CHALON SUR SAONE- MACON-LYON-VIVIERS-CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE-AVIGNON-MARTIGUES
Itinerary
1st Day: LYONS – CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE
Rendezvous in Lyons in front of the Brasserie Georges at 15h. Departure by coach. It is in Burgundy on the Saône that we will board at around 18h. Welcome on board and settling into your cabin. Presentation of the crew. Welcome cocktail. Dinner and evening on board. Overnight stopover.
Breakfast on board. Departure by coach for the vineyards of Burgundy whose extreme complexity must be taken as an invitation to discover a secret world. Meursault where the first vine of Cîteaux Abbey is situated, which owes its ancient reputation to its white wines. Volnay where the wine-growing slopes of deep marno-calcareous layers produce the finest wines of the Côte de Beaune. Pommard where the vine was exploited by religious communities as early as the High Middle Ages produces robust, tannic reds famous for their sincerity. Tasting at one of the better producers of the region. During our visit, the boat will leave for the port of call of Tournon where we will go back on board. Continuation of the cruise to Mâcon. Lunch during the cruise. Arrival in Mâcon around 14h. Departure by coach to explore the Beaujolais whose name comes from the lords of Beaujeu who owned this land until 1400. We will be going through St Amour, Juliénas, and Moulin à Vent before reaching Romanèche-Thorins where you will visit Georges Duboeuf's Hameau du Vin. After this visit, the Beaujolais will hold no more secrets for you. During this excursion, the boat will sail for Trévoux. Back on board around 19h. Dinner during the cruise. Past the restaurant which belongs to Paul Bocuse which is on the banks of the Saône in Collonges in the Mont d’Or. After dinner, we will sail through Lyons “by night” and stop for the night.
3rd Day: LYONS – TAIN L’HERMITAGE – VIVIERS (the Côtes du Rhône)
Breakfast during the cruise. A morning's sailing in the Rhone valley, past the vineyards of Côte Rôtie, Condrieu, Château Grillet, and St Joseph. There will be a lecture by a professional from the wine world. Lunch during the cruise. Arrival in Tain-l’Hermitage around 14h, where the Coteau de l’Hermitage, the most famous property, is topped by a chapel which seems to be standing guard over the entrance to the valley. Tasting at one of the better producers of the region* who will let you savour one of the most famous of his wines. Back on board and continuation of the cruise to Viviers. Dinner on board. Overnight stopover.
4th Day: VIVIERS – CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE – AVIGNON (Côtes du Vivarais and Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Breakfast on board. Departure by coach through the Ardèche Gorge to discover the vineyards of the Vivarais which are situated on the plateaux of St Remèze and Orgnac l’Aven. Tasting at a local producer* whose reds and rosés are particularly fresh and refined. During the visit, the boat will sail to St Etienne des Sorts where we will rejoin it. Lunch during the cruise for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Arrival around 15h. Departure by coach to the village whose appellation is one of the most prestigious in Mediterranean viticulture. The establishment of the vine on this exceptional site probably dates back to the period when the Papacy was based in Avignon. Tasting at one of the better local producers. Back on board and continuation of the cruise to Avignon. Dinner on board. Overnight stopover.
5th Day: AVIGNON – MARTIGUES (Cassis wines)
Breakfast on board and a morning's sailing towards Martigues. Past the castles of Beaucaire and Tarascon. Morning lecture by a wine professional who will summarise the wines with you in the form of a game in which the best of those participants who have scored the most points will be decided by a blind tasting. The happy winner will be elected the Cruise Bacchus and will be rewarded with a gastronomic cruise on the Rhone with Paul Bocuse or on the Rhine with Marc Haeberlin, both of whom have three Michelin stars. Lunch on board. Arrival in Martigues and departure by coach for Cassis which owes its reputation to its heady and fragrant dry white wine of which the Provencal poet, Frédéric Mistral, said: “The bee has no sweeter honey, it glitters like a limpid diamond and has the fragrance of the rosemary, heather and myrtle which cover our hillsides”. Tasting at one of the better local producers*. Back on board around 18h. Dînner and gala evening. Overnight stopover.
6th Day: MARTIGUES – LYONS
Breakfast on board. End of this cruise which will leave you with pleasant memories of all of the regions we have crossed. Return to Lyons by coach. Arrival at the end of the morning. End of our journey.
Prices Include: Full board cruise from dinner of the
first day to the lunch of the
last day in a double cabin with shower and toilets, welcome drink,
entertainment, the Captain's Evening, the assistance of our
hostess on board, and port taxes.
Prices
Do Not Include: Drinks, coffee with lunch and dinner,
insurance and optional excursions.
For reasons of navigation and
passenger safety, CroisiEurope and the Captain of the ship reserve
the right to modify the itinerary of the cruise.
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