The art of the good life.
Few countries have shaped the world’s idea of beauty quite like France. Boulevards designed to be strolled, light that painters have chased for centuries, villages where the church bells still mark the hour and the boulangerie opens before dawn. This is a country where a meal can last four hours, a perfume can become an heirloom, and even a roadside picnic feels like it was choreographed.
France has a way of rewarding the unhurried. Lavender fields warming under a Provençal sun. Champagne cellars carved deep beneath chalk hills. Loire châteaux trailing their reflections across moats, Riviera harbors lined with sun-faded shutters, and Paris cafés where lingering is not just allowed but expected. Even the smallest village seems to keep a perfect cheese shop, a perfect baker, and at least one secret worth staying an extra night for.
Whether you’re wandering Left Bank galleries, sailing the Calanques, tasting your way through Burgundy, or learning to roll pastry in a Dordogne farmhouse, France offers something rare: a place that takes pleasure seriously, and somehow makes you better at it too.
Sample Itinerary: 8-Day River Cruise
Days 1–2: Dijon
Step aboard your river ship in the heart of Dijon, historic seat of the Dukes of Burgundy, and toast the start of your cruise as the city lights flicker on. The next day, wander Dijon’s grand medieval squares and half-timbered streets on a guided walking tour, or trade the city for the countryside with a visit to Château d’Arcelot or a bike ride through the rolling Burgundian backroads.
Day 3: Beaune & the Côtes de Nuits
Cruise into the heart of France’s most storied wine country with a day in Beaune, Burgundy’s wine capital. Choose your own way in: a guided tasting of prestigious Côtes de Nuits vintages, a hands-on cooperage workshop exploring the art of the barrel, or a quiet walk through the riverside village of Seurre before a scenic afternoon sail toward Chalon-sur-Saône.
Day 4: Chalon-sur-Saône
Discover Chalon-sur-Saône, a medieval river town and the unexpected birthplace of photography, on foot or by bike. Sample the region’s elegant Chalonnaise wines, or settle into a lounge chair as the ship glides toward Tournus through some of the Saône’s most pastoral scenery.
Day 5: Tournus
Step into the quiet majesty of Tournus, where the 10th-century Abbey of Saint Philibert anchors a town of sun-dappled lanes and stone gateways. Venture out to the medieval village of Brancion or the Renaissance Château de Cormatin with its painted ceilings and box-hedge gardens, or pedal through the vineyards with a glass of Mâconnais waiting at the end.
Day 6: Mâcon
Mâcon is southern Burgundy at its most graceful, with riverside promenades, golden-stone façades, and a literary legacy tied to the poet Alphonse de Lamartine. Travel inland to Cluny Abbey, once the largest church in Christendom, and the hilltop fortress of Berzé-le-Châtel for sweeping views across the valley.
Days 7–8: Lyon
Toast your final full day with a Beaujolais wine tasting in the rolling hills just north of Lyon, then dive into France’s culinary capital. Wander UNESCO-listed Vieux Lyon, taste your way through the legendary Les Halles de Lyon – Paul Bocuse, or cycle the riverfront boulevards before a farewell dinner aboard. Disembark in the morning, well-fed and well-traveled.
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