Must-Sees - Scotland, Ireland and England
Bustling towns, castles and fortresses, breathtaking wildly beautiful landscapes... A cruise to Scotland, Ireland and England means a journey with unexpected magic around every corner. Here, we look at 10 unmissable things that keep British and Irish legends alive.
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The Essentials - Ireland, Scotland, England
From Celtic shores to typical British towns, cruises to Ireland, Scotland and England offer you the opportunity to explore a wealth of culture with strong identifies, legends and fascinating stories. Here is a taste of what you can expect.
Read more
Explore Ireland, Scotland and England
Must-Sees - Scotland, Ireland and England
Bustling towns, castles and fortresses, breathtaking wildly beautiful landscapes... A cruise to Scotland, Ireland and England means a journey with unexpected magic around every corner. Here, we look at 10 unmissable things that keep British and Irish legends alive.
Gauge Dublin's pulse - Ireland
Dublin has plenty of charm on both sides of the Liffey. There are lots of historic landmarks to visit: while you can see the Custom House and Bank of Ireland from the outside, you should definitely venture into Trinity College. This, Dublin's oldest university, is home to the Book of Kells: a 1,200-year old manuscript and a real illumination masterpiece among thousands of works. Christ Church Cathedral, Saint Patrick's Cathedral and Dublin Castle are also unmissable. But, to appreciate the whole package offered by the Irish capital, you need to gauge its pulse. There's no better way to do this than walking along pedestrianised Grafton Street, or through the Temple Bar district, with its many pubs, restaurants and shops.
Treat yourself to a getaway in Edinburgh - Scotland
Perched in a fabulous location high on Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle is a Scottish icon. This fortress which has dominated the city since the 12th century has long been used as a royal residence and for military purposes. The castle offers fantastic views of the surrounding area as well as the chance to immerse yourself in Scotland's eventful history as you view the different architectural styles of the buildings and the Scottish crown jewels in one particular room. Edinburgh is also a vibrant city. To see this for yourself, go to its most famous street: the Royal Mile.
Spend a day in Cork - Ireland
Cork in the south of Ireland is one of those lively cities worth exploring on foot due to its manageable size. It would be impossible to visit Cork without stopping off at the Neo-Gothic Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral or the Church of St Anne (in the Shandon area) which is famous for its bells, which entered Irish popular culture via a 19th-century song: The Bells of Shandon. Foodies will enjoy a trip to the English Market: one of the city's main attractions. For over 200 years, the market has been showcasing the best regional produce, including specialities like drisheen (a kind of black pudding) and pig's trotters. Its 55 food stalls are packed with food products: each more mouth-watering than the last.
Follow in the footsteps of the Beatles in Liverpool - England
It was Liverpool that sealed the Beatles' fate. Penny Lane, St Peter's Woolton, the university School of the Arts, the Casbah Coffee Club, the Empire Theatre, Arnold Grove, Dovedale School, Quarry Bank School... Retrace the steps of the "Fab Four" during a coach tour that takes in some of the places that contributed to the legend and played a role in their story.
Walk on the Giant's Causeway - Northern Ireland
Legend has it that the Giant's Causeway was the result of a quarrel between two giants: one Scottish and the other Irish. Mocked by the former, the latter threw rocks into the sea to encourage him to come over and fight. Seeing the strapping Scotsman arrive, the Irishman was frightened and disguised himself as a baby. Noticing how brawny the baby was, the "invader" could only imagine what its father might look like, so fled, destroying the pathway between the two countries as he went. Despite this, 40,000 vertical and hexagonal stone columns can still be seen today. In truth, they are cooled lava prisms from a basaltic lava flow 40 million years ago which have been eroded by the sea.
Explore London on a panoramic tour - England
There's nothing better than a panoramic tour if you want to see the English capital's most iconic landmarks. In just a few hours, you can visit Buckingham Palace (the queen's home), Trafalgar Square, the 135-metre big wheel known as the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey (where British royalty is crowned and buried).
Take a breath of fresh air in Connemara - Ireland
Narrow roads that wind between lakes and lands that are green or red depending on the season, and breathtaking endless views. The Connemara region has many legends, always amazes and leaves visitors speechless. Start your trip with a cruise on Lough Corrib with its 365 islands. Exploring Galway, Ireland's most vibrant city, is also a must. Its bohemian and artistic vibes, the flower-covered pubs, the music that emanates from within, the remains of ramparts in the medieval area and the various boutiques all contribute to its charm.
