The Seine, Paris & Normandy - MS Jane Austen departing 10 Apr 2024

Paris, France’s capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Les Andelys is a commune in the northern French department of Eure, in Normandy.

Rouen, capital of the northern French region of Normandy, is a port city on the river Seine. Important in the Roman era and Middle Ages, it has Gothic churches, such as Saint-Maclou and Saint-Ouen, and a cobblestoned pedestrian center with medieval half-timbered houses. The skyline is dominated by the spires of Cathédrale Notre-Dame, much-painted by Impressionist Claude Monet.

Bayeux is a town on the Aure river in the Normandy region of northwestern France, 10 kilometers from the Channel coast. Its medieval center contains cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and the towering, Norman-Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The famed 68-meter Tapisserie de Bayeux, an 11th-century tapestry depicting the 1066 Norman invasion of England, is on display in an 18th-century seminary.

From romantic Paris, we slip our moorings and commence our wonderfully scenic cruise along the beautiful and majestic Seine into the heart of one of France’s most historic and picturesque regions, Normandy. With time to enjoy the historic little town of Les Andelys en route, we continue our journey along the Seine’s sweeping meanders, before exploring the delights of Rouen, one of Europe’s finest medieval cities with its stunning cathedral and tangle of atmospheric winding streets.

Passing the legendary Jumiege Abbey, we moor in the pretty village of Caudebec with time after dinner for an evening stroll in this most typical of French villages. Then to Bayeux, spared significant war damage, it retains its wealth of splendid buildings as well as the legendary and stunning tapestry for which it is so famed. We also see some of the many thought-provoking monuments and places along the Normandy coast and reflect on the remarkable story of the D-Day landings on our visit to Gold Beach and the remnants of Mulberry Harbour. Our cruise would not be complete without a visit to charming Honfleur – its near perfect waterfront of tall pastel-coloured 18th century houses, traditional shops and maze of streets providing the inspiration for the Impressionist painter Claude Monet to paint here many times.

Countless sleepy villages silently drift by as we arrive in delightful Vernon, from where we take the short drive to Giverny visiting Claude Monet’s home and one of the world’s most famous and most painted gardens. Enjoy the quintessentially half-timbered streets of Vernon before we continue on to our final destination, one of the world’s most iconic and romantic cities, Paris. From the Arc de Triomphe to the Sacre-Coeur to the Eiffel Tour, the Louvre to the Pompidou Centre, the smart shopping of the Galeries Lafayette to bohemian Montmatre, the list is endless and the variety arguably unmatchable; this breathtaking city never fails to inspire no matter how many times you get the chance to visit.

Honfleur is a city in the department of Calvados, in northern France’s Normandy region. It’s on the estuary where the Seine river meets the English Channel. The Vieux-Bassin (old harbor), lined with 16th- to 18th-century townhouses, has been a subject for artists including Claude Monet and native son Eugène Boudin. Nearby is 15th-century St. Catherine’s Church, a vaulted timber structure erected by shipbuilders.

Giverny is a village in the region of Normandy in northern France. Impressionist painter Claude Monet lived and worked here from 1883 until his death in 1926. The artist’s former home and elaborate gardens, where he produced his famed water lily series, are now the Fondation Claude Monet museum. Nearby, the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny highlights the Impressionist art movement.

Vernon is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States.

Paris, France’s capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Paris, France’s capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.