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Tournon sur Rhône
MS Maribelle Saône-Rhône River Cruise

photo

ABOVE: Tournon's feudal castle, now a museum, is built on a rock overlooking the river.

Tournon sur Rhône, France

Continued from: Vienne

The MS Maribelle sailed from Vienne at lunchtime, passing through several locks at power stations along the Rhône before arriving at Tournon sur Rhône in early evening.

Tournon's main attraction is a a feudal castle that's built into a rock overlooking the town and the river. The castle, whose foundations date back to the 10th Century, has a section built in the Renaissance that houses the town museum. (One room in the museum is devoted to Marc Seguin, a local engineer who built the first suspension bridge across the Rhône and invented the tubular boiler for steam locomotives.)

Other sights in Tournon sur Rhône include the Collegiate Church of Saint-Julien and the Lycée Gabriel-Fauré, a school that was founded in 1536 by the Cardinal of Tournon and which claims to be the oldest lycée in France.

Tain l'Hermitage: Many of the MS Maribelle's passengers were more interested in shopping than sightseeing, so they followed the advice of hotel manager Chris Hillebrand and crossed the Passerrele Marc Seguin footbridge to Tain l'Hermitage, a modern town with a popular outlet store at the Valrhona chocolate factory and several wine merchants that offer tastings of Côtes de Rhône wines from the Hermitage vineyards.

(Tip: The Valrhona store is tiny, and it can be unbearably crowded when passengers from a cruise vessel arrive en masse. To minimize your misery, give other shoppers a chance to clear out, and be sure to take a number from the machine near the door.)

Tournon sur Rhône is a gateway to the Ardèche and the Doux Valley, which can be reached by road or via an excursion on the Vivarais Railroad (which is described on the next page). For tourist information, please see:

Cruise Photos: Tournon europeforvisitors.com
These are from the 169 images in my MS Maribelle Photo Gallery.

Ville de Tournon sur Rhône
This site is in French, but you can translate with FreeTranslation.com.

Tain l'Hermitage
The official Web site of Tournon's neighbor across the river has English-language information on wines, chocolate shopping, and a museum.

Next page: Vivarais Railroad


MS Maribelle
Introduction Shore excursions
M/S Maribelle Service
Staterooms Overall value
Audience and ambience Web links
Dining  

Saône-Rhône river cruise: ports and excursions

Chalon-sur-Saône Vivarais Railroad
Beaune Viviers
Macon Avignon
Lyon Les Baux de Provence
Vienne Arles
Tournon sur Rhône Pont du Gard

Photo Gallery: 'French Vineyards & Vistas' cruise
MS Maribelle Pictures: 169 captioned ship and port photos

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