Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

[chatdad]

Thanks for the dress info.  Wife has her selection of pants and I'll stick to my cargos sans sneakers.  Looking forward to a more laid back experience than our last cruise (QM2) and taking one less suitcase.  Time to start packing.  

[MURPHY27]

31 minutes ago, chatdad said:

Thanks for the dress info.  Wife has her selection of pants and I'll stick to my cargos sans sneakers.  Looking forward to a more laid back experience than our last cruise (QM2) and taking one less suitcase.  Time to start packing.  

 

Youll be fine.  Clean & neat is the look you will see.  We use the laundry service when our clothes look like they’ve had it.

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by MURPHY27

[dottythecat]

We are on the May 21 sailing of France's Finest. We will have a free afternoon in Lyon. Looking for restaurant suggestions for a nice lunch.

 

[peabody304]

13 hours ago, chatdad said:

Great thread.  Flying out this coming Monday (praying the weather cooperates a bit more than weather station calling for).  Doing only the Lyon to Avignon cruise as it's our first river cruise (a trial balloon).  Couple of questions:

 

We're about 7 weeks behind you. Looking forward to hearing about your trip. If you have time and inclination, would love to see photos of your Viking Dailies.
And yes, I've seen the Dailies others have posted; just hoping to see what this year's looks like. 🙂 

[philw1776]

Question:

Monet's Garden by Bicycle
Looks like an easy ride along the river. Wife concerned that bike ride will take away substantive tome at Monet's vs taking the Included (bus) tour.  Is this so?

Considering paying $ to take the 4 hour Optional La Roche-Guyon tour instead of the included short 90 minute Château Gaillard walking tour.  How much of the 4 hours is bus ride?  Is the tour worth the $?  We have no issues walking up hills etc.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

[chatdad]

9 hours ago, peabody304 said:

 

We're about 7 weeks behind you. Looking forward to hearing about your trip. If you have time and inclination, would love to see photos of your Viking Dailies.
And yes, I've seen the Dailies others have posted; just hoping to see what this year's looks like. 🙂 

Will make it a point to do that.  

[Peregrina651]

 

10 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

 

The caveat here being: provided Vernon is not an afternoon stop as it was on our sailing.

[Cairn Mom]

15 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

 If you decide to taxi or Uber to Giverney and return with Viking, make sure to inform the front desk of your plans. You need to know which bus to board and that tour guide needs to have you on their list.

[notamermaid]

Giverny sounds like a serious contender for the shortlist to the list of places to avoid due to overcrowding. If it is wife's expressed wish to go there, going early by taxi sounds a great idea. A dear lady told me on return from here holiday two years ago that Giverny was nice but crowded. That coming from here in the same breath was very telling for me...

 

By the way could hardly see the Monet paintings in the National Gallery in London for all the Asians in the room.

 

Hope your excursion to Giverny is very enjoyable.

 

notamermaid

 

[deec]

Visited in Spring of 17 from ocean Viking Sky.  The gardens were beautiful but very crowded...we chose to wander by ourselves and not stand in line to see the house.  The nice gift store simply could not handle all the people!   Looking forward to hopefully an earlier day this fall when we will visit from a Viking River Cruise....maybe less crowded but probably not the stunning flowers.

[MURPHY27]

19 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

 

If you can arrange a private guide, guides enter through a private side gate in the garden.  If there at opening, you beat the hoards.

[philw1776]

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

Good idea but not possible.  For some reason Viking has changed the sailing such that we do not get to the port until Saturday afternoon.

[peabody304]

1 hour ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

If you can arrange a private guide, guides enter through a private side gate in the garden.  If there at opening, you beat the hoards.

 

We have made reservations for a "small group" tour to Giverny with Pair Webservices (recommended in Rick Steves's book, France 2019).
I'll report back on how it was in less than 6 weeks.

[Peregrina651]

36 minutes ago, philw1776 said:

Good idea but not possible.  For some reason Viking has changed the sailing such that we do not get to the port until Saturday afternoon.

 

I wonder if this is the trend for 2019. Hopefully more people will report. Maybe MVJ will give us a clue. On your sail date, does MVJ list Giverny as a morning or an afternoon excursion?

