Gardens and Natural Beauty of the Rhône - MS Thomas Hardy

After arriving in Lyon, we’ll transfer by coach to our ship moored in Lyon’s historic centre. The dedicated English-speaking crew will welcome you on board and help you to your cabin. There's plenty of time to settle in to your spacious and tastefully furnished accommodation and familiarise yourself with this five-star floating hotel.

We’ll enjoy breakfast on board before a guided tour of Lyon, one of France’s most fascinating cities. The Rhône Valley had been the route of choice for marauding armies and peaceful traders for centuries, and Lyon’s current site, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, cried out to be fortified.



The green spaces are certainly not lacking in Lyon - Parc de la Tête d’Or, in the north of the 6th arrondissement, is one of France's largest parks and a wonderful place to spend a leisurely morning. A breath of fresh air in a thriving city. On our visit, budding horticulturalists will especially love exploring the three rose gardens with over 350 varieties on vibrant display (in total there’s over 30,000 rosebushes – that must take a lot of pruning).The park’s botanical gardens are a living plant museum, home to 15,000 botanical species, including an alpine garden, a herbarium, the largest collection of greenhouses in France – better watch where you step here, there’s lots of carnivorous plants, over 1,000 species of orchids and 1,400 endangered plants on display.



While you enjoy your first lunch on board, the ship will quietly slip its moorings. Cruising upstream towards our next destination,Chalon-sur-Saône, we’ll catch the first glimpses of the vine-clad slopes of the hazy green Beaujolais hills as we approach one of the world’s most revered red-wine-producing regions. On our left, you’ll see the picturesque villages of Morgon, Fleury, Juliénas, Chénas and many more, while on the right you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of snow-capped Mont Blanc – Western Europe’s highest mountain.



As the afternoon drifts into evening,what could be better than a cool, crisp glass in the lounge before enjoying this evening’s culinary delights in the restaurant, prepared by our outstanding chef.



+ Included Experience – Guided tour of Lyon with a visit to Parc de la Tête d'Or  

Burgundy



Overnight we’ll have made steady progress north and wake up in Chalon, gateway to Burgundy and the home of Nicéphore Niépce, the inventor of photography. As we travel towards Beaune, today’s destination, we’ll see some of the pretty yet surprisingly small villages that produce some of the world’s most sublime wines – Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, Gevrey-Chambertin and many more.



Beaune



Nearby is medieval Beaune, which we’ll visit for a short walking tour around the town and a wine tasting at a local cellar. As you might expect from Burgundy’s wine capital, Beaune is surrounded by vineyards that are centuries old. And - thanks to the gentle slopes with well-drained soils rich in iron and hot summers – the region produces some of the best wine in the world. Here, wine is not simply a drink - it's an embodiment of the culture. Landscapes, traditions and local history are stored in each bottle. It's no wonder they produce some of the best wines in the world here.



The town itself is wonderful to wander around and, at its centre, is the Hospices de Beaune, also known as the Hôtel-Dieu. Originally built in the 15th century as a hospital for the disadvantaged, it’s a jewel of High Gothic architecture, instantly recognisable for its colourful glazed roof tiles arranged in dazzling geometric patterns.



A prestigious annual wine auction takes place here each November, with proceeds going to benefit the Hospices de Beaune and its charity work - in 2022, the wine auction netted a whopping €29,788,500, breaking their own 2014 record. Of course, you can’t visit Burgundy without sampling its amazing wines, so we visit the cellars of a leading traditional winemaker for a tour and wine tasting before free time to explore at leisure.



Later, we’ll return to the ship for lunch and enjoy a relaxing afternoon and evening on board taking advantage of the ship’s five-star facilities as we cruise the beautiful countryside towards Vienne.



+ Included Experience – Tour of Beaune with wine tasting.

Vienne



Overnight, our ship will cruise gently downstream and, as we enjoy breakfast in Vienne, there's time to explore this pretty town, including its central park, Jardin de Ville. Its flower beds are bursting with colourful blooms that break up the manicured lawns. It's the perfect place to stop and enjoy a morning coffee. Two calming pools are decorated with rocks and an old Roman road, and the remains of columns punctuate the otherwise pristine garden.



Tournon



Later, our ship will moor in the pretty provincial town of Tournon. Here, we'll visit the aptly named Garden of Eden for a guided tour. Formally the park of the monastery of the Cordeliers Brothers, there's one hectare of botanical space with shaded corners hiding fountains and ponds. Designed as a place of contemplation, there's a serene quiet in between the century-old boxwoods. You'll stumble on remarkable panoramic views of the entire valley on the terraces that are nestled at the foot of the tower. You can follow the meanders of the Rhône which flow through the vineyards of Tain l'Hermitage.



With its imposing castle and tree-lined avenues on one side of the river and steep vine-covered hillsides of Hermitage (where some of world’s most revered wines are produced) on the other, our mooring in Tournon offers a fitting view as we enjoy another exquisite dinner.



+ Included experiences – Tour of Vienne and a guided tour of The Garden of Eden in Tournon.

This morning we'll cruise effortlessly downstream. In the distance, you’ll catch glimpses of the Alps and, as we approach Valence, the landscape gradually becomes less green with more ochres and magentas, the houses have sloping terracotta roofs typical of the Mediterranean and the air carries heady aromas of pine and cypress. You can only be in the Midi or – as we call it – the south of France. It’s so relaxing to catch up on some reading or just laze in the sun.



