My husband and I are looking for a barge trip in France where we can visit small, picturesque towns and with some bike riding. We were thinking 5-7 days approximately. We would like to experience local life, but we do not need to be extravagant. Any ideas?
Posted by
38 posts
Take a look at French Country Waterways. We took a trip with them many years ago through the Alsace area and really enjoyed it. Keep in mind, the rooms are tiny, but the experience was delightful.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9429 posts
Just looked at French Country Waterways… wow they’re expensive!
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10320 posts
Catered trips on the canals are expensive, Susan. They usually have a chef and another crew member for a small group.
I remember very nice barges docking at my in-laws' village in Burgundy. Doesn't get more quaint than those Burgundy villages. You can search using Burgundy canal or canal de Bourgogne as key words.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9429 posts
Bets, so i see!
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Bets,So would that be Northern Burgandy or Southern Burgandy?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10320 posts
The ones I mentioned are northern. There are certainly others in southern Burgundy.
Posted by
35 posts
Do you speak French? The cheapest way to do your barge trip would be to be your own captains and rent a barge yourselves. I've certainly heard guests on Rick's Radio Hour talking about that before. Listen to this segment: https://soundcloud.com/rick-steves-audio-europe/barging-the-canals-iii-audio
But, I will say that if you have no experience on barges and you don't speak French, this could be a fairly daunting task.
You could also consider staying in a little village that is alongside a particularly scenic canal and simply ride your bikes along the canal to visit other villages. You may even find a local guide who could take you on a barge - it is still going to be much cheaper than joining a tour barge. The radio hour segment I linked above has some great recommendations for villages.
Bonne chance!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9429 posts
“You could also consider staying in a little village that is alongside a particularly scenic canal and simply ride your bikes along the canal to visit other villages.”
Such a great idea. I love bike riding and this would be heaven. It’s going on my bucket list.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10320 posts
You can't rent a barge. You have to have a pilot's license; you can rent only a little houseboat and then you have to do all the work yourself.
You asked for a barge trip.
As for the cute little village house, riding bikes along the canal, that gets old fast. I spent many years with nothing to do visiting family in one of those villages but riding a bike back and forth once the dishes were done and the floor was swept.
Enjoy your catered canal barge trip.
Posted by
Sunriver
1321 posts
Look at the tripsite website if you haven't found that site yet. We use to to plan our barge trips. We haven't done France yet Italy and Germany though.
Posted by
199 posts
We have traveled to 72 countries, completed our bucket list and cruising the Midi Canal with LeBoat with another couple ranks as one of our top 5 trips in the world. We choose a cruiser with a master cabin in the front and one in the back. You drive the cabin cruiser. You receive a manual for your particular cruise that details every water spigot, gas pump, dock, town, market, castle, almost down to every tree you will see and every bend in the canal.
We girls rented bikes, traveled the canal path to the upcoming village and bought our supplies. If there was a lockkeeper and the lock was closed for a spell, then we had our fabulous French lunch or made sure we were on the other side of the lock before it closed.
We stopped at wonderful towns, wineries, markets and castles. Working the locks was work but that was part of the charm of the trip. Midi Canal-one of the best trips of our lives and hopefully you can envision out of 72 countries we had some wonderful trips.