This delightful European river cruise through France and Germany combines with a fantastic Monograms® vacation package in Paris and London. Your adventure begins in Port-Saint-Louis to board your Avalon Suite Ship® and sail into the peaceful Camargue area. Also on your course in France are Arles, Avignon, charming Viviers, medieval Tournon, Vienne, France’s gastronomic capital of Lyon, as well as St. Jean de Losne and fascinating Beaune. Transfer to Basel and embark on a mesmerizing cruise on the Rhine River. Enjoy guided sightseeing in Strasbourg, Koblenz, and Cologne, as well as an excursion to the Black Forest and to Heidelberg—Germany’s oldest university town. Sail through the dramatic Rhine Gorge, the most beautiful stretch of river dotted every mile with castles. Enjoy fascinating sightseeing in Mainz, Rüdesheim, and Cologne before arriving in Amsterdam for a scenic canal cruise. Transfer to Paris by high-speed train for your Monograms vacation package. Your 3-night stay in the “City of Light” includes guided sightseeing and a Seine River cruise. Travel via high-speed train from Paris to London for a 3-night stay in this dynamic city. See such traditional sights as Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, and visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, the iconic cathedral where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. Take photographs of the iconic landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and the Shard. With plenty of free time to explore Paris and London on your own, your Monograms Local Host® is always on hand to point you in the right directions for culture, cuisine, and everything in between.
Day 1
PORT ST. LOUIS, FRANCE (EMBARKATION) Welcome to France. Your Suite Ship® is Ready for Boarding
Flights into Marseille must arrive by 3 pm.
Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm.
EVENING CRUISE TO ARLES
Day 2
ARLES Inspiring Sights and Avant-Garde Lights
Visit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host.
ACTIVE Grab a Nordic walking stick for a hike with your Adventure Host.
CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided Walking Tour of Arles—the captivating city of the Provence region. You’ll visit the Roman Amphitheater in this visually stunning city, OR:
Consider a Guided Optional Excursion to the Carrières de Lumières (Cathedral of Images) a unique experience of art, sound, and light in the old quarries of Val d’Enfer.
Take free time to stop in Le Café Van Gogh for a glass of wine, before sailing to Avignon.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AVIGNON
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 3
AVIGNON The City of Popes in Picturesque Provence
CLASSIC Take a Guided Sightseeing Tour of the fortress city of Avignon—with its ramparts encircling the city—and a visit to the amazing Palace of the Popes.
Guided Optional Excursions include a visit to the ancient Roman aqueduct of Pont du Gard, or a trip to the famed wine cellars of Châteauneuf-du-Pape for a true taste of the Rhône wine region.
Explore Avignon on your own for the city’s art and culture, theatre, and museums. Be sure to snap photos of the captivating countryside, historic monuments, and the medieval Pont Saint-Bénézet.
Later, enjoy onboard live entertainment.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AVIGNON
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 4
VIVIERS World History in a Charming French Country Village
Enjoy a leisurely morning sail to Viviers.
CLASSIC Explore the pale-stone buildings of Viviers on a late afternoon Guided Walking Tour of this charming village. You’ll see its Romanesque cathedral and Old Town with a mix of historical Christian, Roman, and medieval influences.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO TOURNON
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 5
TOURNON A Rendezvous with Castle Views and Vineyards
Join your Adventure Host for today’s special activities.
CLASSIC Take a morning Guided Walking Tour to explore Tournon—one of France’s oldest medieval cities. See its 16th-century castle, and Roman ruins between the Rhône River and the granite slopes of the Hermitage.
In the late morning cruise to Vienne
VIENNE
Roman and Middle Age History
CLASSIC Join a Guided Walking Tour of Vienne and discover this charming little town surrounded by steep hills.
Enjoy live entertainment while sailing to Lyon.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN LYON
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 6
LYON La Vie En Rose in Lyon
CLASSIC Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour to survey Lyon from Fourvière Hill with its numerous churches. You’ll also explore the Old Town with its maze of medieval alleyways, and the lively cafés, monuments, and famed fountain of Place des Terreaux.
Spend free time riding a bike through Lyon’s town squares, over bridges, and along the banks where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO TOURNUS
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 7
TOURNUS–ST. JEAN DE LOSNE Wine and Cheese on the Stunning Saône
Consider a Guided Optional Excursion to a Chardonnay wine cellar, or to the Castle of Cormatin. Alternatively enjoy a leisurely cruising morning along the majestic Saône River on your way to St. Jean de Losne.
DISCOVERY Later, enjoy a delicious Cheese Tasting on board your ship.
Enjoy live entertainment on board this evening.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN ST. JEAN DE LOSNE
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 8
ST. JEAN DE LOSNE (DISEMBARKATION)–BEAUNE–BASEL, SWITZERLAND (EMBARKATION) Drive to Beaune and transfer to Basel
CLASSIC Visit the Hôtel-Dieu Charity Hospital in Beaune, built in 1443, today home of the Van der Weyden’s painting of the Last Judgment and is one of France’s architectural highlights.
