PROVENCE RIVER CRUISE
FROM AVIGNON TO AIGUES MORTES
ITINERARY
DAY 1 Depart London St Pancras 0955 on Eurostar for Lille, then by TGV to Avignon, arriving 1710. Transfer to Hôtel La Magnaneraie, Villeneuve lès Avignon, for overnight. Evening: welcome reception.
DAY 2 Avignon: Palace of the Popes (huge 14th century papal residence), Petit Palais (outstanding art collection), walk through vieux quartier, Musée Calvet (including école d’Avignon) then Musée Pierre de Luxembourg (16th and 17th Provençal painting). Evening: embark Phénicien for six nights. Overnight at Villeneuve lès Avignon..
DAY 3 Villeneuve lès Avignon: Chartreuse du Val de Bénédiction (France’s largest Carthusian monastery) then return to Phénicien for lunch and cruise to Châteauneuf du Pape (guided tour and wine tasting at one of region’s finest cellars) then on to Orange (1st century AD Roman amphitheatre). Overnight at Villeneuve lès Avignon.
DAY 4 Excursion to Pont du Gard then return to Phénicien for lunch and afternoon cruise to charming small port of Vallabregues. Overnight at Vallabregues.
DAY 5 Morning cruise through lock of Beaucaire and past dramatic castle of Tarascon to Arles. Afternoon: historic centre of Arles including St Trophîme (one of greatest French Romanesque churches), 1st century BC amphitheatre. Overnight at Arles.
DAY 6 Excursion to fortified village of Les Baux de Provence followed by Notre Dame de Montmajour (fortified Benedictine monastery) then return to Phénicien for lunch and cruise down Grand Rhône, Petit Rhône and Rhône to Sète Canal. Overnight at village of Gallician.
DAY 7 Excursion through Camargue (wetlands, pastures, dunes and salt flats) with private visit to working ranch (Camargue horses and bulls) and St Gilles (Romanesque church and sculptures). Afternoon: return to Phénicien for lunch and cruise to Aigues Mortes for walk around old town and ramparts. Overnight at Aigues Mortes with farewell dinner.
DAY 8 Disembark Phénicien and transfer to Nîmes for 1050 TGV to Paris, then by Eurostar to St Pancras, arrving 1735.
Cruise Dates
MAY 1 – 8, 2010
JUNE 26 – JULY 3, 2010
AUGUST 21 – 28, 2010
OCTOBER 16 – 23, 2010
Vessel
The Phénicien
Serene, light and spacious, the Phénicien hosts our Provence river and canal cruises between Avignon and Aigues Mortes. More ›
Experts
Denis Moriarty (June & August 2010)
Denis is one of ACE Cultural Tours' most experienced course directors. More ›
Malcolm Oxley (May & October 2010)
Malcolm is a talented art historian, a subject to which he brings a historian's wider perspective. More ›
Featured Visit
Avignon
The Palais des Papes, one of Gothic architecture’s most glorious edifices, bestows a monumental elegance on Avignon.
Highlights
- Aigues Mortes
- The Camargue
- The Pont du Gard
- Arles – Flavian amphitheatre
- Avignon – Palais des Papes