6-night all-inclusive cruise through Burgundy villages and vineyards. Enjoy our chefs daily culinary wonders!

WHERE WILL YOU STAY ; 

• Our barge is a luxury hotel barge that will offer you the highest standard of experience, with high-quality gastronomy, paired with fine wines, and the best crew to make your cruise unforgettable. The barge itself started cruising in the 1960s by transporting goods across France, Belgium, and Holland.
• It was later on that it was converted to what it is today; a beautiful cruising barge; by a professional and passionate team of craftsmen (naval architects, woodworkers, etc). 
• It offers all the comfort you might find in a luxury hotel, as it is fully equipped with all required amenities.
• On the top deck, you will find a dining area, bar and a lounge, both air-conditioned, and numerous windows, so you can enjoy the landscapes, sunsets, and stunning architectural views that we will cross through. 

WHAT WE WILL DO TOGETHER ; 

• For this particular cruise (we offer 5 other cruises depending on the years and on the periods; beginning of the season/end of the season), we will cruise Ravieres (2hrs30 south from Paris by car) St Florentin or in reverse.
• To do so, we will be cruising on the Burgundy canal. It will be a 6 nights and 5 days cruise for you. Where you will see the best of river life, tourism, and France!
• Here at Bookarivertrip.com, we like to say that the best way of discovering a region is to start by its rivers, that have seen civilization, culture, and society appear across the centuries. So why not to start with us. 

WHAT WILL BE SERVED ON BOARD ; 

• As you will see and taste, all the meals cooked by your private chef will be paired with a fine wine selection that we keep and age in a cellar and bring to the boat when they are ready to be drunk.
• Breakfast is buffet style, with locally baked pastries, fresh fruit, yogurts, tea and coffee, fruit juices etc.
• A wide variety of soft and alcoholic drinks are also available at the bar and our chef will prepare a buffet lunch and a 4/5 course gourmet dinner, there is also 1 dinner ashore at the Hostelliere Des Clos in Chablis.

Day 1-SUNDAY: Welcome on board at Ravières, bubbles, and first gastronomic dinner

• We will come to pick you up in Paris, or any other destination we will have agreed on before your arrival! Your private chauffeur for the week will then drive you in our minibus to the barge that will be moored in the town of Ravières, waiting for you!
• A bottle of Champagne will be waiting for you, and after you take time to meet the crew and learn about your itinerary, its time to discover your spacious and well-furnished cabins. Its then time for gastronomic dinner cooked by our chef!

Day 2-Monday: Morning cruise to Ancy le Franc and visit of the Fontenay Abbey

• We will start the day with a morning cruise to the beautiful village of Ancy le France. Take your time enjoying your comfortable beds, have breakfast with locally baked croissants and other pastries, and discover what cruising on the canal means!
• After lunch on board, we will go for a short drive to reach the town of Fontenay, to visit its Cisterian Abbey, founded by Saint Bernard in the 12th century. It is today a Unesco World Heritage site, and the village will delight you with its medieval look.
• Tonight it is our chef who will have prepared one of its culinary wonders cooked with locally sourced products and respecting local cooking traditions. Be ready for the take-off of your gastronomic adventure! All our meals are paired with some of France’s best wines (feel free to ask our Bookarivertrip.com agent for details about your menus).

Day 3-Tuesday: Cruise to Lézinnes and dinner at a delicious restaurant

• This morning allows you to decide if you want to reach our afternoon activity on foot or be driven there. We are off to discover the gorgeous Renaissance Château of Ancy le Franc, known for its 16th-century wall paintings and frescos which are often compared to those of Fontainebleau Château.
• We are off for an afternoon cruise, you can decide to try our sun deck that will give you stunning views on the surrounding countryside and its wildlife. Lunch will be served there during navigation, with our stewardess serving you today french cooking! Our next mooring destination is the small town of Lézinnes
• For tonight, we have booked a very special restaurant for you, the restaurant of Hostellerie-des-Clos recommended by the Michelin guide and enjoying a spectacular setting, in an old Abbey, in the middle of the town of Chablis.

Day 4-Wednesday: Sightseeing of Noyers and cruise to Tanlay

• This morning, our guide will drive you and show you around the medieval town of Noyers along the banks of the River Serein. The town offers a wide variety of 15th/16th centuries half-timbered buildings, and a series of cobbled streets with a very interesting and must do the local market, where you can select local specialties to be later tasted onboard!
• We will then drive back to the barge, for our next cruise to Tanlay on the Burgundy canal. Around you, fields of wheat and grazing wildlife will be the perfect view for your afternoon lunch. You can then decide on biking or walking on the side towpath through small villages, while the barge follows its slow path towards our next destination.
• Once moored, our crew will propose you some cocktails, and it will be the perfect time to listen to some french music before dinner is served in our cosy dining room.

