We’re back with Part 2 of our Real Food Traveler Podcast about our back-to-back river cruises with Viking in the summer of 2025. In Part 1, we covered the first cruise, the “Rhine Getaway,” which went from Basel to Amsterdam. The second cruise, the “Lyon & Provence” itinerary sailed along the Rhone River. In this episode of the Real Food Traveler Podcast, we, RealFoodTraveler’s Courtney Drake-McDonough and Jimmy McDonough, describe what to expect from the ship and sailing experience and from each destination along the itinerary. To listen, click on the little player, below. 

Save this article to Pinterest so you can listen to this podcast episode anytime and know what the Lyon & Provence itinerary with Viking is really like. Photo and graphic courtesy RealFoodTraveler.com.

What’s the Lyon & Provence Viking River Cruise Really Like

Here’s the itinerary for the Lyon & Provence itinerary which is exclusively in France:

Days 1-3: Lyon
Day 4: Vienne
Day 5: Tournon
Day 6: Avignon
Day 7: Arles
Days 8-10: Aix-en-Provence (optional extension)

Hungry for more? Listen to Part 1, the “Rhine Getaway.”

In this episode of the Real Food Traveler Podcast, we cover the Viking experience:

• • • How relying on the Viking experts to plan and guide your trip saves your precious vacation time and boosts your enjoyment.
    • The food scene – what’s available, when and where plus the quality of the food and ways the Viking crew connects to the local cuisine.
    • Entertainment, lectures and demonstrations you’ll experience including what you need to really pay attention to.

Scenes from the Viking Delling, which was our ship on the Lyon & Provence voyage.

Hungry for more? See if back-to-back river cruises are for you.

Then, we talk about each port and itinerary, so you know what to expect on Viking’s Rhone Cruise:

• • For each destination, we tell you a little about where it’s located and what it’s known for.
  • We cover what we did there and liked about it, on the Viking excursion, and/or on our own.
  • With each port, we provide our “Don’t miss” tips. It could be something to be sure to see, do, eat or drink, from our personal experiences there. These insider tips will help enhance your visit in each port.
  • We also tell you about our post-cruise excursion to Aix-en-Provence through Viking and the major differences between making our own plans versus paying more but going through Viking.

Scenes from the Viking Lyon & Provence itinerary include, top right, clockwise: A suspension bridge in Tournon; mini-sausages from the market in Aix-en-Provence; the coliseum in Arles; meats and cheeses in Lyon; a street with decorative parasols in Avignon; and a marketplace in Vienne.

Learn more about Viking River Cruises on their website.

The Real Food Traveler Podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and wherever you like to listen.

-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher and Managing Editor of Real Food Traveler and Jimmy McDonough, Eco-Friendly Food, Travel and Adventure Editor

Hungry for more? Getting our tips for packing or two or more weeks.

Please note: We were hosted for portions of our back-to-back river cruises with Viking which is common practice in our industry to facilitate providing information. However, as is always the case, that does not affect our opinions, and we bring you the truth as we’ve experienced it for the service of our readers and podcast listeners.