Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

[djh1959]

20 hours ago, dolllover said:

DH and I have no desire to visit the Pont Du Gard. Is Avignon an interesting town to walk around on our own? We figure we would do the included walking tour then eat lunch in town and walk around on our own . 

We spent three nights in Avignon early last year and absolutely loved the town.  We weren't on a river cruise, just a normal European trip.

 

As Peregrina651 states, the Bridge is wonderful with some good views.  We did enjoy the Palace, but just did it on our own, not a tour.  Their is a wonderful food market, lots of churches and shops and just some nice wandering.

 

We did go to the Pont du Gard though and found it amazing.

[kentchris]

39 minutes ago, djh1959 said:

We did go to the Pont du Gard though and found it amazing.

Here on the NW outpost of the Roman Empire there are plenty of remains, ranging from heaps of old rocks to some really impressive structures. I can accept that people might not be too bothered about Roman remains (although they're difficult to avoid on the Rhone itinerary) but a week after visiting it my wife is still bubbling about the Pont du Gard being the best thing she's seen in her life.

[notamermaid]

I second that about Pont du Gard. It is a magnificent bridge in a beautiful valley, which in my opinion beats ground-level ruins by far.

 

notamermaid

 

[Peregrina651]

There is also a museum.

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

There is also a museum.

 

 

DYK The large arch crossing the river is the longest one the Romans ever built?

Edited July 26 by OneSixtyToOne

[editor@cruisecritic]

To all of us who have wondered why most contemporary river boats don't sail past Rouen, I had an interesting chat with the captain of our Viking ship, Viking Rolf. He said that 110 feet long is the absolute limit, so that's interesting, but also there are challenging requirements. For instance, ships that travel below the Rouen bridge (I took a pic, can't remember if I shared it, wil share it again if that's the case) toward the Channel have to be ocean-certified (or rather, maritime certified). One thing the captain shared was that one of Viking's challenges is a design challenge: The windows are too close to the surface of the water (which of course is what makes river cruising so magical) to fit the ocean (maritime) requirements.

 

Make sense?

 

Carolyn

 

PS this was an ocean ship from Cruise & Maritime Voyages that came up as far as it could on the Seine, just below that bridge in Rouen. We turned around here (it's a wide basin) and headed back to dock alongside the old town.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Carolyn – What is this Viking captain's explanation for why CroisiEurope is able to sail down the Seine and into Honfluer with their 100m and 110m ships?  Does he know why they are 'maritime certified'?

[MURPHY27]

 

I was told VRC does not go to Honfluer because they can not get permission to dock there.  Whether it’s because of ship design or oversaturation of cruise ships, etc, who really knows.

Would be nice if the newly designed ships, not only dock again in Paris but eventually can sail past Rouen.  I myself would do a second Seine cruise if it was single direction & not Paris to Paris.

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, MURPHY27 said:

but eventually can sail past Rouen

 

I guess it will have to taken up the governing authority, which is the government of France, but I think there is much hope for change. They will continue to favor French cruise lines such as CroisiEurope and Ponant.

[MURPHY27]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

They will continue to favor French cruise lines such as CroisiEurope and Ponant.

 

Yep!  Same happens at CDG, AF often gets priority for takeoff & landing to keep their ontime statistics from crashing

[reps23]

My husband and I booked Viking cruise Provence to Lyon for May 24, 2020.

 

We are planning to either add on 2/3 days before or after the cruise.  For those who have been to Provence or Lyon, where do you suggest we stay and what cities should we visit.

 

I always check any suggestions on cruise critic.  We have been on many cruises and always look to cruise critic for advice.

 

Phyllis

[MURPHY27]

18 minutes ago, reps23 said:

My husband and I booked Viking cruise Provence to Lyon for May 24, 2020.

 

We are planning to either add on 2/3 days before or after the cruise.  For those who have been to Provence or Lyon, where do you suggest we stay and what cities should we visit.

 

I always check any suggestions on cruise critic.  We have been on many cruises and always look to cruise critic for advice.

 

Phyllis

 

I have stayed in Lyon twice.  Once at the  large Sofitel overlooking the river and once at La Royal Lyon which I preferred.  It’s smaller and well located on Place Bellecour & the metro.  

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, reps23 said:

My husband and I booked Viking cruise Provence to Lyon for May 24, 2020.

 

We are planning to either add on 2/3 days before or after the cruise.  For those who have been to Provence or Lyon, where do you suggest we stay and what cities should we visit.

 

I always check any suggestions on cruise critic.  We have been on many cruises and always look to cruise critic for advice.

 

Phyllis

 

IMHO, you should do days before and after. We did three nights prior in Avignon. Rented a car and did day trips from Avignon. One day to Nimes and Orange to see the Roman Arena and Theatre, respectively (but we could have done the whole day in just Nimes) another day to the the Sunday Market in Isle de la Sorgue, the Barries, the Cistercian Abbaye of Senanque and the Ochre Museum and the ochre cliffs of Roussilion --and I'm pretty sure that just misspelled everyhting.  (I posted live earlier on this thread, back in March, maybe around page 14.)

