The first modern paddle wheeler to sail the Seine. Photo / Helwin Goetzinger
Tamara Hinson boards the first modern-day paddle-wheeler to explore the Seine, weaving through the Ile-de-France region and gaining a new perspective on Paris and its surrounds.
In the late 1600s, one of the biggest privileges for associates of Louis XIV was the chance to watch him being roused by his servants in his bedroom at Versailles, before they’d wash him and dress him. An invitation to these rituals, known as the levee (rising), was an honour bestowed on just a handful of dignitaries.
I can’t say watching my husband stagger grumpily from his bed is something I (or anyone else) would pay to witness, but things were obviously different back then. Then again, the fact that I learn about this popular event, once the hottest ticket in town, during a private tour of his bedroom suggests little has changed. A private tour of Versailles’ staterooms is part of my CroisiEurope river cruise, but the long queue of visitors trying to bag tickets for the tour, which isn’t included in standard Versailles tours, is a reminder of our growing appetite for behind-the-scenes insights.
It’s also a reminder that there’s so much more to Paris than the Eiffel Tower. Both are optional excursions on my river cruise’s itinerary, but the most popular outing is a quirky tour of France’s capital in a vintage 2CV, designed to provide new insights into a city in which group tours often mean crowded coaches.
Our primary mode of transport is just as spectacular – the first modern paddle wheeler to sail this part of the Seine. I set sail in Paris, and the sleek, low profile of the MS R.E. Waydelich L.J (try saying that after a mouthful of moules), allows it to reach parts of the Ile-de-France region other ships can’t reach, which means endless new perspectives. The paddle wheel technology also helps – it’s one of the reasons the ship could be built with a draft (the distance between the waterline and the lowest part of the keel) of just 85cm, allowing it to sail in less than 1m of water – hence those new perspectives.
As we slip under Paris’ Pont de Bir-Hakeim at low tide, I notice, for the first time, the elaborate sculpture near the water line. Depicting hammer-wielding workers bashing nails into a plaque adorned with the letters RF (Republique Francaise), it’s a tribute to the men who built the bridge in the early 1900s. The boat, meanwhile, is a tribute to those who first built this type of vessel. “Paddle wheelers haven’t been built in Europe since the 1920s,” Lucas Schmitter, grandson of the late Gerard Schmitter, CroisiEurope’s founder, tells me. “Returning to paddle wheels is a reconnection with historical expertise, albeit with modern technology.”
My fellow passengers are a real mix. There are older, diehard cruise fans such as the elderly lady who, at Versailles, excitedly tells me, “I’ve visited Versailles so many times before, but I’ve never seen those staterooms”, alongside younger cruisers intrigued by both the technology and the chance to delve deeper into the region. There are foodies, too – CroisiEurope is known for its regional cuisine, and all food and drink, barring certain premium tipples, are included. Breakfasts are buffet-style, while lunches and dinners are multi-course affairs.
The spruced-up ship, which accommodates 25 crew and 81 passengers, has just 42 cabins, spread over the lower and upper decks. All cabins are a similar size and, for me, the best bits of my upper-deck cabin include the French balcony, with its sliding doors and the hi-tech television, which flips neatly up into the ceiling with a flick of a switch, to avoid disturbing the view.
I soon find myself sharing each day’s highlights with fellow passengers on this intimate vessel’s sundeck or, in the evening, the lounge bar, with its small dance floor. It’s the setting for nightly quizzes (including one relating to movie soundtracks, and yes, Titanic was one of the films) and boardgame battles, providing further opportunities for passengers to mingle.
I’m on the ship’s inaugural Seine sailing, which includes excursions from its two itineraries – a six-day Little Gems of the Seine sailing with excursions to La Roche-Guyon and Monet’s gardens in Giverny, and the eight-day History of France from Paris to Normandy sailings, taking in Versailles, Rouen and Giverny.
Monet was one of the region’s biggest fans, and Giverny is where he lived and painted the backdrops for some of his most famous paintings, albeit, I learn, to the disapproval of locals; creating his lily-pad-dotted water garden involved diverting a local stream. His masterpieces prompted countless other artists to flock here. These include American Impressionist Theodore Earl Butler, who married not one but two of Monet’s daughters.
There’s another opportunity for behind-the-scenes snooping at La Roche-Guyon, famous for its enormous chateau and a recipient of a Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (the most beautiful villages in France) award. Chateau La Roche-Guyon is one of the few that are open to the public but privately owned, in this case by descendants of the Rochefoucaulds, who first lived here in the 1600s. France’s late King Philip II ordered the fortified chateau’s construction in the 1100s, fearing invasion by the British. Its architecture is schizophrenic, with grand ceremonial rooms laid out during World War II, stables built in the 1700s, a medieval tower, 18th-century tapestries and a plum tree-filled English garden.
The next day, I float into Rouen, Normandy’s capital, where cobbled streets weave around squares surrounded by gabled houses. The city is famous for its connections with French patron saint Joan of Arc. This is where she was tried, convicted and burned at the stake. Her origins were humble; as a young shepherdess, she claimed to hear voices commanding her to free France from English occupation, and later dressed as a man to fight in the Hundred Years’ War. The English eventually imprisoned her in Rouen (which they used as a headquarters) and burned her in 1431, throwing her ashes into the Seine.
Rouen is clearly proud of its fearless heroine, and at the Joan of Arc Museum, at the base of Rouen’s cathedral, hi-tech sound and light projects delve into various aspects of her life, from her trial to the myths surrounding her death (perhaps unsurprisingly, I can confirm she definitely didn’t survive being burned at the stake).
Equally stunning is Rouen’s Church of Saint Joan of Arc, with its twisting, tapered roof, a design feature inspired by the flames that consumed her – flames that failed to prevent her accomplishments going down in history. Yes, it’s one of the more unusual tributes, but somewhat fitting for a shepherdess known for throwing out the rulebook.
The writer travelled courtesy of CroisiEurope.