Travel
Why a French river cruise should be your next great adventure
Sail through France in style. Roman ruins, vineyard rides, cobblestone towns and champagne on deck make river cruising the ultimate way to explore.
By Leonie Jarrett
Lush, verdant scenery. Water as smooth as glass. Unpack once, then be expertly taken from port to port and docked just metres from town. Delicious food laid on almost all day, with as much to drink (alcoholic and not) as you like. Organised activities if you want them, a sundeck and pool if you don’t…
I could wax on but I think you get the idea. Welcome to the world of river cruising in France – yes, it’s sublime.
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That was also the final port of the cruise so a good idea is to add on a couple of days in Lyon at least at one end of the cruise. There is a lot to see in France’s third-largest city.
We were a little nervous about the cruise as we had recently discovered that we would be the only non-German speakers on the ship, but we needn’t have worried. All the crew spoke English (and were keen to practise their English).
Many of the passengers spoke English too (Europeans put us Aussies to shame with their foreign language prowess). All the signage and announcements were in both German and English. Special shout out to Excursions Manager, Monika, who made a super special effort with us, “the Australians,” to make sure we were always welcomed and looked after.
Along the Saône and Rhône
We cruised from Lyon north on the Saône to Chalon-sur-Saône then back down through Lyon. As we sailed through Lyon, we switched to the Rhône river and went as far south as Port de Louis (near Marseilles) then returned to Lyon. There were port stops each day, twelve ports in all including: overnight stays in Arles, Avignon and Lyon.
There are many cruise lines and ships (including A-ROSA) that offer a shorter itinerary, but we loved the longer trip.
Choosing a favourite port, or even a couple of favourites, is like choosing your favourite child but, for the sake of this story, I’ll choose a better-known port and a lesser-known port.
Arles for charm and history
For my better-known port, I choose Arles on the Rhône river. We loved, loved, loved Arles. Not only is it a charming town, it has several Roman sites plus a strong connection to Vincent Van Gogh.
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We concentrated on the Roman sites. The Arena was built in the First Century BC (read that phrase again!!) and once held 20,000 people. The Romans were so advanced that they had a system of shade sails to protect patrons from the sun. In Medieval times, four towers were built (three remain) and houses were built around these towers until eventually it became like a fortified town. Incredibly, the Arena is still used today.
The Antique Theatre dates from 12 BC. That held 10,000 people and had a similar shade system. Another Roman jaw-dropper site was The Baths of Constantine. There were heated pools, tepid ones and cool ones. I mean, the Romans were able to artificially heat the water – wow!
Tournus for the Abbey and Hotel Dieu
My lesser-known port favourite was Tournus, a lovely stone town. For €11, we hired an audio guide in English and toured the Abbey of Saint Philibert and the Hotel Dieu. The Romanesque Abbey dates from 1100-1200 and is a remarkably well-preserved barrel vault.
The Hotel Dieu dates from the 17th century and was a hospital until 1978!! It has very high ceilings as it was thought that disease travelled via smell but it was cold and damp. Men and women were treated in separate wards yet patients sometimes had to share a bed, infectious or not! The things you learn through travel!
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Scenic sailaways from the sundeck
The sailaway (or departure) out of Lyon was one of the most scenic we’ve ever had (and this was our fifteenth cruise!). Surrounded by the gorgeous old buildings of Lyon with the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière dominating the skyline, being on the sundeck was a great perspective. Sitting on the sundeck with champagne in hand made the sailaway all the sweeter!
Being on the sundeck for sailaway also provides a front row seat to the passage under many bridges. Some are so low that you literally have to duck your head and lower your snapping camera.
Avignon was another show-stopping sailaway. Known by many people all over the world because of the famous song, “Sur Le Pont d’Avignon,” the Bridge itself dates from the 12th century and is a bit of a folly since it was actually too narrow for commerce.
Over time, parts of the Bridge fell down so the Bridge finishes in the middle of the Rhône river. We did a scenic sail right up to the Bridge with the old city of Avignon rising up behind it, looking every bit like a “Game of Thrones” film set.
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Kayaking and e-biking excursions
There is plenty to do onboard from a gym, a sauna, a massage room, a spa, a lounge where you can read, chat, play games or look at the beautiful scenery to a puzzle that was set up for everyone to assist in solving (and did get solved before we finished the cruise). There is no need to disembark the ship if you don’t want to.
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A-ROSA also offers shore excursions. On our cruise, they were all in German except for the e-bike rides which were led by a fluent English speaker, Richard.
We signed up for six of the seven bike rides on offer but they were very popular (there are only nine e-bikes onboard) so we only managed three organised rides and another day where we rented the bikes for a couple of hours and rode independently.
I am a very infrequent bike rider and had ridden an e-bike once in my life but I am now a convert!
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My favourite ride was out of Viviers, a beautiful stone town, through Ardèche, a part of southeast France known for its forests and trails. We rode past vineyards, rocky outcrops, wheat fields and lavender fields and we made a very necessary pit stop at a chocolaterie.
My favourite activity of all, however, was something we did independently – kayaking under the Pont du Gard. We rented a car in Avignon, hired a kayak for a couple of hours and basically floated downstream. It was truly a “pinch me” experience.
Wining and dining
When I listed favourite activities above, really wining and dining should be at the top! After all, they are key to a holiday for me. And one of the huge benefits of cruising.
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On A-ROSA Luna, there is one restaurant and all meals are buffet-style. The meals changed every day and there was plenty of choice and plenty of flavour, so no complaints from me. Buffets do mean queuing which I don’t love but, with only just over 130 passengers, we never had to queue for long.
We elected to pay a supplement for one special occasion “Wine & Dine” dinner. This was a six-course meal with wine pairings. The food was very good but, to be honest, we could have skipped this as the dinner was just a bit too rich for our liking and the wine a bit too plentiful!
We had the Premium All-Inclusive package (basically meaning we had beer, wine, sparkling wine, specialty coffees, juice, sparkling and still water included in our ticket). This package also included free e-bike rentals. We have been on cruises where getting a glass of wine is not difficult but getting a second glass is an Olympic gold medal effort. Not so on A-ROSA. The service was exceptional and the pours very generous.
Non, je ne regrette rien?
Edith Piaf famously sang, “Non, je ne regrette rien” (I don’t regret anything). Well. I’m with Edith. Cruising the Saône and Rhône rivers with A-ROSA was a wonderful two weeks.
We ate and drank like a king and queen, we visited Roman ruins and cobblestone-laned towns, we rode bikes through vineyards and stone villages, we kayaked under the Pont du Gard (!!), we watched sunsets from the sundeck and, when the weather heated up, we cooled off in the swimming pool as we cruised to our next destination. What’s not to like?
Au revoir and a bientôt!
The writer cruised the Rhône Route Intensive with the assistance of A-ROSA. All opinions are her own.
All images by Leonie Jarrett for Citro
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