paris proved to be “A Moveable Feast” for an aspiring young writer named Ernest Hemingway back in the
1920s. Would you have been there then, you would have undoubtedly found him in serious philosophical discourse, drink in hand, in a sidewalk café or bistro in the Left Bank with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound or Gertrude Stein. This is Paris after all and the inspiration for literature, the arts and the good life, from fabulous food and ambrosial wines to architecture steeped in ornamental riches, are all around you. We’ll give you a taste of the celebrity hang outs that still attract luminaries of all renown, during dinner at Fouquet’s, the “Oscar” of French restaurants, on a dazzling Illuminations tour when the entire city is aglow, and on an in-depth cultural tour of le Marais, home to an irresistible mélange of pâtisseries, art galleries, storied mansions... and stories.
4. SAMPLING THE MANY PLEASURES OF LYON With France’s highest number of restaurants per capita, folks come to Lyon to eat... and they don’t leave disappointed, as you’ll discover for yourself during a city tour today, including a tasting lunch at the famous Les Halles de Lyon. This celebrated indoor food market, occupying various locations in Lyon since 1850 and currently housed in the city’s Part-Dieu district, offers an unbelievable array of breads, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables, sausages, specialty spices, poultry, seafood from fish to oysters, wines, chocolates and other desserts... the list goes on. Everything is fresh and delicious, and it is said that the best chefs in Lyon shop here; during your visit, you’ll enjoy tastings of various goodies paired with appropriate wines! Markets like this one are an indispensable culinary tradition in a city famous for lyonnaise specialties! But food and wine are not the only treasures Lyon has to offer. Today’s sightseeing also includes visits to Vieux Lyon – one of the largest Renaissance quarters in Europe, and one of the first protected in France as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and 19th-century Notre-Dame de Fourvière, with its fine mosaics and stained glass. And later, travel to the famed Beaujolais wine-growing region for a wine tasting – magnifique! – before continuing your cruise along the Rhône to Vienne. Open seating at dinner tonight completes a memorable day. Meals BLD
5. THE ROMANS CALLED IT “VIENNA,” BUT... The long history of the city of Vienne on the Rhône goes back even further than the Romans; it had been the capital of the Allobroges people until it was conquered and colonized under Julius Caesar. After you excuse the initial confusion caused by the city’s original Roman name (they called it “Vienna,” like today’s Austrian capital), you’ll wake up in Vienne today to find a treasure trove of Roman ruins to check out on a walking tour and during free time in town – including a temple erected by the Emperor Claudius; the remains of roads, ramparts, aqueducts and a theatre; and the pyramid-like Plan de l’Aiguille, which one legend says may have served as Pontius Pilate’s tomb! There are
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While a visit to the Pont du Gard is memorable in itself, wait until you have dinner here with the ancient Roman aqueduct providing an incomparable setting
also hilltop castle ruins, two intact Romanesque churches and a Gothic cathedral to see. Your riverboat sets off this afternoon for more cruising, this time to Avignon. Meals BLD
6. APALACE FIT FOR A POPE IN PROVENCE For centuries, schoolchildren have been singing a song about dancing on the bridge of this walled medieval city that served as the headquarters for several popes in the 1300s. On a walking tour, you’ll explore the vast, fortress-like home the pontiffs built for themselves, the formidable Palais des Papes; the popes who reigned here apparently enjoyed the fruit of the vine, and cultivated the local wine industry (Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Along with the 14th-century bridge mentioned in the song, this evening you’ll visit another one just as famous – the Pont du Gard, an astonishing Roman aqueduct 160 feet high with three sets of arches spanning the River Gardon that once carried millions of gallons of water a day to the city of Nîmes. Join us for a festive Provençal-style dinner featuring regional wines, cuisine and entertainment set against the backdrop of this ancient engineering marvel. Meals BLD
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