AMA Dagio November 11 Lyon to Arles

My husband, Michael, and I are booked to go on our first river cruise on AMA from Lyon to Arles. Never been on any river cruise, usually go on Azamara but we love the look of the river cruises so we finally did it and Just booked the river portion of the cruise. We have been to Barcelona many times so not interested in ending there (fantastic city).

Any cruise tips appreciated. Also suggestions for post trip for a couple of days.

Any thoughts on whether we should stay in Lyon before trip and in Arles after.

Thanks

Ollie47 aka Bev:)

My husband, Michael, and I are booked to go on our first river cruise on AMA from Lyon to Arles. Never been on any river cruise, usually go on Azamara but we love the look of the river cruises so we finally did it and Just booked the river portion of the cruise. We have been to Barcelona many times so not interested in ending there (fantastic city).

 

Any cruise tips appreciated. Also suggestions for post trip for a couple of days.

 

Any thoughts on whether we should stay in Lyon before trip and in Arles after.

 

Thanks

 

Ollie47 aka Bev:)

We did this cruise in 2014 and it is our favorite itinerary so far. Loved the ports, excursions and the AmaDagio.

We really enjoy Lyon and spent two nights there pre cruise when we did the Rhone with Uniworld. Had it not been 104 degrees the entire time, we would have enjoyed it more.:)

I highly recommend Carrières de Lumières as one of the excursions. I don't recommend the wine and chocolate tasting in Tournon. It was like watching paint dry for us.

Make sure you do the tasting at Chapoutier winery if you like wine. AMA offered this as an included tour but went there on our own. We also enjoyed Valrhona in Tain-l'Hermitage. Great place for chocolate lovers.

If the Ghost Walk is offered in Viviers, do it. High water prevented us from experiencing it but I have heard nothing but great things about it.

My husband, Michael, and I are booked to go on our first river cruise on AMA from Lyon to Arles. Never been on any river cruise, usually go on Azamara but we love the look of the river cruises so we finally did it and Just booked the river portion of the cruise. We have been to Barcelona many times so not interested in ending there (fantastic city).

 

Any cruise tips appreciated. Also suggestions for post trip for a couple of days.

 

Any thoughts on whether we should stay in Lyon before trip and in Arles after.

 

Thanks

 

Ollie47 aka Bev:)

We leave Monday for the AMAdagio. We did book pre cruise Paris and post Barcelona as we haven't been to either. I will try to post when we get home on the excursions etc. our prior River cruise was also on the AMADagio her first year out. We were extremely satisfied with ship, crew, excursions and food.

We were on this cruise last Oct. and I say "ditto" to all that Caviargirl said.

We also enjoyed the truffle farm visit, just because he was so entertaining. We went a week early and rented a car so we could see the Luberon area and the Cote du Rhone area. We really enjoyed this. If you have time, I would recommend this. Driving was easy with a Garmin. The roads in this area are small and not crowded.

Would like to know about the Ghost Tour or whether I should do the optional bakery experience. Anyone have any information that wold help me decide?

jane

We did the baking tour because we were concerned with the limited visibility on the ghost tour. The baking tour was ok but nothing special.

Would like to know about the Ghost Tour or whether I should do the optional bakery experience. Anyone have any information that wold help me decide?

 

jane

If you're docked in Viviers overnight, you can walk around at night on your own. It's quiet, safe, and incredibly deserted. But you can't bake bread by yourself. So if it were me, I'd do the bakery tour, then walk around on my own for a DIY ghost tour.

We were there last year with Uniworld, and they didn't offer any nighttime tours. But we went out on our own for a night walk after dinner, and really enjoyed it. We even snuck into the Cathedral! Pictures and narrative in my review below.

My husband, Michael, and I are booked to go on our first river cruise on AMA from Lyon to Arles. Never been on any river cruise, usually go on Azamara but we love the look of the river cruises so we finally did it and Just booked the river portion of the cruise. We have been to Barcelona many times so not interested in ending there (fantastic city).

 

Any cruise tips appreciated. Also suggestions for post trip for a couple of days.

 

Any thoughts on whether we should stay in Lyon before trip and in Arles after.

 

Thanks

 

Ollie47 aka Bev:)

Have a great time...this is a great itinerary!

Lyon would be fun for a day or two, but we had 2 days there during the cruise so didn't take time for more.

Paris is 2h away via train, so Paris is a viable option pre-cruise as well. The ship docks in Lyon are within walking distance from the train station (for us). Plus, many nonstop flights from the US to Paris. We started our trip this way.

I'd gladly spend a week in the South of France after a Rhone cruise. We had no time for that last year...disembarked on Sunday, flew home, worked Monday.

