Barge cruising France - Champagne, Paris 2006

Paris to Compiègne: September 23rd 

Compiègne to Reims: September 30th

Transfers between Paris and the Barge.

PARIS to COMPIEGNE

 
Arriving at the barge in Paris there is time to explore the area close to the Eiffel Tower which lies near our mooring. It is an area of great interest and character well deserving of a stroll before dinner aboard. Local boulangeries provide croissants for breakfast before we start our cruise downstream on the River Seine towards Rueil-Malmaison, which lies in the Bras de Marly, opposite the island of Chatou, and the maison Fournier, places much visited and painted by the impressionists. Whilst there we visit the charming small château where Napoleon spent his last days in France before exile to St.Helena. Continuing downstream we reach Conflans St.Honorine, colourful with many barges, where we join the River Oise. Stopping to visit Pontoise, where there is an opportunity to stroll round the well preserved old town, we reach journey’s end at Compiègne, where we tour the pretty town to see 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, as is to be expected of this cosmopolitan city.

Reims Cathedral

Bookstalls beside the Seine - Paris

COMPIEGNE to REIMS

 
We arrive at Compiègne in time to explore this interesting town. Its famous Second Empire château has excellent formal gardens and outstanding vistas. There are good shopping opportunities and attractive buildings surround the main square. Our cruise takes us briefly up the River Oise to the confluence with the River Aisne. We take this latter river and pass through an attractive countryside of woods and small villages to arrive at Soissons, another attractive and important town with good shops, markets and reminders of its significance in the history of France through the ages. Continuing up the River Aisne we reach Berry au Bac, scene of one of the most famous tank battles of the first world war, where we join the Canal de l’Aisne à  la Marne for the journey into Reims. 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.

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