If you have ever struggled to choose between Normandy and Provence, this is the answer. France's Finest joins Viking's Seine and Rhône cruises into one long, varied journey, with Paris and Lyon in the middle and Avignon at the end.
The route
Paris · La Roche-Guyon · Vernon · Rouen · Normandy Beaches · Les Andelys · Le Pecq · Paris · Lyon · Vienne · Tournon · Viviers · Arles · Avignon
About the France's Finest cruise
France's Finest combines two of Viking's most popular French itineraries, Paris & the Heart of Normandy and Lyon & Provence, into a single 15-day journey. The first week is spent on the Seine. Your ship is moored close to the Eiffel Tower, and after two days in Paris you sail into Normandy, calling at the hilltop castle of La Roche-Guyon, the old town of Vernon and the medieval streets of Rouen.
From Rouen you visit the D-Day beaches along the Normandy coast and the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach, a moving day for many guests. On the way back to Paris there is Richard the Lionheart's Château Gaillard at Les Andelys, then the Latin Quarter or Montmartre and an evening illumination sail along the Seine. On day eight there is a final chance to see the Mona Lisa and the Impressionists before you transfer south to Lyon.
The second week follows the Rhône through some of the best food and wine country in Europe. Lyon is France's gastronomic capital, and from there you can explore the vineyards and golden villages of Beaujolais. Heading south, you visit Roman Vienne, ride a vintage railway from Tournon, wander peaceful Viviers and see the Roman arena of Arles, where Van Gogh painted some of his best-known works, before ending in Avignon.
The fare includes return flights from London and selected regional airports, one included shore excursion in every port of call, all meals on board, beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, free Wi-Fi, port taxes and fees, enrichment lectures and onboard gratuities. Prices start from £4,690 per person. We checked this in October 2026, and fares change with your departure date and stateroom. Ground transfers are included when you buy your flights through Viking.
For more on the river itself, see our The Seine river cruise guide, The Rhône and Saône river cruise guide.
Cruise highlights
Paris from the Seine
Your ship moors close to the Eiffel Tower, and an evening illumination sail shows the city at its most beautiful.
The Normandy beaches
Visit the D-Day landing beaches and the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach.
Rouen and Joan of Arc
Gothic churches, half-timbered streets and the square where Joan of Arc died in 1431.
Lyon's kitchens
Three days in France's food capital, with time to try the city's famous dishes and a trip into Beaujolais wine country.
The Train de l'Ardèche
A nostalgic railway ride through the green Doux Valley above Tournon.
Avignon's Palace of the Popes
The vast Gothic palace from which the popes ruled in the 14th century, alongside the famous broken bridge.
Watch the France's Finest cruise
Video: France’s Finest (Viking Cruises)
Day by day itinerary
Welcome to Paris
Your journey begins in Paris, where you board your Viking ship, moored a short walk from the Eiffel Tower. Built for the World's Fair of 1889 and once criticised as an eyesore, the tower is now the best-loved symbol of the city. There is time to see some of the great landmarks, such as the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Élysées, or to browse the Louvre, which began life as a royal palace and now holds one of the largest art collections in the world. In the evening, enjoy your first dinner on board as the lights come on along the Seine.
Paris like a local
Today is about slowing down and enjoying Paris the way Parisians do. Start the morning with a coffee at a pavement café and watch the city wake up. Then spend the day as you like: wandering the quays past the green bookstalls, exploring the elegant squares and small boutiques of the Marais, or sitting in the Tuileries Gardens with an ice cream. Paris rewards the slow traveller, and some of its best moments happen between the famous sights. In the evening, as the bars fill up, mingle with the locals over a cocktail before heading back to the ship.
La Roche-Guyon and Vernon
This morning you reach La Roche-Guyon, a traditional village set beneath white chalk cliffs on a bend of the Seine and a member of the Most Beautiful Villages of France association. Its imposing medieval castle keep stands on the hilltop, while the château below is built partly into the cliff itself. In 1944 it served as Field Marshal Rommel's headquarters during the Battle of Normandy. Later you arrive in Vernon, a charming town of cobbled streets and old timber-framed houses. Look out for its old mill, balanced on the piers of a vanished medieval bridge. Monet's garden at Giverny is just across the river.
