Sapphire, Family Fun Along the Seine ex Paris Return

Details

7 Night Cruise sailing from Paris roundtrip aboard Sapphire.

7 Night Cruise sailing from Paris roundtrip aboard Sapphire.

Explore all things français along the River Seine on a remarkable family river cruise through northern France... walk through the gardens of Giverny, inspiration for many Claude Monet paintings… time travel along the beaches of Normandy for a deeper understanding of World War II and events that affected generations, past and present…

Your cruise begins in Paris with either a guided walking tour or a guided bicycle ride along the Seine, and an art-filled scavenger hunt in Musée du Louvre. In artist Claude Monet's Giverny go inside his house and discover the inspiration for his garden paintings. Hike up to Château Gaillard of Richard the Lionheart fame in Les Andelys or take a walk in a village steeped in history and country charm. All generations of your family share poignant memories exploring the beaches of Normandy, touring the American Cemetery and visiting the D-Day Academy where a hands-on visit takes you back to the year 1944 and the D-Day Invasion. In Rouen you'll see historic sites immortalized by Joan of Arc, and take a 3-D tour of the city’s Roman period. Your family goes inside Louis XIV’s gilded palace Château de Versailles to see how the royals lived, then take a walk through the gardens or abicycle tour including Marie Antoinette’s farm.

Highlights of this cruise:

Paris
Paris is the capital city of France and every year millions of people come to Paris to marvel at its beauty, savour its exceptional cuisine and indulge in its world-famous shopping. Known as the 'City of Light', Paris benefitted from a huge re modelling program that started in 1852 which gave rise to its current layout, boulevardes, gardens and parks.

The most famous part of Paris is the Champs Elysees, a wide Boulevarde running from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.
Paris has some of the best know landmarks in the world, apart from the Arc de Triomphe it boasts Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre and more. Its great gardens include the Tuileries and Luxembourg gardens.

Divided by the River Seine the City of Paris is relatively easy to enjoy on foot as many of the key landmarks are relatively close to each other. For the bolder tourist Paris now has the ‘Velib’ bike rental system which offers a very cheap and practical way to get around the city.

Giverny
Giverny is a small French village 80 km to the west of the capital city Paris. Giverny sits on the "right bank" of the River Seine where the river Epte meets the Seine. The village is best known as the rural retreat of the Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).

Rouen
Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. It is situated on the River Seine, approximately 90 minutes drive north-west (135 km) from the centre of Paris.

Rouen was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe which can be seen in the many monuments and buildings which have been preserved in its historical centre. Its architectural treasures include Gothic monuments like the Notre Dame Cathedral, St Ouen Abbey, Saint Maclou Church and the Palais de Justice or Renaissance style monuments like the Gros Horloge, Saint Maclou Ossuary and the Bourgtheroulde Mansion.

After the historical centre, there is ‘Sainte Catherine’ hill nearby, from where you can admire a magnificent view of the city and the meandering River Seine or walk along rue Eau de Robec where some watermills, testament to an important textile history when people were making a living out of the cloth manufacturing industry, which is now represented by the sheep symbol.