The Burgundy Canal, the most beloved in France, offers an incredible abundance of interesting shore excursions by coach, on foot, by balloon, or by bicycle. This incomparable region is world-renowned for its exquisite cuisine and fine wine.

Saturday
Meet at the Dijon train station at 4:15 p.m. The bus will wait until all passengers are on board or 5:30 p.m. Bus transfer to Lorraine and welcome aboard drinks with introduction of the crew. As you are getting acquainted with your new sailing mates the Lorraine will begin its journey along the Canal de Bourgogne to its evening mooring at Ouges.

Sunday
After your buffet breakfast aboard Lorraine, our motor coach will wisk you to Dijon for a tour of this capital of Burgundy. Meanwhile Lorraine continues down the Canal de Bourgogne. Passengers will return to Lorraine for lunch and continue cruising along the canal. There are many opportunities for guests to walk along the towpath or cycle into nearby villages. This evening we will moor in St Jean de Losne, traditionally the center of barging in Burgundy. It is in St Jean de Losne that the Canal de Bourgogne merges with the River Saone. There is ample opportunity to walk through the village before dinner and stroll the quiet streets after dinner. There are hundreds of barges moored here in addition to major barge manufacturers. Live-aboard barge owners are abundant. It is a unique village.

Monday
This morning your guide will take you to visit Clos de Vougeot. Wine was produced here as early as the 12th century, by none other than the local monks. A private wine tasting follows before we return to Lorraine. This afternoon we will cruise to Chalon sur Saone. Chalon sur Saone is the second largest city in Burgundy and has been an important trading center since Gallo-Roman times. There will be time to visit the beautiful medieval town center surrounding the Cathedral St Vincent.

Tuesday
Today we enter the Canal du Centre from the Saone through a lock with a 50-foot rise. We will cruise along an attractive winding stretch where a good towpath and fairly frequent locks give ample opportunities to walk or cycle the towpath. This afternoon we will have an excursion to the nearby village of Rully for a private guided tour of the 12th century Chateau. When we return to Lorraine it will be moored in the lovely little town of Chagny.

Wednesday
Morning excursion to Beaune. Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy and home to the magnificent Hotel-Dieu, a charity hospital founded in 1443. This monument boasts the finest Burgundian-Flemish architecture in the world. Afternoon cruise through the meanders of the Canal du Centre to moor in the midst of the famous vineyards of Santenay.

Thursday
Today we navigate to the quiet village of Dennevy. Drive to Couches to visit the chateau of Marguerite of Burgundy, the beautifully preserved vestiges of a vast medieval fortress, followed by a tasting of the wines made here by Emmanuel Cayot, son of the owner. Ample time for walking or cycling today. Later we cruise on to the picturesque village of St Leger-sur-Dheune for a farewell gala dinner.

Friday
Transfer to Dijon train station after breakfast.

Note: This is a sample itinerary and it is subject to modification in the case of unforeseen circumstances and canal closures. This cruise may run in reverse on alternate weeks.

Saturday - Dijon to Ouges
Meet at the Dijon Railway Station at 4:15 p.m.  Coach Transfer to Lorraine moored at the lock in the village of Ouges.  Welcome cocktail on board and orientation of the boat.  There will be time for cycling or walking.  This is a flat area.  At 7 p.m. you will experience your first gourmet dinner on board.

Sunday - Ouges to Saint Jean de Losne
After your first buffet breakfast on board you will board our bus once again for a drive back into Dijon, the capital of Burgundy, for a walking tour.  You will make a stop at the marketplace in the city center. You will return to Lorraine at lunch time and have lunch on board while your crew continues cruising to Saint Jean de Losne, the barging center of France.  There are more live aboard boats located in and around Saint Jean de Losne than any other place in France. Many are American and British.  This is a great village to explore on your own and talk with some of the live-aboards.  The American Actor Darren McGavin was one of them 30 years ago.

Monday - Saint Jean de Losne to Dole
This morning we will begin with a short cruise up the River Saone before turning into the Rhone-Rhine canal.  After entering the canal once again there is ample opportunity for walking or cycling along the tow path, perhaps discovering some of the nearby picturesque village along the way. We will arrive in Dole in the afternoon and begin a tour of this very attractive city which overlooks the river. In the old town we will visit the home where Louis Pasteur was born.  It has been converted into a museum.  Then we will tour old town, stopping at the Collegiate Church of Our Lady which was built in the 1300's.

Tuesday - Dole to Ranchot
This morning we leave Dole to cruise up an enchanting stretch of the river Doubs to Ranchot.  On the way we will visit a the Royal Saltworks of Arc et Senans.  This is an extraordinary example of an 18th Century industrial architecture and has been selected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  This region is also a producer of excellent but less famous French wines.  We will visit the Jura wine capital of Arbois and you will have a chance to taste truly superb wines.

Wednesday - Ranchot to Thoraise
This morning we cruise up the river Doubs to the little village of Thoraise where we moor in a delightful country setting.  Today's excursion is to the Loue valley and the breathtakingly beautiful riverside town of Ornans.  Here we will visit a museum dedicated to the famous locally born impressionist painter Gustave Courbet.

Thursday - Thoraise to Besançon
Today we will continue to cruise up the meandering Doubs, to the majestic town of Besançon.  UNESCO added the citadel which was built by the famous military architect Vauban, the ancient city walls, and Fort Griffon to its list of World Heritage Sites.  You will have a guided walking tour of all these places plus spend a delightful time in Old Town with buildings dating from the middle ages. During this tour you will visit St John's Cathedral, and see the extraordinary astronomical clock.  It is Thursday, our last day of cruising.  Tonight is our Gala farewell dinner.