Probably would not stay longer in Arles...not that it's bad, but I doubt you need more than a day there. If you want, stay in Avignon longer. Lots of attractions close by (Nimes, Orange, Les Baux-de-Provence, etc).

Other bases for day trips... Aix-en-Provence (for southern and eastern parts of Provence) or Montpellier (for the Languedoc-Roussillon area) are my first thoughts. Or 3 days in each... :D

Note that you'd have to drive in order to make any of my post-cruise suggestions work. But it would be such fun...Now I need to start planning this for myself!

We also enjoyed the truffle farm visit, just because he was so entertaining. We went a week early and rented a car so we could see the Luberon area and the Cote du Rhone area. We really enjoyed this.

Was your truffle farmer named Serge? He was so funny! Agree with you that his personality really made the tour...

Some day, if we ever get an extra week off, we want to spend a week here on our own. Sounds like fun!

I really enjoyed this trip on AmaDagio last year, and I'm on Azamara Quest as I write this. You will find AMA very similar to your experience on Azamara: small ship, great staff that gets the most out of it, great food. The shore excursions on AMA are really great -- and all are included in the cost of the trip. See my review in the link in my signature ("AmaDagio Provence 9-2015"). We really enjoyed the bakery trip (you go home with your own-baked baguette warm [carried under your armpit in true French fashion!] -- where else can you get that?!!! Also the Chapoutier wine tasting was top class -- we were taken to the upper tasting room and served their better wines, while the general public got the cheapest line. The truffle farm was fantastic (yes, Serge!), as was the olive oil farm. If you won't have time on your own at the end of the cruise to see Pont du Gard, take that excursion. Also Carrières de Lumières. Have a great time!

If you're docked in Viviers overnight, you can walk around at night on your own. It's quiet, safe, and incredibly deserted. But you can't bake bread by yourself. So if it were me, I'd do the bakery tour, then walk around on my own for a DIY ghost tour.

 

We were there last year with Uniworld, and they didn't offer any nighttime tours. But we went out on our own for a night walk after dinner, and really enjoyed it. We even snuck into the Cathedral! Pictures and narrative in my review below.

I didn't think we were making bread but watching a demonstration. I'd much rather do a hands on activity. Thanks for your advice. I'll sign up and make a loaf of bread

Thanks for all your comments!! A small group of us are going on the Lyon-Arles Cruise later this month. I'm really glad your comments confirmed what I expected. That is, the Tournon wine tasting is at Chapoutier. Great News!!

This will be our 4th visit to France but our first river cruise.

My husband, Michael, and I are booked to go on our first river cruise on AMA from Lyon to Arles. Never been on any river cruise, usually go on Azamara but we love the look of the river cruises so we finally did it and Just booked the river portion of the cruise. We have been to Barcelona many times so not interested in ending there (fantastic city).

 

Any cruise tips appreciated. Also suggestions for post trip for a couple of days.

 

Any thoughts on whether we should stay in Lyon before trip and in Arles after.

 

Thanks

 

Ollie47 aka Bev:)

Hi Bev,

I am on the AMADagio once again and posting my daily experiences. See my thread. Ask away!

Olie47,

if you would like a trip further afield I recommend (from hearsay) the Burgundy area. Beaune is a splendid place and there is lots of wine in the region. Easily accessible by high speed train from Lyon.

http://www.burgundy-tourism.com/discover/must-see-tourist-attractions

Have fun planning and a great trip.

notamermaid

We went on the Arles to Paris Cruise in June and some of the highlights for us was Arles---the tour of the town, the Van Gogh Musueum which had a good number of paintings on loan from Amersterdam.

Avignon -the tour to Pont du Gard marvelous and a trip to the town UZES afterward.

Viviers the walk up to the cathedral and organ recital there.

Touron it was market day.

Lyon, so many thing, food, wine art. We were there the art market was on, I have never saw anything like it.

We were on Avalon ,so the tours might be different but Im sure you will have a fabulous time. Cheers Dan

We just left Lyon this morning after staying in the Hotel des Artistes. This was a Rick Steves recommendation and we thought it was fine for our purpose. The location is great, about a block from the Saone. About a half block away was a plaza with activity during the day. We were within a 7 minute walk to Rue Mercier where there are a lot of very good restaurants and bouchons. I'd recommend Bouchons de Luster. We got there about 7:15 and it seemed to fill up quickly after that. At the top of the street, by the river, if you turn right there are markets there. Yesterday, on Saturday it was a huge market of meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies and cooked food for your lunch or dinner. The hotel is small, the rooms are adequate and actually larger than the too we are in now in Paris.they offer a breakfast but we just went to bakeries and bought croissants. The room was clean. I would recommend it. It was about 15€ from the riverboat

Sent from my iPad using Forums