You know it’s going to be a memorable trip when you are greeted by a giant bottle of Bordeaux wine on arrival at the Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. And it’s fitting for this adventure, a seven-day Chateaux, Rivers & Wine-themed voyage through France’s sumptuous Bordeaux wine country—home of some of the world’s most coveted wines—sailing aboard Viking Cruises’ sleekly beautiful 190-passenger Longship, the Viking Forseti.

Docked on the Garonne River at Bordeaux’s city center, Viking Forseti gleams beneath the setting sun, showing off its streamlined Scandinavian design. With an elegance borne of a minimalist aesthetic, soft, earthy color palette brightened with live greenery and designer touches like illuminated marble panels and museum-quality artwork, it is the ideal transport for journeying to the Aquitaine, medieval Europe’s richest fiefdom and today home to vineyards known for their fine wines.

The ship has inviting public spaces: a small library with thoughtfully stocked bookshelves and comfy seating located opposite an internet nook with complimentary laptops; two self-serve coffee, tea and sweet treats stations with couches positioned nearby for conversation and catching the passing view; and a sun deck with shaded seating, putting green and walking track softened by an organic herb garden.

The restaurant features floor-to-ceiling windows for enjoying the everchanging scenery of the region’s Old World towns. The lounge, with its floor-to-ceiling glass doors, is the ship’s gathering space and nearly everyone joins in the fun for the nightly cocktail hour, which includes details of the next day’s program delivered by the program director. The fan favorite? The Aquavit Terrace & Lounge.

Located at the bow of the ship, this indoor/outdoor viewing area and open-air café offers a breakfast buffet, casual lunch menu with burgers, soups and salads and multicourse dinner service—all in a relaxed setting that is perfect for watching the sun slip into the water each evening. On the subject of lunch in the Aquavit Terrace & Lounge is each day’s soup. Orange and carrot, creamy garlic, red bell pepper, potato and leek, sausage and lentil, silky pumpkin—even when the mercury went up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I could not resist the soups. They were so flavorful and delicious.

The food aboard Viking is consistently excellent with inventive, always tasty appetizers (I still pine for the vegetable tart I had during the chateau dinner), plenty of meat, fish and plant-based options—always beautifully plated with complementary sides—and a good selection of desserts, including ice cream and cheese plates. My favorite part? The daily pours of red and white house wines that were matched to the places—and terroir—we visited: Saint-Émilion, Médoc and Sauternes. Santé!

Cabins have a relaxed, understated elegance in calming hues of beige and blue. Our room was small but comfortable, with a sliding glass door opening to a veranda and lots of amenities: luxury bed linens, Freyja toiletries, fresh fruit and bottled water replenished daily, twice-daily housekeeping, a roomy bathroom with glass-enclosed shower, heated floor and anti-fog mirror and plush robes and slippers (just remember to ask for these).

The highlights of Viking’s Chateaux, Rivers & Wine cruise are many. We had an in-depth wine tasting seminar one evening with wines of the Bordeaux region that was as educational as it was delicious. An impromptu art class was a blast, with everyone testing their watercolor skills on scenes from our journey. A French language lesson with cruise director Oliver Groszer was hilarious. In fact, all of Groszer’s presentations—from the port talks to the final evening recap (with highlights of the week shared through an original song)—were thoroughly entertaining.

We signed on for the Wines of Bordeaux Cellar Master class, which took place inside the Wine and Trade Museum in Bordeaux’s Chartons district, and enjoyed an adventure through the appellations of the region, from Saint-Estephe to Pomerol to Sauternes. In spite of failing the quiz that followed the tasting of some truly wonderful wines, it was one of the best wine classes I’ve ever taken.

The chateau dinner shore excursion in the Medoc is truly special. Everyone on the ship departs for a half-day tour of the region that includes a photo-op stop at a couple of Bordeaux’s spectacular chateaus (think small-scale but opulent castles) and a visit to a winery for a private wine tasting. The pièce de resistance? The feast prepared by Viking Forseti’s chef (a trio of delectable appetizers, chateaubriand, tiramisu) all served in a gorgeous setting of artistically dressed tables illuminated by winking chandeliers.

We signed up for all the included shore excursions and were happy with each of them. In the fortified port town of Libourne, we learned that thousands of children mail their Christmas letters to Père Noël (Father Christmas) to Libourne in a tradition that dates back to the 1960s. In the medieval hillside village of Saint-Emilion, we explored the Monolithic Church that dates to the 12th century.

In Bourg, we joined Groszer for a walking tour. We tasted a confection made of almond, fig and white chocolate called Figue de Bourg and learned the fruit’s legend, which involves a young King Louis XIV, a stroll in a garden and a 17th century fig tree.

I talked to a fellow passenger who had become a fast friend (as happens with many guests during the nightly cocktail hours in the lounge) about two extra fee shore tours she took. One was truffle hunting in Libourne with a stop at a truffle farm for a talk about the rare black truffle. The other was a visit to a distillery in Bourg for a brandy tasting and the chance to blend a bottle as a souvenir. She gave both excursions an enthusiastic review.

But that’s Viking—it brings out the enthusiasm of its guests because it just does everything right.

PLAN YOUR TRAVELS

Viking ships are regularly lauded for outstanding cuisine, staff that routinely go the extra mile, a flawless standard of cleanliness, and a fun and engaging array of activities and entertainment. This includes cooking demonstrations, enrichment lectures, local onboard performers, nightly live music, port talks and recaps, wine tastings and more.

Inclusive pricing includes a complimentary (and well-designed) shore excursion in every port visited; free wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; 24-hour stations with free specialty coffees and teas, plus bottled water; free Wi-Fi; outstanding enrichment lectures and destination performances; visits to UNESCO sites; and more.

Viking operates the most extensive fleet of river cruise vessels, with ships specially designed to navigate the world’s great rivers and provide convenient daily access to a wide selection of destinations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia and North America as well as culturally immersive experiences. Since its founding in 1997, Viking has amassed more than 450 awards, including being consistently named a “World’s Best” for rivers, oceans and expeditions. For more information, visit www.vikingrivercruises.com.

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