Michael Edwards takes Riviera Travel’s History and Art Rhône River cruise and reckons it’s the best ever French cruise you can find.
Riviera Travel’s Rhône River cruise is as French as France gets. From Avignon to Lyon, the journey is as French as the vine-draped hills and charming chateaux we sail past. As French as the aroma of brioche and croissant we savour for our Riviera petit dejeuner.
Or is it?
Provence, where the cruise begins, for all its lavender, chefs’ pantry of wild rosemary and thyme, only became a French region in 1841. Back then in Avignon, where we board our ship, French was the third language after Italian and Provençal. In fact, in the days of the Roman Empire, Pliny called Provence “another Italy.”
This is a cruise along a river where the ghosts of amphora-laden Roman ships once sailed, where mercenaries from the Hundred Years War ravaged the land, where revolutionaries beheaded statues of nobility, where bridges were destroyed during the Second World War. A voyage through time to the very essence of civilisation, dipping into the history and art of a remarkable region. All brought to life by exceptionally knowledgeable local guides. Where the witty Richard, born in Cleethorpes, but now living in Burgundy, was the star guide.
That art includes 36,000-year-old drawings of woolly rhinos and mammoths on the walls of the Chauvet 2 replica cave in the Ardèche. Botticelli’s works in Avignon’s Petit Palace Museum. Both Van Gogh canvases and contemporary mixed media work in Arles’ Vincent Van Gogh Institute. And that’s just the lower Rhône.
Further north, Vienne hosts the remarkably well-preserved Temple of Augustus and Lucia. Then sailing on La Saône, north of Lyon, to Chalon sur Saône, we take an excursion to Beaune, the home of the Hôtel-Dieu Museum, endowed with surprisingly lavish art and architecture for a medieval hospital. Of course, Beaune also happens to be, according to local aficionados, The Wine Capital of the World.
In a region, never lacking self-confidence, Lyon, with a chip on its shoulder as it was once France’s premier city, proclaims itself France’s Gastronomic Capital. In another era, it was also The World’s Silk Capital.
So, it seems a no-brainer that Riviera Travel has chosen the themes of History and Art to tell the story of a silver thread of a river that travels through some of France’s most historic cities.
Until you read Riviera Travel’s brochures. The week after our voyage north, the MS Thomas Hardy sails back to Avignon, this time viewing the Rhône through the lens of Gardens and Natural Beauty, focusing on landscapes and vineyards framed with those welcoming cypress trees planted every time a baby was born.
Originating at the Rhône Glacier, the Rhône, sweeping towards the Med for over 500 miles, is a flight path for thousands of migrating birds, becoming a river of wings for cranes, storks, swallows, black kites, ospreys, willow warblers. For many of those birds the marshes of the Camargue become their wintering grounds. And of course, there are Riviera Rhône cruises that take in the Camargue as well.
Whatever the official theme, gastronomy and wine are always key elements. As soon as our guide has put us on the coach from Marseille airport, after our flight booked by Riviera, he is pointing out Syrah vineyards, talking of earlier harvests, as we drive north along the Autoroute de Soleil towards Avignon where the 167-berth MS Thomas Hardy is moored.
Arriving in time for drinks and dinner, an authentically local boeuf bourguignon is one of the six main course choices in the panoramic restaurant. Next day, as we tour Avignon’s papal palace, our guide Clement explains how it’s a dish made from what was available in the Medieval pantry.
For all their wealth, the 14th century popes, and Avignon was home to seven of them, didn’t enjoy the variety of fruit and veg that would later arrive from Africa and the New World. Though those popes were allowed a knife to cut their meat. In a world that was Machiavellian, long before Machiavelli was born, no one else was trusted with a knife.
A deep ruby red local Syrah, with intense soft-fruit flavours is the all-inclusive wine, perfect with that bouef bourguignon. Or if you opt for the fish, poultry and vegan options, everyday there are rose and white wines available.
As we head north, the wines of the day, for lunch and dinner, change to reflect our oenophile’s voyage. For truly dedicated oenophiles, on the afternoon trip to Beaune, there is a free hour to organise a Dégustation, a tasting of usually five Burgundies.
Lunch in the Brasserie, an intimate 24-cover restaurant at the stern of the ship, epitomises a typically French lunch: a French onion soup starter, with Parmesan crouton, can be followed by a goats cheese salad, croque monsieur or even more garlicky Gallic, moules marinere.
Art, cities, cuisine, experiences, history and wine – plus a brief exploration of the Saône – undoubtedly makes not just for probably France’s best river cruises, but possibly one of the world’s greatest river cruises.
Tell Me More About Riviera Travel’s History And Art Of The Rhone River Cruise
Riviera Travel New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP
E: info@rivieratravel.co.uk T: 01283 742300
Riviera offer a variety of Rhône River Cruises beginning in April 2026.
Cost
Prices start from £1,899 for 2 people sharing a cabin, including air or rail travel from the UK, full-board dining, drinks package, and many experiences included.
