RHONE or RHINE?
There’s only one letter between them but each river offers a very different cruise experience
The Rhone
To Lyon, a doddle to get to with Eurostar’s direct summer service. Uniworld’s SS Catherine was parked bang in the centre of the city which, on this sunny Sunday, seemed more like a holiday resort than the third biggest city in France.
Our cruise began by heading north, not on the Rhone but the Saone, as Lyon sits at the confluence of the two rivers. Three, in fact, if you include the view of our guide, Geraldine, who said: ‘The city is also on the Beaujolais, our river of wine.’
Our first stop was Macon, gateway to the vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône, and to Beaune, the historic hub of the region, where there’s a cave on every corner (one even in a 13thcentury convent). From Macon we followed the Saone back to Lyon, where we took a bike tour. From the old town, with its hidden traboules, covered passageways used as shortcuts by the town’s medieval silk merchants, we biked to the Museum of Confluences, a futuristic work of architecture at the promontory where the Rhone and the Saone converge.
The Rhone has few major tourist trophies, but what it may lack in big-ticket items is more than compensated for by the rural gentleness of the river and a stock of lesser-known treasures.
Our one-week cruise took in France’s smallest cathedral in hilltop Viviers, and a pair of pretty villages – Tournon and Tain-l’hermitage, which enjoy a global reputation for their wines (a single bottle recently sold for €20,000).
We spent an afternoon kayaking on yet another river, the Gardon, passing under the magnificent Roman Pont du Gard aqueduct. We visited Arles, whose Roman legacies are topped by a mighty colosseum second in size to the one in Rome. It’s also where Van Gogh painted 200 works, including his Le Café De Nuit, where we had lunch. Finally to Avignon, its skyline crowned by the immense Palais des Papes, a gothic fortress built by the Popes desperate to escape from the turmoil of 14th-century Rome. Even more iconic is the Pont d’avignon, surprisingly famous for a bridge that doesn’t even make it across the river. Uniworld’s SS Catherine (uniworld.com) is a five-star ship and genuinely all-inclusive, from drinks at any time, to a daily choice of well-researched excursions. The crew were fun, and the food was some of the best I’ve had on any ship, river or ocean. From £2,399 per person.
The Rhine
Cruising from the cobbled streets of Basel’s old town to the canals of Amsterdam, our Rhine Getaway river cruise on Viking Vidar (vikingcruises.co. uk) was unforgettable.
The contrast of gently sailing along the Rhine, past fairy-tale castles and picturesque villages set among Germany’s luscious green hills, and the fun of exploring eight different towns and cities along the way, felt like having two holidays in one.
After checking in, we took a leisurely walk through Basel’s large market square with its Romanesque-gothic cathedral, and on to boutiques and restaurants of the old town.
Our first stop on the ship was Breisach in the Black Forest, where we took one of the included escorted coach tours through a world of colourful little houses and villages. I kept imagining Heidi would come running down the hill looking for ‘Papa’. We watched a cuckoo-clock-making demonstration, and a Swiss chef showed us how to make a Black Forest gateau.
The village of Colmar hosts a small museum full of artefacts from the Second World War, from ration boxes to shrapnel, as well as family photos telling the moving story of the French liberation from the Germans.
Next stop, Strasbourg, where our tour guide, Monica, led us through the quaint city streets, stopping along the way to pick up rustic breads, hams, cheeses and cakes from local artisans. Then, at a wine cellar, we tasted whites and reds before settling on a lovely Chablis to accompany our picnic.
Rüdesheim am Rhein was great fun. Dressed in lederhosen, our guide took us to Drosselgasse, a lane full of taverns where we sang and danced and sang again, all the way back to the ship.
Next morning, with sore heads, we put on our sunglasses and headed for Heidelberg Castle, which overlooks the Neckar Valley and the city’s many red rooftops.
Our day cruising towards Koblenz was beautiful. Camera in hand, we saw more than 40 castles set in the hills as the ship sailed almost silently through the Rhine Valley. Koblenz is situated where the Rhine meets the Moselle, and is a big city with lots of shopping.
Our penultimate stop was Kinderdijk, in The Netherlands, a Unesco World Heritage Site, where we took a tour of the peaceful windmills and browsed for souvenirs.
I thought Viking Vidar was half full. She wasn’t – she was totally full. But here’s the thing: if you wanted your own space, there was plenty. If you wanted the chance to meet new friends, there were plenty. And if you wanted to enjoy the views from the top deck on a chair, a sunlounger or at a table for lunch, there were plenty.
Our initial fears of feeling cramped on a ship with just one bar, two eating areas and one sun deck, compared to the space on an ocean cruise, were unfounded. And I don’t think I’ve ever been on a holiday where the staff have made such a positive difference to the experience. From £1,145 per person.
We saw more than 40 castles as the ship sailed almost silently through the valley