In another post, I had mentioned a recent self-drive barge trip on the Burgundy Canal from September 15th to 24th, and various folks asked for more details. So here goes:
A group of eight of us had previously been on a self-drive barge trip on the Canal Du Midi from near Toulouse to Argens. This time we decided to try the Burgundy Canal, on a ten-day trip from Joigny to Montbard and return. We had previously used Locaboat, and decided to do so again, largely because one of their barges, the Penichette Aft-Deck 1500R, had four double bedrooms and was therefore ideal for four couples. A Virtual Tour of the barge is available on the Locaboat web site. All booking arrangements were done from Australia,, via the internet, directly with Locaboat. The cost of the barge for ten days was €3340.
The barge is diesel-powered, easy to drive with minimum instruction, and, as well as four double-bedrooms, has two showers, two toilets, a kitchen/dining area, a rear deck, and a front seating area. It carries its own water supply, which is easily replenished canal-side at various locations. Hot water is plentiful. Power on board is 12v, so any appliances needing recharging (phones, cameras, Ipods etc) need to be plugged into the 240v supply available at most overnight stops. Overnight or lunchtime stops may be made wherever you wish, though the various villages provide facilities to encourage folks to stay overnight. Every village has a boulangerie where bread, baguettes, croissants etc may be bought. Most towns also have a supermarket or mini-market.
Obviously the canal has no current, and, on one side, has a track that was formerly a towpath. The canal is generally lined with large trees that not only provided shade for the towing animals but also helped to stabilize the banks. Bicycles can be hired with the barge, and they can be ridden on the towpaths under the tree canopy, or to nearby villages.
Paggage through the locks is free, and is controlled by a lock-keeper. The lock-keeper will appreciate assistance in opening and closing gates and valves, and such assistance will make passage through the lock much quicker. Locks are able to be used between 8.00am and 12.00am, and 1.00pm and 6.00pm.
We had selected Joigny as a good starting point because the barge depot is about a twenty minute walk from the train station. Each couple in the group was arriving at Joigny from a different part of France, with most traveling by train. Joigny is about 1h15m from Paris. As each couple arrived, they left their bags at the Locaboat depot and went to an adjacent restaurant, Rive Gauche, where we had a re-union lunch. This consisted of entrée, main, dessert, cheese and coffee, cost €18 per head, and was as good as the Michelin Guide told us it would be. It is a recommended way to start the trip.
At about 3.30, we walked to Locaboat, completed the formalities, and boarded the barge. Our ‘designated driver’ (AKA ‘Captain’!) received instructions, and we headed off down the Yonne River through two locks till we reached the entrance to the Burgundy Canal. Thus commenced our trip. Those were the logistics of the exercise. The adventures of the next ten days are another story altogether.

Sounds interesting, A.

Hopefully there is more.

Barging Through France is something I still have to do! Your report is great - keep it up, we want more.

Please continue - we have talked about doing a barge trip in this same area - please tell all the details. Thanks!

ttt

Please continue...

Sounds great.

Barging on a small barge, catered, is a wonderful trip in Burgundy.

And I would have to say that that price is pretty incredible!!

10 days on the Burgundy Canal:
Day 1: This day was necessarily brief because we collected the barge from Joigny at about 4.0pmn. We motored through two locks down the Yonne River until the entrance to the Burgundy Canal appeared on our left. At the depot, we had purchased the map book of all the canals in Burgundy, and this was an invaluable guide to the trip, particularly in ascertaining how many locks were to be negotiated between various points of interest, and what villages were imminent. If you are going on a self-drive barge trip on a canal in Burgundy, buy this book!
Once in the Canal, we negotiated a couple of locks, passed by Laroche-Migennes, and stopped overnight at Brienon-sur-Armacon. We had an evening meal of 'bread and bits', plus wine and beer, just right after the splendid lunch we had had at Rive Gauche in Joigny.
Day 2: We fell into a routine from our last trip where two of the males, notorious early-risers, headed off for the local boulangerie to ensure a breakfast supply of baguettes, croissants and the like. Their noisy return acted as reveille. After breakfast, we motored on to St Florentin for lunch. It was discovered that there was an organ concert later that day in the local church as part of the French Patrimonie weekend, so we decided to stay. The concert was fine, as was our meal on the barge on a lovely, balmy evening. One of our party is a noted cook, and she decided that the availability of splendid local ingredients was too good an opportunity to miss. So she cooked, and we ate: we thought that was fair! Afterwards, while we relaxed on the rear deck, near us were some very serious and persistent fishermen, as well as an exuberant group playing petanque. It all seemed quite Gallic!
Day 3: Very misty to start. Just before we got under way, a large hotel barge appeared out of the gloom, heading in the same direction as us. We had decided that today was to be the day of most travel on the trip, and eventually we passed through seventeen locks in reaching Tanlay. We stopped as usual for lunch between 12.00 and 1.00 when the locks are not operating. We bought provisions at a supermarket in Tonnerre, and then, at Tanlay, moored next to the hotel barge. We chatted to crew members, and learned that the hotel barges were ex-commercial barges, all built in the 1950s in Belgium or Holland. They were converted to hotel barges in the late 1990s, and charge US$6000 per person per week. There are 6-10 passengers on each trip, and they get the best of everything. They probably ate even better than we did, but we had no complaints!

