Whether you are interested in French art, history, wines, or cuisine, so much of this beautiful Western European country and its rich culture and heritage can be explored by water. While the majority of cruises in France are along its inland rivers and canals, some ocean sailings predominantly explore France’s southern and western coastline—typically combined with port calls in Spain or Italy or on the shores of the French island of Corsica.
The cruise season in France runs from spring to fall, including sailings on rivers during the fall harvest season, when you can see the vineyards in action. In late November and December, you can cruise the sometimes-snowy landscapes of the Seine, hunting for gifts and sipping mulled wine from the stalls of Christmas markets in Paris and Rouen. These popular holiday-season itineraries are often fully booked a year in advance.
Here are our top picks for the best cruises in and around France.
Embrace truly intimate and slow travel on a French Country Waterways canal-barge sailing.
Courtesy of French Country Waterways
Champagne wine region on a French Country Waterways canal barge
Book now: Canal barge cruises through Champagne with French Country Waterways start at $8,395 per person, or you can charter the entire barge, starting at $66,360.
French Country Waterways operates small barges on France’s canals, a luxurious and slow form of travel. (On a bike, you could travel faster than your barge.) A private chef on board serves exquisite French cheeses accompanied by local wines and gorgeously plated meals featuring local ingredients gathered en route, such as buttery croissants for breakfast. A favorite itinerary is the Champagne wine region east of Paris, where celebrated varietals have been produced for centuries. Included is a dinner ashore at the celebrated chateaux Les Crayères in Reims, where the wine list features 900 champagnes. The 128-foot Princess barge carries eight passengers in four suites.
Explore the French Riviera and idyllic beach destinations like Nice, France, in a way that feels fitting for this glamorous coastal region—by yacht.
Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock
A SeaDream yacht sailing along the French Riviera
Book now: The seven-night Western Mediterranean Delight sailing starts at $7,019 per person.
SeaDream Yacht Club’s pair of 112-passenger yachts, SeaDream I and SeaDream II, offer an intimate and fun experience complete with kayaks and paddleboards and a slide that travels from an upper deck into the sea. Topflight food and wine are another highlight. In May 2026, the SeaDream I will linger in France on a seven-night itinerary with quality time in colorful coastal towns. The sailing from Barcelona to Nice stops by Roses, a city on Spain’s Costa Brava, before crossing the border into France to Sete, with its beaches, museums, and art galleries. Next up will be Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, in the heart of the Côte d’Azur, which offers easy access to towns such as Aix-en-Provence, followed by an overnight in the Provencal beach town of Sanary-sur-Mer, where colorful traditional wooden boats used by fishermen line the harbor. You’ll also join the glamorous crowd in Saint-Tropez and Cannes.
Let Windstar’s intimate Star Legend ship bring you to some of France’s most beloved coastal destinations.
Courtesy of Windstar Cruises
Normandy, Brittany, and Bordeaux with Windstar
Book now: This seven-night Windstar cruise starts at $3,299 per person (an all-inclusive package with unlimited drinks, Wi-Fi, and gratuities included is available for an extra $89 per person, per day).
With its small, 312-passenger Star Legend, Windstar Cruises will do an unusual-for-an-ocean-ship “French Fest: Normandy, Brittany & Aquitaine” itinerary between Bordeaux and Rouen in June and August 2026. Visit the D-Day landing beaches, sample Cape Breton oysters, and hang out on beaches favored by wealthy Parisians. See the pink cliffs of Saint-Malo and explore the island of Guernsey, plus dive into the famed viticulture of Bordeaux. These sailings include an overnight in Rouen, where you can explore the city made famous by Joan d’Arc, or opt for shore excursions to nearby destinations such as Giverny for the garden and lily ponds of artist Claude Monet. The August sailing also overnights in Bordeaux. Late-night stays in some other ports provide time to dine and stroll ashore during the evenings.
Sail through France’s Bordeaux region in Scandinavian style on one of Viking’s “Longships"—the modern, upscale vessels the company sails on Europe’s rivers.
Photo by Eric Laignel
Chateaux and wine with Viking
Book now: Fares start at $2,599 per person for this seven-night all-inclusive sailing, including excursions and an overnight in Bordeaux.
Even before your tastebuds start buzzing at the vineyards in Saint-Emillion, Medoc, and Margaux, Bordeaux is an enticing place to visit, whether you walk among the stately 18th-century buildings built for the wine trade or explore wonderful local markets and cafés. An easy way to experience the city and surrounds in southwestern France, and learn about and experience the region’s famous wines, is to hop on a cruise along the Dordogne, Gironde, and Garonne Rivers with Viking River Cruises. Daily excursions are included, and there are additional paid options, such as truffle hunting with a local farmer and his dog near Saint-Emilion. While Viking includes a wine dinner for everyone at Château Kirwan, added-fee tours go deeper, such as to tastings at Château Paloumey and Château Léoville-Poyferre. You can also sign up for a master wine class in Bordeaux. The ship is the comfortable, 190-passenger Viking Forseti.
From the charming small towns of Provence, such as Arles (pictured), to Paris and Bordeaux, passengers will see and do so much on this epic Avalon itinerary.
Photo by Olivie Strauss/Unsplash
Paris, Bordeaux, and Provence with Avalon Waterways
Book now: This comprehensive, 21-night sailing starts at $11,090 per person (2025 sailings are sold out; April through September 2026 sailings are still available).
If seeing as much of France as you can by water is the goal, you can’t do better than Avalon Waterways’ 21-night “France, Uncorked: The Rhône, The Seine & Bordeaux,” itinerary, which combines three river cruises on three ships, plus transportation, including high-speed rail, in between. The three-week experience offers a total immersion into French cities, picturesque towns, history, and culture. The route is from Arles in Provence to Bordeaux. You start in the south of France on the Rhône, with such sights as Arles, where Vincent Van Gogh spent a prolific period of painting and convalescing, and the 14th-century Palace of the Popes in Avignon. Here, there are opportunities to explore the wine and gourmet cuisine scenes in Tournon and Lyon. On the Seine portion of the trip, guests will visit Normandy’s Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery and will learn about Joan d’Arc in Rouen before the cruise continues into Paris. And then it’s off to Bordeaux wine country. For active travelers, Avalon Waterways has an adventure host on board who leads hiking, power-walking, and biking excursions.
Make the Celebrity Equinox and its numerous restaurants, bars and lounges, and venues for rest and relaxation, your home away from home as you cruise along the French coast.
Photo by Michel Verdure
Coastal France with Celebrity
Book now: This seven-night Celebrity sailing starts at $1,115 per person, or book a suite from $4,187 per person, and get access to a private restaurant and lounge.
For those who like the amenities of a bigger ship—such as multiple gourmet dining venues, well-produced shows and entertainment, and kids’ programming—larger cruise ships do visit France, but it’s not easy to find one that offers more than a couple of French port calls as part of a longer European itinerary. A classy option is Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox, a 2,852-passenger ship with a wonderful spa featuring a Persian Garden relaxation zone and a real half-acre grass lawn on the top deck, big enough for bocci ball or other outdoor games or for lounging while watching a jazz band perform. On a seven-night itinerary round-trip from Barcelona in November 2025, you will visit Marseilles, the gateway to Provence; glamorous Cannes; and Villefranche, a hopping-off point for exploration of Monte Carlo, Nice, and dreamy hilltop towns like Saint Paul de Vence. Also included is a stop at the Spanish island enclave of Palma de Mallorca in Spain and La Spezia, Italy, from which passengers can visit Florence, Pisa, or the Tuscan countryside.