman ruins. The most striking ruin is the Temple of Augustus and Livia, built somewhere between 10 and 20 BCE. Its purpose changed over the centuries, helping it survive  for so long and avoid demolition. Today, it is the home of the annual Jazz Festival where the temple welcomes the festival attendees inside its ancient hall to celebrate music, community, and art.

After the tour, we meandered on our own through the streets to soak in the local culture.

Above our heads often hung colorful bunting, strings of hand drawn cartoon faces clipped to wires, and vibrant streamers leftover from the Jazz à Vienne festival celebrations. We hung out at adorable cafes and watched people go about their daily lives, chatting, walking, and enjoying some well-needed gelato (remember: it was HOT!)

TOURNON & VIVIERS

Our next stop was to Tournon where we hopped onboard the Train de l’Ardèche.

The sides of the train are all open and the 1.5hr journey takes passengers through stunning scenery. We reached the small Colombier le Vieux station to get out, walk around, and enjoy the beautiful views. Then, before reboarding the train, we watched the entire steam engine be manually turned around on a giant turntable for the journey back to our departure station. Super cool!

In Viviers, the fun began after the sun had set.

We joined a small group to go on the Ghost Walk. Walking around the town at night was of course so fun and spooky, but the tour was brought to a whole other level by the reenactment artists popping up along our tour in full Renaissance period costumes to relay their haunting stories as we toured the town. Very immersive!

 

AVIGNON

Since one food tour is simply not enough when you’re in France, when we arrived in Avignon we chose the “Tastes of Avignon” tour.

Avignon is a walled city with so much to see as we walked from place to place sampling the local cuisine. We got to taste so much and once again I have to reiterate how important it is to eat as much bread as you can when in France. If you see something that makes your mouth water, grab it (for me it was a baguette in the window that I simply had to have. It was heavenly). The tour took us all over, finishing with some free time for us to sit and enjoy the local vibe. We found a great little spot to enjoy a glass of wine under a canopy of trees. For me, it was quintessential summer in France.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Pont du Gard Aqueduct, another ancient Roman structure built sometime in the first century CE.

It is extremely well-preserved and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The aqueduct crosses over the Gardon River, which was filled with happy people swimming, kayaking, and lounging along its banks.

LES BAUX DE PROVENCE & ARLES

While the AmaKristina made port in Arles, we headed out about half an hour to visit Les Baux De Provence (aka “Les Baux”).

The town is beautiful and dramatic with its rocky relief and sweeping views over the Provençal landscape below, but I do recommend people visit during off season. I was there at the peak of summer and the streets were crowded with both tourists and vendors. Come when it’s much less crowded so you can really experience the town at its full majesty!

In the afternoon we chose to walk in the footsteps of one of history’s greatest artists: Van Gogh.

The tour took us to the hospital where he first stayed in Arles. During his time at the hospital, Van Gogh painted the yellow and white building and its garden as he was treated. We also visited the yellow house where he stayed in Arles, depicted in his painting entitled “The Street.” The yellow house was destroyed in WW2, but our guide took us to where it stood. The painting is in the park right in front of where it stood. For art lovers and Van Gogh afficionados, this tour is a must.

After we disembarked in Arles, went off with our private driver to St. Remy de Provence. We stopped at the psychiatric hospital where Van Gogh lived, painted his most famous works, and ultimately ended his life. It was a fascinating tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Reproductions of Van Gogh’s art were placed all along the tour and there was even a painting class for children set up in one of the gardens.

We spent a little more time visiting Gordes (one of my favorite places of all), Roussillon, and Aix-en-Provence. I added two additional nights post-cruise in Nice and made sure to pop into the Negresco for a tour of the incomparable suites. All said and done, we had a marvelous time in France with AmaWaterways and thoroughly enjoyed the shore excursions in each city and village we visited.

There is so much to explore in our beautiful world and a river cruise helps you get right into the heart of it. Contact me to hear more stories and find the perfect itinerary for your next river cruise adventure.

-Katie