5 Best Ways to Exercise on Your River Cruise in France with Tauck
Tauck's river cruise ships carry bikes so passengers can go exploring on guided tours or on their own when in France or any other destinations where the line sails.
So, you're planning a river cruise with Tauck to see Paris and the Rhone River in France? Good choice. You're going to love the meticulously curated luxury adventure from one of the leaders in river cruising and all-inclusive experiences.
Did you know that you can choose to enjoy your 24-hour pampering and an endless supply of food and drinks with an ample side of fitness activities, too?
Colleen and I sailed with 60 others on Tauck's refurbished MS Emerald, and by the end of our 10-day trip we piled up incredible memories while finding plenty ways to keep up with our workouts. Tauck makes it very easy with a variety of amenities and planned activities that offer a fun way to start your day or see the sights in scenic villages in Provence along the Rhone.
We found the five best fitness activities on a Tauck river cruise adventure in France.
2. Walk, Walk and Walk Some More
We walked more than 20 miles in Paris, almost always within sight of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River.
Your seven-day cruise is preceded by two and half days and two nights in Paris. We stayed at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand in the opera district in the city. The location is ideal for people to walk and see the sights. We spent our days strolling the streets and taking in all the top spots. It was our first time in Paris, and we aimed to see as much as we could. We walked to the Champs de Elysees, then all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. We walked to the Louvre and had a lunch in the iconic museum gardens on a gorgeous sun-splashed day. We walked to the cute artist community of Montmarte, scaling the hundreds of steps up the Sacre-Coeur Basilica. We only realized that there is a funicular you can ride up into the hillside as we were leaving the village. (We still would have hiked our way up.)
We walked for miles along the Seine and crossed back and forth on several of the 37 bridges in Paris. We walked to the edge of Notre Dame Cathedral and Musee d'Orsay. And we walked to Les Invalides, a church and military museum complex and the burial site of Napoleon Bonaparte and other French war heroes. All those places plus anything that caught our eyes in between, such as the Eiffel Tower (often present in the distant skyline, but we got up close for a few pictures of course) and the Egyptian Luxor Obelisk in Place de la Concorde.
When we were done in Paris, we had logged more than 24 miles of walking.
2. Attend the Yoga and Stretching Classes
Raycho puts me through a morning stretch and yoga class on MS Emerald.
Once we boarded our ship, MS Emerald, we had several other chances to get in some exercise. The ship's masseuse, Raycho, offers a morning stretch and yoga class. He helped us focus on breathing techniques and taught us some good ways to get our limbs warmed up for our day's worth of activities as we sailed the Rhone River and explored the countryside of France. We rediscovered a few old yoga poses that we hadn't used in quite a while, too. I found it to be a fun and refreshing way to start our day, even if we were Raycho's only students.
3. Grab a Bike and Go for a Ride
One biking tour took us to the Van Gogh drawbridge in Arles.
Tauck ships carry 12 bikes for passengers to use during their weeklong cruise, and two to three times during a voyage, a Tauck tour director will lead a guided biking excursion. We took advantage of guided tours with our Tauck tour director Simon in Lyon and Arles. These are easy pedals along well-maintained biking paths on the river and in the villages. (Europe does biking paths way better than the U.S.)
The guided tours took about 50 minutes and cover about seven miles. The best part is that we got to explore a little further afield, like the spacious urban park Parc de la Tete D'Or in Lyon that was filled with playgrounds, lakes and fields of flowers, and the historic Vincent Van Gogh drawbridge in Arles, which is the subject of several of the artist's 1888 paintings.
Note: All Tauck ships have bikes, and some cruise itineraries include hikes and organized cycling excursions targeted to more serious cyclists. These biking excursions feature a guide and special bikes provided at the destination (not from the ship).
4. Take a Run Along the River
Fortunately, we had beautiful weather and the opportunity to go for several runs along the Rhone. On this day, we ventured out in Arles.
Of the half-dozen villages and cities we visited on our cruise, all of them had paved and scenic paths along the Rhone River. We started a few of our mornings with a nice run. It was a joy to watch the sun rising and the villages coming to life on each side of the river as we jogged along, often stopping for a picture. In Lyon, a fitness park is located on the path right near where the cruise ships are docked. This is an ideal spot to do calisthenics like pullups and dips, and we were happy to join a handful of Lyon residents getting in their workouts one morning.
5. Use the Cruise Ship’s Fitness Center
The ship's gym is small but good enough for a simple workout.
MS Emerald also features a modest fitness center. The small space leads to the spa treatment room where you can get a massage. The fitness center has two treadmills and two bikes facing four flat-screen TVs. The gym also has a few dumbbells (up to 10 kilograms) and floor mats to use. We were able to work up a decent sweat and fairly approximate our regular workout regimens.
Again, we were the only people in the fitness center every time we went in for a workout. At 40 and 50 years old, we were assessed by our fellow passengers to be the youngest people on the cruise. I also understand that we probably prioritize our exercise regimens more than most typical river cruise passengers, but it's good to know that these types of vacations can offer us plenty to do — especially because I am growing to favor river cruising. I think that more and more travelers are staying active longer, and they like these options and amenities in whatever type of trips they take.
The top sun deck on MS Emerald also has a soft astro turf surface that is nice for walking laps at sunset or sunrise, and we had fun playing on the ship's putting green and relaxing in the hot tub -- especially to soothe our bodies after all that activity we eagerly put ourselves through.
Until next time, thanks for reading, and always travel fit!
JR