Barging (barge cruising) France, Chalon sur Saone, River Saone, Burgundy vineyards

Epernay is the home of many of the large champagne houses and after visiting the cellars of Castellane we set off down the River Marne, joining the Canal Latéral à la Marne at Dizy. We continue to follow the course of the Marne, passing the attractive champagne village of Ay to reach Mareuil-sur-Ay, where vines reach down to the canal bank. Passing Tours-sur-Marne we pass the junction with the Canal de l’Aisne à la Marne to reach Châlons en Champagne. There is time to explore this important town graced with ancient and impressive buildings and also boasting excellent shopping facilities. Continuing our cruise we reach Vitry-le-François, an attractive market town which has been rebuilt after wholesale destruction during World War 2. On this cruise we visit the charming wood-framed churches of the bocage; there is also the possibility of visiting local ateliers and our small award winning vintner in Bassuet, situated at the southernmost tip of the champagne growing region..

REIMS to COMPIEGNE

We arrive in Reims in time to explore this magnificent city. Reims is the cultural and economic capital of Champagne and boasts a long and celebrated history. Here, amid the splendours of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Tau Palace, you will find reminders of the coronation of French kings from Clovis in 498AD to Charles X in 1825. Also, as befits a regional capital, the ambience of the centre is appealing with excellent shops, lively bars and plenty of the cosmopolitan chic one associates with champagne. The cruise takes us along the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne to the junction with the River Aisne at Berry au Bac, scene of one of the most famous tank battles of the first world war. The cruise along the Aisne takes us first to Soissons, an attractive and historic town with good shops and monuments, then through an attractive landscape of woods and small villages to the junction with the River Oise and Compiègne with its famous Second Empire Chateau, excellent formal gardens and outstanding vistas. Cobbled central areas boast a large number of timbered buildings, rare in this part of France and the shopping is first class.

This itinerary is reversed for the cruise Compiègne to Reims.