JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

Journey to the

SOUTH OF FRANCE

Explore exquisite villages, bask in warm, golden light, sample fine food. Picturesque Provence is best explored slowly, from a luxury Longship on the Rhône, writes Monica Crouch.

Is there anything fresh to say about Provence, the home of vineyards and van Gogh? Well yes, it turns out. I fell madly in love with the south of France without sighting so much as a row of lavender or taking a sip of Beaujolais, though this was all on offer had I wanted to. I explored seven locales in eight days during a record-breaking heatwave. My secret? Simple. I drifted through it – on a river cruise along the Rhône, on Viking Delling.

A 135-metre longship constructed in 2014, the Delling has just 95 staterooms accommodating a maximum of 190 guests. Throughout the week, we traversed the 280 kilometres between Arles in the south and Lyon in the centre at a stately pace, stopping daily to explore picturesque villages, gothic churches, grand chateaus and Roman ruins. Viking offers a complimentary shore excursion each day, and you can add more if you like. I added many.

The Delling features Viking’s signature minimalist palette of blonde woods and bright, white linens – far more inviting than the dark mahogany and heavy brocades of other ships I peered into along the way. There’s a lounge, bar and terrace on the upper deck, and a restaurant on the middle deck (floor-to-ceiling windows offer spectacular views). It’s comfortable but not ostentatious. My stateroom has a balcony and ample space to unpack and stash my overstuffed luggage. If you’d like more space, you can always take a Veranda Suite with a living room, or splurge on an Explorer Suite at 41 square metres.

We embark in Avignon, where our ship is docked just a few hundred metres from the ruins of the famed 12th century Pont d’Avignon (a medieval bridge). The city also boasts the Gothic Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), the papal seat for 70 years in the 14th century, and wandering its sprawling maze was a welcome

Left to right: Pont du Gard, Vers‑ Pont‑du‑Gard; Café La Nuit, Arles; St. Antoine food market, Lyon respite from the warmth outside. In the vast dining hall with vaulted ceilings, I pick up a tasty tid-bit: during the time of Pope Clement VI (1342-52), the Pope himself was the only person permitted to hold a knife.

Avignon's annual performing arts festival is in full swing within the city's encircling medieval walls when we visit. More than 120 productions are running concurrently, and there's drama everywhere I look. Actors roam the narrow streets in full costume, enticing passers-by to their plays. A trio resplendent in Belle Epoque finery strolls along singing operetta; we turn a corner to find a young woman in voluminous red taffeta playing a grand piano; a dashing young actor invites me to see the cleverly titled "Yes we Kant".

We set sail in the wee hours while I’m still sleeping. Our ship is named after the Norse god of the dawn, and awakening to find we’re gliding silently as first light strikes the wide, glassy river is a singular delight. We’re in van Gogh country – green fields, golden hay, grapevines, sunflowers, rosé. And that legendary light. I reach for my camera but think twice, instead sitting still and quiet. It is truly a highlight.

In Arles, we pause awhile in the Roman amphitheatre, the subject of van Gogh’s Les Arènes. Sister to Rome’s Colosseum, it was originally a gladiator arena and is still in use for bullfighting. Despite our guide’s tales of murder and mayhem, today it is mercifully peaceful, and the only animal we see is a local cat, stretching languidly in the sun. We amble along to the church of St. Trophime, fascinated by its ornate, Romanesque portal, and stop for a coffee at Café La Nuit (also known as the Café van Gogh), made famous by the Dutch master’s work, Café Terrace at Night.

But this is all in a morning’s work. After lunch I again alight our ship, this time for Le Baux and Carrières de Lumières – which I chose simply because it sounded so beautifully French. Le Baux de Provence, I am to discover, is a tiny medieval citadel clinging to a rocky outcrop 244 metres above sea level. Only 22 people live in this little village owing to its inaccessibility to cars.

We wander Le Baux’s steep, cobblestoned streets, poking our heads into tiny shops selling blocks of artisanal nougat, lavender sorbet, pretty soaps, and that superlatif first-press olive oil for which the south of France is so well known.

But the best kept secret about Le Baux is the Carrières de Lumières (quarry of lights), a vast former limestone quarry carved out of the mountain. It is here that the medieval meets the ultramodern. In this huge and blessedly cool space, we’re immersed in an audio-visual extravaganza: van Gogh’s works are projected onto every inch of the quarry’s 7,000 square metres of blank, white space. The stone above us and beneath our feet, the 15-metre walls and pillars are transformed into a monumental canvas, all to a carefully selected soundtrack.

The lights reflected on the water in Starry Night over the Rhone shimmer beneath our feet to a violin concerto from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Sunflowers, irises and almond blossoms bloom on the walls and ceiling. Miles Davis accompanies The Café Terrace at Night and Bedroom at Arles. The intense self-portraits emerge to Nina Simone crooning Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood. The effect is magical: we are wide-eyed, like children. We’re so entranced we stay to see this extraordinary installation through twice.

It’s little wonder Viking describes itself as “the thinking person’s cruise”. You can delve into the history and architecture of each destination, hunt for truffles, bake olive bread, take a painting class, sample Beaujolais, see silk made. All our guides are locals, with deep knowledge and dedication to their subject. There are no kids or casinos on board, but there is an excellent little library thoughtfully stocked by

London bookseller Heywood Hill, in which I could have spent days.

