Avalon has designed included activities with a choice of experiences. We invite you to select the tours, activities, and events that interest you most, so you can experience your cruise your way. There are three types of included shore excursion on every Europe cruise:
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Day 1 MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Welcome to Marseille. Enjoy free time to explore this vibrant city.
Day 2 MARSEILLE—PORT ST. LOUIS (EMBARKATION)
Spectacular Seascapes of the Mediterranean Coast
Join your expert Local Guide for an included sightseeing before joining a motorcoach transfer to board your Avalon Suite Ship.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN ARLES
Day 3 ARLES
Inspiring Sights and Avant-Garde Lights
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Enjoy a Guided Walking Tour of Arles—the captivating city of the Provence region. You’ll visit the Roman Amphitheater in this visually stunning city, OR:
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Attend a Painting Workshop to learn the style and techniques of Vincent van Gogh. You’ll create your own painting in the style of the classic master who took inspiration from the Provence light and landscape in Arles.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join a lecture about wine hosted by your Master of Wine.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AVIGNON
Day 4 AVIGNON
The City of Popes in Picturesque Provence
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Take a Guided Sightseeing Tour of the fortress city of Avignon—with its ramparts encircling the city—and a visit to the amazing Palace of the Popes.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Enjoy a trip to the famed wine cellars of Châteauneuf-du-Pape for a true taste of the Rhône wine region.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AVIGNON
Day 5 VIVIERS
World History in a Charming French Country Village
Enjoy a leisurely morning sail to Viviers.
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Explore the pale-stone buildings of Viviers on a late afternoon Guided Walking Tour of this charming village. You’ll see its Romanesque cathedral and Old Town with a mix of historical Christian, Roman, and medieval influences.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
This evening, join an onboard food and wine pairing dinner hosted by your Master of Wine.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO TOURNON
Day 6 TOURNON
A Rendezvous with Castle Views and Vineyards
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Take a morning Guided Walking Tour to explore Tournon—one of France’s oldest medieval cities. See its 16th-century castle, and Roman ruins between the Rhône River and the granite slopes of the Hermitage.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Enjoy an onboard chocolate and wine tasting hosted by your master of wine while sailing to Vienne.
VIENNE
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Walking Tour of Vienne and discover this charming little town surrounded by steep hills.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN LYON
Day 7 LYON
Adventures in Food and Wine in the Gastronomy Capital of France
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour to survey Lyon from Fourvière Hill with its numerous churches. You’ll also explore the Old Town with its maze of medieval alleyways, and the lively cafés, monuments, and famed fountain of Place des Terreaux.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Take a guided tour to the lovely Beaujolais area and learn more about its light and pleasant wine.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO TOURNUS
Day 8 TOURNUS—ST. JEAN DE LOSNE
Wine and Cheese on the Stunning Saône
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join an excursion that will take you to a Chardonnay cellar for a wine tasting.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Later, enjoy a delicious cheese and wine tasting hosted by your Master of Wine while sailing to St Jean de Losne.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN ST. JEAN DE LOSNE
Day 9 ST. JEAN DE LOSNE (DISEMBARKATION) BEAUNE BASEL, SWITZERLAND (EMBARKATION)
Drive to Beaune and transfer to Basel
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Visit the Hôtel-Dieu Charity Hospital in Beaune, built in 1443, today home of the Van der Weyden’s painting of the Last Judgment and is one of France’s architectural highlights.
EVENING CRUISE TO BREISACH
Day 10 BREISACH, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO BLACK FOREST
History, Artistry, and the Beautiful Black Forest
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join a full-day Guided Tour to the magical Black Forest to experience the Vogtsbauernohf open-air-museum, visit an authentic water mill, and see a traditional butter-making demonstration, OR: Visit to Badische Winzerkeller, the largest German wine producer in Europe. Discover Germany’s southernmost wine country in Baden—ideally situated between the hills of the Black Forest and the Rhine River. Learn about the vintners’ process in the vineyards here, and enjoy a wine tasting
EVENING CRUISE TO STRASBOURG
Day 11 STRASBOURG, FRANCE
Gothic Giants, Petite France, and Varietal Vintages
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a City Sightseeing Tour, including Strasbourg’s s gothic, stained-glass cathedral with its celebrated ancient murals and astronomical clock, as well as the magical La Petite France District.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO LUDWIGSHAFEN
Day 12 LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO HEIDELBERG
Castle Walls and the World’s Biggest Barrel of Wine
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Enjoy a Guided Tour to Heidelberg Castle to see the ruins of the magnificent renaissance treasure towering above the city, and its famed Great Vat, the “World’s Largest Wine Barrel,” OR:
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
Join your Avalon Adventure Host for a Hike up Philosophers’ Way for an inspiring view of the city below.
MAINZ
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Enjoy a Guided City Walk including a visit to the Gutenberg Museum to see the captivating history of printing.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN MAINZ
Day 13 RÜDESHEIM—RHINE GORGE
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry in Wine Country
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Take a Guided Tour of the incredible Mechanical Music Museum for a one-of-a-kind instrumental experience; based on your departure enjoy a local special treat, OR:
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
Enjoy a hike with your Avalon Adventure Host through the picturesque vineyards of Rüdesheim.
KOBLENZ
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN KOBLENZ
Day 14 COLOGNE
Prost! Celebrate in the Rhineland
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Take a Guided City Walk of Cologne—with its soaring twin-steepled gothic cathedral, OR:
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Choose a Guided Walking Tour of Cologne’s important Jewish heritage sites.
AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO AMSTERDAM
Day 15 AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
Day 16 AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION)-PARIS, FRANCE
Transfer from your Avalon ship to the train station, where you begin your Monograms package. Travel to Paris by high-speed train (first class).
Day 17 PARIS
Morning guided sightseeing includes a drive past the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe and a stop to take photos of the Eiffel Tower from one of the best panoramic viewing points. Also admire the heart of the city from a different perspective on a SEINE RIVER CRUISE. Embark your comfortable boat near the Eiffel Tower and spend a relaxing hour gliding by many of the city's important landmarks such as the L'Institut de France; magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral where Napoleon was crowned emperor in 1804; Hôtel de Ville, the city's municipal headquarters; the Conciergerie, formerly a notorious prison where Marie-Antoinette spent the last days of her life; famous Louvre Palace and museum; and much more.
Day 18 PARIS
Enjoy a full day at leisure to explore the “City of Lights”. Your Local Host® will help you get the most out of your stay in Paris
Day 19 PARIS—LONDON, ENGLAND
Travel to London by high-speed Eurostar train (Standard class).
Day 20 LONDON
Morning guided sightseeing includes all of London’s famous landmarks. Drive past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben; Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were married; Whitehall’s mounted horseguards; the Prime Minister’s Downing Street; Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus. Take photos of the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel situated on the river bank, and the Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe. Then, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral (except on Sundays). Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece with its world-famous dome is an iconic feature of London’s skyline.
Day 21 LONDON
Enjoy a full day at leisure to explore London at your own pace. Your Local Host® will help you get the most out of it.
Day 22 LONDON
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.
Start sooner, stay longer. Start your vacation earlier or stay longer with destination options before or after your Avalon cruise.
