This was published 8 years ago
Rhone and Saone river cruise: A tale of two rivers
By Kerry van der Jagt
River cruising allows you to pull up in the heart of a town and step ashore, all from the convenience of your own floating hotel room.
It's mid-afternoon when we slip into Viviers, a dot of a place on the Rhone River. After a lazy morning cruising through typical French countryside, much of it raked with vineyards and sparkling with sunflowers, we step ashore, straight into the Middle Ages.
Following our guide Aurore we enter a tiny cathedral, said to be the smallest in France, where maestro Valery Imbernon treats us to a recital. Playing everything from Amazing Grace to a rousing rendition of Pirates of the Caribbean Imbernon soon has the faded tapestries (and many toes) tapping in time to the music.
While we've already strolled the streets of Monaco, explored the Pope's Palace in Avignon, and visited some of the most famous vineyards in Provence, it's these little surprises that delight me most.
Medieval streets invite exploration.
"Viviers has a few restaurants, a couple of patisseries, one pottery shop and one postcard shop," says Aurore. "But the postcard shop is closed today." Thankfully, a small courtyard cafe is open, where a few of us choose to skip the onboard cocktails for a cold beer under a shady tree.
It's day four of our Avalon Waterways' 11-day Burgundy and Provence cruise aboard the 64-cabin Avalon Poetry II, and while this trip, which takes the slow route from Nice to Paris, must be one of the most star-studded of any European river cruise itinerary, there's enough hidden corners to uncover something new everyday.
ARLES – RIBBONS, ROMANS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
I can lay back and take in the sights, sounds and smells of rural France without leaving my bed.
Retracing the footsteps of an artist like Vincent van Gogh, who lived and painted in Arles between 1888 and 1890, would be reason enough to visit, but there is another side to Arles – its thriving photography scene. By chance we've arrived during the annual photography festival, Les Rencontres d'Arles (July to September), and the city is ablaze with posters heralding the many exhibitions. With a numbered map I find everything from surreal portraits to record album covers, screen projections to pin-your-own photographs, even a laneway topped with a canopy of coloured umbrellas. It's all delightfully edgy, energetic and totally unexpected.
Another surprise is the imposing 2000-year-old Roman amphitheatre, once the scene of bloody combats and chariot races, now a bullfighting arena. "Here in the Camargue the bulls are the rock stars, not the bullfighters," explains our guide Elizabeth. "The goal for the bullfighter is to try to pluck a ribbon off the bull's horns." So revered are the Camargue bulls that when they die they're swaddled in white cloths and buried on their farm facing the Mediterranean.
TOURNON – SECRET GARDENS AND HOLY VINES
The French countryside is raked with vineyards.
Tournon arrives in a wash of green grapes and pretty-in-pink pastels. On the left bank of the Rhone is Tain L'Hermitage, home to one of the world's most famous wine appellations, to the right is Tournon itself, with its fortifications and Renaissance castle. For me, this is the pleasure of river cruising – pulling up in the heart of a town and stepping ashore, all from the convenience of your own floating hotel room. And what rooms they are, with their characteristic Avalon "Suite Ship" design incorporating a wall of glass that opens to create an open-air balcony. With the beds angled to face the ever-changing scenery I can lay back and take in the sights, sounds and smells of rural France without leaving my bed.
But at some stage I must tear myself away and make a choice – visit the "Garden of Eden", or enjoy free time across the footbridge in Tain L'Hermitage. By going ashore early, I manage both.
The only entrance to the secret garden is through a small 14th-century house, which was once a convent for Jesuit monks and later Catholic nuns. Long abandoned, the garden is being brought back to life by a dedicated (dare I say eccentric) Frenchman, Eric Le Long. "So far I've carried 85 tonnes of soil though the house, one bucket at a time," he says. "I should start asking visitors to bring a bucketful with them."
The Avalon Poetry.
Climbing the steep, stone stairway delivers us to a craggy world of bridges and bulbs, ivy and irises, archangels and stone crosses, all slipping down the hillside like an unkempt rug. Eric points out plants once used for medicine and magic, 450-year-old olive trees and gnarly grape vines planted long ago by nuns. "My ultimate goal is to make this a meditative garden for people struggling in life," he says.
VIENNE – JAZZ AND CHEESE
From Tournon we enjoy an afternoon sail to Vienne, another place where we meet the remains of those marauding Romans. "Not only do we have the largest Roman theatre in France," says our local guide Mary. "Residents of Vienne still find Roman mosaics when they dig up their gardens."
