Bon Voyage! France Family River Cruise
Paris France – Lyon France
The best way to experience French joie de vivre is to do what the locals do… pedal past landmark Parisian sites on a bicycle ride… take a fast train to Lyon… board a boat for a River Rhône cruise… learn to cook like a gourmet chef at a culinary school… discover the art of making chocolat… have lunch at a private ranch in Provence with French cowboys… paint like van Goghin Arles (using chocolate instead of oils!)… walk on a triple-decker Roman bridge in Avignon…play pétanque in Viviers…
Only With Tauck
A special visit to a private ranch in French cowboy country – La Camargue – for a hayride and traditional Provençal lunch.
Cruise prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All riverboat and hotel accommodations, motor coach transportation, port
charges, land excursions, admissions, entertainment, special dinners, beverages while on the riverboat (including unlimited soft drinks, regional wine, beer and premium spirits), sightseeing, porterage, and the services of the Tauck Directors, the Tauck Cruise Director, hotel and ship staff, and local guides and drivers are included. Transportation from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport or Paris-Orly Airport or Gare du Nord, Charles de Gaulle, or Gare de Lyon Train Stations, to the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel is included, regardless of the time you check in to the hotel, provided you have furnished us with accurate flight or train arrival information at least three weeks prior to the start of your tour. Transportation from the riverboat to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport or Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu or Perrache train stations is also included when you disembark the riverboat. Transportation to and from airports and train stations may be shared with other Tauck guests. If you are staying at a hotel other than the Tauck- designated hotel before or after your tour, contact Tauck regarding your various transfer options.
We pledge to make every effort to operate all tours as advertised. We reserve the right to alter or curtail the itinerary, or substitute sightseeing, hotels, and/or conveyances as deemed necessary. Any savings realized by these changes will be refunded to you. Any resultant added expense will be covered by us. Although not expected, prices on this website may be modified due to unexpected significant external factors not forecast at the time of publication.
Age Recommendations – Children 8 years of age or older at the time of travel are welcome on this Tauck journey. Based upon our experience with family travelers, we have a minimum recommended age for each journey to encourage comfort and enjoyment for all of our guests. All children must be accompanied on activities by a parent or guardian. At least one guest in the traveling party must be 21 years of age or older in order to make a reservation.
Rates and schedules are not guaranteed until booked and will vary based on departure date.
Tour begins: 5:00 PM, Hotel Scribe Paris Managed by Sofitel. A transfer is included from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport or Gare de Lyon, Charles de Gaulle Station or Gare du Nord train stations to Hotel Scribe Paris Managed by Sofitel. Your family’s France river cruise gets off to a fabulous start from the moment you check into your your luxury hotel, a historic treasure in the heart of the city that for centuries has been at the heart of Parisian society. Meet the families you’ll be traveling with at a welcome reception and dinner at the hotel, featuring entertainment by a mentalist that’s fun for the whole family.
Meals – Dinner
Lodging – Hôtel Scribe Paris Managed by Sofitel
This morning your family can discover what makes Paris one of the world’s favorite cities on an orientation tour that gives you a firsthand look at must-see sights (no inside visits on this orientation tour) including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral and more. Or you may opt for a guided bicycle tour* along the banks of the River Seine, passing such sights as the Musée D’Orsay, Tuileries Gardens and one of Paris’ most beloved icons, the Eiffel Tower! Later, you’ll have lunch at a restaurant at the Eiffel Tower… then visit the second floor of this world-famous landmark. Your family’s last evening in Paris is free to spend as you please.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch
Lodging – Hôtel Scribe Paris Managed by Sofitel
Spend your morning in one of the most famous museums in the world, where you’re invited to take part in a treasure hunt like no other. Right under your nose – or maybe not – you’ll team up to follow clues that lead to works of art that are among the most prized art treasures of the world (like the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory or Liberty Leading the People). Then hop aboard a high- speed train called the TGV to travel south to Lyon, where you’ll board ms Emerald, your floating hotel for the rest of your trip. Our France family river cruise begins; the crew makes sure that you know your way around before our welcome reception, which is followed by dinner tonight aboard ship… with some rather magical entertainment.
Meals – Breakfast, Dinner
This morning your riverboat takes you to the town of Tournon-sur-Rhône for fun family discoveries ashore including an orientation tour of this ancient town on the River Rhône; a cooking class at Scook, the cooking school of Anne Sophie Pic, located next door to the Michelin-awarded restaurant Maison Pic; and a demonstration in the art of making chocolat at Valrhona Cité du Chocolat. The rest of the afternoon and evening are spent cruising the Rhône, bound for Arles in Provence.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After arriving in Arles this morning, get a change of scenery on a drive into the Camargue for a taste of France’s “wild west.” This vast marshy delta has been home to free-roaming black bulls since Roman times; today the bulls are looked after by French gardians (cowboys), saddled up on white Camargue horses. You’ll see them up close at a private ranch, called a manade, and a hayride into the fields to see bulls, mares and foals. Enjoy a Provençal lunch, gypsy music and a daring show in which players attempt to retrieve paper tokens from a bull’s horns. Later today you’ll return to medieval Arles for a walking tour that brings alive many of the places captured in brilliant strokes of color by one of its most famous residents, artist Vincent van Gogh – then create some tasty art of your own based on lovely French landscapes with a hands-on chocolate painting experience led by Mark Alsterlind.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Everyone dreams at one time or another of living in a palace… and today’s France family river cruise does just that when your family visits an extravagant grand palace with four mighty towers… On a guided tour of 12th-century Palais des Papes in Avignon, once a “renegade” papal palace (built in opposition to Rome), your imagination takes flight as you explore one of Europe’s largest medieval Gothic buildings. Or, if you wish, instead of visiting Palais des Papes you can join us for a bicycle ride in Avignon this morning. You’ll have some time this afternoon to discover Avignon as you please, and a chance to swim. Then everyone meets up to walk across the famed Pont du Gard, and enjoy some refreshments; this three-level, 164-ft.-high “bridge” was built by the Romans to carry fresh water over the Gardon River nearly 2,000 years ago!
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
This morning brings adventure to your France family river cruise with a walking tour of medieval Viviers, where you’ll wind your way up through narrow, cobbled streets, curious passageways and doorways in shades of blue and green… leading up to the petite 12th-century Cathédrale Saint-Vincent. Next, try your hand at a game of pétanque, played by tossing a small metal boule about the size of an orange. Return to the riverboat for lunch (a barbecue on the Sun Deck, weather permitting) and an afternoon and evening spent cruising. Join us this evening for a farewell reception and dinner.
Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Our family France river cruise concludes in Lyon today as your family disembarks ms Emerald; fly home anytime. A transfer is included from the riverboat to either the Lyon Airport or Lyon’s Perrache or Part Dieu train stations; you should allow a minimum of 3 hours for flight check-in at the airport.
Meals – Breakfast
