Arrive in Paris on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

In the evening, join your tour leader Julie Ewington and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing and talk, followed by dinner at the hotel.

(D)

This morning, enjoy a private tour of the Musée de l’Orangerie. First built in 1852 by Napolean III to house an orange grove, the museum today boasts an impressive collection of art from renowned artists, including Picasso, Cézanne, Monet and Renoir and is the permanent home to eight of the 250 paintings from Claude Monet’s famous Water Lilies series depicting the Japanese-style flower garden at his home in Giverny.

Then, wander through the French formal-style Tuileries Gardens to the Hotel de la Marine, the former home of the Ministry of the Navy, which underwent a major renovation between 2017 and 2021. Enjoy a private tour of the building, where historic events including a ball honouring the coronation of Napoleon I in 1804 and the drafting of France’s decree abolishing slavery in 1848 took place.

(B)

This morning, enjoy a private tour of the Marmottan Monet Museum, dedicated to French Impressionist artist Claude Monet. The collection features over three hundred paintings by Monet, including his iconic Impression, Sunrise, the painting that began the Impressionist art movement.

In the late-afternoon, visit the vast Musée d’Orsay, known for its superlative collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts dating from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. This collection features numerous famous Impressionist artworks including Manet’s Lunch on the Grass, Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait, Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette and Degas’ The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dance.

(BD)

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and drive to Vaux-le-Vicomte, an impressive chateau built in the seventeenth century, considered a masterpiece of French Baroque residential architecture, and the inspiration for the Palace of Versailles. Wander the estate’s extensive gardens designed by André Le Nôtre, landscape architect and principal gardener of Louis XIV and who later designed the gardens at the Palace of Versailles.

Enjoy lunch at Vaux-le-Vicomte before transferring to Port de Javel Bas on the Seine River to board our ship.

Board the luxurious river cruise ship, the MS Amadeus Diamond, which will be our private home for the next seven nights. Enjoy dinner as the ship leaves Paris behind and heads downstream towards Normandy.

(BLD)

Today, explore the charming village of Auvers-sur-Oise, Van Gogh’s final source of inspiration and resting place. Visit the Chateau d’Auvers-sur-Oise, an impressive seventeenth century estate with landscaped gardens, and discover the chateau’s immersive multimedia exhibitions showcasing recognisable Impressionist artworks from artists including Monet, Van Gogh and Pissarro.

Then, visit the Musée Daubigny, dedicated to Charles François Daubigny, a French landscape painter who was an important precursor to Impressionism. Daubigny was known for his paintings and sketches of water which, for several years, he painted from a studio on a boat.

Enjoy some time at leisure to explore Auvers-sur-Oise at your own pace before returning to the ship in the afternoon. In the evening, attend a talk by Julie, followed by dinner, as the ship sails towards Rouen.

(BD)

This morning, discover the city of Rouen, historical capital of Normandy. Enjoy a walking tour of the picturesque city centre and visit the Rouen Cathedral, famous for its three towers constructed in different architectural styles and the inspiration for Monet’s renowned series of paintings depicting the building in various stages of light. Visit the Church of Joan of Arc, its immaculately preserved 16th century stained glass windows, the Place du Vieux Marché and the Palais de Justice.

In the afternoon, take time at leisure to explore Rouen’s historic sites at your own pace. This evening, attend a music performance at Rouen’s Theatre of Arts (pending performance schedules).

(BLD)

In the morning, visit Rouen’s Museum of Fine Arts. Displaying over 8,000 paintings, sculptures and decorative art from the Renaissance to the present, the museum boasts an outstanding collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks, including pieces by Renoir, Degas and Fragonard.

Return to the ship in the late-morning and enjoy lunch on board as the ship sails further downstream towards Le Havre.

En route, attend a talk by Julie, followed by dinner.

(BLD)

After breakfast, enjoy a coach orientation tour of La Havre, an important cross-channel port of France. Visit the Musée d’art moderne André Malraux (MuMA), containing one of the nation’s most extensive collections of Impressionist paintings, second only to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Then, continue to Étretat, which inspired numerous renowned artists, including Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Eugène Delacroix, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet. There, uncover the beauty of Les Jardin d’Étretat, a manicured garden offering a panorama of the ocean and jagged white cliffs. The garden’s designs personify the tides and ebbs of the English Channel, producing the effect of being immersed under water.

After some time at leisure to explore the town, return to the ship in the afternoon.

(BD)

This morning, drive to the picturesque coastal city of Honfleur, a popular destination for painters due to the changing light and colours of the Seine River estuary. Admire the atmospheric Vieux Bassin, the city’s old port, and visit the Church of Saint Catherine, a unique structure built in the 15th century by shipbuilders and the oldest surviving wooden cathedral in France.

Visit the Eugène Boudin Museum, devoted to Impressionist painters and housing a rich collection of Norman ethnography and landscapes.

Back on board in the afternoon, listen to a talk by Julie before dinner, as the ship turns to sail back upstream to Vernon.

(BD)

After breakfast, transfer to Giverny, a charming town which inspired many of Claude Monet’s artworks. Visit Monet’s house and wander through his picturesque Japanese-style gardens, the inspiration for his famous Water Lilies series that he painted over the course of three decades.

Then, visit the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny, boasting a superb collection of renowned Impressionist artworks. Enjoy lunch at the museum’s café before returning to the ship in the afternoon.

This evening, enjoy a special farewell dinner with Julie and fellow travellers as the ship continues its final leg towards Paris.

(BLD)

Arrive in Paris in the early morning. After breakfast, disembark the MS Amadeus Diamond. Tour arrangements conclude upon arrival at Port de Javel Bas. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with onward travel arrangements, including additional nights’ accommodation in Paris after the cruise. Otherwise, the post-cruise tour, Brushstrokes of Brittany, continues from here.

(B)