Review: Riviera History and Art of the Rhone River Cruise – Days 1-4

Sailing upstream on the Rhone River from Avignon to Lyon Riviera TravelThe MS Thomas Hardy is one of the world’s most epic river cruises. It’s an eight-day trip from Avignon and ending in Lyon.

From mystical caveman drawings of rhinos, through the crumbling ruins of Roman conquest to the devastation of World War II, the journey through time is more than just a luxury river cruise, it’s a journey through the essence of civilisation.

Rich in history, both beautiful and brutal, the Rhône displays its war-cracked architecture; Where even the papal palace was anchored and where the church bell towers were fortified.

There are many stories from art history. Through the cave drawings of Chauvet, Botticelli in Avignon, and contemporary works at the Vincent van Gogh Institute in Arles.

Day 1 – London to Avignon

Riviera Travel arranges flights, from Heathrow in our case, and books us a British Airways flight, although other cruisers fly from regional airports or take the Eurostar followed by the fast TGV to Avignon.

At Marseille airport, we were taken by bus for 70 minutes through a landscape of olives, rosemary and thyme, towards the hills that hosted the Tour de France. We will not see our luggage again until the crew delivers it to our cabin. Riviera Travel takes us directly to the MS Thomas Hardy: 135 meters of elegant, tranquil luxury, anchored in Avignon, within sight of the city’s medieval walls.

After a basic shower, almost every guest arrives at the lounge for drinks. The day’s special cocktails and mocktails are all-inclusive, as are a selection of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks.

Since it’s the first night everyone has dinner at the restaurant with a selection of soup, three starters, six main courses and three desserts. A selection of red, rosé and white wines – again all-inclusive – reflects our wine lovers’ pilgrimage through some of France’s great wine regions: Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Turndown service is a surprising highlight of the day – not just because of the nightly chocolate – but also because presenting the daily program reveals today’s cocktail for tomorrow.

Day 2 – Avignon

It may have been merely papal propaganda that suggested that Pope Boniface V had died from a punch. But rumors confirmed that turbulent Rome was not safe. His French successor, Clement V, pope from 1305 to 1314, settled in Avignon.

Clement’s successors built the papal palace with walls sometimes three meters thick and with guests in the banqueting hall seated against the walls so they could not be stabbed in the back. These were dangerous times. Only the Pope was allowed to use a knife to cut his meat.

Appropriately our guide for the Avignon walking tour is Clement. We begin by walking through the four remaining arches of the famous Pont de Avignon, where the rest of the bridge was washed away by the floods of 1668. Clement tells us, recounting childhood memories of singing in French lessons Sur le Pont d’Avignon It was a wrong translation from Provençal. In fact, people danced under the bridge.

If Clement appears MastermindHis specialist subject is probably the era in which Avignon was certainly home to seven popes. Maybe two more. Although these two were called anti-popes, when the papacy returned to Rome in 1378. At one point, there were four claimants to the papal throne.

After lunch on board, there is an opportunity to tour the Little Palace Museum with its collection of pre-Renaissance and early Renaissance art, including the art of Botticelli.

Day 3 – Arles and Pont du Gard

After Roman colonization, Pliny the Elder said that this region of southern France was “another Italy.” Our guide Elsa tells us that Provence, where French was once the third language after Italian and Provençal, only became part of France in 1841. With its 20,000-seat Roman amphitheatre, Roman ruins, and long sunlit days, the city still feels very Italian.

This light sparked a brilliant burst of creativity for Vincent van Gogh, who created more than 300 pieces, oils and drawings during the fifteen months he spent in Arles. However, a disturbed Van Gogh shared a house and argued with Gauguin, cutting off his earlobe when Gauguin left Arles. Van Gogh’s favorite colors, blue and yellow, still dominate the city.

Riviera Travel’s Arles walking tour includes entry to the Van Gogh Institute. Presenting two potato-themed Van Gogh oils Under the stones, the grounda retrospective of Sigmar Polke’s mixed media experimentation.

An afternoon visit to the tri-tiered Pont du Gard aqueduct and museum and a 12-minute film show how the Romans terrorized their colonies. Advanced engineering impressed baths, waterfalls, fountains and above all good urban health.

Day 4 – Chauvet Caves, Ardèche

It would be sad to leave the Rhone Valley, even for a day, if we weren’t heading to the craggy limestone peaks, dense forests and stunning Ardèche Gorge.

Iris gives us an insider’s guide to the Ardèche region, where she learns where chestnut flour is made into bread, where farmers once turned their bedrooms into silkworm factories filled with mulberry leaves for weeks on end, and where charcoal is painstakingly produced.

About 36,000 years ago, Homo sapiens, in the Aurignacian period, created more than 400 drawings of lions, mammoths, woolly rhinos, horses and bison in the limestone caves of Chauvet.

Developed over a decade, Chauvet 2 is an exact replica of the original cave it contains. According to the voiceover, it is “humanity’s first great masterpiece.” The artists, who were working when the cave bears emerged from hibernation, used finger painting, charcoal, flint points and blow-drawing to show almost three-dimensional movement. Unlike many cave paintings, they are not hunting scenes, but rather a form of spirituality, trying to understand the world around the artists.

“The Ardeche Gorge is France’s answer to the Grand Canyon – but with better cheese,” said our cruise director while giving a briefing on her destination. But nothing can prepare us for the natural miracle that is the Pont d’Arc, a limestone bridge located 54 meters above the river. It is estimated that 124,000 years ago, water erosion occurred through the rock to form the opening.

Cost

In 2026, 8-day Rhone Riviera cruises will start, priced at £1,899 per person, based on two people sharing a cabin.

Mid-flight ruling

It’s easy sailing for Riviera Travel guests. Flights, transfers, tours and entrance tickets are arranged, providing excellent value. The local guides are articulate, enthusiastic and exceptionally knowledgeable. Fortunately, they are also disciplined, getting us back on board in time for lunch or cocktails.

Disclosure: Our stay was sponsored Riviera Travel.

Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards is a travel writer from Oxfordshire, UK. Although Michael published his first travel articles nearly four decades ago, he still searches for new luxury destinations to visit and write about.