Paris, 3 day add-on at the beginning. Hotel Meridien Etoile, very plain, small, but comfortable rooms, pretty good service, and wonderful breakfast buffets. Metro stop less than a block away, and lots of taxis available. Across the street from a nice urban shopping center. A very nice bar with good music in the evenings.

Chalons-sur-Saone was the advertised embarkation point. On arrival we were informed that with high water on the Saone, the ship couldn't safely sail under bridges, and we would bus to Lyon, with a stop in Dijon on the way. The bus ride was several hours long, but in a nice bus with a friendly, informative tour guide along the way.

Dijon was perfectly lovely, with a lunch stop and a nice variety of interesting restaurants from which to choose. Beautiful medieval buildings, Marielle was great at telling us about the sights we saw, and a pleasant walk through the town. Read more