[philw1776]

On 4/7/2019 at 2:32 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

Good idea but not possible.  For some reason Viking has changed the sailing such that we do not get to the port until Saturday afternoon.

 

AFTERNOON on MVJ

Edited April 9, 2019 by philw1776

[dottythecat]

Peabody304  I see that Paris Webservices' 1/2 day tour of Giverney is 6 hours (to/from Paris) at 99E per person. Where will they pick you up? what time?  Thanks.

[peabody304]

33 minutes ago, dottythecat said:

Peabody304  I see that Paris Webservices' 1/2 day tour of Giverney is 6 hours (to/from Paris) at 99E per person. Where will they pick you up? what time?  Thanks.

We’re doing the morning trip, so they will pick us up at our hotel at 7:30. 

[MURPHY27]

14 hours ago, Cairn Mom said:

 If you decide to taxi or Uber to Giverney and return with Viking, make sure to inform the front desk of your plans. You need to know which bus to board and that tour guide needs to have you on their list.

 

Usual you can spot the Viking guide wearing a red jacket & guide holding the paddle.  Also passengers will have the vox with the red Viking lanyard around their necks.  Should make it easier to join up before the parking lot.

[Peregrina651]

On 4/7/2019 at 1:20 PM, philw1776 said:

Question:

Monet's Garden by Bicycle
Looks like an easy ride along the river. Wife concerned that bike ride will take away substantive tome at Monet's vs taking the Included (bus) tour.  Is this so?

Considering paying $ to take the 4 hour Optional La Roche-Guyon tour instead of the included short 90 minute Château Gaillard walking tour.  How much of the 4 hours is bus ride?  Is the tour worth the $?  We have no issues walking up hills etc.

 

What day of the week are you in Les Andelys? Consider making it easy day and don't take any tour at all. The ladies will love the shops in town and the guys can just hunker down with a beer in one of the little outdoor places. If you want, you can meander your way up to the castle; you don't need a guide to get you there.

[MURPHY27]

20 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

What day of the week are you in Les Andelys? Consider making it easy day and don't take any tour at all. The ladies will love the shops in town and the guys can just hunker down with a beer in one of the little outdoor places. If you want, you can meander your way up to the castle; you don't need a guide to get you there.

 

Les Andelys town is very small.  You can easily visit on your own.  Uber is there, if you want a ride to the chateau vs the climb.

[Respbj]

Thanks we are there on Bastille Day,(Sunday 7/14)  also our anniversary so hopefully there will be celebrating and fireworks, we had planned to not do any touring that day and just enjoy small town France

Edited April 9, 2019 by Respbj

[philw1776]

16 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

What day of the week are you in Les Andelys? Consider making it easy day and don't take any tour at all. The ladies will love the shops in town and the guys can just hunker down with a beer in one of the little outdoor places. If you want, you can meander your way up to the castle; you don't need a guide to get you there.

Arrive Les Andelys afternoon on a Tuesday.  Viking has a just over an hour included walk to the castle.  Yah, the 2 younger generations especially want to just go off on their own.  I'll ensure they inform any guide before they go MIA.  What I love about river cruising is the many easy opportunities to just go off on your own.  

They're excited about the late evening light shows at a couple ports offered in the summer.  And Rouen has fireworks when we're in port Sunday night, Bastile Day.

 

Just learned that beer is served in France.  :)

Edited April 9, 2019 by philw1776

[Peregrina651]

Yes and supposedly there is a microbrewery in the Les Andelys area. Something about Richard the Lionhearted. 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Peregrina651

[Peregrina651]

On 3/21/2019 at 3:00 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

I'm mostly a window shopper, so I'm the last to ask about shopping. I did buy a Santon to put in the display box.  And other than some books that is about all I have bought. 

 

Sunday mornings in Lyon along the bank of the Saone, right where the included tour stops to let us off for the guided tour of the old city, there is a weekly art market. The show is juried. If you continue further along it becomes a bit more crafty and commercial like you would see at any flea market/crafts fair; this portion of the market is a combination of some very clever and talented artisans side by side with some very invested merchants. As soon as we saw it, we told our guide we would see her back on the bus. We ended up buying a small oil painting of Lyon and had a wonderful time checking out all the original artwork.

 

There was time for shopping in Les Baux, a stop on the afternoon tour in Arles. This is where I bought the little santon.