Rhone River Guided Bike and River Cruise Itinerary

Day 1 Welcome aboard in Lyon

At 5:00pm, your guides will be waiting for you in Lyon, where they will welcome you on board. After you have moved into your cabin in peace, your guide will introduce the tour on the sun deck if the weather is fine. Then enjoy the first rich dinner on board while the ship slowly glides north on the waters of the Saône. Departure at 9:00pm from Lyon towards Burgundy. Evening panoramic drive through Lyon’s old town.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: None
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 Discover water castles of southern Burgundy

At noon the ship reaches the northernmost point of this voyage, Châlon sûr Saône. Our first stage with the e-bike leads through an area that lies in the triangle between Châlon, Cormatin, and Tournus and forms a cultural and geographical unit. Encounter castles, Romanesque churches, and enchanting villages in delightful alternation. After lunch, you will reach a rare gem, the pleasure palace of Cormatin. Built in the 17th century, a moat surrounds the castle in the middle of a small park with expansive lawns and geometrically shaped beds, modeled on the English garden style. The afternoon route takes you through the gently undulating hill country. After an ascent with a view of the Brancion fortress, you will be rewarded with beautiful views over the valley (you can optionally take our escort bus up part of the stage). As far as the Saône Valley, the last stage takes you back down in an exhilarating descent. From a distance, you can already make out the striking outlines of the priory church of St. Philibert in Tournus. We will show you this jewel of Romanesque architecture during a tour. The church was founded in the early 9th century by monks who fled the Vikings inland. Soon after the year 1000, which some had suspected would bring the end of the world, “the whole country was covered with a white coat of churches.” This is how vividly a contemporary Burgundian monk reports the feverish building activity of the early Romanesque period. At St. Philibert, you will see the fundamentals of French architecture: the birth of the two-tower facade and the first self-supporting vault of post-antiquity! A short transfer will bring you back to Châlon sûr Saône in the evening.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 42km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 Explore Cluny

During your night’s sleep, the ship will sail south again and is now in the heart of southern Burgundy on the quay walls of the city of Mâcon. Your e-bikes are ready and waiting not far from the jetty. From the village of Macon, you will negotiate a hill. Afterward, you cycle on a scenic route with a distant view of the rock of Solutré. A few kilometers further, the mighty Berzé-le-Châtel castle appears before you. The fortress secured the Cluisois and the Grosne valley to the south. After the rest, you will cross a bicycle tunnel. After around an hour, you will reach Cluny, the most important center of Benedictine monasticism in the 11th century in Europe. Our local, knowledgeable guide will show you the imposing monastery complex and its excavations during a detailed tour. A transfer will take you to Trévoux in the late afternoon, where your ship will dock to pick up the day trippers. After dinner, the STELLA will return to Lyon. The ship stays overnight in Lyon so that you can stroll through the city’s narrow streets after dinner.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 54km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 Spend time in Lyon

After breakfast, go on a sightseeing tour of Lyon. Lyon is the gateway to the south and the secret capital of gourmets. Expect lots of culture and history here! You’ll be back on board for lunch. Your ship will then leave Lyon to head south. Enjoy the view of the leisurely passing cityscape of Lyon with coffee, cake, and later with an aperitif, or get pampered in the SPA on board.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 3km walk
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 Wine tasting at Châteauneuf-du-Pape

In the morning, you can enjoy watching the landscape go by on the sun deck. In the late morning, the STELLA stops not far from the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The bikes are already ready at the jetty. You cycle to the small town center of Châteauneuf du Pape and learn about the elaborate production of fine red wines during a wine tasting. After the lunch break, you leave the world-famous vineyard and cycle through an abundant fruit and vegetable-growing area. You have just passed one of the largest islands in the Rhône. The route runs on comfortable paths to the much-celebrated bridge to Avignon. See the famous “Pont d’Avignon” bridge, under which the population celebrated happy parties in the Middle Ages. Did you know that the famous song “Sur le pont d’Avignon” should actually be called “Sous le pont d’Avignon”? It is then not far from the ship. The ship stays overnight in Avignon so that you can stroll through the city’s narrow streets before dinner and look at the many small boutiques.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 35km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 6 E-bike to Avignon

In the morning, you will experience Avignon on a city tour. After the city tour, get on the e-bikes at the gates of Avignon and drive to St. Remy de Provence. Van Gogh stayed here for a while in a private clinic in a former convent. After lunch in St. Rémy, you’ll continue to the monumental art center Carrières de Lumières in the middle of the Alpilles. After the visit, you drive on minor branch routes out of the Alpilles down into the alluvial land of the Rhône. Finally, you cross Provencal villages and drive along meadows and fields with wheat and sunflowers to Arles. In the meantime, your ship has sailed on to Arles and lies directly in front of the mighty city gate that opens onto the riverbank. So you can still visit the ornate Romanesque portal of the Saint Trophime cathedral or enjoy an espresso in the square of the famous Café de la Nuit by van Gogh.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 43km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 7 Visit the wild gorge of the Ardeche

In the morning light, you can see the vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône and the vineyards of the famous “Crozes Hermitages.” This morning a bus will take you to the deep gorge of the Ardèche so that you can take you to one of the most attractive cycling routes on our tours. During the journey, your guide will explain the fascinating history of the origins of the UNESCO World Heritage cave systems and their Stone Age settlement. You take the bus to a high plateau in the morning, where the bikes are ready. On the e-bike, you’ll discover a garrigue landscape and cycle down along lavender fields and holm oaks until you suddenly come to the enormous gorge of the Ardèche river. The river has dug into the rock up to 300 m deep. A winding panoramic road runs along its edge and again and again allows fantastic views of the cliffs and caves. Impressive evidence and rock paintings of our ancestors have been found here. You visit a cave system that extends deep into the rock. You will be back on board at noon and can spend the afternoon calmly on the spacious sun deck or indulge in the SPA area. In the evening, an excellent final dinner awaits you on board the A-ROSA STELLA in the wine bar. In the meantime, your ship will sail back to Lyon overnight.
Overnight Location: Onboard the Cruise Ship
Distance: 27km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 8 Depart Lyon

During your night’s sleep, the ship docked in Lyon again. After breakfast, you will leave your ship at around 9am. If you have arrived by plane, a transfer will take you to the airport (at a fixed time, at an additional cost). Your tour guide will coordinate the drive to the parking garage if you have come by car.
Overnight Location: None
Distance: None
Meals: Breakfast