The Cote D'Azur's Charming Nice and the Wines of Bellet
This pre-cruise program is not yet available for purchase. Specific details for this program are not yet finalized and the tour elements are subject to change. An email announcement will be sent to all confirmed group members 6 to 7 months before departure.
Join your fellow wine cruisers to spend two-nights in the Cote d’Azur’s charming city of Nice and explore France’s smallest appellation located in the wine region of Provence, Bellet.
The Côte d'Azur, also known as the French Riviera, is one of Europe's most glamorous summer holiday destinations. It twists and turns along the southern coast of France for a little less than 100 miles, and is dotted with glitzy legends such as St. Tropez and Cannes. In the heart of the Côte d'Azur lies the city of Nice and in the hills just behind is the appellation of Bellet. Here the vineyards are terraced and the soil is full of pebble stones, sand & clay. The area is kissed by the sun and benefits from fresh winds from the Alps and, in the afternoon, humid winds from the sea.
One of the first regions in France rewarded with the AOC in 1941, Bellet consists of only 1,600 acres, 120 of those are grown between 650 -1,000 feet above sea level. Today there are eleven producers who proudly claim to bottle an AOC Bellet wine. Many are family-owned and operated, small boutique productions with an annual bottle output of less than two hundred thousand bottles a year.
Day 1 – Independent arrival to Nice & Welcome Dinner [D]
You arrive into Nice independently and transfer to your hotel. Once you check in to your room you’ll have time to relax before you meet your guide and fellow cruisers for a welcome dinner paired with local Provençal wines.
Day 2 – The appellation of Bellet [B, L]
Your day starts with a delightful buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After breakfast, board a luxurious motor coach and travel approximately 20 minutes to Domaine des Hautes Collines. This very special micro domain offers something really different for those interested in the wine making process and art.
After a tour and tasting, take a short drive for an olive oil tasting and wine-paired lunch and a quaint restaurant hidden among the olive trees. After lunch return to the hotel for some free time before joining your guide for a walking tour of Old Nice and a wine and cheese tasting in the city’s oldest wine cellar, the historic Cave Bianchi.
Day 3 – Optional tour of flower market & transfer to ship [B]
Enjoy a buffet breakfast at the hotel and check out of your room. You can store your bags with the hotel and either enjoy the morning on your own or join your guide for a tour of the flower market in old-town Nice before boarding a motorcoach for the drive to embark the ship.