Day 5-Thursday: Morning cruise to Flogny la Chapelle and discover the town of Chablis

• This morning we are off for our next cruise lap, as we will pass through the old town of Tonnerre, with a variety of cultural influences, from Roman to Medieval. We can stop there for a short walk around and the discovery of local architecture.
• After lunch on board, we will take a short drive and visit the famous town of Chablis, famous for its white wine appellation. We will bring you to some of the town’s best cellars to taste the region’s top wines and go for a walk in the middle of the vineyards, which cover the hillsides as far as the eye can see.
• Its then time to go back on board, and enjoy some quiet time before the chef prepares us his next culinary wonders.

Day 6-Friday: Cruise to the Saint Florentin and discover the city of Auxerre

• Today it's your last day of actual cruising, so enjoy it! Why not ask your captain about navigation, how does it all work, and maybe even take the wheel for a bit! We will keep following the Canal to our last port of call, the town of Saint Florentines, a short drive away from Auxerre. We will have time for another delicious lunch served on deck before we are off to discover this stunning town.
• Built on the banks of river Yonne, this city that was originally developed by the Romans (like most regional towns and cities) now boasts a Cathedral, an Abbey and a church. Meander through its streets and discover local life.
• With many of its buildings dating back to medieval times, you will enjoy strolling along its narrow streets, and even relax in one of its cafes, reflecting the history of Napoleon, Jeanne of Arc or the king Charles VII who all passed through this elegant and strategic town.
• Tonight, it's your last dinner on board, so you can be sure that the chef will have done everything he can to make it unforgettable! Just wait and see the menu. 

Day 7-Saturday: Day of departure, say bye-bye to your hotel barge

• This morning at 9.30 is the time for your departure after breakfast! Take some time to say goodbye to the barge, 
• Our driver will then chauffeur you back to Paris, where we hope you will continue to visit France, a country worth spending years.
• We hope to see you back very soon, why not for another of our itineraries along the stunning and always surprising french waterways! Fell free to ask questions about them to our Bookarivertrip.com captain, he knows them very well.

*Please note that this river trip runs the two ways, from Ravières to Saint Florentine, and from Saint Florentin to Ravières. That means that the stops and activities could take place at a different moment in the week, but will be the same.

BY CAR;

 Picked up in Paris at 3.00 by our mini bus and driver and driven to  the boat in Ravieres

 For charter groups your party will be met at 1 hotel of your choice in Paris at 3pm by our driver and driven to the “C’est la Vie” which is moored in 

  For individual cabin bookings, pick up and drop off at the hotel Madison, 143 Boulevard  St Germain 75006 Paris.

You can decide to rent or give back a rented car in one of the many agencies in the cities of Montbard or Auxerre. 

BY TRAIN ; 

The city is well connected to the high-speed train network and to the regional train network. From there, you can reach Paris in between 1 hour and 1.30 hours depending on the journey you chose. 
You can also reach all the other cities by doing one or more transfers, depending on your final destination. If you wish, we can help you with all that. 

• Auxerre is located half way between Paris (170 km) and Dijon (150 km) on the A6 motorway, at the junction of the proposed A26 Troyes-Bourges motorway. The city is ideally situated to discover northern Burgundy.
• Auxerre is 15 km from Chablis, famous for its white wines, 20 km from Pontigny Abbey, 45 km from St Fargeau Castle, 60 km from Vezelay and 78 km from Troyes.

BY TRAIN;

• Trains are a wonderfully cheap option if you are coming from Paris or Dijon. Trains usually run every hour. If you are coming from Paris, you might have to make a connection at Larroche-Migennes. You can easily walk from the station to the old part of town in 10 minutes.
• There are many connections between Auxerre and Dijon train stations to the rest of European countries, such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerlands.

BY PLANE;

• There are several international airport that we recommend to reach the destination (please note that pick up of your group at one of them can be arranged with our bookarivertrip.com agent). 
• These airports are; Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly (ORY) both in Paris, Lyon Saint Exupery airport (LYS) or Geneva in Switzerlands (GVA).
• There are also many smaller airport where seasonal flights are opened during the summer, or where you can land with your own plane if you wish to.

• Auxerre is a beautiful city situated in the Yonne Valley, in the heart of the Bourgogne region. It was built on the banks of the River Yonne, which is itself linked to the Seine River that crosses Paris.
• The town has an impressive architectural heritage, with many beautiful Medieval and Renaissance buildings and sites. That led it to be classified as “Ville d’Art et d’Histoire” (village of arts and history), protecting almost the entire city center from alterations.
• All around it are villages, vineyards, castles, and hills that you will enjoy discover during our cruise together. Burgundy in itself can be considered as Northern (with Auxerre as its center) and Southern (with Dijon as its center).