My friend and I would like to travel for a week on a canal in France. We are just beginning our search. First is deciding where to go. We think we would like to go in the Burgendy area, possibly from Dijon to Beaune but we don't know this distance or how long it will take. Second, is it possible to do this economy class or is everything fancy, expensive and first class? Should we consider renting a barge for two people. How can we join others on a boat? Where do we look for a tour company. Do you have any suggestions and recommendations.

http://www.locaboat.com/gb/index.php

Just Google something like canal boat rental France, and you will get zillions of hits. There are a multitude of rental firms in Europe, and after you get thoroughly confused by looking at their sites, come back to this board with specific questions. There are a number of people here who have done this, and would be more than willing to help.

I am sure you will love "ditch crawling" in France. A lot of us are hooked on it.

Get borchures from different rental companies (we used rive-de-france) to decide what would most interest you in their available itineraries.

We have done 4 trips. We opted to drive our own for several reasons:

1. Cost - much less expensive to rent your self-drive
2. People - you never know if there are going to be incompatables on a hotel barge.
3. Travel at your own pace not someone elses.
4. The hotel barges typically include a chef. It was always our preference to eat in the villages we passed.

We have always used rive de france.

Hi,
I have just received my 2008 brochure from The Wayfarers and am delighted to see they have included "Barging in Burgundy" as an alternative to their many walking tours.

They have a nice photo of folks coming down the river/canal on a barge called "The Belle Epoque" and list the following:

#Explore the Renaissance chateaux towns of Tonnerre, Tanlay and Ancy-le-France.
#Savor a private wine-tasting in a 12th century cellar
#Walk along the river or relax on deck
#Explore Auxerre, famous for Chablis and the Cathe`dral Saint-Etienne.

OPTIONS: Cycle along the towpath (cycles on board); balloon over Burgundy.
ACCOMMODATION: State-of-the-Art aircontioned luxury barge with sundeck, spa, pool, chartroom, saloon and diningroom - Crew of 6 serves all gourmet meals with the best Burgundian wine.
TERRAIN: Spend any or all of the day aboard the barge or ramble along low hills and level towpath, up to 3 hours walking per day.

PRICE: 6 nights, 7 days US$4,590

Hope this may give you some ideas. I have done a Loire Valley walk with The Wayfarers and was absolutely delighted with their attention to detail. The food was gorgeous!

A comprehensive web site which we have used in the past is www.barginginfrance.com. They have links to many hotel and self-drive barges. In the several rentals we have engaged in, we have been happiest with Connoisseur Cruises.

If you are self driving, which we think is the better experience, try to to get a one way cruise. While this may be a little difficult regarding planning (you won't know which direction you are traveling in until a month or so before the cruise) and getting transportation ironed out, we think it is a better experience than going back to some of the same places you have already experienced.

Be certain to arrange to have bicycles aboard the barge. (With a one way rental, you may be limited to getting them from the barge company.) They will provide you with the ability to explore areas where you are tied up. For that matter, from time to time, it may be necessary to have a bicycle to get to the nearest town to refresh your supply of bread and pastry. (It may be very well against local ordinance to consume day old bread. Certainly the swans that patrol most canals seem to think so.)

We found the best schedules were to have our own breakfast and suppers on board and have long lunches in the towns during the mid-day lock closings. The best recommendations for restaurants usually were obtained from the local wine shops.

But, for your first trip, I would recommend that you avoid the Burgundy canals, particularly the area around Dijon. This is a particularly steep area, with many close or flights of locks. That means you will cover less ground, and, until you are comfortable with the process, you are likely to find a first few days involved in many locks far less relaxing than you would expect.

The Canal Du Midi has fewer locks and is very well traveled. That means there are many services and places to eat along it, but, because it is often below the level of the countryside or surrounded by high banks. We liked it, nonetheless.

A less traveled and very interesting trip is the Canal and River Saone. That would be roughly from Toul or Epinal to St. Jean de Losne, or for a two week trip, all the way to Macon. BTW, we always found going down river easier than up river. That would start you in a relatively narrow canal with stone walls and eventually get into a relatively wide river with interesting towns all along its length. That was our first canal trip and I hope to do it again some day.

The Burgundy Canal from St. Florentin to Monbard has an average number of locks and perhaps more "old stones" than other itineraries. A one-way rental makes more sense than a round trip. I am not sure that the itinerary between Dijon and Beaune is the "steep" one.

I have done much web searching and have requested brochures. I have narrowed it down to this:
Small barge rental, not a boat
Travel for one week going one way
Be in a flat area so we can see the countryside as we travel
Be in a wine tasting area
Can someone now make some suggestions as to what company to contact and what route to suggest.
Again, many thanks.

Try this link to get started:
http://tinyurl.com/37l3fs
That will get you to Connoisseur, a rental boat company that has had good reviews.

