Barge?

Anyone ever done one?

My friend has an eye on through France - supposedly luxury

:)

Hi Karen,

Barging through France is a really Romantic experience! The French countryside is crisscrossed with canals that were major thoroughfares for trade and travel, and are now used more often for pleasure cruising.

You'll find happy travelers with personal boats and small family barges, gently cruising from village to village.

At CroisiEurope, you'll find our 5 luxury barges each in its own locale:

The Anne Marie travels along the Southern Coast from Arles to Sete

The Jeanine travels through Burgundy and Franche Comté from Dijon

The Raymonde travels from the center of Paris to the Heart of the Champagne Region - Epernay

The Deborah cruises the Upper Loire from Nevers to Briare

The Madeleine visits the Alsace's vineyards and hop farms from Strasbourg

These have all of the comforts of River Cruises, great food, intriguing excursions, and great company. But, they are more intimate programs with a maximum of 22 guests on board, and a smaller region to visit.

Let us know if we can answer any questions for you.

Bon voyage!

CroisiEurope

We don't have much on barge cruising, but I did find this relevant thread:

Barge cruising in France

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425676&highlight=barge

We did one many years ago on a 20 passenger barge (company no longer in service). The room was incredibly small, the ceilings low, but the food, chease and wine were great and I loved it! Many of the canals are 200 years old and to protect the banks the barge speed limit is 3 kilometres. Easy to hop off at one lock and walk the 0.5 to 2 km to the next lock faster than the barge, or grab a bike and visit several towns before reboarding a lock or 3 down. I am happy if the bed is comfortable, but if room size is important get details.

ENJOY

Thom

We've done barging through French wine country several times. We've always chartered the entire barge for 6 - 8 so I cannot comment on booking a single cabin. On every trip the food was by far the best we've had on any boat...river cruise or ocean vessel. The tours were so fun, winery tours excellent and the accommodations, though the staterooms are tiny the living and dining areas are roomy enough. It's very peaceful cruising along the canals and you can ride a bike or walk along the towpaths if you like. I really think traveling with your own group is the way to go as the barges are small if there are other people whose company you may not exactly enjoy.