Avalon Waterways, Rhine & Rhone Revealed for Wine Lovers (Southbound) from Amsterdam, October 10, 2023

Cruising from: Amsterdam, Netherlands;

Departure Date: 10 October, 2023;

Cruise Line: Avalon Waterways;

Cruise Ship: Poetry II & Expression;

Duration: 15 days;

Ports of Call: Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Cologne, Rudesheim, Mainz, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel, Macon, Lyon, Lyon, Tournon, Viviers, Avignon, Arles, Port St. Louis;

Day 0 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has a rich history and famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Beside many parks, open spaces, and squares throughout the city, Amsterdam is famous for De Wallen, the red-light district. It is an unusual city to explore.

Day 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has a rich history and famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Beside many parks, open spaces, and squares throughout the city, Amsterdam is famous for De Wallen, the red-light district. It is an unusual city to explore.

Day 2 Cologne, Germany

Cologne is fourth largest city in Germany and largest city of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. One of the key inland ports of Europe, it is the historic, cultural, and economic capital of the Rhineland. Cologne is famous for its 12 great Romanesque churches - especially the magnificent Cologne Cathedral - all an easy walk from the historic Old Town. Its university is one of the oldest and largest in Europe. Among its attractions are Roman remains, medieval churches, Baroque palaces, and museums that reflect such diverse subjects and the various products for which it is known: fragrances, mustard, and chocolate.

Day 3 Rudesheim, Germany

Rudesheim is a German town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. Rudesheim is known for two things: wine and the Rhein (Rhine) river. A historical landmark Drosselgasse is an integral part of the town's past. Rudesheim offers restaurants, cafes, bars, wine stalls, gelaterias, souvenirs shops and hotels. Next to its extensive vineyards, the city's rich cultural and historic background make it one of the most intriguing places to visit in the country.

Day 4 Mainz, Germany

Mainz is located on the Rhine river at its confluence with the Main river, opposite Wiesbaden on the border with Hesse. This is a city of rich cultural heritage and one of the best places to experience the past is restored Old Town with magnificent Mainz Dom, cathedral with Gothic, Romanesque, and Baroque styles all on display. Mainz is famous for its university, its Roman heritage, its status as a media hub and regional capital, and winegrowing tradition. Three most defining features are the Romanesque cathedral, the Gutenberg printing press and the Rhineland carnival.

Day 5 Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Strasbourg is the second most popular tourist city in France, after Paris. There are three main attractions: the cathedral, historic quarter of Petite France, with its half-timbered medieval houses and its quays overlooking branches of the river Ill and the Strasbourg Christmas market, the oldest and biggest historic Christmas market in Europe. The old town is a maze of narrow streets and alleys and the reflections of half-timbered houses with sloping roofs, reminiscent of those seen in fairytales

Day 6 Breisach, Germany

Breisach upon Rhine, a town with a long-standing history is where the Black Forest spills into Alsace. Cobbled streets lined with pastel-painted houses are the main characteristic of the town. The museum for municipal history has an impressive collection dating from the Stone Age to the present. The Romanesque St. Stephansmunster,the cathedral in Breisach, has a late Gothic altar by an unknown craftsman and paintings by Martin Schongauer, who is also the eponym of the Gymnasium in the city.

Day 7 Basel, Switzerland

Basel, nestled on the Rhine river, is Switzerland's third-largest town and, partly because of its proximity to France and Germany, has a strong sense of its own identity. Historic landmarks of the city include the large market square with its richly decorated red sandstone town hall and the late Romanesque-Gothic cathedral. The city of culture, for connoisseurs, has the highest concentration of museums in the country. Basel also has a beautiful Old Town, modern architecture, and famous traditional Basel honey cake.

Day 8 Macon, France

Macon is a charming mid-sized city in east-central France. Like many French towns, Macon has no shortage of ancient churches and cathedrals that are worth a visit. The stand out of the bunch is the Old Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. The region's glazed roofs and timber framed buildings are replaced by the flat-fronted pastel houses of the south. Wine-lovers won't be short of inspiration for days out with a big directory of wineries close by. Macon is where a lot of Burgundy's best chardonnays come from.

Day 9 Lyon, France

Lyon, also spelled Lyons, capital of both the Rhone departement and the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, east-central France, set on a hilly site at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers. It is the third largest city in France. It's no wonder Lyon is a popular area for travelers, with its dynamic university, first-class shopping, antique markets, vibrant theatre and music festivals, and a range of interesting museums, such as the International Puppet Museum and the Museum of Miniatures and Film Sets. As the gastronomic capital of France, it is a city with a huge selection of good restaurants.

Day 10 Lyon, France

Lyon, also spelled Lyons, capital of both the Rhone departement and the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, east-central France, set on a hilly site at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers. It is the third largest city in France. It's no wonder Lyon is a popular area for travelers, with its dynamic university, first-class shopping, antique markets, vibrant theatre and music festivals, and a range of interesting museums, such as the International Puppet Museum and the Museum of Miniatures and Film Sets. As the gastronomic capital of France, it is a city with a huge selection of good restaurants.

Day 11 Tournon, France

Tournon-sur-Rhone is an attractive village in the Ardeche department, on the edge of the river Rhone . With its castle and monuments, the views and Eden Park, Tournon-sur-Rhone is a very pleasant place to visit. The most interesting buildings is Tournon's castle museum which sits on a rock overlooking the town and the river.

Day 12 Viviers, France

Viviers is located in the southern-central part of the Ardeche department, a few kilometres south of Montelimar. Cathedral of Saint-Vincent is the centre of the old town. In the heart of the old town there is also a particularly impressive 16th century renaissance building called the House of the Chevaliers, with a great deal of fine carving and ornamentation on the facade. Behind the old town there is a far reaching view across the roofs of the town and across the Rhone river to the distant mountains, as well as a large statue of the madonna standing on the hill above the town

Day 13 Avignon, France

Avignon is a commune in south-eastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhone river. Located in the heart of Provence, Avignon has everything needed to enchant you with its art de vivre and rich architectural heritage: chapels, churches, buildings from the Middle Ages, and eighteenth and nineteenth century hotels particuliers. Avignon is now best known for its annual arts festival, the largest in France, which spans several weeks in July. The rest of the year, its rampart-ringed old town, medieval bridge, leafy squares and super restaurants are the main attractions.

Day 14 Arles, France

Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhone department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence. A large part of the Camargue is located on the territory of the commune. The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. The Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981. The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles in 1888-1889 and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there.

Day 15 Port St. Louis, France

Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhone is a french city located south east of France. The seaside resort of Port Saint Louis is active all year long. In the summer, it's Napoleon Beach that attracts large numbers to benefit from its 10 kilometers of fine sand between the mouth of the Rhone and the Gulf of Fos de Mer. This beach allows the discovery of ponds, numerous birds including pink flamingos. The different beaches of Port Saint Louis are also reputed for windsurfing or kitesurfing, especially when le mistral blows!