Paris & the Heart of Normandy.
Your Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive in Paris, the romance capital of the world. Transfer from the airport in Paris to your ship. After boarding, take free time to explore Paris, or join our “welcome walk” to stretch your legs and get oriented.
Day 2: After breakfast, embark on a tour of this dazzling city and marvel at its most remarkable sights, including the iconic Eiffel Tower. Take in the École Militaire (Military Museum), Orsay Museum, the Latin Quarter, and resilient Notre Dame Cathedral. Then drive past the Louvre and Opera House and along the famed Champs-Élysées. This afternoon, you can join an optional tour to explore Montmartre Hill and the Sacré-Coeur or sample the delights of French cuisine during a food tour. Return on board for dinner and start your cruise on the Seine this evening.
Day 3: Arrive in La Roche Guyon before breakfast and enjoy a morning at your leisure to explore. Stroll through the town’s narrow streets lined with picturesque houses with wood-paneled facades. After lunch, join an included tour to the town of Giverny, where Claude Monet resided from 1883 until his death. Visit the beautiful gardens and charming stone farmhouse where he lived and worked; see the water garden with the recognizable Japanese bridge, water lilies, wisteria, and azaleas that inspired many of his masterpieces.
Day 4: Indulge in leisurely cruising along the Seine, before an afternoon in the medieval city of Rouen. In this capital of Normandy, explore Old Town where you see the Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, and the famous Gros Horloge, a 16th-century astronomical clock. Prepare to be transported back through time at the 14th-century courthouse where Joan of Arc was sentenced to death. Use your free time to discover more of Rouen or visit one of its museums. Dine on board or at a sidewalk café, as the ship remains docked overnight.
Day 5: After breakfast, begin your full-day tour to the historic beaches of Normandy. Drive past Gold Beach, Courseulles sur Mer and Juno Beach on your way to visit such World War II landmarks as Omaha Beach, the American Military Cemetery, and Arromanches Debarkment D-Day Museum. Alternatively, you may take a tour of Bayeaux, where you can admire the magnificent tapestry that chronicles the pre–Battle of Hastings events. Afterward, continue to Normandy’s coast and enjoy free time at Juno Beach after your visit to the Pegasus Museum.
Day 6: Enjoy a leisurely morning cruise to the small town of Les Andelys, known for its imposing castle, Château Gaillard, built in 1196 by Richard the Lionheart. Disembark and join a guided walk to this fatally flawed masterpiece of Middle Ages architecture before returning to your ship.
Day 7: After breakfast, disembark for a visit to Château de Malmaison, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final days in France. Along with the Tuileries, this elegant manor house — purchased by the emperor’s wife Josephine in 1799 — served as the seat of Napoleon’s French government from 1800 to 1802. This afternoon, join an optional tour to the luxurious Palace of Versailles, the former home of Louis XIV. This evening, you can take in the illuminated sights of Paris during a panoramic drive, while your ship remains docked in Paris overnight.
Day 8: After breakfast, disembark and proceed to the airport for your return flight. Or, extend your time in France’s romantic capital with a 3-night Paris extension.
Welcome Back to History.
8-Days & 7-Nights
The beauty that inspired many of the world's masterpieces is at your fingertips. Explore Giverny with it's gardens and farmhouse where impressionist-painter Claude Monet lived and worked until his death in 1926. Trace the footsteps of Joan of Arc in Rouen. Walk hallowed ground at Normandy’s American Military Cemetery and World War II beaches.
Savor Normandy cuisine, and so much more during this 8-day cruise along the Seine River that celebrates history, art, food, and customs in the country’s most dazzling urbane and pastoral settings.
$3,299* per person
Your Experience Includes:
7-night accommodations on Viking Kari from and to Paris
One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call
Free Wi-Fi
Visits to UNESCO Sites
Enrichment lectures and destination performances
Beer, wine, and soft drinks with onboard lunch and dinner
24-hour specialty coffees, teas, and bottled water
Port taxes and fees
Ground transfers with Viking Air purchase
Because History Matters.
jeff@jefflavender.com | +1 310.774.7611
This experience is being brought to you in partnership with Viking River Cruises.