This afternoon, travel by motorcoach to Basel to board your Rhine river cruise.
EVENING CRUISE TO BREISACH
Day 9
BREISACH, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO BLACK FOREST German Winemaking and the Beautiful Black Forest
Visit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host.
DISCOVERY Join a full-day Guided Tour to the magical Black Forest to experience the Vogtsbauernhof open-air-museum, visit an authentic water mill, and see a traditional butter-making demonstration, OR:
DISCOVERY Visit to Badischer Winzerkeller, the largest German wine producer in Europe. Learn about German winemaking in the vineyards of Baden, and enjoy a wine tasting.
You may choose to join a Guided Optional Excursion to visit the charming village of Colmar in the morning, with its half-timbered medieval and early renaissance buildings.
EVENING CRUISE TO STRASBOURG
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 10
STRASBOURG, FRANCE A Grand Cathedral and La Petite France
CLASSIC Join a City Sightseeing Tour, including Strasbourg’s Gothic, stained-glass cathedral with its celebrated ancient murals and astronomical clock, as well as the magical La Petite France District.
Choose a Guided Optional Excursion to the historic Maginot Line—the pre-WWII fortifications designed to protect the eastern border of France, or visit Alsace’s wine country today.
Alternatively, take some free time in Strasbourg to visit a museum, or stroll across the city center.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO LUDWIGSHAFEN
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 11
MAINZ, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO HEIDELBERG Castle Walls, and the World’s Biggest Wine Barrel
CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided Tour to Heidelberg Castle to see the ruins of the magnificent renaissance treasure towering above the city, and its famed Great Vat, the “World’s Largest Wine Barrel,” OR:
ACTIVE Join your Avalon Adventure Host for a Hike up Philosophers’ Way for an inspiring view of the city below. OR:
CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided City Walk including a visit to the Gutenberg Museum to see the captivating history of printing.
Enjoy live entertainment on board your ship this evening.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN MAINZ
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 12
RÜDESHEIM–RHINE GORGE Eat, Drink, and Be Merry in Wine Country
DISCOVERY Take a Guided Tour of the incredible Mechanical Music Museum for a one-of-a-kind instrumental experience; based on your departure enjoy a local special treat, OR:
ACTIVE Enjoy a hike with your Avalon Adventure Host through the picturesque vineyards of Rüdesheim.
Relax on the Sky Deck for an afternoon cruise through the spectacular Rhine Gorge to Koblenz. Sail past the legendary rock of The Lorelei—where the siren of mythology sang songs to lure ill-fated sailors.
KOBLENZ
Travel Through 2000 Years of Monumental History
Enjoy free time in Koblenz before a relaxing evening on board with dinner and live entertainment.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN KOBLENZ
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 13
COLOGNE Prost! Celebrate in the Rhineland
Join your Adventure Host for today’s special activities.
CLASSIC Take a Guided City Walk of Cologne—with its soaring twin-steepled gothic cathedral, OR:
DISCOVERY Choose a Guided Walking Tour of Cologne’s important Jewish heritage sites.
Spend free time over a glass of Kölsch pale lager—locally brewed for over 100 years!
AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO AMSTERDAM
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 14
AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
CLASSIC Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”
During tulip season, you may take a Guided Optional Excursion to Keukenhof gardens—with more than seven million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, as well as other bulbs, planted each year. Outside of tulip season, join a Guided Optional Excursion to Zaanse Schans to see historic windmills and charming Dutch houses. You may also choose an Optional Biking Tour to discover the countryside.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
BreakfastLunch
DinnerDay 15
AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION)–PARIS, FRANCE Transfer from your Avalon ship to the train station, where you begin your Monograms package. Travel to Paris by high-speed train (First class)
Day 16
PARIS Morning guided sightseeing includes a drive past the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe and a stop to take photos of the Eiffel Tower from one of the best panoramic viewing points. Also, admire the heart of the city from a different perspective on a Seine River Cruise. Embark your comfortable boat near the Eiffel Tower and spend a relaxing hour gliding by many of the city's important landmarks such as the L'Institut de France; Notre Dame Cathedral; Hôtel de Ville, the city's municipal headquarters; the Conciergerie, formerly a notorious prison where Marie-Antoinette spent the last days of her life; famous Louvre Palace and museum; and much more
BreakfastDay 17
PARIS Enjoy a full day at leisure to explore the “City of Light”. Your Local Host® will help you get the most out of your stay in Paris
BreakfastDay 18
PARIS–LONDON, ENGLAND Travel to London by high-speed Eurostar train (Standard class)
BreakfastDay 19
LONDON Morning guided sightseeing includes all of London’s famous landmarks. Drive past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben; Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were married; Whitehall’s mounted horseguards; the Prime Minister’s Downing Street; Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus. Then, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral (except on Sundays). Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece with its world-famous dome is an iconic feature of London’s skyline
BreakfastDay 20
LONDON Enjoy a full day at leisure to explore London at your own pace. Your Local Host® will help you get the most out of it
BreakfastDay 21
LONDON Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning
Breakfast