Depart the U.S. today on your flight to Nice, France.

Arrive in Nice today, where you'll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. You can choose to join your Program Director for a leisurely orientation walk to get acquainted with the area around your hotel.

This evening, gather with your Program Director and traveling companions, including those from the Nice, France or Italian Riviera & the Cinque Terre, Italy pre-trip extensions, for a Welcome Drink and briefing before enjoying dinner on your own.

36 Hours in Nice Witness the unique confluence of French and Italian cultures - the best of both worlds - on display in coastal Nice.

Nice is the Cote d'Azur's premier Riviera resort - a city of art and theater known for its lush gardens and superb setting on the Mediterranean's Bay of Angels. Set off on a morning discovery walk with your Program Director, taking in the city's unique, seaside spirit as you stroll Vieux Nice (Old Town) and the Promenade des Anglais.

Enjoy lunch on your own to experience the city's diverse culinary options, and the rest of the day to pursue your own interests in Nice, like unwind on a smooth pebbeled beach or witnessing famed works in Musee Matisse.

Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers at a local restaurant for a Welcome Dinner.

3Travel through scenic Provence today, as you make your way to Arles.

Aries / Avignon
Enjoy a walking tour of Aries, spotting locations that were painted by Van Gogh
Lunch onboard ship
Visit a family-run bull farm in the Camargue (Europe's largest delta)
Cruise this evening to Avignon

Continue on to Arles, arriving late this afternoon to embark the ship. Tonight, enjoy a Provencal-temed onboard dinner.

Discover Alres on a morning walking tour of the town beloved by Vincent van Gogh - and find signs indicating places rendered in his works. See the Cafe l'Alcazar, the still-standing establishment where van Gogh stayed and used the manager, Madame Ginoux, as his model for his painting l'Arlesienne.

One of the most distinctive towns in enchanting Provence, visiting Arles is like journeying back to Ancient Rome. The town is filled with landmarks and ruins dating from its periods of Roman domination that began in 30 BC. Witness the outside of the colossal hilltop Roman amphitheater, where 21,000 spectators thrilled to gladiator fights in the first century - and where bullfights are held today, more than 20 centuries later. You'll also see the 7,000-seat Antique Theater. Enjoy a bit of time on your own to continue exploring the cobbled lanes.

Then, head into the Camargue region - Europe's largest delta, a dramatic landscape caught between land and sea - for an exclusive Discovery Series visit to a bull farm. The keepers of this land are its gardians, akin to our cowboys. They live here with their families, often several generations together, carving out lifestyles in sync with the land, following the rhythms of nature and the needs of the livestock they tend. Experience traditional daily life at a gardian's bull farm, sharing lunch and the friendliness of their down-to-earth hospitality. You'll also climb aboard a farm truck to see the bulls in their natural environment. Return to the ship this evening and begin cruising to Avignon. Join your fellow travelers for the Captain's Welcome Reception and Port Talk, followed by the Captain's Welcome Dinner. The ship arrive sin Avignon late tonight.

Explore Avignon, known as the "City of Popes," on a morning walking tour. For most of the 14th century, the popes left the turmoil of Rome and installed themselves in this calm possession of the Catholic Church. Beginning with Clement V (who was born here), they built residences, chateaux, a number of fortified palaces, and churches in Avignon, and you'll have guided exploration of the impressive Papal Palace during your tour.

The afternoon is yours to make your own discoveries in Avignon. Wend the winding streets of some of the city's ancient neighborhoods, or relax at an outdoor cafe. Or, join an optional Afternoon in Provence to visit Provencal village of Les Baux de Provence and the Carrieres de Lumieres, where artwork is displayed on the walls of carved limestone chambers.

Begin cruising to Viviers this evening, arriving late tonight.

Arrive in Viviers - the gateway to Provence - early this morning. After breakfast, get a closer look at this charming town during walking tour.

Tournon / Lyon
  Cruise on the Rhone River toward Vienne and Lyon
  Savor a Home-Hosted Visit with a family in Vienne
  Arrive in Lyon this evening

To Lyon tonight.

Begin cruising along the Saone River to Lyon early this morning, enjoying a relaxing start the day soaking in the passing riverside scenery.

Lyon
Explore Old Lyon - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - on a morning tour
Free time in Lyon to explore the city on your own (the gourmet tasting onboard moves to the next day).
Farewell Dinner onboard

Lyon / Cruising the Saone

  Visit a local market and discover why Lyon is France's "foodie" capital during an exclusive Discovery Series event
  Enjoy a gourmet tasting onboard
  Learn about the French Resistance in World War II, also an exclusive Discovery Series event
  Cruise the Saone River to Macon
  Arrive in Macon this evening
  Discover Macon during an after-dinner walking tour

Disembark Ship / Paris

  Disembark the M/S Provence in Macon
  Depart for Paris by motorcoach via the Burgundy region
  Along the way stop in Chassagne-Montrachet: Visit the local chateau, see their vineyards and taste their wines, enjoy an included light lunch, and stroll through the village
  Continue to Paris, where you check in to your hotel; the rest of the evening is at leisure

France's Burgundy and Loire Regions Revel in the art of good living as travel expert Rudy Maxa explores the legendary Burgundy region.

Travel through the renowned province of Burgundy today, disembarking the ship in Macon after breakfast for Paris with scenic ride along Burgundy's Route des Vins (Wine Road).

France is renowned for its legendary wine - a deeply ingrained part of its heritage and source of national pride. One of the country's eleven major wine regions, Burgundy's rich soil produces many of the world's finest varietals and its enchanting landscapes are doted with vineyards. Stop along the way late this morning for an exclusive Discovery Series Burgundy wine experience, during which you'll visit a local chateaux to learn more about this famed region and enjoy lunch.

Continue your journey to Paris, arriving this evening. The evening is yours to settle in, relax, and enjoy dinner on your own.

Get to know the famed "City of Lights" this morning, starting with a panoramic tour. Witness the metropolis from different perspectives as you travel along the notable Champs-Elysees - and as it ends at the large central roundabout, where twelve elegant tree-lined avenues converge, see the Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 and completed in 1836. You'll also drive by the magnificent Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame. Then, head to La Marais for walking tour of the neighborhood that captures what daily life in residential Paris is like.

The afternoon is yours in Paris to pursue your own interests. Head to the Louvre using public transportation, exploring its many galleries at your leisure, or venture out to gilded Palace of Versailles to set eyes on its magnificent Grand Chambers and the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, was signed in 1919.

Gather with your fellow travelers this evening for a Farewell toast, then enjoy dinner on your own.

This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight home.