One of the many advantages of taking a river cruise in Europe is immediate access to small off the beaten path villages and experiences. This was my second river cruise with Viking – on both cruises I’ve maintained a balance between participating in the offered group tours and taking time to explore on my own. Today I felt like exploring at my own pace simply letting the day unfold.
Walking a dirt path on the way to town, I took delight for the first time in my life to duck into one of the surrounding fields of corn. It is a disorienting feeling to be walking among hundreds of tall stalks of corn and completely lose ones sense of direction.
Eventually reaching the old town I walked the well trodden cobblestone streets like many eager explorers before me. Intrigued by every bend I moved slowly passing between the shadows and the sun’s dappled light scattering through openings in the ancient walls. Worn by the elements but somehow surviving time’s relentless exposure, a visit to Viviers is like journeying back in time hundreds of years.
Arguably the highlight is the Cathedrale Saint-Vincent de Viviers, or simply called the Viviers Cathedral. This impressive cathedral was built in the 12th century and is the smallest active cathedral in all of France.
Spotting the Archangel St. Michael statue high on a hill in the distance, I decided to head in that direction. Leaving town I found myself on narrow paved and dirt roads at times passing through small vineyards and sunflower fields (all in bloom). Finding myself in the middle of nowhere I wasn’t sure how to access the statue and no one was in sight. By the grace of God, a local walked by with two angry dogs. Between their barking and my non existent French – she was able to point out the trail head leading off of the dirt road. If she had not walked by at this exact time I certainly would never have spotted this.
The trail is marked by two strips of paint every few hundred feet. At one point I heard furious chirping in front of me and soon spotted a young bird somehow entangled in a vine. A cute little thing, I was able to easily cut the vine and this tiny creature came over and pecked me on the top of my shoe. As I started walking away, it began following me until presumably its mother chirped instructions to stop.
Rising well above the river I continued on the trail, hiking through steep forested slopes before finally reaching the statue. From the top there are exceptional views in all directions including of Vivieres far below.
To book your Viking cruise and related shore excursions offered in this lovely part of Southern France, or elsewhere in the country, visit: www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/countries/france/index.html
Glad to hear you get to hopscotch around France by cruising with Viking. You must have been stoked to have this little adventure on your own in this charming time-warped French village, and left the place with a good deed done.
Teh – it was certainly a memorable trip 🙂
This looks like an absolutely awesome trip!
thanks Juan – yes, great to explore a part of the country I had not yet visited and not have to worry about any logistics 🙂
I have never done a river cruise, but I really want to. This looks like a great one to start with. Thank you!
C. Randen – yes, this one was quite memorable – lots of neat excursions 🙂
Excellent blog! Thanks for sharing and keep it up!
Thanks Luxx – I’ve been working on it a long time 🙂
Sounds like great fun. Would really love to explore it soon. Loved it.
Thanks for sharing this cool experience Dave 🙂
Would have been such an enthralling experience. Great.
What an incredible blog. I Appreciate your detail explanation, Thanks!
It seems that you had a memorable trip with Viking. I wish I could explore like you. Incredible post.
Whenever I am free from my busy life schedule. I keep on reading this post which is far better in comparison to another post. Keep on blogging.
We love exploring at our own pace, too! It has brought us to see lots of new places that we\’ve never read about in blogs. Thanks for sharing this! Would love to go check out Cathedrale Saint-Vincent de Viviers.
Katie – exactly, even on shorter trips I’ve learned its better to just enjoy a few things rather then rush around and try to get as much in as possible within a short time period 🙂
These photos are beautiful, I like this post!
Joanne – thanks for stopping by. Yes, put France’s lavender country on your bucket list for a summer trip 🙂