Best of the Seine with Paris & Normandy

Arrive in Paris and transfer to your ship, your home on the River Seine. Settle into your cabin and take a moment to relax, perhaps in the lounge or bar, as the ship prepares to set sail. This evening, join your Experience Director and fellow travellers for dinner onboard. Share a toast to the journey ahead as your Paris river cruise gets underway, with the city as your backdrop.

Cruise into Vernon and travel to Giverny, where you'll visit Claude Monet’s house and gardens. Explore the lily pond, green bridge and flowerbeds that inspired his work, and browse the village’s galleries and shops. Continue to Château Gaillard, a clifftop fortress built by Richard the Lionheart. Then walk down to Les Andelys for an orientation with your Experience Director. You’ll have time here to stroll the riverside lanes, stop for coffee or a pastry, or find the perfect angle for a photo of the half-timbered buildings and hilltop chateau before returning to the ship for dinner.

Arrive in Rives-en-Seine, a historic riverside town once valued for its strategic position on the Seine. Today offers a moment for quiet reflection — a chance to pay tribute, trace family connections and stand on the shores where history turned. From here, travel to Normandy’s D-Day beaches to explore the sites where Allied forces came ashore in 1944. You may choose to visit the American sector, with stops at Utah and Omaha beaches, Sainte-Mère-Église and the Airborne Museum, where the story of the paratroopers is brought to life through original artefacts, soundscapes and a walk-through replica of a C-47 aircraft. Alternatively, follow the Commonwealth route, visiting the Juno Beach Centre and stopping at key locations linked to the Canadian and British landings, and ANZAC contributions.

Arrive in Rouen this morning, once the second city of medieval France and now a centre of Norman heritage. Today, choose between a full-day Optional Experience to Mont Saint-Michel or time to explore Rouen. If you’re staying in Rouen, join your Experience Director for a walking orientation of the old town, known for its timber-framed buildings, gothic churches and one of the largest collections of preserved medieval architecture in Europe. Hear the story of Joan of Arc, martyr, military leader and Patron Saint of France, who was tried and executed here. Visit the cathedral, stroll through market squares and walk streets that have shaped the city’s identity for centuries.

Arrive in La Roche-Guyon, a village set below chalk cliffs along the Seine. Here, you’ll visit Château de La Roche-Guyon, a fortress carved into the rock with rooms, bunkers and a medieval tower overlooking the valley. Walk through the gardens that stretch down to the river and explore the chateau’s layered history. If you’d like to arrive on foot, you can choose to join a guided crest trail hike earlier in the morning, taking a forested route with open views before meeting the group inside. For lunch, head to a nearby cider farm for your Be My Guest experience. Tour the orchard, learn how traditional cider is made and enjoy a relaxed, seasonal meal.

This morning, choose between two ways to explore this region of France. You can visit Château de Malmaison, once home to Joséphine Bonaparte, and explore rooms filled with Empire-style furnishings and personal artefacts from the Napoleonic period. Or you could join an artist’s walk through Auvers-sur-Oise, the village that was Van Gogh’s home and final resting place. Begin at Auberge Ravoux where he stayed, see the church he painted and walk through the fields he captured in his last works. Return to the ship for lunch before an afternoon of sailing. As you cruise your way into Paris this afternoon, watch small towns and the riverbanks drift by. Tonight, take your pick of Paris after dark with Optional Experiences including dinner in Montmartre or a classic Parisian cabaret show.

Paris offers several ways to shape your day. You can join an Optional Experience to the Palace of Versailles with a Local Specialist, or stay in the city for one of two included experiences. Join a panoramic orientation tour with your Cruise Director, or take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience tracing Paris’ evolution from grand boulevards to greener streets, exploring how urban farming, cafe culture and local communities are shaping the city today. In the afternoon, explore at your own pace or join an Optional Experience such as a foodie walk through local markets and neighbourhoods. You might stroll the banks of the Seine, admire the facades of Haussmann-era buildings or step inside a church with centuries of stories carved into its stone. Tonight, return to your ship for dinner and entertainment as you mark the final night of your Seine cruise through Normandy.

Disembark your Seine River cruise this morning and say farewell to your captain and crew. After a final breakfast onboard, transfer to the airport for your journey home or choose to extend your stay and spend more time exploring Paris.