River cruises, which combine adventure and ‘slow luxury’ with an ever-changing landscape, are the fastest-growing sector of leisure travel. I took a trip on the Seine aboard the MS Jane Austen to see what the attraction is and was won over on day one.
In a dimly lit corner of bar-restaurant Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, 30km north-west of Paris, a young woman dressed in black sits alone at a small, darkwood table and takes a sip from a glass of Grande Absente 69.
From her brief conversation with the dicky-bowed barman, I know she’s from Amsterdam and has just come from saying a prayer at the grave of her hero in Auvers’ hilltop cemetery.
His simple, weather-worn headstone bears the inscription: “Ici repose Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890.”
Next to it is an identical marker that reads: “Ici repose Theodore Van Gogh 1857-1891.”
Fittingly, the brothers, who were devoted to each other in life, sleep side by side in death.
“I’m an art student. I love Vincent,” the young woman says with a catch in her voice. It’s an emotional moment for her, as she’s sitting at the table where the Dutch impressionist spent many a starry, starry night battling the demons that tortured him.
Upstairs is the small attic room where he died on July 29, 1890, two days after shooting himself in the chest in a nearby field. Theo was at his bedside, holding his hand, when he drew his last breath.
The art student on a poignant pilgrimage has travelled from the Netherlands by train, but I’ve arrived in Auvers by coach from Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on a half-day Van Gogh excursion from the river cruise ship MS Jane Austen.
River cruises are becoming increasingly popular with Irish holidaymakers, and the award-winning Riviera Travel’s four-day Seine Discovery itinerary, which begins and ends in Paris, provides first-timers with a taste of what longer voyages have to offer.
Brian and Paula Gourley, from Downpatrick, Co Down, fit that profile perfectly – they’re newcomers to this most leisurely of mini breaks, and felt it might be the ideal way to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
“We wanted to do something different,” says Brian, “and saw an ad for river cruises on the TV. Paula said it looked nice and relaxing, so we did a bit of googling, and that very same evening we booked the Seine Discovery cruise.
“It was a smart move. Everything’s been perfect, from the flights from Dublin and the airport transfers, the lovely cabin, a big bottle of complimentary champagne in the mini bar, great excursions.
“There’s a maximum of 140 guests, so it never feels crowded, and there are 36 crew who couldn’t be more helpful if they tried, so everyone’s very well looked after. It’s an easy 10 out of 10 all round – especially the food.”
We’re standing at the bow of the newly refurbished Jane Austen after dinner on our last night on board, waiting for the not-too-distant and illuminated Eiffel Tower to start sparkling, which it does for five minutes every hour on the hour once dusk descends.
On cue, and to a chorus of oohs and aahs from the assembled guests on deck, cocktails in hand, 20,000 gold-coloured lightbulbs begin to twinkle while the rotating search beam at the top of the tower sweeps the night sky.
“You don’t get that in Downpatrick,” says Brian, who has been great craic since we shared a minibus from Charles de Gaulle airport to the ship on day one.
Among those enjoying the Eiffel eyeful are a party of 22 family and friends from London, celebrating one of their number’s 50th birthday. They, too, are new to river cruising, trying “something different” to mark a special occasion and clearly having a ball.
The most senior member of the group is 88-year-old Duracell bunny Betty, a dedicated follower of fashion who’s always first on the dance floor when musician Jose strikes up post-dessert and last to bed after the younger crowd have collapsed into theirs.
Earlier, they had opted for a three-hour guided sightseeing coach tour of Paris as Betty said her bunions were playing up after all that boogeying the night before.
I chose to do my own thing, and took a taxi to Notre-Dame Cathedral, whose restoration is still a work in progress after the devastating fire of April 15, 2019.
Any hope I had of seeing inside evaporated when I clapped eyes on the queues – it was Saturday afternoon and it appeared all of Paris wanted a look, with waiting times of an hour or more, even for those armed with free online tickets booked weeks before.
Out, but not down, I got someone to take a photo of me in front of the main doors with a Subway sandwich in my hand and posted it on Facebook. I could almost hear the groans when my friends read the caption: “The lunchpack of Notre-Dame.”
The queue outside the nearby Shakespeare and Company – the most famous English-language bookshop in the world – was nowhere near as long, and after 10 minutes of shuffling along in the sunshine with fellow bibliophiles I was browsing the shelves.
The shop, which opened in 1951, is the successor to the one previously run by American-born bookseller Sylvia Beach, who in 1921 defiantly printed and issued James Joyce’s Ulysses when no other publisher dared touch it.
I could have stayed there all day, but after a couple of hours I headed back to the ship in good time for executive chef Dimitar’s special farewell dinner.
Unlike on ocean cruises, where help-yourself food is available from buffets around the clock and diets are thrown overboard, dining on the Jane Austen is a more civilised affair.
Three-course lunches and dinners with wine or beer and port and brandy to follow are served at set times, with guests mingling and making friends over meals. The dress code is casual, though everybody made an effort to look smart in the evening.
Of course, Betty went the extra mile, in a trouser suit that would have made Joseph’s amazing Technicolor dreamcoat look drab, and the birthday girl wore an ankle-length gold-sequinned gown that was even sparklier than the Eiffel Tower.
Dimitar was delighted to learn there were half-a-dozen people from Ireland on board, and stopped by our table for a chat.
“Ireland has a special place in my heart,” he said. “My teenage son was conceived in Crosshaven, down there in Cork, and I always have Pogues songs and Christy Moore on in my car.
“I love The Corrs as well, and The Dubliners, John Spillane, Sinéad O’Connor and The Cranberries.”
While his taste in music can’t be faulted, Guinness drinkers will be appalled to learn he drinks his pint with the juice of half-a-lemon.
Before he could make any more terrible admissions, waitress Amanda – the youngest person on the ship at a mere 24 – said he was needed in the galley, and he took his leave with a cheery: “Sláinte!”
Dimitar’s signature menu offered starters of smoked duck prosciutto, porcini cappuccino and poached scallop mousse; mains were herb filet mignon and wild forest mushroom wellington; and desserts were strawberry and chocolate mousse and pralines.
The white wine was Cotes du Rhone Pas de la Beaume, described as having “light, floral notes with a touch of zingy acidity”, and the red was a Pas de la Beaume, too, with “a pleasant nose of red fruits, garrigue and spices”. And quite right, too.
It was a memorable meal to round off an unforgettable four days on the Seine, and if that didn’t give the first-timers a taste for longer river cruises, nothing will.
GET THERE I was a guest of Riviera Travel (see rivieratravel.ie), whose four-day, full-board Seine Discovery cruise, including return flights from Dublin, airport transfers, two shore excursions, free drinks with lunch and from 6pm to midnight and free on-board wifi costs from €1,099 per person sharing a standard cabin. Crew gratuities, at a suggested €10 a day, are extra.
Tom Sweeney Travel Writer 