When we lived in the US, a favorite annual vacation was a week-long cruise in the Caribbean. For one upfront price we could include our accommodation, meals, and drinks. It was possible to add in the cost of excursions in advance as well, but at ports of call we preferred to walk around the harbor or simply stay onboard. After all, we’d already paid for food and beverages and with most of the other passengers out for the day, it felt as if we had the ship to ourselves. After moving to France we discovered canal cruising that was similar to what we had experienced in the Caribbean except instead of being with thousands of other travelers, we shared the floating hotel with only 20 others. When an email announcement of sailing through the “heart of Burgundy, its wines and regional flavors” arrived, it caught our attention.

Our first French canal cruise was nearly three years ago when we explored an area not very far from Paris yet all of the destinations were new to us. We liked the convenience of an all-inclusive vacation that even included the daily excursions, some of which started just a step off the boat because we were docked in the center of town. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were offering a 50% discount for the second passenger on some departures. The email mentioned above regarding the sailing in Burgundy offered the same features of that first and the subsequent canal cruises that we’ve taken although no reduced prices were available. The 2,779€ per-person fare gave us an initial pause, and then Bill discovered that the canal barge’s seven-day route could be covered by train from port-to-port in just 47 minutes. We began to wonder if we could create a similar vacation on our own.

To be fair, we took the details directly from the company’s brochure (link below). Included in the price:

• Double, air conditioned cabin with shower/wc
• Full board including drinks at meals plus all day from the bar
• Refined French cuisine. Welcome cocktail, Gala farewell dinner.
• Free wifi
• All excursions including an audio system
• Bicycles available onboard
• Presentation of the captain and crew
• Emergency Assistance and Repatriation Insurance
• Port taxes

Itinerary:

• Day 1: Boarding at 6:00 PM in Dijon, dinner at 7:00 PM
• Day 2: Longecourt-en-Plaine. Wine route with tastings.
• Day 3: Saint-Jean-de-Losne. Guided city visit plus Inland Waterways museum.
• Day 4: Chalon-sur-Saône. Guided city visit.
• Day 5: Chagny. Hiking in a natural park.
• Day 6: Santenay. Château visit with wine tastings.
• Day 7: Saint-Leger-sur-Dheune. Disembark by 9:00 AM.

Now we knew what to expect onboard and where we’d be stopping each day. Our next step was to create a 6-night vacation in the “heart of Burgundy” featuring its “wines and regional flavors.” Our goal wasn’t to mimic the boat trip exactly, but to use their route as a springboard for a customized adventure that fit our own pace and style. Join us next week to see where we went on our own and how it compared with this canal cruise.

Canal cruise brochure excerpt

Photo notes: All of today’s photos are from Chalon-sur-Saône. The featured photo across the top shows the port where the canal boat docks while in the first paragraph is the town’s very narrow bell tower from 1429.