 

Sorry we did not get a chance to spend more time in Lyon but we were doing France's Finest and went from our ship on the Rhone directly to our ship on the Seine.

[flowerbuyer]

On 7/26/2019 at 1:06 AM, djh1959 said:

We spent three nights in Avignon early last year and absolutely loved the town.  We weren't on a river cruise, just a normal European trip.

 

As Peregrina651 states, the Bridge is wonderful with some good views.  We did enjoy the Palace, but just did it on our own, not a tour.  Their is a wonderful food market, lots of churches and shops and just some nice wandering.

 

We did go to the Pont du Gard though and found it amazing.

I spent nearly two weeks in Avignon 3 years ago in October, and loved it. I also went to the Pont du Gard and found it to be very interesting. If you like chocolate, definitely visit Aline Gehant Chocolatier (15 Rue Des Trois Falcons).

[MURPHY27]

6 hours ago, reps23 said:

My husband and I booked Viking cruise Provence to Lyon for May 24, 2020.

 

We are planning to either add on 2/3 days before or after the cruise.  For those who have been to Provence or Lyon, where do you suggest we stay and what cities should we visit.

 

I always check any suggestions on cruise critic.  We have been on many cruises and always look to cruise critic for advice.

 

Phyllis

 

We rented a farmhouse a few years outside Avignon & loved the city.  Favorite day trips were Uzes, Ax, Isle-de-la-Sorgue, San Remy & Bonnieux. We often went on their market days.  

[Got2Cruise]

After the incident in Venice, I myself would not feel comfortable being on a small vessel as a River ship surrounded by huge ocean vessels. The wake alone would be scary. 

[flowerbuyer]

Has anyone taken the Viking excursion in Arles: Arles in the Footstep of Van Gogh, which includes a painting class? If so, what was your experience and was it worth it?

Thanks.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Just (er, a week or so) back from the Viking Seine cruise. I loved it. Would be interested in doing it again, but maybe stretching it out for ten days. I will admit that I spent my first weekend home on the couch, bingeing on Downton Abbey, laughing. Happy to answer any specific questions, and will say that at the end of the day, this was the best of a triangle of aspects: Loved the cruise itself, the crew was great, and made some wonderful connections with fellow passengers.

 

Carolyn

[deec]

We are doing a Viking Post extension to Nice late October.  Any  suggestions of day trips, dIY or tour guides from there and restaurant suggestions?

[Cairn Mom]

14 minutes ago, deec said:

We are doing a Viking Post extension to Nice late October.  Any  suggestions of day trips, dIY or tour guides from there and restaurant suggestions?

St. Paul de Vence, Eze and Monte Carlo are wonderful places to explore. St. Paul de Vence & Eze are walled towns. They are easy to do DIY as is Monte Carlo. I think you can visit on your own via public transportation. We had a car. 

We enjoyed the restaurant at, La Columbe D’Or in St. Paul de Vence . The hotel is part of history. It was frequented by many famous personalities. Enjoy your trip. 

[MURPHY27]

2 hours ago, deec said:

We are doing a Viking Post extension to Nice late October.  Any  suggestions of day trips, dIY or tour guides from there and restaurant suggestions?

 

I have had excellent guides found through both TripAdvisor & Tours By Locals.   Check the tours offered for Nice on Tours By Locals & you can get an idea what’s offered; friends have used Catherine.

[deec]

Thank you both for your quick responses

We may well go back to Eze and St. Paul deVence since we saw them 15 years ago while on a Med cruise from our stop in Villafranche...we had a wonderful tour guide for two days and enjoyed the days so much.

 

will check out Tours by locals

there are a couple of wonderful private tours that I found but too $$$ for 2 so hoping to find another couple to share

 

 

Edited August 18 by deec

[MURPHY27]

1 hour ago, deec said:

Thank you both for your quick responses

We may well go back to Eze and St. Paul deVence since we saw them 15 years ago while on a Med cruise from our stop in Villafranche...we had a wonderful tour guide for two days and enjoyed the days so much.

 

will check out Tours by locals

there are a couple of wonderful private tours that I found but too $$$ for 2 so hoping to find another couple to share

 

 

 

For group tours, there are several companies.  Viator is a 3rd party booker as is Get Your Guide.

[Cruze4Ever]

Has anyone been on the excursion Discover Claude Monet by Bicycle?  I just received an email that Viking added this excursion to our itinerary and would appreciate some feedback on the excursion.

 

Thanks!

 

Carol

[editor@cruisecritic]

12 hours ago, Cruze4Ever said:

Has anyone been on the excursion Discover Claude Monet by Bicycle?  I just received an email that Viking added this excursion to our itinerary and would appreciate some feedback on the excursion.

 

Thanks!

 

Carol

We did this tour last month, Carol, and loved it. It was mostly very flat so not hard, and the countryside is so beautiful! On the way back, we stopped in a river-front park and a lovely young woman from a local cider distillery showed up with the most amazing ciders to taste (the apple juice alone was so delicious) and sweets. Fun!

 

On our trip, on another call, there was a canoeing option (really it was kayaks) and that was absolutely great too.

 

Carolyn