PROVENCE RIVER CRUISE

FROM AIGUES MORTES to AVIGNON

Peaceful and picturesque, the inland waterways of Provence and the Camargue are the most enchanting way to savour the cultural inheritance and culinary traditions of southern France.

Our cruise aboard the majestic Phénicien – renowned across the Rhône for its refined ambience and superior cuisine – will call at small Provençal villages and great centres of civilisation as we head towards Avignon, the immaculately preserved 14th century capital of Christendom.

We join the Phénicien in the former Crusader stronghold of Aigues Mortes, beyond whose ancient fortifications lies the semi-mystical Camargue, where land, lake and lagoon merge into the Mediterranean. Embraced by the two arms of the Rhône, the Camargue is remarkable for the diversity of its flora and fauna, notably the pink flamingo. We will make a private visit to a traditional ranch, where the delta’s gardians – local herdsmen – still ride the region’s distinct Camargue horses and raise fighting bulls.

The Roman antiquities of the former provincia of Gallia Narbonensis now await discovery: the triple-tiered Pont du Gard is a technological and aesthetic chef d’oeuvre, whilst Arles, with its vast Flavian amphitheatre and Augustan theatre, was grand enough to be considered a Gallic Rome. The city walls of Arles – once home to van Gogh – also give shelter to the Cathédrale St Trophîme, where the 12th century portal is one of the crowning achievements of the Romanesque style.

Further highlights of our cruise include the fortified village of Les Baux de Provence, the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame de Montmajour and Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction, France’s most extensive Carthusian monastery.

We disembark the Phénicien in the shadow of the celebrated 12th century Pont d’Avignon, where we will discover the “court of splendour and magnificence” of the Avignon popes. As well as visiting the lavishly decorated Palais des Papes, an outstanding example of Gothic artistry, we will tour the Petit Palais, home to a fine collection of Italian paintings.