I don't understand when you say you feel you should rent a barge, rather than a boat. A barge usually means a hotel barge, which has a crew and cook who drive the vessel and cook you gourmet meals. Like taking a cruise on a small ocean liner. They usually carry a number of passengers. Costs are high.

I thought from your original post that you wanted to go economy. You can do that by renting a "drive it yourself" sort of boat. You can get those in quite small sises suitable for only two people. Costs are much more modest; slightly higher than you might spend on a hotel room, i.e., €100 to €200 per night, plus fuel, but you have the freedom of choosing to eat aboard from food bought in local markets, if you are on a budget.

There's a wonderful book about the experience of barging in France called quot;Floating Through France" edited by Barbara J. Euser. Its the soties of 12 different authors who all spent time canaling/floating through the Canal du Midi in the south of France.

Great book, you'll love it. It may help you to discover the questions to ask and what to expect.

We were very pleased with Crown Blue Lines. We left from St. Jean du Losne on the Soane and traveled up the Canal Central...we went half way up and then turned around and came back...One stretch the canal was designed by Michaelangelo and you float over a small town below...breathtaking. We usually lunched on the boat and dined out for dinner...all in all, a memorable trip.

SuzieC,

I'm glad you had a good time on your French cruise, but where did you hear that Michaelangelo designed part of the canal system? I really don't think he was around when the French developed their inland waterways.

Maybe thinking of Gustave Eiffel, and the Briare Canal?


We have used Locaboat on the canal de la Marne in the Alsace-Lorraine area, which is electronic, and though there were only 2 of us we found it a wonderful experience. We continue to have a fascination... We have stopped at the lock in St. Florentin and Vincelotte inBurgundy, lovely area, but hand cranked system (harder for just 2 people). Stopped at the series of 9 locks in Béziers, and the canal du Midi from Carcassonne to Toulouse. La Charente around Cognac and Saintes is another area that we have meandered around and might do one day.

I would do what others have suggested -- get on line and reasearch the companies. It is not hard, and they will all send you lovely packets that are most informative. We prefer the old fashioned "pénichettes" style, which maybe is what you meant by barge vs. boat style?

Thanks for all the great information, as this is something we are considering doing at some point also

We rented from Locaboat in October. Traveled one way from St. Leger to Loissy and couldn't have been happier with the leasing company or the route. The boat was quite new and well fitted out. (We took the FB1500 for eight people.) It was one way (got to see more), down stream (easier locking down than up, IMO) and very few locks because of a major section being on the river.

We loved all of the towns along the way. There are good or even great restaurants in every location (Lameloise in Chagny has three stars). Provisioning opportunities were abundant, from local ten-farmer marches right on up to the hypermarche in Chalon. There was a cave for wine tasting on the first day out, so we were well-supplied with wine for the duration.

We happened upon a Flea Market in Tournus, as well as the monthly book fair in Cuisery. There is a nice variety of things to visit (some pleasant churches, a couple little museums, good shopping here and there.) The scenery was lovely, though not jaw-dropping IMO. The pace is what makes it so nice. And on our route, we were never below grade.

There are a few threads on barging here on the board. Dig around a bit and you'll hear some tales of woe as well as joy! We are eager to go again, hopefully to Ireland next. We'll certainly use Locaboat again.

If, by any chance, you decide on the route we took, I built a custom cruising guide I'd be happy to share with you.

My wife and I recently returned from a 10 day Overseas Adventure Travel (www.oattravel.com) barge tour of the Burgundy area and last year we did the Bordeaux cruise. We were very pleased with both of the experiences and the value. There is a full time English speaking tour guide and OAT handles all transportation and baggage handling. Most meals and wine are provided. On our first cruise there were 14 passengers and 20 on the second. There were a number of ladies traveling either alone or in pairs. If you can travel on short notice, the tours are often discounted about a month prior to departure. We booked both of ours this way and plan to do it again.
One caveat, there is quite a bit of walking through small town France, so if that is a problem you may consider another company, or you can always stay with the barge and relax.

To Amy40
I would love to get your custom cruising guide for the route you took and more information on the Locaboat. However, I don't know how to get in touch with you.
djoycejones

I am not trying to rain on your parade BUT we did the canal du midi in late September and had a less than desirable experience. The canal is not so interesting ,there weren't always restaurants open, it rained most every day. I would recommend NOT doing an area with many locks with just two people.
Here is a link to my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35085788

To amplify Susanna's post:

It is essential to look at what is to be seen along the canal, what I have called "old stones." The canals themselves are not particularly interesting after one day.

However, while the trip we took (St. Florentin to Montbard)had plenty of old stones, there were relatively few decent sized towns, and probably few restaurants (we did our own cooking).

In our week long trip, we went through about 50 locks. All the locks had a lock keeper, but that was in the middle of the summer. The only route that did not have as many locks (unless going down a river) was the itinerary that goes from Strasbourg to Nancy which has a stretch of 30 km. without locks, or towns for that matter if I read the literature correctly.