Your report takes me back a year when we did the same thing in Burgandy, only on the Nivernais canal, and there were only 2 couples. We loved it, but found that in the first week of October, many of the restaurants were closed for the season, and we had incredible difficulty finding grocery stores that were open when we needed them to be. When we entered a village, we were like Vikings trying to pillage any supplies we could find. If a bakery happened to have wine, we'd scoop it up, and if a butcher shop had bread or quiche or pizza, we'd buy everything we could because we never knew when we'd find an open shop. It became a game for us.

I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. It doesn't sound like you had any of the problems we did.

Enjoying your report adeben. Out of the two different areas in which you have gone for your canal trips, would you defintely choose one over the other for someone who is ever likely to only do it once? Looking forward to more.

Day 4: The guests on the hotel barge were taken on a tour of the local area in the associated Mercedes coach: we, on the other hand, walked about half a kilometre to inspect Chateau Tanlay. This is one of the most famous and beautiful chateaux in Burgundy. It has a splendid gatehouse, called the Petit Chateau, leading to the Grand Chateau. It has been in the same family since 1704, which means that they managed to retain it post-Revolution. No mean feat. There are fine lawns surrounding the Chateau as well as an extensive lake/moat. The décor and furniture inside match the external grandeur.
We then made a later than usual departure, and made it only as far as Lezinnes for lunch. Then, in company with a barge with five amiable Germans aboard, we went through a steady series of locks to Ancy-le-Franc, and from there to Ravieres for the night. Ravieres was somewhat deserted, it seemed, but the cook excelled herself again, and we did justice to her efforts. We drank possibly a bottle or two too many of a most pleasant Chablis, and thus another enjoyable evening eventuated.
Day 5: We were all a touch slow out of the blocks this morning, but pressed on towards our destination, and turning point, Montbard. The Canal is perhaps more attractive here than on its lower reaches near the Yonne. Trees grow nearer the banks, and in greater profusion, and there is less sign of industry here. One can hardly complain, of course, because ‘industry’ was the reason for building the Canal. There are still quarries visible from the barge, but many are now disused, and those still operating use trucks and rail for transport. Time has passed by the old freight barges. We had lunch at Buffon, quite near the famous Forges, but, as today was Tuesday, they were closed to visitors. So we meandered on to Montbard, and spent the late afternoon exploring a very pleasant Centre Ville. We ate at a local restaurant where the food was plentiful, delicious and cheap. We wondered how we were getting away with all this!
Day 6: The morning was spent at Fontenay Abbey, 6k from Montbard, and a €10 taxi ride. And now for a BIG STATEMENT!… I have been to all parts of France, seen most of the major cathedrals, chateaux, museums, buildings, and major sites like the Pont du Gard etc, but the Fontenay Abbey complex might be the best thing I’ve seen in France.
It is the oldest Cistercian abbey in France, and is in a sublime site. Work began in 1139, and the Abbey Church of Notre Dame was consecrated in1147. It has been described as ‘the most severely satisfying of all the great Cistercian churches’, and that description is good enough for me. Associated with the church is a superb room in the Monks’ Dormitory, excellent cloisters, and an elegant Scriptorium and Chauffoir. Nearby, across a fine expanse of lawn, is the Workshop containing a forge with water-driven bellows and trip-hammer, this last possibly invented here. In toto, this is a sensational complex, serene buildings in a sublime location, with a wonderful ambience. Michelin gives it 3 Stars, and, if their scale had a higher rating, this place would deserve it.
Back to Montbard and the barge for lunch, and we started the journey back to Joigny. A short run through Buffon, and we visited the famous Forges. These were built circa 1770 by Georges-Louis Leclerc, aka Count Buffon. He was a genuine Renaissance Man, whose official ‘job’ was as supervisor of the King’s Gradens. However, he found time to write a Histoire Naturelle on ALL known areas of knowledge, a work that eventually ran to 44 volumes. He also developed a mathematical experiment known as Buffon’s Needle, which led to an advanced study of probability, and to a possible method of determining pi. Not satisfied with all the above, he established the Forges at Buffon to increase knowledge of the smelting and refining of iron ore, and, in so doing, developed the science of metallurgy in Europe. His Forges were charcoal-fueled, with bellows, trip-hammers, etc being driven by water-wheels. Much of the complex remains today, and the processing of the raw materials through the ‘factory’ is easy to understand.. This is another site ‘not-to-be-missed’.Back to the barge and on to Ravieres for the night. We thought we had had a good day.

Day 7: Just a short distance away from the Canal, on the opposite side to Ravieres, is the village of Nuits. This has nothing to do with the more-famous Nuit-St-Georges of wine fame, but it does possess a very fine example of a 17th century hunting lodge. This was a pleasant building of some pretension, with a trophy room full of heads mounted on walls and looking too much for comfort like photographs of some long-dead ancestors….on the distaff side, of course!
We went back to Ravieres for the set menu lunch (€11) at Tante Elisabeth. Beef Bourbignon was the Plat du Jour. Seemed apt. Was good.
Next down to Ancy-Le-Franc on a very warm afternoon. There we walked about a kilometer to visit the Chateau. From the outside it looks like another pleasant Renaissance building, but inside it is extreme Italianate in decoration, in the sense that ‘Too much is never enough!’ The kitchens contain 19th century equipment, and there are carriages et al in the stables. It’s certainly worth visiting if you are in the vicinity, but probably not worth a special trip to see.
Day 8: Overcast but mild. We had lunch canalside near Lezinnes, then paused at Tanlay because everyone wanted to revisit the Chateau, and to locate an ancient monastery somewhere nearby. Both aims were successfully achieved. The overnight stop was at Tonnerre where we parked next to a splendid private barge owned by a couple from Berlin. They had come from Berlin via Holland, Belgium, Paris, and various canals to Tonnerre, and were headed for the Mediterranean via the Saone, Rhone and Midi! Such is the life of a bargee!
Day 9: It was raining when we started, but we made good progress down quite long stretches before having lunch in mottled and quite warm sunshine. The canal was very quiet, and we did not see another barge all morning. We went through St Florentin to overnight at Brienon at a very good site, adjacent to the local boules pitch, and near a Petit Casino market. A boules tournament was in progress, and only stopped at 7.00pm when rain started, and everyone, including us, adjourned to a nearby pub. Yet another fine evening we found ourselves in!
Day 10: Clear but overcast. An easy run to Laroche-Migennes where we stopped for lunch. On the way we had passed a factory that seemed to have made millions of concrete railway sleepers for SNCF, most of which were stacked up in seemingly neverending rows. Not very scenic, but interesting. Then back into the Yonne River, and up to Joigny and the base. We had arranged to have our post-trip inspection this afternoon so we could leave early tomorrow to catch the 8.00am train to Dijon. Inspection completed, we then inspected Joigny, a lovely town, and had our farewell meal in a local restaurant, unfortunately not the Cote St-Jacques, a local famed Michelin 3 Star establishment. Next day we went our different ways; to Croatia, the Cinque Terre, Lausanne, and the Rhine Valley from Speyer to Bonn.
But all of those are other stories.

Hi A,

Thanks for a great report.

Chateau Tanlay is now on my list for our visit to Burgundy.

Do you remember the restaurants in Montbard and Buffon?

Sounds lovely!

We very much enjoyed you report - made us want to try a barge trip even more! We totally agree with your assessment of Fontenay Abbey - we loved it when we were there on our last trip. Thought it was one of the best sights on any of our trips!

Hi,
This really sounds a great trip. My family and I have cruised several of the British canals in narrowboats and loved it but both my son and I read your posts and said "Yes!"
You said it was easy to arrange from Australia via the website. We are also from Australia. Do you need French to navigate the site (and the canal, for that matter)
Great report.
Rosemary

I totally agree with your description of Fontenay Abbey. When we visited there I could for once understand the attractions of joining a cloistered society especially in the uncertainty of those times. I thought it was further in the woods than just 6k from the canals. Ah the memory is the first to go.