There's a particular smugness that comes with watching French commuters trudge to work while you drift past on a river ship with a fresh croissant in hand. That's the core pitch of Scenic's 11-day Tastes of the South of France wine cruise, which sails a loop from Lyon down the Saone and Rhone rivers and back — and a recent sailing shows exactly what passengers get for their money.
The itinerary reads like a greatest-hits list of southern France, with logistics handled entirely onboard. Vienne offers one of Europe's best-preserved Roman temples sitting unassumingly among cafes, plus a hillside Roman theatre. Tournon pairs a 10th-century castle with the prestigious Tain l'Hermitage vineyards across France's oldest suspension bridge — and Valrhona chocolate tastings nearby. Arles, the southern turnaround, delivers a Roman amphitheatre and Van Gogh connections before the Rhone dissolves into its delta.
Avignon is the trip's centrepiece, with an overnight stay that allows excursions to Chateauneuf-du-Pape vineyards, the Pont du Gard aqueduct, or hilltop villages like Gordes and the lavender-framed Senanque Abbey. The standout moment: a gala dinner inside the Pope's Palace banqueting hall, under projected illuminations and a string quartet. It's the kind of experience that's awkward to arrange independently but comes packaged here.
The wine angle is real, not decorative — the route threads through southern Burgundy and Cotes du Rhone territory, and drinks are included. So are the meals, which the writer describes ranging from escargots and frogs' legs to beef tenderloin with aged port jus. Passengers also get a choice of excursions in most ports, from Resistance-history walks in Viviers to cooking classes and spa time on sea days.
The honest takeaway is that river cruising is less about adrenaline and more about surrendering control. Towns like Tournon are pleasant rather than spectacular, and the reward is slowing down enough to notice street markets heaped with truffles and goat cheese, or small-town fairs by the quay. For travellers who want southern France's history, wine and villages without a single hotel check-in or train connection, this format does the heavy lifting.
Practicalities: the 2027 season departs from 27 March, priced from $7995 per person twin share, covering dining, drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and shore excursions. Flights to Lyon are extra, and it's worth tacking a day or two in Lyon itself onto either end — France's food capital deserves more than a dockside glance.
Story first reported by Traveller (Sydney Morning Herald).