Friday
After breakfast you will be transported back to the Besancon Train Station, arriving about 10:30 am.

Note: This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change.

Cruise into the heart of Alsace-Lorraine, where French and German culture entwine to create one of France's most bewitching regions. Colmar and Strasbourg are two of Europe's most fascinating small cities. Enjoy wine tasting, visit a brewery, see one of Chagall's best works, and have a look up close at crystal-making from beginning to end. You will spend time in picturesque villages and cruise the most interesting canal in France with its long tunnel and famous inclined plane. During this week you will sample 24 different wines, 18 different cheeses, and eat some truly gourmet foods.

In the itinerary below, click on the highlighted links for a photo gallery of each location or point of interest, which opens in a separate window.

Saturday
Meeting place is the Strasbourg train station at 2:15 pm. From there you will be transferred to the Lorraine, moored in the village of Krafft, some 25 kilometers to the south of Strasbourg, close to the junction of the canal with the Rhine River. You will be welcomed aboard and meet the crew while your bags are put in your cabin. Following the welcome drink and orientation you will have a short time before your first gourmet dinner aboard Lorraine.

Sunday
After breakfast we begin cruising toward Strasbourg on the Canal du Rhone au Rhin, a peaceful waterway that has seen little use since the building of the Grand Canal d'Alsace (the canalisation of the Rhine) in the 1950s. Before lunch we will board our air conditioned coach to Colmar, renowned for its magnificent medieval and Renaissance buildings, 13th-century collegiate church, and the waterside Little Venice district. This is an all day program. You will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Colmar feasting on one of the specialties of the region. In addition to your guided tour you will have some free time to explore. Stop at the Unterlinden Museum, famous for its Renaissance art and home to the "Issenheim Altarpiece." We will return to the barge, now moored in Strasbourg, through the famous "Route Des Vins" a small road running at the base of the foothills of the Vosges Mountains, parallel to the Rhine, and through the famous vineyards of Alsace. We pause in picturesque medieval Riquewihr for a wine tasting of local vintages and souvenir shopping before returning to Lorraine.

Monday
We cast off early and cruise over breakfast toward Strasbourg center. We enter the heart of Strasbourg and pass through the commercial docks before leaving the city to the north. We pass the ultra modern buildings of the European Parliament. Here we will disembark for a guided walking tour of the principal sights of Strasbourg with its cobbled streets and timbered houses. The unique beauty of picturesque "petite France" riverside district is magnificent. The remarkable cathedral of Notre Dame, whose construction spread over five centuries from the Romanesque choir to the flamboyant gothic spire, is a highlight. Afterwards we continue cruising to Hochfelden and our mooring for tonight. There is ample opportunity to walk between locks on the tow path or to bicycle into nearby villages. Overnight in the picturesque village of Hochfelden.

Tuesday
This morning we begin cruising after breakfast passing several typical Alsatian villages where ancient documents prove there was a brewery as early as 870 A.D. All French beer is brewed in Alsace. We will visit a small local brewery and sample some delicious Alsatian Beer. This day provides us with excellent opportunities for walking and cycling (perhaps diverting to a bierstub to appreciate the product of a local brewery). Later, a delightful afternoon cruise brings us to the picturesque small town of Saverne.

Wednesday
After breakfast we make a short drive to visit a unique crystal factory to see the most famous products of this area. Alsace has long been the crystal center of Europe. You will visit a crystal factory where you can watch the glass as it comes out of the furnace and is turned into wondeful works of art. But the real skill is in the cutting. Professional crystal cutters go to school for 4 years and do a 3 year apprenticeship. Beautiful pieces of crystal are still individually blown and fashioned by hand. Each of you will have an opportunity to try your hand at the cutting wheel. Back on board, cruise into Lorraine to the beautiful town of Lutzelbourg nestled in the Vosges mountains. In Lutzelbourg there is the ruins of an old fortress, and dozens of beautiful walking trails through the nearby hills. Bring some walking shoes. There will be time to explore this canalside city before dinner.

Thursday
We begin a morning cruise by entering the steep-sided valley of the River Zorn to the famous inclined plane of Arzwiller. Here, a counterbalanced barge lift hauls us up nearly 150 feet to the Marne to Rhine Canal. We then cruise through a cutting and two tunnels under the peak of the Vosges Mountains. We continue along the summit pond, the highest section, of the Marne to Rhine canal. This section of some thirty kilometres with no locks passes through the regional park of Lorraine, a nature reserve with numerous lakes and vast areas of woodland. The canal then begins its descent towards the plain of Lorraine through a series of locks, the first of which was built in the nineteen-fifties to replace a flight of seven of the original early nineteenth century locks and has a drop of nearly fifty feet. This afternoon we will take the coach for a drive to Sarrebourg and visit the chapel of the Cordelieres where we can see the stained glass window created by Marc Chagall. This day full of art has some pleasant surprises. We arrive at the peaceful village of Xouaxange. This sleepy little village is great for exploring. We return to Lorraine for our farewell gala dinner.

Friday
Leave the Lorraine after breakfast and coach transfer to the train station in Strasbourg arriving just before noon.

Note: This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change. It may run in reverse on alternate weeks.