%20to%20Purchase%20for%20Your%20Rh%C3%B4ne%20River%20Cruise.jpg "best rhône river travel books (from travel to culture to history) to purchase for your rhône river cruise")
Planning a Rhône River cruise is like stepping into a dream of lavender fields, cobblestone villages, and sun-kissed vineyards. Our upcoming cruise with Viking River Cruise will have us sailing between Lyon and Avignon and we could not be more excited! If you are interested in planning a Rhone River trip in the future, or are planning to take a Rhone River Cruise like we did, then you may be curious about what (if any) travel books you should purchase.
Before our Rhône River Cruise with Viking I spent a lot of time researching this area. I knew from past experience that the tours on Viking would be incredibly cultural, but I also desired to learn about where we were seeing to have a bit of background knowledge.
After more than a decade in travel blogging, I have found that the more that I learn and research ahead of time about a place I have never been to, the more that I have loved the trip. I love reading different books, watching movies (coming in a future post) to learn more about the area that I am going. Often times I find in doing this I am more apt to really appreciate not only the culture (because I understand a little of the history), but the experience and the people and the surroundings even more. Do y'all feel the same way?
Whether you are going on a Rhône River Cruise and sailing through the charming towns of Provence or exploring the rich history of Lyon or Avignon, or other charming towns in this region, these suggestions will be a helpful guide. As you back your bags and dream of the enchanting riverside, here are some of the best Rhone River travel books- ranging from travel guides to cultural insights and historical narratives. These are sure to inspire, educate, and enchant you before, during, and even after your cruise:
Category: Travel Guide
Publication Date: 2025 (this is the most recent edition)
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Y'all know that I am a huge fan of Moon Guides- so this was going to be first. This is an in-depth information on the Provence region, covering many of the cities and villages you’ll encounter along the Rhône. While it does include the French Riviera- it also provides a new trip to dream and plan for!
Category: Travel Guide
Publication Date: 2024 (this is the most recent edition)
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Rick Steves always brings a wonderful mix of practical travel tips and cultural insights. His guide includes in-depth information on the Provence region, covering many of the cities and villages you’ll encounter along the Rhône. It’s especially helpful for self-guided excursions and understanding the local customs.
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
3. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Category: Memoir + Humor
Publication Date: 1991
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
This was a book that kept getting recommended to me and I always enjoy a travel/biography memoir. They are interesting to read because someone has lived and experienced in a long-term way the area that you are traveling to. Mayle’s charming account of life in Provence offers a fun, light-hearted look at adjusting to French life. It captures the pace, beauty, and eccentricities of the region with grace and wit.
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
4. My Twenty-five Years in Provence: Reflections on Then and Now by Peter Mayle
Category: Memoir + Humor
Publication Date: 2019
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Mayle's follow up book to A Year in Provence pays tribute to the most endearing and enduring aspects of his life in France—tvillage life, beauty, the ancient history, and more. I loved that there was a follow up from a perspective over a quarter of a century. It was obvious that Mayle had fallen in love with the area and the time of Provencal living. He shares his lessons and things he has learned and what has changed. This was his final book (published after he died in 2018).
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
Category: Visual Inspiration + Culture
Publication Date: 2012
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
If you’re looking for visual beauty and a relaxing, inspiring read, this coffee-table book is full of stunning photography and short histories of picturesque Provençal villages. It’s ideal for pre-cruise dreaming and post-cruise reminiscing.
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
Category: History
Publication Date: 2017
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
If you are wanting to learn about the history of the area, then this book is an excellent choice! The description summarizes this very well so I am copying that here: "At the beginning of the fourteenth century, anarchy in Italy led to the capital of the Christian world being moved from Rome for the first and only time in history. It was a critical moment, and it resulted in seven successive popes remaining in exile for the next seventy years. The city chosen to replace Rome was Avignon. And depending on where you stood at the time they were seventy years of heaven, or of hell opinions invariably ran to extremes, as did the behaviour of the popes themselves. It was during this period of exile that the city witnessed some of the most turbulent events in the history of Christendom, among them the suppression of the Knights Templar and the last of the heretical Cathars, the first onslaught of the Black Death, the final collapse of the crusading dream, and the first decades of the Hundred Years War between England and France, in which successive Avignon popes attempted to mediate. The papal flight from Rome was fiercely castigated by Dante in The Divine Comedy, while during the later years of papal Avignon the enigmatic figure of Petrarch, the most celebrated poet and scholar of his day, loomed angrily over the city. In a dramatic denouement, Avignon became home to the anti-popes, rivals and enemies of the re-established Roman papacy. This is a portrait sketch of that era. And at the centre of the picture is Avignon itself, as it grew from being a relatively insignificant town on the Rhône to become, albeit briefly, one of the great capitals of the world."
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
Category: Cooking + Recipes
Publication Date: 1996
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
If you are looking for a cookbook from this region then this book might be an answer! The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
Category: Art + Culture
Publication Date: 1984
Purchase: HERE
Why It’s Worth Reading:
Admittedly, Vincent van Gogh is not my favorite artist, but this book was published in conjunction with the exhibit that was held at The MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) in October- December of 1984. If you know me then you know that the MET is one of my favorite museums in NYC so this was interesting to learn about. If you love Van Gogh, appreciate art and would love to see an older exhibit then you will enjoy seeing about the time that Vincent van Gogh spent 15 months in Arles.
The best place to purchase is off of Amazon- find it HERE!
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Bonus Tip: Bring a Journal
Y'all know this was going to make the list. *smiles* I can't wait to show you the journal that I am bringing along for this trip!
Do y'all remember my European Travel Journal from last trip? You can read all about it HERE and watch a Youtube video of it HERE!
.jpg "European Travel Journal")
It was STUFFED. I honestly couldn't even close it and it was just stuffed with so much happiness and goodness.
It is still one of my favorite journals. This time I am doing a little something different and can't wait to share with y'all! Looking for your own journal or junk journal? Check out our Etsy shop, December Caravan by clicking HERE!
I hope that you find this list helpful! What about y'all? Any Rhône River books you would add to this list? Happy Wednesday friends! I hope you have a wonderful day!
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