Through Normandy to Rouen
Spend the morning on deck as the ship sails deeper into Normandy, past rolling fields, chalk cliffs and orchards that supply the region's cider and Calvados. In the afternoon you reach Rouen, the historic capital of Normandy. Its Gothic cathedral has the tallest spire in France and was painted more than 30 times by Claude Monet. Close by, the Gros-Horloge, a gilded astronomical clock set into a Renaissance archway, spans one of the main streets. All around are lanes of half-timbered houses, and in the old market square a cross marks the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.
The D-Day beaches
Today is a day of remembrance. You visit the legendary D-Day beaches on the Normandy coast, where Allied forces landed on 6 June 1944 to begin the liberation of Western Europe. The visit includes the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, on a bluff above Omaha Beach. More than 9,000 American servicemen and women are buried here beneath rows of white marble headstones, and the names of over 1,500 who were never found are carved on the Wall of the Missing. It is a peaceful, deeply moving place, and many guests find it the most memorable day of the whole journey.
Château Gaillard
The ship moors at Les Andelys, beneath the white ruins of Château Gaillard. Richard the Lionheart, King of England and Duke of Normandy, built the castle in the 1190s to defend his duchy from the French king, and it went up in only about two years. Richard was said to be very proud of it, yet the castle fell to Philip II of France in 1204 after a long siege, and Normandy passed to the French crown soon after. The walk up is steep, but the view from the top, over the great bend of the Seine and its chalk cliffs, makes it well worth the effort.
Back to Paris
The ship returns to Le Pecq, on the western edge of Paris, and you head into the city once more. Wander the lively Latin Quarter, home of the Sorbonne, with its bookshops and busy bistros, or climb the quaint streets of Montmartre, where Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso all lived and painted, to the white domes of the Sacré-Cœur. In the evening, enjoy an illumination sail along the Seine, gliding past Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower as they glow against the night sky. It is a wonderful way to see the City of Light before you head south.
Mona Lisa, then Lyon
Before leaving Paris there is one more chance for art. You can view famous masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and works by the Impressionists, such as Monet, Renoir and Degas, many of which hang in the Musée d'Orsay, a former railway station on the Left Bank. Then you travel south to Lyon to join your second Viking ship. Take a walk through town and see the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière on its hilltop, then the Gothic St Jean Cathedral in the old quarter below. Lyon's historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is a city made for walking.
Into Beaujolais
Today you can explore the old province of Beaujolais, just north of Lyon, a land of rolling hills, vineyards and small medieval villages. Beaujolais is made almost entirely from the Gamay grape, and while most people know it from the young Beaujolais Nouveau released each November, the region's ten crus produce far more serious wines. In the south of the area, villages built from a warm, honey-coloured limestone are known as the Pierres Dorées, or golden stones, and they glow beautifully in the late afternoon light. Expect a relaxed day of country lanes, old churches and, quite possibly, a glass or two.
France's gastronomic capital
Lyon takes its food very seriously, and today is your chance to find out why. The city's traditional restaurants, known as bouchons, serve hearty local dishes such as quenelles in creamy sauce, saucisson and salade lyonnaise, while the covered market named after the famous chef Paul Bocuse is packed with cheeses, charcuterie and pastries. Sample a local speciality and walk it off in Vieux Lyon, where hidden passageways called traboules run through the Renaissance buildings. Lyon has a long history too. As Lugdunum, it was an important Roman city, and in 1895 the Lumière brothers screened some of the first films here.
Roman Vienne and the Rhône
Vienne was an important Roman town, and its past is still easy to see. The Temple of Augustus and Livia, with its tall columns, stands in a square in the middle of town and is one of the best-preserved Roman temples in France. On the hillside, the ancient Roman theatre once seated thousands, and today it hosts the Jazz à Vienne festival each summer. Back on board, the ship sails south along the Rhône through dramatic scenery, past terraced vineyards that cling to the steep slopes of the valley. Some of the most prized wines of the northern Rhône come from these hillsides.
The Train de l'Ardèche and Viviers
At Tournon you can ride the Train de l'Ardèche, a nostalgic railway that climbs through the green Doux Valley, with the river tumbling through the gorge below. Across the Rhône from Tournon is Tain-l'Hermitage, home of the famous Hermitage wines and the Valrhona chocolate company. Later in the day you reach Viviers, a quiet riverside village set against a scenic backdrop of hills. This small cathedral town was the seat of bishops for centuries, and it gave its name to the old province of Vivarais. Its narrow streets and old stone houses have a calm atmosphere that is a real pleasure to wander through.
