To each his own

Divine in France: River cruise with the Amadeus Diamond

It is just 355 kilometers from Paris to Le Havre and back again by water. It takes a whole week to cover this distance on the Amadeus Diamond. In return, they can feel like God in France on board the luxurious river cruiser and enjoy the splendor of the Île de France and the rugged charm of Normandy on land.

Text: Jörg Bertram

Life may be a long, calm river. The Seine certainly isn't. Or at least not here, in Paris, at Parc André-Citroën, just three bridges away from the Eiffel Tower. It's been 20 minutes since I moved into my cabin on the "Amadeus Diamond", but even now I can hardly count the barges, excursion boats and speedy (rowing) threesomes gliding past on the green-grey water out there. Even if this trip is not a sea voyage for a change, it will definitely be a "sight-seeing trip" ...

The next morning: overnight, the Amadeus Diamond has reached Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. A pretty riverside promenade, a castle perched high above the Seine and a floating church that serves as a meeting point and postal address for bargemen from all over Europe - the small town at the confluence of the Oise and Seine rivers doesn't have much more to offer. Most river travelers therefore only use it as a starting point for an excursion to Auvers-sur-Oise. Pissarro, Daubigny, Cézanne and many other Impressionists once lived in this artistic community. Van Gogh died here. The small cemetery where he was buried is surrounded by glowing cornfields. He would certainly have liked the sight - just like the artificial sunflower that someone has placed at his grave.

Fine canapés and French chansons as an aperitif

Back on the ship, fine canapés and French chansons are served as an aperitif. It is a colourful mix of people who have gathered in the Panorama Lounge, not at all like the cliché of the riverboat as a "floating retirement home": couples and singles of the very best best-ager age, two three-generation families, a party of golfers playing their way up and down the Seine ... Most of them are German-speaking - as are the dedicated service staff. The 110 meter long and eleven meter wide Amadeus Diamond offers space for a total of 146 passengers. They reside in 62 cabins and twelve suites, most of which have floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows that transform into French balconies at the touch of a button. So if you want, you can be lulled to sleep by the gentle lapping of the waves in the evening and be woken up in the morning by the whimsical quacking of ducks.

Camembert, Calvados, Cidre - the three "high Cs" of Normandy

Nothing against the salmon toast, the poached eggs or the oven-warm rolls from the on-board bakery - but in Rouen, you should leave the excellent breakfast buffet on the Amadeus Diamond behind and go ashore straight away. The capital of Normandy is not only known for its 100 bell towers and countless medieval alleyways, but is also a true culinary metropolis. The market hall on the Place du Vieux Marché is the place to be for anyone who wants to feast their way through the region. In addition to the best oysters in the city, you can also sample the three "high Cs" of the region - Calvados, Camembert and cider. My tip: be sure to try the cheese with a glass of cider - that's what the locals do. And they know how to taste good. Impressive example: the 75-metre-high "butter tower" of the cathedral. In order to raise the necessary funds for its construction in the 15th century, the cathedral chapter declared certain foods - including good Norman butter - a "sin" without further ado. Those who still didn't want to do without it - and very few wanted to - could buy their freedom with a "Lenten almsbox". Just how lucrative the sale of indulgences must have been can still be seen today in the magnificent facade of the "Tour de Beurre" ...

City, country, river - today we passengers are offered everything. Shortly after setting off from Rouen, the Seine suddenly becomes wider, more winding, more branching. On the last few kilometers before the sea, it begins to meander through the now floundering and almost deserted landscape. Low tide and high tide now determine the course and ensure that large cruise ships and cargo ships laden with colorful overseas containers suddenly appear between the cow pastures. The best place on the Amadeus Diamond is now the River Terrace at the bow, where the fresh North Sea wind blows around your nose. Or the on-board restaurant, which is hardly less promising, where fried scallops, butter-tender Saint-Pierre fillet and local lamb, "pré-salé" on the salt marshes in front of the panoramic windows, are served on the elegantly laid tables for dinner.

The next day, Le Havre marks the northernmost point of our journey. The Amadeus Diamond will be anchored here for 32 hours. Enough time for individual or ship-organized excursions to Étretat on the Alabaster Coast, to glamorous Deauville or to the Bénédictine liqueur palace in Fécamp. Le Havre is also definitely worth a visit - even if the city doesn't necessarily promise love at first sight. Almost completely destroyed in the Second World War, the center was rebuilt by Auguste Perret without any frills. To explore Le Havre, I hop on one of the on-board bicycles. My "architectural tour" takes me along wide, mostly dead-straight boulevards laid out in a checkerboard pattern to the Église Saint-Joseph, a modern church that seems to consist of nothing but light, glass and reinforced concrete. 12,768 windows and a 110-metre-high tower, which can be seen for 60 kilometers in good weather, give you the impression of being very close to heaven. Less sacred, but no less worth seeing, is the Perret pattern apartment in the Maison du Patrimoine. Furnished with original furniture from the 1950s, it has an astonishingly modern and decidedly livable feel. A short detour to Le Havre's long city beach with its colorful cabanas and daring kite surfers, then it's back to the ship - and back south.

This is how sensual savoir-vivre on the Seine is

Watching the captain lock the locks, playing a game of shuffleboard and reading the story of Richard I in a deckchair, who had his lion heart buried in Rouen Cathedral out of love for Normandy: The next day on board just flows by and only ends when the setting sun tips a few buckets of gold glaze over the passing villages, rocks and rapeseed fields. This is how sensual savoir-vivre is when you are traveling by riverboat on the Seine ...

Claude Monet's garden in Giverny is another real highlight on the sixth day of our trip. The painter and passionate gardener lived and worked here for more than 40 years, surrounded by flowering borders and his world-famous water lily pond. His home in this green paradise is also "picture-perfect", with rooms that look as if the artist had only left them briefly for a walk down to the Seine.

The penultimate morning of our trip: The Amadeus Diamond has already arrived back at its mooring in Paris before sunrise. She will now serve as our floating hotel until tomorrow. City novices have booked city tours for today. Instead, I grab an on-board bike and cycle up the river. On the Île de la Cité, I sit down briefly on the bank and watch a little boy launch a homemade wooden raft into the water. He wants to know from his mother whether the river ends behind the city. "Not for a long time yet," I would like to tell him and tell him about six exciting days on the Seine. But they are already gone - and his wooden raft has also disappeared in the direction of Le Havre.

The Amadeus Diamond from Austrian river shipping company Lüftner Cruises will be sailing a total of 14 one-week cruises on the Seine between mid-April and the end of October 2023. More information: www.lueftner-cruises.com