I do, however, spend an edifying cocktail hour in the lounge learning a little conversational French. Our vivacious program director, Mia, takes us through greetings and good manners and the etiquette of alternate-cheek kissing. We learn that the British have “bats in the belfry”, Australians have “a kangaroo loose in the top paddock” but the French “avoir une araignée au plafond” – have a spider on the ceiling. We practise our new linguistic skills over a selection of delicious French cheeses.

A warm afternoon of scenic cruising is a blissfully refreshing way to take in the storied Provençal countryside. Yet as the week progresses, I spend more time off the ship than on. And that’s the beauty of it: sailing into each location makes the sightseeing easy; there’s no taxing packing and unpacking; no tedious map reading.

I tag along through Tournon-surRhône, with its houses butting up against the 14th century church of St Julien, and take a scenic steamtrain ride through the lush Doux Valley. Some head off to Chateauneuf du Pape for wine tasting, others to the Camargue region to see flamingos. I visit the highest of all Roman aqueducts, the Pont du Gard, built in the first century AD. I look on as local lads leap recklessly into the Gardon River below.

A leisurely walk through the little village of Viviers, with its medieval and renaissance architecture, is an absolute joy. Time has all but stood still here. Narrow houses sit cheek-by-jowl on steep, cobblestoned streets, and it’s unbelievably pretty. Our guide, who greets everyone we meet by name, tells us some scenes from the movie Chocolat (2000) were filmed here. We enjoy a relaxing reverie at the peak.

Returning to the ship is always a pleasure. The easy-going evenings provide plenty of opportunity to meet other guests. Our cohort is educated and over 50; many are repeat customers. While the dinner hour is decidedly convivial, for me, nothing beats breakfasting solo on the sunny terrace. I pile my plate with fresh fruit and French pastries; a waiter materialises with a pot of coffee; a chef whips me up an omelette while chatting amiably.

As we sail into Lyon, the legend of late chef Paul Bocuse towers over the city as tall as the shimmering gold statue of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière. With soft rain falling, we form a walking group of just five, and the finest of guides, Corinne, a self-confessed “history nerd” with an infectious love of Lyon. The Lumière brothers made the first motion picture here in the 1890s, she tells us, and indeed, with its terracotta roofs and fin de siecle architecture, Lyon lends itself to the cinematic.

Always up for defending its culinary traditions through a good competition, Lyon hosts the World Pastry Cup every two years, and the city’s chefs have attempted to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest cheese platter and biggest brioche – for which a special oven was constructed. At the St. Antoine food market, Corinne declares, “Zis will take you to ze heaven!” And she’s right. We feast our eyes on wheels of cheese, piles of apricots, punnets of raspberries, tubs of tomatoes, pastries, chocolates, spices, breads. Lyon is our last stop, and leaving does not prove easy.

At Sydney airport, someone dear is waiting for me. I’m tired but still happy, despite the long haul flight. “It’s lovely to see you with the south of France in your eyes,” he says. Months later, I hardly need a mirror to know it’s still there.

Left: Roman amphitheatre in Arles

EXPLORE THE RIVERS OF FRANCE

AVIGNON, FRANCE

Gold Beach Omaha Beach

Paris

Juno Beach SEINE Mantes-la-Jolie Le Pecq

Giverny Les Andelys La Roche-Guyon

Rouen

NEW SEINE SHIPS

FRANCE

GIRONDE

Bordeaux Blaye

Cognac Bourg Bergerac

DORDOGNE

Arcachon Cadillac Libourne Saint-Émilion

GARONNE SAÔNE

Tournon Viviers

Lyon Vienne

RHÔNE

Avignon Arles

CHÂTEAUX, RIVERS & WINE

BORDEAUX – BORDEAUX 8 DAYS | 7 GUIDED TOURS | 1 COUNTRY From $3,995pp in Standard stateroom

LYON & PROVENCE

LYON – AVIGNON or vice versa 8 DAYS | 7 GUIDED TOURS | 1 COUNTRY From $3,495pp in Standard stateroom

PARIS & THE HEART OF NORMANDY

PARIS – PARIS 8 DAYS | 6 GUIDED TOURS | 1 COUNTRY From $3,495pp in Standard stateroom

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MAP KEY Cruise embarkation & disembarkation Port destinations Train Châteaux, Rivers & Wine Paris & the Heart of Normandy Lyon & Provence + + France’s Finest Combine both Paris & the Heart of Normandy and Lyon & Provence river cruises:

FRANCE’S FINEST

PARIS – AVIGNON or vice versa 15 DAYS | 13 GUIDED TOURS | 1 COUNTRY 15 DAYS | 13 GUIDED TOURS | 1 COUNTRY From $6,495pp in Standard stateroom

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ENJOY, IT’S ALL INCLUDED

RIVERVIEW STATEROOM | SHORE EXCURSIONS | ALL ONBOARD MEALS | WINE & BEER SERVED WITH LUNCH & DINNER UNLIMITED WI-FI | TIPPING & GRATUITIES | INDUSTRY-LEADING HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAM