France | Rhone River Biketour | Bike & Boat

At 5:00 p.m., your guides will be waiting for you in Lyon, where you will be welcomed on board. After you have moved into your cabin in peace, your guide will introduce the tour - if the weather is fine, on the sun deck. Then enjoy the first rich dinner on board while the ship slowly glides north on the waters of the Saône. Departure at 9:00 p.m. from Lyon towards Burgundy. Evening panoramic drive through Lyon's old town. 

At noon the ship reaches the northernmost point of this voyage, Châlon sûr Saône. Our first stage with the e-bike leads through an area that lies in the triangle between Châlon, Cormatin and Tournus and forms a unit both culturally and geographically. In delightful alternation, we encounter castles, Romanesque churches and enchanting villages. The villages used to be linked by a railroad. After the closure, the railway line was converted into a “voie verte”, a green cycle path. With the exception of small sections, you will continue on this magnificent route until lunch. After the rest you will reach a rare gem, the pleasure palace of Cormatin. Built in the 17th century, the castle is surrounded by a moat, in the middle of a small park with wide lawns and geometrically shaped beds, modeled on the English garden style. The afternoon route takes you through the gently undulating hill country. After an ascent with a view of the Brancion fortress, you will be rewarded with wonderful views over the valley (you can optionally take our escort bus up part of the stage). The last stage, as far as the Saône Valley, takes you back down in an exhilarating descent. From a distance you can already make out the striking outlines of the priory church of St. Philibert in Tournus. We will show you this jewel of Romanesque architecture during a tour. The church was founded in the early 9th century by monks who fled the Vikings inland. Soon after the year 1000, which some had suspected would bring the end of the world, “the whole country was covered with a white coat of churches”. This is how vividly a contemporary Burgundian monk reports the feverish building activity of the early Romanesque period. At St. Philibert you will see the fundamentals of French architecture: the birth of the two-tower facade and the first self-supporting vault of post-antiquity! A short transfer will bring you back to Châlon sûr Saône in the evening.

During your night's sleep, the ship sailed south again and is now in the heart of southern Burgundy on the quay walls of the city of Mâcon. Every year in May an important wine fair takes place here. The best wines will be awarded the coveted Médailles d´Or award. Your e-bikes are ready and waiting not far from the jetty. From the village of Macon you will negotiate a hill. Afterwards you cycle on a scenic route with a distant view of the rock of Solutré. The impressive natural monument even adorned a French special postage stamp in 1985 and the former President Francois Mitterand climbed the rock on several hikes. A few kilometers further, the mighty Berzé-le-Châtel castle appears in front of you. The fortress served to secure the Cluisois and the Grosne valley to the south. After the rest, you will cross a bicycle tunnel. After around an hour you will reach Cluny, the most important center of Benedictine monasticism in the 11th century. in Europe. Cluny had amassed an immeasurable fortune through gifts and endowments. The ruin still looks imposing, although it is only a small part of the once gigantic ensemble. During a detailed tour, our local, knowledgeable guide will show you the imposing monastery complex and its excavations. A transfer will take you to Trévoux in the late afternoon, where your ship will dock to pick up the day trippers. After dinner, the STELLA will return to Lyon. The ship stays overnight in Lyon so that you can stroll through the narrow streets of the city after dinner.