Picturesque Provence.
With an internationally acclaimed summer jazz festival, the Roman temple of Augustus and Livia, a burgeoning dining scene, Syrah wines from the Cote-Rotie region and daily markets, laidback Vienne should be more popular than it is. "Vienne was once one of Roman Gaul's greatest cities, yet most travellers bypass us completely for nearby Lyon," says Mary. "Or rush past as they drive south to the Cote d'Azur."
I don't rush or bypass anything, opting out of the included walking tour to spend the afternoon and evening strolling on my own, sniffing out delicacies like local goat's cheese, rigotte de Condrieu, and daydreaming of owning a villa in the south of France.
PEROUGES – FILMS AND FLANS
Rooms open up to form a balcony.
Our next stop is Lyon at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers; famous for silk, cinema and cuisine, it is one of the largest Renaissance cities in the world. I join the morning walking tour, which leads us through the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town, before stepping out on my own in search of painted walls, hidden passageways and the quirky Museum of Miniature and Cinema.
Back for lunch, executive chef Goncalo Pegado is hosting a barbecue on the sky deck, a nod to the many Australians and New Zealanders on board, and a welcome reprieve from the hot August sun. Onboard meals are excellent, ranging from degustation menus showcasing local produce to gala dinners of vichyssoise shooters, roasted rack of lamb and delicate mille-feuille but, for me, the most interesting food is found on the streets.
It is in Perouges, a medieval town less than one hour's drive from Lyon, that I'm introduced to galette de Perouges, a sticky local dessert. Made from brioche pastry topped with caramelised sugar and butter, great wheels of it sit on every window ledge, cooling and tempting those who have travelled near and far to pick up a takeaway. Sitting in a 13th-century tavern, washing the sweet treat down with an icy cold local cider is about as good as Provincial life gets.
BEAUNE – IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD REALLY
Beaune is classic Burgundy country, best known as the unofficial capital of the Cote d'Or it worships the grape like no other. And with great wine comes great food, so while others tour the Hospice de Beaune or the Old City I spend the allocated time in the Saturday produce markets.
After a reconnaissance lap of the village square I settle down to business – some stinky cheeses here, a jar of dijon mustard there. Stallholders approve of my interest, handing me juicy apricots and plump olives to sample, so flavoursome I vow never to buy my fresh produce from a supermarket again.
Later, onboard the TGV, one friend removes his red bandana and spreads it across our tiny table like a picnic rug, while another pulls a bottle of Burgundy chardonnay from his knapsack and I spread out my goodies. Toasting to the joie de vivre we feast like royalty, before sleeping soundly all the way to Paris.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
CRUISING THERE
Explore Burgundy and Provence in 2016 with Avalon Waterways on an 11-day itinerary between Cote d'Azur and Paris, including a night and full day berthed in Arles. Prices start from $5245 a person twin share in a Deluxe Stateroom (lower deck) including one night on the Cote d'Azur, a seven-night cruise on the Rhone and Saone rivers on board Avalon Poetry II, and two nights in Paris. Fares include all meals, wine and beer with dinner, gratuities, transport, entrance fees and most tours. Phone 1300 230 234; see avalonwaterways.com.au.
GETTING THERE
Cathay Pacific operates several flights a day from Sydney and Melbourne, via Hong Kong, to key European gateways, including arrival and departure points for Avalon Waterways' cruises; see cathaypacific.com.au.
Kerry van der Jagt was a guest of Avalon Waterways.
FIVE OTHER SURPRISES
These are offered by Avalon as optional excursions.
LES BAUX DE PROVENCE
To the east of Arles lies the chain of limestone hills known as the Alpilles, where the village of Les Baux de Provence produces some of Europe's best olive oils.
PONT-DU-GARD
A 30-minute drive from Avignon is the three-tiered limestone arches of Pont-du-Gard, a Roman aqueduct built to carry water from a spring in Uzes to Nimes.
CHATEAU DE CORMATIN
A 17th-century chateau in south Burgundy reached by road from Macon. All towers, turrets and water gardens, the fairytale castle has been restored to its former glory.
MACON
The Maconnais region, or more precisely the town of Chardonnay, is where chardonnays originated, a product of the 200-million-year-old limestone.
AN EVENING DRIVE OF PARIS
The City of Light is best appreciated under the cover of darkness, the Opera, glass pyramid of the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, Arch of Triumph and Eiffel Tower all glowing like candles.
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