PONANT has launched a new partnership with the Musée du Louvre to offer two new cruises in 2020 on the themes of discovery and transmission.
Through itineraries carefully designed by PONANT and onboard programming with curators and department directors from the Louvre, guests will discover the ancient lands that have inspired the museum’s collections. The two sailings through the Adriatic and the Persian Gulf will depart in August and November 2020, respectively.
The Cultural Jewels of the Adriatic (from Athens to Venice)
On this first cruise in partnership with Le Louvre, history buffs will discover the cultural and artistic treasures of Ancient Greece and the Adriatic as they sail from Athens to Venice in August 2020. Highlights from the new itinerary include crossing the narrow Corinth Canal, a man-made 75-feet-wide waterway that was first conceived by a ruler of Ancient Corinth and completed in the 19th century by the French, and sailing through fjord-like Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. Shore visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites will include the Acropolis of Athens, one of the most famous ancient archaeological sites in the world; the Delphi, where sanctuary excavations have unearthed settlements that date as far back as the Neolithic era; and the well-preserved 1,700-year-old Diocletian’s Palace in the heart of Split, Croatia.
On board, Jannic Durand, director of the Department of Decorative Arts, and Ludovic Laugier, curator in the Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities, will host lectures and conferences to discuss the destinations and cultural sights from the day.
The Treasures of the Persian Gulf (from Muscat to Dubai)
In November 2020, the second cruise will take travellers to discover the cultural and artistic riches of the Persian Gulf on the new PONANT EXPLORER ship, Le Jacques-Cartier.
Sailing from Muscat (Oman) to Dubai with ports of call in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the new itinerary explores the intermixing of tradition and modernity in Islamic culture. Guests will learn maritime traditions in Sur that date back a thousand years; visit the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, designed by I.M. Pei who is the famed architect of the Louvre pyramid; and tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first universal museum in the Arab World.
On board, Yannick Lintz, director of the Department of Islamic Art at the Musée du Louvre, will share her expertise with guests through a series of talks and conferences.
