Finding out why the Romans loved the Rhône

The Rhône is one of Europe’s major historic waterways - in Roman times, this river was the equivalent of a super-highway, connecting the Mediterranean to northern Gaul and Germania, and they settled and developed along this vital corridor. Ancient Roman cities such as Lyon, Avignon and Arles remain as historical treasures to discover along the banks of the Rhône today, interspersed with stunning countryside and charming villages. Linda, Assistant Manager at our Hythe shop, enjoyed a 7-night sail down the Rhône on board Viking Lofn, travelling their Lyon & Provence itinerary.

Viking’s fleet of over 100 ships offer river, ocean and expedition cruises across the globe and their sleek river craft, known as Viking Longships®, give culturally immersive voyages that get right to the heart of a destination. Linda’s trip featured lots of insights into this most intriguing period of ancient history, as well as the food, wine and modern charms to be found along the banks of the Rhône, as she explains:

“I learnt so much about the Romans and how intelligent they were on this trip! Viking offer optional daily activities as part of your fare, and every evening the Program Director, Rafael, would give us a talk about the following day’s location, explaining the history of the area, what to look out for and the timings of the day’s excursions. He made these talks light and humorous, and they were very popular with the passengers! The included morning excursion was often a guided walk, and these were really interesting. They were around 3 hours long, but there’s no need to worry about walking pace as they were split into 3 groups of varying speeds! The included excursions on my itinerary were Beaujolais Wine Country, Panoramic Lyon, Vienne Walking Tour, Touron Stream Train, Viviers Evening Walk, Arles Walking Tour, Avignon Walk & Popes Palace. We would always be back for lunch and then in the afternoon there would be further optional tours at an additional cost.

My favourite place of the journey was Arles. Not only did we see the ancient amphitheatre, that seated 20,000 and is still in use today, but this was where Vincent Van Gogh once lived, and we saw where he created several of his paintings. It’s such a pretty town, full of cobbled lanes and colourful window boxes. I also took the optional tour to the Pont de Gard Aqueduct – it’s amazing to think how skilled the Romans were.

You didn’t have to step off the ship for entertainment though, not only did we have onboard lectures about the surrounding area, but we also had nautical talks, craft classes and cooking demonstrations. One day we were shown how to make chocolate fondants, which we had later that night for dessert!

In the evenings the entertainment included modern dancing, folklore music, a pianist and music quizzes - there was something on every night in the lounge. The group I sat with one evening won the music quiz, and we shared a bottle of Beaujolais between us as the prize. The staff would join in the evening activities, and they were extremely professional  and friendly.

With approximately 190 passengers at full capacity, the Viking Longships® are all identical, so you can feel right at home whichever ships you journey on, and several of the passengers on board my sailing had just stepped off another river cruise, tacking them on to each other to extend the exploration. There’s a restaurant, bar and lounge, an indoor/outdoor terrace, small library and sun deck with sunshades and even a herb garden! Dress code was casual, but most passengers took the opportunity to change for the evening if they had been out for day, but this was not essential.

My room on the lower deck of the ship had a very comfortable bed with plenty of wardrobe space and drawers. The bathroom had beautiful toiletries provided, and the room was cleaned daily with a fresh bottle of water provided and the bed turned down at night.

The food was excellent, my favourite meal was a Provence themed buffet evening, with lots of different cheeses, meats and French cuisine, with all the staff wearing berets and French aprons - the food was fantastic and the whole evening was really entertaining.

A couple of tips from my experiences - although the fare is inclusive, I’d recommend having some euros for tipping the guides and staff. Also, I was travelling at the end of March, and you do need to take layers as they have cold winds called mistrals which come down from the Alps, so even though the sun was shining the wind was rather chilly!

Everything about my Viking river cruise was well organised and I learnt so, so much about the Romans and how intelligent they were! If you are into history and have a curious mind, this is a fantastic trip for you.”

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