Get away from it all on the Isles of Scilly - United Kingdom
Who would have thought that these dots of land surrounded by turquoise waters would be in the middle of the Celtic Sea? The Isles of Scilly enjoy a microclimate due to the Gulf Stream. Thanks to the latter, a real Garden of Eden has been planted and grown up over the past 170 years on Tresco. Tresco Abbey Garden contains plants from Australia, New Zealand, Africa, South America and the Mediterranean, as well as native species. This exotic flora is simply incredible.
Enjoy the majesty of nature on the Isle of Skye - Scotland
It's impossible not to be moved by the wild beauty on the Isle of Skye. A few pastures sit alongside uncultivated plains. The heathland extends as far as the eye can see, criss-crossed by rivers and waterfalls. Steep cliffs plunge down into turbulent waters and jagged landforms soften out into gentle slopes until they reach deserted pebble beaches or sea lochs. And then sometimes, a shadow looms proud despite the age of its stones, and reminds us that we are in the Highlands. Dunvegan Castle owned by the MacLeod clan is in no way a ruin. A tour is a good idea if you want a moving experience being immersed in Scotland's past.
Go on a magical adventure, Hebrides Islands - Scotland
Stone houses with thatched roofs, white-sand beaches bordered by cropped green vegetation, small ports, peaceful locks and sheep farming... The Hebrides Islands paint the perfect Scottish landscape. See the magic for yourself on Lewis with a visit to one of the most impressive prehistoric sites: the Callanish Stones. This is the second most important site in Great Britain after Stonehenge and dates back to 3000 BC. During the Neolithic, the stone's arrangement vis-à-vis the moon and stars allowed farmers to track the seasons.
The Essentials - Ireland, Scotland, England
From Celtic shores to typical British towns, cruises to Ireland, Scotland and England offer you the opportunity to explore a wealth of culture with strong identifies, legends and fascinating stories. Here is a taste of what you can expect.
Top tips
Dos. Anyone who wants to make a good impression in Great Britain and Ireland should abide by a few basic principles: always be polite, don't queue-jump, arrive on time and pay for your round at the pub.
Don'ts. In Scotland, it's not the done thing to add soda to your whisky. Instead, use still water to reveal the power of each flavour.
Unique features
Kept at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, the Book of Kells enthrals lovers of Celtic art and illuminations. Its cover, which was supposedly brimming with gold and precious stones, was torn off when the work was stolen in 1007 and has never been found. The variety of details and colours in the drawings is impressive. In 800, when the book (which brings together the four gospels) was written, only four colours were normally used. However, the Book of Kells contains many more that were made using pigments from materials shipped in from all over Europe and the Middle East. The most expensive, lapis lazuli, was used for blue and came from Afghanistan.
Gastronomy
Fish and chips is known and enjoyed in England, Ireland and Scotland. These sizeable fillets of fried cod are given a lift by lemon zest and accompanied by chips. And the dish's secret? The Irish add stout to the batter.
Myths & legends
More than a symbol, clover (especially four-leaf clover) is seen by the Irish as a lucky charm. For the druids, it had real power against evil spirits. The believed that the first leaf represented hope, the second, faith, the third, love and the fourth, luck. You have to find a four-leaf clover by chance at full moon for the magic to work.
Culture
Books. Although mainly known for Treasure Island, good Scotsman Robert Louis Stevenson actually wrote a touching body of work including several travel narratives about his native soil. Walking through Edinburgh, a ramble on the Isle of Mull, exploring the Fife Coast, memories of the Pentland Hills... The French-language À travers l’Écosse, which contains translations of some of Stevenson's English travel writing, provides a nice starting point and nostalgic portrait of the region in the 19th century.
Music. The harp features on Irish coats of arms for a good reason: it represents one of the first instruments played by ninth-century Gaelic clans. Gradually dance music also emerged and was played especially in pubs. This rhythmic repertoire of 6,000 melodies is performed on various instruments: the bodhrán (a traditional drum), the bagpipes, the fiddle (a version of the violin) and the Irish bouzouki (a kind of large mandolin).
Film. Awarded two Palmes d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 for The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and in 2016 for I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach is undoubtedly the most-loved British director, as well as the most divisive in his country. The positions he takes and his way of depicting UK society, social deprivation and the dark hours in the country's history raise some people's hackles, while others applaud his efforts. His work always contains nicely British humour, with feature films that are touchingly accurate and moving characters with which the director surprises and stirs his public each and every time.
Facts and figures
13,7Big Ben is definitely one of London's most iconic monuments. This nickname refers to its large bell which comes in at an impressive 13.7 tonnes, 2.2 metres high and 2.7 metres in diameter. The striking hammer weighs 200 kilos.