Roman Arles and Van Gogh
Arles is a lively cultural centre with a remarkable mix of architecture. The Romans left a great amphitheatre, still used for events today, along with a theatre and baths, and these Roman and Romanesque monuments are together listed by UNESCO. The church of St Trophime has one of the finest Romanesque carved doorways in Provence. Vincent van Gogh lived here from 1888 to 1889 and painted some of his best-known works in the town, including the café on the Place du Forum at night. Walking its sunny streets, it is easy to see what drew him to the light of the south.
The city of the popes
Your final stop is Avignon, enclosed by medieval walls on the banks of the Rhône. In the 14th century the popes left Rome and made Avignon the centre of the Catholic world, building the Palace of the Popes, one of the largest Gothic palaces in Europe. Nearby is the Pont d'Avignon, or Pont Saint-Bénézet, the partly ruined bridge made famous by the children's song, with only four of its arches still standing. Stroll through the lively Place de l'Horloge, lined with cafés and the town hall, and in the evening celebrate the end of your journey at a farewell dinner on board.
Farewell to Avignon
After breakfast it is time to say goodbye to the crew and your fellow guests. If you booked flights through Viking, a transfer takes you to the airport for your journey home. If you want longer in the south of France, Viking offers extensions. When we checked, the post-cruise options were three nights on the French Riviera or two nights in Aix-en-Provence, the elegant city of fountains and Cézanne. Before the cruise, you could add three nights in Paris, in standard or premium form, or a guided stay in Oxford and at Highclere Castle. Ask us to confirm what is available for your date.
Itineraries and shore excursions are set by Viking and can change, and may vary by departure.
The places you will visit
Normandy: from Rollo to D-Day
Normandy takes its name from the Northmen, the Viking raiders who sailed up the Seine in the 9th century. In 911 the French king granted lands around Rouen to their leader, Rollo, and his descendants built a powerful duchy. In 1066 one of them, Duke William, crossed the Channel and conquered England, which is why Normandy and England were tied together for so long. Richard the Lionheart's Château Gaillard was built to defend that link, and its fall in 1204 marked the end of English rule in the duchy for centuries.
The region's most recent history is its most moving. On 6 June 1944, Allied forces landed on five beaches along the Normandy coast, code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The fighting in Normandy lasted through the summer, and many towns were badly damaged, including Rouen. The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer covers more than 170 acres above Omaha Beach and holds over 9,000 graves. Visiting it, along with the beaches themselves, gives a powerful sense of the scale of what happened and of the cost of freedom.
Lyon and the food of the Rhône
Lyon sits where the Saône meets the Rhône, and for 2,000 years it has been a crossroads. As Lugdunum, it was the capital of Roman Gaul, and in the Renaissance it grew rich on banking, printing and, above all, silk. The silk workers of the Croix-Rousse hill used the traboules, covered passageways through the buildings, to carry their cloth without getting wet. Lyon's historic districts were listed by UNESCO in 1998, and the old town on the west bank of the Saône is one of the largest Renaissance quarters in Europe.
Lyon's claim to be France's food capital is built on its position between some of the country's richest farmland and wine regions. Bresse chickens, Charolais beef and Alpine cheeses all arrive easily, while Beaujolais lies to the north and the vineyards of the northern Rhône to the south. In the 20th century, the women cooks known as the mères lyonnaises built the city's reputation, and Paul Bocuse, one of the most celebrated chefs of his age, carried it around the world. A meal in a traditional bouchon is still the best way to experience it.
Provence: Romans, popes and painters
The Romans took control of southern Gaul decades before Julius Caesar's campaigns further north, and they called the region simply the Province, which is how Provence got its name. They left behind a remarkable collection of monuments. In Arles, the amphitheatre still holds thousands of spectators, and the theatre, baths and cemetery of Les Alyscamps all survive. Upriver at Vienne, the Temple of Augustus and Livia stands almost complete. Together, they make this part of France one of the best places in Europe to see the Roman world.
