By Karen Quinn-Panzer
Travel Matters
Karen Quinn-Panzer
Having just returned from France, I am delighted to share my experience on sailing two back-toback river cruises on AmaWaterways. The first went on the Saone and Rhone rivers from Dijon to Arles. The second traveled on the Seine to Paris and Normandy.
On our first cruise – Essence of Burgundy and Provence – we started with a stay in beautiful Geneva, Switzerland, European home of many international organizations including the United Nations. Its medieval old town is a short walk from beautiful Lake Geneva and is an easy drive to many other areas of interest. We explored Gruyeres (cheese and chocolate factory); Montreux, home of Chillon Castle; and French Annecy in the foothills of the French Alps.
On the drive to our river cruise, we stopped in Dijon (the famed birthplace of mustard). After a tour of the city, we enjoyed a private winetasting lunch with our guide/sommelier – perfection in the capital of the Cote-d’Or in Burgundy.
The next stops were the quaint cities of Chalon-sur-Saone and Macon, where we explored vineyards in Burgundy, tasting wines including Pouilly Fouisse. Then we went to a Beaujolais vineyard overlooking the “prettiest town in France,” Oingt. There were both biking and hiking tours offered almost every day. We went on to Tournus, the gateway to southern Burgundy; Lyon, the culinary capital of France, where we had our own taste of Lyon experience; and on to the Roman ruins of Vienne.
In Viviers, we had a wonderful truffle hunting experience, and in Avignon (“City of the Popes”), we had lunch outside the Papal Palace of Avignon next to an Italian market day on the square.
What is wonderful about this company is their ability to curate excursions that give you a great sampling of the local culture, history and cuisine of the area you’re sailing through, including daily menu offerings, wines and onboard demonstrations of macarons and crepes.
For Paris and Normandy, the itinerary was both picturesque and historical as many of these cities and towns were affected by World War II. The Normandy beaches are the stars of this sailing, but there was so much more to see and do. Our first stop in Normandy after we boarded near Paris was the magical area of Les Andelys. The Chateau Gaillard Castle is perched above the most beautiful limestone cliffs. We sailed into mists that gave way to blue sky as we sailed away hours later. The next stop was Le Havre, and the picturesque fishing town of Honfleur, where we were lucky to be there on market day.
In medieval Rouen, we dined at La Couronne, the first restaurant in France visited by Julia Child in 1949, which inspired her to learn to cook at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. We had the same menu of oysters, Dover sole and souffle.
We explored the Pays d’Auge, with stops in the seaside resort of Deauville, and a Calvados distillery. After that, we went to Giverny, home of Monet and inspiration for “Water Lillies.” We then capped off our trip with a quintessential cruise down the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. C’est magnifique.
Karen Quinn-Panzer is the owner and vacation specialist at Dream Vacations Quinn Panzer Travel in Milford.