This Paris River Cruise With 'Sex and the City' Creator Candace Bushnell Is the Ultimate Girls' Trip

Courtesy of Avalon Waterways

When Avalon Waterways emailed to say it's setting sail with some of the best female novelists on Earth, I couldn't help but wonder… was now the moment I'd been waiting for to take another river cruise?

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Avalon Waterways is revealing its exclusive set of celebrity-hosted storyteller sailings, along with some "book now" savings that will get you going ASAP.

"Our new Storyteller Series will welcome a small group of lucky travelers back to Europe in 2022 to enhance the storytelling tapestry of their lives with a 'once upon a river' vacation," Pam Hoffee, managing director of Avalon Waterways, said in a statement provided to Travel + Leisure. "On these exclusive sailings, Avalon guests get to spend a week in legendary landscapes with their favorite storytellers, including enjoying specially planned gatherings that range from book-signings and Q&A sessions to private concerts."

Courtesy of Avalon Waterways

The series of sailings include a date with none other than Candace Bushnell, the bestselling author of Sex and the City. Bushnell and Avalon Waterways are inviting travels to come aboard the "Sex & The City of Lights" escape along the Seine River in Paris. On the cruise, guests will sail from Paris to Le Havre alongside Bushnell and will even have the chance to ask her all the detailed questions they've been holding in about the books for decades. The sailing departs on July 19, 2022. Of course, guests will also get to take in the views and explore a few of France's most magical towns along the way.

Courtesy of Avalon Waterways

"On these special cruises — and all Avalon cruises — storybook settings are always in view and we make a splash at intriguing ports of call where dock to discovery takes mere minutes," Hoffee added. "Aboard our signature Suite Ships, guests are privy to our boutique-hotel-inspired panorama suites featuring the industry's only open-air balconies with the widest opening windows in cruising and beds that face the views for which river cruising is famous."

Courtesy of Avalon Waterways

Want even more literary fun? Other sailings include the "Wild & Whimsy on the Water" trip down the Danube with Cheryl Strayed. On that sailing, guests will sail from Budapest to Deggendorf alongside Strayed. That sailing departs July 22, 2022.

There's also the "Gone Girl!" trip with Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, and Dark Places, down the Danube River. This trip, which takes guests from Budapest to Prague, departs Sept. 14, 2022.

To celebrate the new series of cruises, Avalon Waterways also unveiled three ways to save on trips including a couple's option to save $500 per person, a go solo and save option for those traveling alone, and a save an extra $150 option for anyone traveling with a group of four or more. See all the upcoming literary sailings and book your trip here.