Did you know that you can explore the French countryside on a French Barge? I experienced this unique vacation in October in Burgundy and was blown away! If you are a foodie or a wine lover you will appreciate the private chef with gourmet meals, multiple wine tasting excursions, two different wines at lunch and dinner, along with two different types of cheeses at lunch and dinner. The private chef is incredible with food allergies. We had a guest that was allergic to egg and if you are someone who is allergic to egg you know that your dessert is usually just a fruit plate. The chef made the guest with an egg allergy a proper eggless dessert every lunch and dinner – it was very special. Did I mention this experience is all-inclusive? That means all meals, drinks, excursions, transfers and more are all included in the price!
Speaking of excursions… we had a private tour guide that drove us to our excursions and stayed with us as we toured Burgundy. We visited one of the French King’s chateaus, the oldest vineyards in Burgundy, wine tasted at several wineries, tasted mustard in Dijon, went to the food market in Dijon, went to the wine museum in Beaune, visited the old hospice hospital in Beaune, saw the beautiful Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune, explored cemeteries, and explored quaint villages! Again – all of this is included! If there’s something that you want to see or do that’s not on the itinerary they can work with you to make it happen.
You may be wondering what we did on the boat if we weren’t off exploring.. the wifi was very good except for one dead zone so I booked a few vacations for clients, they have bikes that you could ride on the path along the canal so I did that with another guest on the boat, you could sit on the top deck to watch the gorgeous scenery go by (my favorite thing to do on the boat with my tea), you could nap, you could listen to music, you could have the hostess Meggie make you drinks, you could have lovely conversations with crew or other guests, they had games and books that you could read too! For most of the itinerary, there was a walking/biking path along the canal. We walked one day and I biked another which is a good way to exercise or stretch your legs. We would get on and off the boat when we went through the canals. Distances between the canals varied, some were much longer than others. Once we were docked we were able to explore the surrounding villages. The hostess, chef and guests played the French game pétanque which was really fun and our chef dominated at it! I never felt bored and my favorite part was just to sit on the top deck drinking either the drink of the day or my tea in the morning watching the French countryside go by.
The cabins were always clean, pretty spacious for a boat, lots of plugs and storage. Most of the boat consisted of the guest quarters, saloon, dining room, kitchen, top deck and the rest was the staff quarters. The staff was incredible. I can’t thank them enough for how special they made this trip, they truly are the heart of the vessel. The captain grew up on a barge and is highly respected in the boating community. We had dinner with him two of the nights so it was great getting to know him and his life. Our hostess did everything for us. If we needed anything she was on it, she had snacks prepared when we got back from our excursions, tidied up our rooms as soon as we left, never let us not have some kind of drink in our hand and added little touches that made our experience special. Our tour guides got us safely to our destinations and were always cleaning the car. They were very knowledgeable, were able to fit in some extras that some guests wanted to see, and made our days filled with laughter. Again, the chef’s food was incredible – every day we had a new favorite dish! I received news that my Grandma passed away on this experience, the crew helped make me feel a little better in a tough situation which I will always cherish that. If you want to see a tour of the boat you can view them on my Instagram or TikTok below:
If you are interested in experiencing a French barge for yourself, there are more boats and different itineraries too. Message me and we will get started planning the best France adventure for you!
