France 2026 — A River Boat Adventure

Three weeks, two countries, one river, and — let's be honest — entirely too much wine. Everything's booked and the countdown is officially on! This page is the full itinerary: every date, confirmation, and day-by-day plan, with the budget, restaurant picks, train options, and castle wish-list each tucked into their own page, linked at the bottom whenever you want to go deeper.

This adventure runs on trains and tours — a week in Bordeaux before we ever set foot on a boat, then an 8-day Avalon Waterways river cruise through Bordeaux wine country, then a wander through Provence and one last Parisian night on the way home.

The Avalon Artistry II, our home on the water for the cruise. Photo: Rolf Heinrich, Köln — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

🗓️ The itinerary at a glance

Date	Event
Tue, Sept 22	Leave Seattle, WA at 6:45pm on Delta, bound for Bordeaux by way of Paris
Wed, Sept 23	Arrive and ready for adventure — Bordeaux, 6:10pm
Tue, Sept 29	Board the Avalon Artistry II — river cruise starts
Tue, Oct 6	Cruise ends → flight to Lyon, then train to Avignon, Provence
Mon, Oct 12	Train to Paris for one last night
Tue, Oct 13	Fly home 4pm, touch down in Seattle 5:47pm

✈️ Wheels up: the flights

Round trip on Delta, confirmation GSJW2Z, 2 passengers.

Outbound — Tue Sept 22 → Wed Sept 23:

Flight	Route	Departs	Arrives	Aircraft
DL0080	Seattle (SEA) → Paris CDG	6:45pm Tue Sept 22	—	Airbus A330-900neo (14h25m)
(layover CDG, 3h5m)
DL8490 (operated by Air France)	Paris CDG → Bordeaux (BOD)	—	6:10pm Wed Sept 23	Airbus A320

Return — Tue Oct 13:

Flight	Route	Departs	Arrives	Aircraft
DL0081	Paris CDG → Seattle (SEA), nonstop	4:00pm Tue Oct 13	5:47pm Tue Oct 13	Airbus A330-900neo (10h47m)

🍇 Bordeaux first: Sept 23–29

A full week to fall in love with Bordeaux before the boat ever shows up.

Place de la Bourse doubled in the Miroir d'Eau at night — the biggest reflecting pool in the world, and Bordeaux's signature photo op. Photo: xlibber — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Where we're sleeping:

Sept 23–24 (1 night): Hilton Garden Inn Bordeaux Centre, 17 allée de Rio, Bordeaux — conf. # 3535111114, Twin Room, Honors Discount rate, breakfast not included. Booked under Liz DuBois.
Sept 24–29 (5 nights): Villa Victor Louis - Bordeaux Centre, 42 Rue Rodrigues-Pereire, 33000 Bordeaux — Booking #21890, Prestige Suite, breakfast included, for 2 guests. Free cancellation/modification up to 2 days before arrival; after that or for a no-show, 100% is charged and non-refundable. Booked under Liz DuBois.

Date	Plan
Sept 23	Touch down in Bordeaux 6:10pm, taxi into the city (~30 min), check into the Hilton Garden Inn Bordeaux Centre, then an easy dinner nearby — save the real sightseeing for tomorrow
Sept 24	Bordeaux city day, then check into Villa Victor Louis. On the list: Place de la Bourse and the Miroir d'Eau (the reflecting water feature, especially good at sunset), Rue Sainte-Catherine (one of Europe's longest pedestrian shopping streets), La Grosse Cloche (old belfry gate), Pont de Pierre (river views), Cathédrale Saint-André and the Grand Théâtre
Sept 25	Full-day guided tour to the Dordogne cave paintings (~8 hours round trip, pickup included) — Lascaux IV (full-scale facsimile of the famous painted cave), Font-de-Gaume and/or Combarelles (original painted/engraved caves, very limited daily access), Rouffignac (original cave toured by small electric train, mammoth/rhino drawings), and usually a lunch stop in Les Eyzies or a similar Dordogne village
Sept 26	Train day trip to Toulouse (~2.5 hrs each way, 14 trains/day). "La Ville Rose": Place du Capitole and the Capitole itself, Basilique Saint-Sernin (largest Romanesque church still standing in Europe), Les Jacobins Convent (Gothic cloister, "palm tree" vaulted ceiling), Marché Victor Hugo (best food market, good for lunch), Canal du Midi and the Garonne riverbanks. Albi is a further ~1 hr by train if there's energy left
Sept 27–28	Flex days — a wine country day trip to Saint-Émilion (medieval hilltop village, ~40 min by train) or just rest up before the cruise
Sept 29	Board the cruise by 5pm; check out of Villa Victor Louis

🚢 All aboard: Sept 29 – Oct 6

Eight days aboard the Avalon Artistry II, drifting the Garonne and Dordogne through one vineyard after another. Boarding in Bordeaux by 5pm on Sept 29, disembarking Oct 6.

Wine country along the Dordogne; the citadel at Blaye (Oct 2 AM); Bourg-sur-Gironde (Oct 2 PM); Saint-Émilion's square and the Libourne confluence (Oct 3); Bordeaux by day and by night (Oct 4); the stilt oyster huts of the Bassin d'Arcachon (Oct 5). Photos: Polymagou, Coyau, Michel Reza, JLPC (×2), Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) (×2), Karine Deydier — Wikimedia Commons, various CC BY / CC BY-SA licenses.

The fine print (Avalon Waterways):

Field	Value
Package	Bonjour Bordeaux: Chateaux, Wineries & Charming Villages
Reservation #	6121361
Vacation Code	WXX 929
Depart Date	September 29, 2026 (board by 5pm)
Contact	Avalon, 866-821-2744
Gratuities	Pre-paid, $155/passenger ($310.00 total)

Shore excursions we're doing (both Liz DuBois and Beth Brooks booked on each):

Date	Port	Excursion
Oct 2 — morning	Blaye	The Perfect Match of Art and Wine in Blaye
Oct 2 — afternoon	Bourg	Bourg Orientation Walk
Oct 3 — morning	Libourne	Village Saint-Émilion Guided Walking Tour with wine tasting
Oct 3 — late morning	Libourne	Libourne Orientation Walk
Oct 4 — afternoon	Bordeaux	Highlights of Bordeaux — Tram & Walking Tour
Oct 5 — morning	Bordeaux	Visit Arcachon Bay with Oyster Tasting

🌻 Provence, then one last night in Paris: Oct 6–13

Vineyards below the ruined papal castle at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, just up the Rhône from Avignon. Photo: Larry from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.