In 1309 Pope Clement V moved the papal court to Avignon, and for most of the 14th century the city was the centre of the Catholic Church. The popes built a vast fortified palace, and their summer residence at nearby Châteauneuf-du-Pape gave its name to one of the Rhône's most famous wines. Centuries later, Provence drew artists rather than popes. Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888, hoping to found an artists' colony, and in the months that followed he painted hundreds of works in the bright southern light.
What is included
Viking prices its river cruises to include most of what you need, so there are few extras to budget for once you are on board.
Return flights
Return flights from London and selected regional airports, with ground transfers included when you fly with Viking.
A shore excursion in every port
One included shore excursion in each port of call, usually a guided walking or coach tour, with optional extras to buy.
All meals on board
Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day you are on board, including al fresco dining on the Aquavit Terrace.
Drinks with lunch and dinner
Beer, wine and soft drinks served with lunch and dinner, plus specialty coffee, tea and bottled water at any hour.
Free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is included on board at no extra charge, though speeds can vary as the ship moves along the river.
Port taxes and fees
Port taxes and fees are built into the fare, so there are no extra charges waiting at the end.
Onboard gratuities
Gratuities for the crew on board are included in the fare.
Enrichment and performances
Talks on the history and culture of your route, plus local performers who bring the destinations to life on board.
Your stateroom, the ship and its facilities are covered on our Viking Longships page.
Fares
| Cruise | Duration | From, per person |
|---|---|---|
| France's Finest, Paris to Avignon | 15 days | £4,690 |
Lead-in fare per person, checked in October 2026. Viking's fares change with the date, direction of sailing and stateroom grade, so please email us for live prices and availability on the departure you have in mind.
Interested in the France's Finest? Email us your preferred month and we will send dates and prices.
Email an enquiry- Spring and early autumn are the most comfortable times to go, with mild weather for walking. Summer is hot in Provence, while autumn brings the grape harvest in Beaujolais and along the Rhône.
- You use two different Viking ships: one built for the Seine in the first week, and a Rhône Longship from Lyon onwards. The move between them is arranged for you on day eight.
- At 15 days this is a longer trip, but the pace is varied, with busy city days balanced by relaxed scenic sailing.
- If you have already done one half, look at Paris & the Heart of Normandy or Lyon & Provence on their own instead.
- It suits people who love food, wine, art and history, and anyone wanting to see both the north and the south of France in one trip.
France's Finest: your questions answered
The fare includes return flights from London and selected regional airports, one included shore excursion in every port of call, all onboard meals, beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, 24-hour specialty coffee, tea and bottled water, free Wi-Fi, port taxes and fees, enrichment lectures and onboard gratuities. Ground transfers are included with flights bought through Viking.
France's Finest uses two ships. For the Seine, Viking uses Longships purpose-built for the river, which moor close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. From Lyon you sail on a Viking Longship on the Rhône. Both have river-view staterooms with the Viking Explorer bed and heated bathroom floors, and your exact ships are confirmed when you book.
On day eight, after a last morning in Paris, you transfer south to Lyon to join your second ship. The transfer is part of the itinerary, so you do not need to organise it yourself, and you arrive in time for a walk through Lyon to see the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière and St Jean Cathedral.
Spring brings green countryside and mild weather in both Normandy and Provence. Summer is popular but can be very hot in the south. September and October are lovely too, with the grape harvest under way in Beaujolais and the Rhône valley. We can help you choose a date that suits your plans.
A fair amount. Most days involve walking on cobbled or uneven streets, and some visits include hills or steps, such as Château Gaillard and Lyon's Fourvière hill. The scenic sailing days give you time to rest. If you have mobility concerns, speak to us before booking and we will check the details with Viking.
Yes. When we checked in October 2026, Viking offered three nights in Paris, standard or premium, or a guided Oxford and Highclere Castle stay before the cruise. Afterwards you could add three nights on the French Riviera or two in Aix-en-Provence. Options and prices change, so ask us for the latest.
The first week covers Paris, La Roche-Guyon, Vernon, Rouen, the Normandy beaches, Les Andelys and Le Pecq on the Seine. After moving to Lyon, you explore the city and Beaujolais, then sail the Rhône to Vienne, Tournon, Viviers, Arles and finally Avignon, where the cruise ends.
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