Marla and I have always been interested in World War II and the Normandy beaches so this Uniworld Seine River Cruise looked wonderful. Uniworld cruises are for the traveler desiring top level guides well versed in the history of an area…or for the traveler desiring to relax on the ship drinking Champagne all day!

Marla watches boats on the Seine with Ken & Marcine Marcus who we met on the cruise.

Relaxing before dinner.

Marla enjoys tea while we wait our turn for a chair massage on the first day.

The next morning we could see the keep of the Chateau de la Roche-Guyon high on the hill.

“La Chateau de La Roche-Guyon”, painted by Robert Hubert in 1775, on display at the Musee des Beaux Arts, in Rouen.

I captured this ethereal photo of two geese as we docked by the river.

We left the boat to begin our tour.

Uniworld provides portable audio headsets so one can hear the guides at each destination.

An 18th century public fountain in the town.

Chateau La Roche-Guyon was built in the 12th century. The history is very interesting!

The area is riddled with troglodyte tunnels and rooms carved in the rockface. The chateau was added later.

A dramatic stained glass window on the staircase of honor.

We admired the original painted ceilings in the “Salle des Gardes“.

The large “Grand Salon” contains a series of magnificent 18th century tapestries depicting the biblical story of Esther. The tapestries were returned to their original place in the chateau in 2001. They were made in the Gobelins factory in 1769.

The tapestries are truly amazing!

Colorful reflections from a stained glass window.

This is a troglodyte chapel nave enlarged around 1820.

Steep stairs lead up to the “pigeonnier” with over 1000 pigeonholes. The “pigeonnier” at Château de La Roche-Guyon is a medieval symbol of wealth and a source of food and messengers for centuries.

The stairs are built into the ancient rock.

Steep stairs leading down.

It was a sobering history lesson as we toured subterranean passages carved into the cliffside by the Nazis in World War ll. Château de La Roche-Guyon served as the headquarters for Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and his staff. These tunnels and bunkers housed communications equipment and ammunition storage for the German Army Group B, which was tasked with defending Normandy. 

Rommel and his staff meet in the Grand Salon. The Gobelins tapestries can be seen in the background. Click on Rommel’s history to learn more.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.