France has had a tragic run of late. It started with the murderous rampage at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015 and continued most recently with the Nice massacre along the busy Promenade des Anglais just six months ago, on Bastille Day.

While these events give travelers great pause, statistically speaking, my demise will more likely come from a lightning strike or L.A. road rage. Thus, my husband, Casey, joined me on a long-planned Viking River Cruise in September, commencing with a pre-cruise land excursion in Dijon, embarkation in Lyon for one week weaving through captivating coastal villages and wonderful wine regions, finally ending in Avignon and Marseille.

We made concessions to safety. We agreed we would take no trains or visit any outdoor restaurants. Those compromises ended our first morning when sunshine, cafe and people-watching beckoned.

Delightful Dijon

The historical capital of Burgundy and Gustav Eiffel’s birthplace, Dijon is a mecca of Renaissance and medieval architecture, gastronomy and great wine.

Strolling Dijon’s historic center is a visual feast. Its gargoyle-graced Notre Dame Cathedral and 15th-century, timber-framed homes and stone mansions reflect its medieval past. And one of France’s oldest museums — opened in 1787 — the magnificent Beaux-Arts, is housed in the Ducal Palace and contains art stretching from Egyptian to the 20th century.

No trip to Dijon would be complete without tasting its choice condiment: mustard. Several specialty shops in the old city provide sampling with much the same reverence as wine, with bread and palate cleansers. Favorites were black truffle- and chardonnay-infused varietals.

A 45-minute drive through storybook villages of Volnay and Pommard brought us to Beaune, the breathtaking capital of Burgundy’s winemaking region, known for its mono-varietals, mainly pinot noirs and chardonnays. Beaune is also home to the annual, star-studded November wine auction where oenophiles the world over descend to bid on Grand and Premier Crus benefiting charities, last year raising 10 million euros.

The auction takes place at Hotel-Dieu. Built in 1443 with its notable geometric, polychrome roof, it served as a hospital for the impoverished until 1971. Now its museum houses Vauban’s Last Judgment polyptych and excellent displays reflecting the hospital’s impressive past.

All that history made for ravishing thirst, quenched at day’s end with our Viking guide tasting Grand Crus at nearby Clos Vougeot vineyard.

Picturesque Perouges and lovely Lyon

En route to embarkation in Lyon, we stopped in Perouges, a medieval, 14th-century walled village. In this beautifully preserved cobblestoned town perched atop a hill with stone church, houses and small shops emulating its artisanal past, it’s easy to envision antiquated life. No small wonder parts of later movie versions of Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel, “The Three Musketeers,” were filmed here.

Thirty minutes later we boarded Buri, one of Viking’s sparkling new “longships,” built in 2014, with 90 staterooms. Happily, check-in took two minutes, and our luggage was already in our nicely appointed balcony stateroom. Owing perhaps to its many American guests, staterooms came equipped with plenty of strategically placed 110V outlets. Of the 176 guests sailing that week, most were American, with some British and Irish couples. There were a half-dozen couples on board including us in their 50s, and the rest were in their 60s.

In addition to longships’ ability to dock in small towns along the Rhone, permitting guests to walk directly into villages and included excursions with excellent local guides, Viking’s biggest assets are its staff: utterly impeccable, consistently attentive service, from the front desk and housekeeping to waiters. And, of course, there’s the great food prepared by chef Dimitris Sidiropoulos and his staff.

Lyon, France’s gastronomic capital and third-largest city, perched at the confluence of Rhone and Saone rivers, is at once charming, calm and collegiate, with almost 100,000 students in its several universities.

To get my bearings, I rented a bike steps from Viking Buri and rode along the Rhone passing flocks of swans and stationary riverboat restaurants to Parc de la Tete d’Or, France’s largest park at nearly 300 acres. Behind massive ornate iron gates, this splendid park encompasses a botanical garden and picturesque lake surrounding an ideal natural habitat for the deer, reptiles, primates and other animals that live there.

Lyon’s historic center is quaint with cobblestone pedestrian streets, medieval architecture, artisan shops, cafes and Theater Guignol, with traditional puppet shows. Although repeatedly told that France has more than 40,000 churches, few are as monumental or ornate as Lyon’s Gothic and Byzantine Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere, rising nearly 400 feet above the Saone River, constructed in the late 19th century after the Franco-Prussian War.

