Day 4 - Chateaux, Rivers and Wine - Viking Forseti

 Day 4 - Wednesday 23 September 2026

The historic small village of Bourg’s full name is Bourg Sur Gironde, and Viking Daily says “The village of Bourg reclines along the Gironde, just beyond the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers.” However that is not correct as a look on Google Maps will show.

River sediment accumulated and extended the narrow strip of land separating Garonne and Dordogne so now the confluence is further downstream and Bourg is on the Dordogne bank.

We took the included morning ‘Bourg Walking Tour’ which was led by the same guide we had in Libourne the previous day. Bourg is small. We stopped at the ancient wash house, fed from a nearby spring, with original rafter beams, then uphill, avoiding the steps and taking a longer but easier road,

underneath a gateway arch and into a market square. Our guide told us that Bourg was the source of the word ‘bourgeoisie’, and led us, with a stop to taste some purple marzipan covered sweets, to the gardens of the Château de le Citadelle. There’s a steep drop down to the Dordogne, and as it was low tide, we had a good view of a WWII wreck below. Our guide gave its history and suggested we looked out for another wreck on our way to Blaye. The excursion didn’t enter the carriage museum where one could descend to see WWII German built fuel tanks.

During ‘free time’ we walked up Rue Valentin Bernard from the corner of market square. At the top is a square with the Bourg Maison du Vin. They speak English, give free tastings and have a cellar showcasing wines from 170  Bourg producers.

We bought a bottle of Château Falfas 2021, then back to the boat for lunch. Forsetti left Bourg around 12:00 and arrived at Blaye 13:30.

We were moored Port side facing the land then Croisieurope Cyrano de Bergerac rafted outside us.

We took the included ‘Blaye Walking Tour and Citadel Visit’. The huge citadel is on the river bank, towering over our boat. The excursion only walked to and into the Citadel leaving Blaye undiscovered. The prime purpose of the Citadel was to secure Gironde estuary, but the estuary is so wide by this point that cannons couldn’t reach its width. So the smaller Fort Medoc was built on the opposite bank and a 16 cannon gun tower on an island between. This way they controlled the estuary and could defend Bordeaux against enemies coming from the sea.

 At 18:15 was the Viking Explorer Society Cocktail Party. The VES party was originally restricted to those who had previously cruised with Viking, but now as the of majority guests had the party was open to all, and cocktails and sparkling wine were available in quantity.

During dinner Cyrano de Bergerac left and Forseti did a sightseeing cruise down the estuary to the Atlantic and back. Scenic Diamond was now moored at Blaye and we rafted our starboard side to them. Once again our room had an uninterrupted water view.

 Viking Forseti was moored here -

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Day 3 - Chateaux, Rivers and Wine - Viking Forseti

Day 3 - Tuesday 22 September 2026

Libourne

We joined the included excursion ‘Libourne Walking Tour’ which left at 09:15 and was led by a knowledgeable and amusing guide. We learned that Libourne was once a rich important town and a major port because ships could access it from the sea with going to Bordeaux and paying their taxes. It also had the monopoly on the sale of salt 363 days annually; Bourg had monopoly the other two days. 

We visited the market and had a chocolate tasting at Yves Thuries, a specialist chocolatier that owns a cocoa plantation in Ecuador.

 

This cruise had no included excursion to the most famous Right Bank wine town, the picturesque St Emilion. There were two optional excursions to St Emilion, one an all-day trip, one covering the afternoon. Both left from Libourne and, at the end, took their guests to meet the ship at Bourg.

 

Forseti left Libourne at 13:45 and arrived at Bourg around 16:30.

 

 

Dinner in Aquavit Lounge

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Day 2 - Chateaux, Rivers and Wine - Viking Forseti

 Day 2 - Monday 21 September 2026

The loudness of Croisieurope’s Cyrano de Bergerac engines running all night interrupted my sleep and kept me awake. We got up at 08:00 and decided not to go on the included excursion ‘Panoramic Bordeaux’ which departed 08:30. Instead we enjoyed a leisurely late breakfast.

At 09:00 Forseti cruised a short distance downriver for a ‘technical stop’. Sewage was pumped out and rubbish loaded onto a tender carrying two large skips. A plastic bag tossed from Forseti split open to release hundreds of wine corks. Afterwards we returned to our Bordeaux mooring.

Libourne

At 13:00 Forsetti set off downstream, past Bourg then turned and went up the Dordogne to moor at Libourne around 17:45.

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Day 1 - Chateaux, Rivers and Wine - Viking Forseti

Day 1 - Sunday 20 September 2026

We breakfasted in the open area of the roof-top restaurant, overlooking the Garonne river and the lifting bridge ‘Pont Jacques Chaban Delmas’ to our left. Our boat was moored on the bank ahead, obscured by rooftops.

After breakfast we strolled out to find exactly where the boat, Viking Forseti, was moored so we wouldn’t drag our bags in the wrong direction, then went back to collect our bags and check out. Then to the boat, leaving our cases with the Viking team outside and boarding Forseti. Reception said our cabin (stateroom in Viking parlance) was ready and gave us our room keys.

We had a French balcony on the port side (even numbers) and, apart from one brief period during a day excursion, the boat was always moored with the starboard side to the bank so we had a river view – except when we were rafted.

When we first cruised Bordeaux in 2015 we were never rafted but since then other companies  including Scenic, Uniworld, Croisieurope and Avalon also cruise here and all make the same stops. Viking only has one Longship here, Forseti, which was the same craft we were on in 2015. Annual renovations meant the boat didn’t show its age, though its engines were louder than the hybrid engines used on recent Longships

Viking Bordeaux cruises start and end on Sundays, and there’s a quayside market Sunday morning to early afternoon. It was a few yards ahead of the boat, mainly food both cooked and uncooked. At either end are oyster stalls with tables and chairs set out so people can enjoy freshly harvested oysters with a glass of wine.

I found what I was looking for, the stand of Château Grand Brun, a Haut-Medoc Cru Artisan. They sell their wine directly to the public at markets and wine fairs. I’d bought two bottles in 2015, and I bought two of the current 2023 vintage for €10 each.

Back at the boat we enjoyed the embarkation lunch then we walked into Bordeaux and confirmed our favourite restaurant was still closed for renovation after a fire.

Also moored along the quayside were Avalon Artistry II, Uniworld SS Bon Voyage and two ocean cruisers.

Dinner was enjoyable; we paired Entrecôte Sauce Béarnaise with Charmes de Kirwan 2023, the second wine of 3rd Growth Margaux Châteaux Kirwan. 

At 21:00 Croisieurope’s Cyrano de Bergerac tied up alongside us

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To Bordeaux

 We decided to stay in a hotel the night before the Viking Bordeaux cruise because of awkward flight departure times. We could either stay at the airport or take a late flight and stay in Bordeaux, which we did.

As the plane approached Bordeaux we saw the mouth of the Gironde estuary as it met the Atlantic.

Bordeaux airport formalities were over quickly. The trouble plagued EES machines had been shoved away in a corner fenced off with hazard tape and we used the two stage French passport machines: first stage reads your passport, then gate opens to the next stage that reads your face.

We collected our cases, walked out through the airport vineyard and got in a taxi. We’d booked Hotel Indigo Bordeaux Centre Chartrons, which is on the quay where Viking and other river cruisers moor.

The plane landed at 20:36 (French time) and we were in our room at 21:36. We enjoyed a meal and good bottle of claret in the hotel’s roof-top restaurant.