After lunch, we'll explore one of France’s most outstanding landscapes – the Ardèche Gorges, whose scale is a fitting reminder of Mother Nature’s awesome power. Sheer limestone cliffs plunge almost 1,000 feet to the river’s blue waters, which elegantly snake their way through rock formations, culminating in a huge natural arch, the Pont d’Arc.



Caves, grottoes and natural sculptures create marvellous views at every turn before we return to the gentler slopes of the Rhône Valley.



We'll also visit a local lavender museum set amongst fields of fragrant lavender planted in neat rows across the landscape. This fragrant plant originated in Persia thousands of years ago, it was used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Celts - so there's plenty of history to discover - it was even thought to be a remedy against the plague. We'll learn how these beautiful purple fields become little bottles of essential oils explaining everything from harvest to distillation - maybe even stock up on some of their local lavender produce to take home.



We'll return to the river later, where our ship will be moored in charming Viviers, a medieval town clustered around its 12th-century cathedral. We'll slip our mooring and proceed through the famous lock at Bollène, one of the deepest in France, as you relax over dinner. Tonight, we enjoy an on-board ballroom dancing performance.



+ Included experiences – Guided tour of the Ardèche Gorges, visit to local lavender museum & a on-board ballroom dancing performance.

Arles



You'll wake under the azure skies of deepest Provence and amid the warm stone colours of Arles, many of whose historic monuments are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Although small in size, it was the key stronghold on the Roman road to Spain, one of the empire’s richest possessions. Seagoing ships could reach here, and the city became a regional capital, briefly ruling over Gaul, Spain and Britain.



Our guided tour will help you appreciate the finer points of Arles’s magnificent Roman remains, including the splendid amphitheatre, one of the best preserved in the world, the earlier theatre built during the reign of Augustus and the Alyscamps, the ancient necropolis with its extraordinary atmosphere.



The genius of an artist Van Gogh lived in Arles for just over a year, from February 1888. It was his most prolific period and, inspired by Arles and the light and beauty of the Provencal countryside. His painting Hospital in Arles, depicted the beautiful courtyard in bloom in 1888. In the L’Escape Van Gogh courtyard you can barely see the passage of time between then and now; the garden is still full of lustrous flowers which burst open in the afternoon sun.



Pont du Gard



After lunch we'll visit the amazing Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct, one of the wonders of the ancient world. No amount of fame can diminish the first sight of this 2,000-year-old structure, which was the highest bridge built in the Empire –the Romans themselves considered it the most important testimony to their greatness. Its statistics are staggering over 900 feet long and almost 160 feet high, with its stones each weighing up to six tons.  



To put this in perspective, the span of the Pont du Gard is greater than the width of the River Thames at London Bridge – and no mortar was used in its construction! The situation is lovely too, with pine- and cypress-covered hills adding to the harmonious setting. Re-joining the ship, we cruise along the Rhône and, during dinner, pass the imposing 15th-century castle at Tarascon standing guard on the riverbank.



This evening we enjoy the sumptuous Captain’s Dinner, with the chef serving specialities of the regions we’ve visited during our voyage of discovery, as the ship sails towards Avignon.



+ Included experiences – Guided tour of Arles, visit to Pont du Gard & the Captain’s Dinner.

Today, we'll embark on a guided tour of one of the most extraordinary and intriguing cities in France. Avignon’s destiny changed during the 14th century when the Pope’s court moved here to avoid strife in Rome.



Igniting a century of prosperity, the Pontiff commissioned a host of ambitious building projects, and today the city is immaculately preserved, nestling behind its almost-intact 14th-century walls and boasting more remarkable monuments, superbly decorated buildings, churches, chapels and convents than you can possibly count.



Most important is the Pope’s Palace, made up of two buildings that together form the largest Gothic palace in the world. With turrets, towers, parapets and other fortifications, its exterior resembles a mighty fortress, while the interior is a tour de force of medieval architecture and ornamentation, adorned with priceless frescoes, Gobelin tapestries and graceful sculptures. The ceremonial hall, chapels, cloisters and private apartments are all unmissable.



But to truly embrace the feel of papal Avignon, imagine yourself here during the Middle Ages amid the Palace’s rich furnishings and extravagant decoration, with cardinals, princes and ambassadors milling about its candle-lit halls and corridors, while in the streets below countless pilgrims eagerly anticipate benediction. This was Avignon’s brief golden age when it was truly the centre of Christendom. 



At the end of our tour, you can join in a stroll up the hillside to the Rocher De Doms. Your reward? Panoramic views of the French countryside. The gardens, which were landscaped in the 19th century, hide a reservoir that once supplied the city with water. And it's a favourite with locals and tourists alike. With shady trees, generously planted shrubs and a large pond, it's the perfect setting for festivals such as the Ban des Vendanges annual wine harvest festival in late August. Throughout the seven acres, there are signs - in French and English - outlining the park's history and observation tables pointing out the surrounding landmarks.



But the crown jewel of the park is the statue in the middle of the pond. The Venus with Swallows, by Félix Charpentier, was moved from its original setting in Place Carnot to Rocher des Doms due to the display of nudity. Right next to the pond is a favourite spot for locals who relax and people-watch.



Later, return to the luxurious surroundings of our ship, finding a quiet spot to contemplate the many wondrous gardens and flora places you’ve seen and smelled!



After dinner, you can sit back and relax to the sounds of a talented local pianist who'll entertain us with French songs on board.



+ Included experiences – Guided tour of Avignon and Rocher de Doms & performance by local pianist 

After breakfast you’ll bid farewell to the ship and her dedicated crew, before transferring to the airport for your return flight or to Avignon for your high-speed rail journey home.