Explore More - 2017

MATEUS PALACE AND

MATEUS PALACE AND GARDENS, PORTUGAL A cruise along the Douro River in Portugal will take you through gorges, next to vineyards and almond orchards, but also to Vila Real—a wealthy port town— where your included excursion takes you to the baroque Mateus Palace, pictured on the front of the famous Mateus rosé wine. The palace is decorated in classic 18th-century Portuguese style, reflecting the country’s success in colonizing the New World, and its gardens are formally laid out with elegant parterres, topiary, sculptures and a 115-foot-long cedar tunnel. A large pond surrounded by greenery reflects the elaborate balustrades and turrets of the palace. GETTING THERE: The 10-day Portugal’s River of Gold cruise includes a two-night hotel stay in Lisbon before joining the ship at Porto. You will visit Régua and Pinhão, Barca d’Alva, Salamanca and Vega de Terrón, before returning to Porto. 16 VIKINGCRUISES.COM | EXPLORE MORE 2017

GARDEN CRUISES THE GARDENS OF MENTON, FRENCH RIVIERA The mild climate of this town in southeast France means that exotic plants thrive among the elegant buildings; join the optional excursion to Menton’s gardens on a Viking ocean cruise and you’ll be able to explore the lavish gardens of the former Carnolès Palace, now the Menton Museum of Fine Arts. The princes of Monaco owned Menton for six centuries, taxing lemons to fund the palace, and today the gardens still have an impressive 137 varieties of citrus trees—not only lemons, oranges and limes, but kumquats, pomelos and bergamots too. GETTING THERE: The 8-day Romantic Mediterranean cruise itinerary from Barcelona to Rome has an overnight in Barcelona, also calls in Toulon in France, Monte Carlo in Monaco, Ajaccio in Corsica and Tuscany in Italy, and has an overnight stay in Rome. EXPLORE MORE 2017 | VIKINGCRUISES.COM 17