DAY 1: UK - Lyon.
Fly to Lyon where you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay.
DAY 2: Lyon.
France's second city offers visitors a rich tableau of sights, from graceful Renaissance architecture and elegant bridges to a quaint old town complete with stately Basilica, impressive cathedral, fine restaurants and cobbled streets buzzing with bistros and shops. Your morning is free to explore its charms at your own pace, before our afternoon transfer to your cruise ship for embarkation. Tonight, as your ship sets sail southwards, enjoy a pre-dinner welcome cocktail with the crew. Your cruise includes full board from dinner this evening until breakfast on Day 6. (B, D)
DAY 3: Avignon - Arles.
After a morning cruising past wonderful Provencal landscapes, arrive in Avignon where you can join an optional tour of the beautiful Camargue. Explore its beautiful nature park, made up of lovely marshlands and inhabited by a dazzling array of wildlife including colourful water birds. You'll have time to enjoy the delightful, cobbled town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, once famous for its gypsy pilgrimages, before rejoining your ship in Arles. An optional, yet unmissable, evening tour of this enchanting city, which inspired Van Gogh and boasts resplendent Roman ruins and churches, awaits. (B, L, D)
DAY 4: Avignon - Viviers.
Your ship sets sail early in the morning for Avignon, a stunning medieval town once the home of Popes and famed for its arched bridge, immortalised in the well-known song. An optional sightseeing takes in the mighty Cité des Papes citadel, whose court once attracted Europe's artists and intellectuals, and the famous bridge, standing in its shadow. Return to your ship for lunch and cruise towards Viviers, taking time to enjoy the gentle river idyll and to relax on deck admiring the alluring vistas. After dinner, join an optional walking tour of Vivier's picturesque medieval town. (B, L, D)
DAY 5: Viviers - Tain L'Hermitage - Les Côtes du Rhône.
This morning, why not enjoy an optional shore excursion to the spectacular Gorges de l'Ardèche, where the Ardèches river has eroded mighty gorges in the Gras Plateau, creating a glorious natural spectacle. At the awesome Pont d'Arc, the water flow has even carved a grandiose rock arch, forming an incredible natural bridge between the gorge sides. After absorbing the superlative views there will be a stop at one of them, rejoin your ship at Le Pouzin and sail to Tain L'Hermitage, a city renowned for its Côtes du Rhône and Hermitage wines. After free time to discover the city, enjoy a farewell dinner on board. (B, L, D)
DAY 6: Tain L'Hermitage - Lyon - UK.
Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport in Lyon for your flight to the UK. (B)