Between Lyon and Macon, on an excursion to Beaujou, home of Beaujolais, we stopped at Chateau des Ravatys, owned since 1937 by the Louis Pasteur Institute, where we sampled excellent appellations of Brouilly and Beaujolais.

Another highlight was a visit with Viking chef Sidiropoulos to Les Halles de Paul Bocuse, Lyon’s gourmet indoor market. There we sampled pork and beef sausages, various cow and goat cheeses, and pralines, accompanied of course, by Beaujolais.

Vienne, Tournon-sur-Rhone and Viviers

Arriving in Vienne, we took a trolley up to the town’s apex and were rewarded with sweeping views on the slopes of Mount Pipet. Vienne’s center proudly displays its Gallo-Roman patrimony. Nearby, the Augustus and Livia Temple, dedicated to Rome, was converted into a church in the fifth century and painstakingly restored in the 19th century.

Returning to Viking’s Buri, we were greeted with a wonderful “Taste of Provence” featuring strolling musicians, local cheeses, sausages, bouillabaisse, roasted lamb and an incredible dessert table.

In Tournon-sur-Rhone stands a statue of Marc Seguin, the 19th-century engineer and developer of the wire-cable suspension bridge and steam locomotive several times faster than the British then had. Nearby, a pedestrian suspension bridge is located close to the original that Seguin first installed.

We hopped onto a 125-year-old steam train built to get Doux Valley residents out of Ardeche plateau’s isolation. En route there were dozens of bridges, viaducts and tunnels amid the conservation forest. To return, the locomotive was impressively turned around by two men on a swing bridge and placed in the train’s front by hand.

In the fifth-century walled town of Viviers, a night walking tour led us through cobblestone alleyways and labyrinthine streets. We were rewarded with a full moon gracing the Romanesque and Gothic St. Vincent Cathedral with its fine bell tower.

Walking uphill in the company of several meandering town cats, an eerily moonlit view provided medieval perspective. Once down, we stopped at the Renaissance House of Chevaliers, with beautifully ornate carvings from 1546, which has been nearly restored to its earlier grandeur.

The allure of Arles and Avignon

Known as the “Pearl of Provence,” famous for inspiring more than 200 of Van Gogh’s paintings, Arles was also ancient Rome’s provincial capital. At every turn walking this pastel-colored town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 — Roman ruins abound. Chariot races took place at its 20,000-seat amphitheater, which was built in the year 90 and is now used for bullfights and concerts.

In the Place du Forum we toasted Van Gogh’s genius with rose and steamed mussels.

The problem with Avignon, dubbed “City of Popes” — as it was home to seven pontiffs, from 1309 to 1377 — is that once here, you don’t want to leave. Ever. This glorious walled city is a haven of architectural treasures, including the Gothic Papal Palace, diminutive cobblestone streets and excellent shopping for Provencal pottery, fabrics and spices.

With Casey engaging his inner sommelier by tasting wine at Maison Bouachon’s world-renowned Chateauneuf-du-Pape, I joined a baking class at Maison de Fogasses. Located in an eclectic 16th-century mansion, Fogasses is owned by Corinne Guyon, who for the past 12 years has created a salonlike following. Along the way, she designed a restaurant on the grounds, a cooking school and has partitioned the massive mansion to include five hotel rooms. As Guyon is a collector who admittedly never throws anything out, the mansion is a veritable gallery of diverse art.

Our group learned how to make a focaccialike bread with crushed olives and Provencal herbs. Fortunately for the class of six, chef Anthony Roussi made our delicious lunch of herb-­ encrusted white cod, washed down with chilled rose.

After a great week aboard Viking Buri, it was time to say au revoir to our new friends. Heading to Marseilles, we spent our final day in the Old Port strolling the colorful French-African quarter, and caught the last day of a Guinea Baga art exhibit at La Vieille Charite, a former alms house turned museum.

Sitting on our balcony at the perfectly situated Sofitel Vieux Port, overlooking the picturesque boat-lined quays, we learned of the almost simultaneous terrorist trifecta in Chelsea, N.Y.; Seaside Park, N.J.; and St. Cloud, Minn. In an utterly imperfect world, and glad we didn’t stay home, we blessed our good fortune during our fabulous French fortnight.

Julie L. Kessler is a travel writer, attorney and legal columnist based in Los Angeles and the author of the award-winning book “Fifty-Fifty: The Clarity of Hindsight.” She can be reached at Julie@VagabondLawyer.com.