Cruise Description

During an exceptional 8-day musical cruise, in partnership with RADIO CLASSIQUE, and with the presence of Alain Duault, Artistic Director, sail the Greek and Turkish shores of the Aegean Sea and fall under the charm of its island gems and secular cities. Between ancient vestiges and splendid scenery, the eastern Mediterranean offers a first-rate stage for the musicians of the prestigious Trio Wanderer and Trio Arnold, whose solos, duos, trios, quartets and quintets will punctuate the cruise. This cruise has been specially designed for a French-speaking audience and lectures will be given in French only.

Throughout your journey, you will benefit from an excursion included per person per port of call, to choose from a selection offered by PONANT. During this cruise, visit the archaeological site of Ephesus from Kusadasi, discover the monastery of Saint John and the Cave of the Apocalypse where the last book of the New Testament was revealed to John the Apostle,from Patmos, or admire the sumptuous archaeological sites, from the Temples of Zeus, Apollo and Athena to the Terrace of the Lions, from Delos. The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab). The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab).

Your cruise begins with trips from Nafplion to two of Greece's major sites: the ruins of Mycenae and the theatre at Epidaurus.

In the south-eastern Aegean Sea, the Cyclades archipelago invites you to enjoy the wild and appealing beauty of its islands. Delos, a veritable open-air museum, offers a unique testimony of the succession of different civilisations during the Aegean period. Next comes Mykonos, its beaches and windmills, with Alefkandra, a district that is typical of the island, with houses built right on the water’s edge. Santorini, one of the pearls of the archipelago, awaits you for an enchanted interlude, unfurling the grandiose crater of its caldera.

Then, the island of Patmos, known as “the Jerusalem of the Aegean Sea”, reveals itself to offer you a moment suspended between unique landscapes of white-sand beaches and rocky bays.

Le Lapérouse will leave Greece to reach Kusadasi in Turkey. An old fishing village with history going back 5,000 years, not far from the Ephesus site, the town is now one of the country’s most famous seaside resorts.

On the mythical island of Rhodes, let yourself be swept away by the charm of this medieval city with its gothic architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You will finally reach Antalya, the end of your journey.