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Sunday - Paris to Montargis
Guests are met at the meeting hotel in Paris at 1.30pm and transferred to the spacious Renaissance where a Champagne Welcome awaits you.  Time to explore the pretty village of Montargis by foot or bicycle.  Dinner aboard.
 
Monday - Montargis to Montbouy
Morning cruise through the Loire countryside with towpath cycling to Montbouy.  After lunch our visit is to the splendid Chateau-Landon, with a history going back 20,000 years to the first evidence of primitive habitation.  This seldom visited mainly medieval town was captured by Caesar in 52 BC.  Dinner aboard.

Tuesday - Montbouy to Rogny les-Sept-Ecluses
Today's excursion is to Chateau Guedelon.  A team of 50 people have taken on an extraordinary feat to build a castle using the very same techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages. Work on the site began in 1997 and is scheduled to take 25 years to complete.  Guédelon offers a unique opportunity to witness the different stages of a castle's construction with each phase being of interest in its own right.  Let yourself be transported from the present day, back to the sights and sounds of a 13th century construction site. Afternoon gentle cruise to historic Rogny and its 350-year-old floodlit 7 lock-flight. Dinner ashore at Auberge des Templiers in Les Bezards.

Wednesday - Rogny les-Sept-Ecluses to Ouzouer-Trezée
After a leisurely breakfast of fresh croissants, baguettes and assorted pastries, we visit Chateau de Sully sur Loire. The castle originally belonged to Georges de la Trémoïlle, who infuriated Joan of Arc by encouraging the Dauphin to devote himself to idle hunting in the forests around Sully. After Joan's failure to liberate Paris 1430, de la Trémoïlle virtually imprisoned her in the castle. In the 18th century Voltaire, exiled from Paris, also spent time at the Château. Afternoon cruise to Ouzouer-Trezée.  Dinner aboard.

Thursday - Ouzouer-Trezée to Briare
Morning cruise to Briare and  Gustave Eiffel's magical aqueduct across the River Loire with walking and bicycling for those that wish to do so. We preview Friday's crossing of this amazing 10,000 ton, 662 metre Pont Canal which was completed in September 1896. Today we also visit Gien, home of the Faience pottery and hunting museums and Chateau de Gien. Dinner aboard.

Friday - Briare to Chatillon-sur-Loire
Morning wander around fruit and vegetable, seafood, cheese and French fashion stalls in the market in Briare. Afternoon visit to a family-run vineyard in Sancerre. This medieval hilltop village overlooks a vibrant and pulsating region which has known viticulture since Roman times. Evening cruise across the River Loire on Eiffel's aqueduct and Captain's Farewell Dinner aboard.

Saturday - Chatillon-sur-Loire to Paris
After breakfast we return you to the meeting point in Paris by about 12pm.

Note: This is a sample itinerary.  On alternative weeks the cruise is in the reverse direction.

"10 Nights for Price of 6" Paris to Sens Cruise
On Sunday, April 11th, 37,000 athletes will be running their course through the City Of Light. RENAISSANCE will be moored in central Paris for four days starting Wednesday, April 7th, where your floating hotel is positioned perfectly for you to explore the city, visit the nearby Latin Quarter and Notre Dame, or watch the marathon, and in the evenings dine in a wonderful Paris restaurant of your choice.

SPECIAL OFFER: This special 10 night package aboard the luxurious hotel barge Renaissance is now available at the same price as a standard 6 night cruise - USD$5,450 per person, based on two people sharing a suite. Renaissance has 4 suites accommodating 8 people so places on this unique cruise are strictly limited. (The first 4 nights are on a bed-and-breakfast included basis, and the following 6 nights are fully inclusive -- all meals, open bar, cruise, accommodations, excursions, and Paris transfers.)

The following special itinerary applies to this cruise:

Wednesday April 7th to Saturday April 10th: Paris
Make your way to luxury hotel barge Renaissance, which will be moored at Port d’Arsenal near Notre Dame in central Paris by 4pm in time for the 5pm Champagne Welcome on board to meet your Captain and crew. The Captain will then tell you more about the arrangements that will allow passengers to spend 4 nights aboard Renaissance in the centre of Paris on a bed and breakfast basis prior to the Paris Marathon, followed by a fully inclusive, luxury 6 night cruise south from the city on the River Seine to Sens, near Chablis, with haute cuisine and fine wines served aboard.

Sunday April 11th: Paris
The Paris Marathon starts this morning at the Champs Elysées at 8.35am. The marathon covers 42 kilometres of the streets of Paris from the Champs Élysées Avenue to Foch Avenue, running through Bastille, Nation, Vincennes, les Tuileries etc. It’s estimated that there will be 37,000 runners taking part watched by 200,000 spectators. Return to the barge late afternoon and your 6-night cruise begins with a cruise this evening, during your first dinner on board, through central Paris. We moor in the suburbs for the night.

Monday, April 12th: Paris to Corbeil (River Seine)
After breakfast we enjoy a morning cruise to the town of Corbeil, which was besieged by the Duke of Burgundy in 1418. The Protestants of France also attacked it in 1562 during the religious war called the First Civil War. After lunch we enjoy a visit to Fontainebleau. The Royal Château of Fontainebleau is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The château as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on a structure of Francis I. The building is ranged round a series of courts. The city of Fontainebleau has grown up around the remainder of the Forest of Fontainebleau, a former royal hunting park. Dinner aboard.

Tuesday, April 13th: Corbeil to Melun (River Seine)
A morning of cruising will take us to the major market town of Melun. After lunch a possible excursion could include the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a Classical French chateau located in Maincy, near Melun. It was built from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, Marquis de Belle-Isle (Belle-Ile-en-Mer), Viscount of Melun and Vaux, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV. Dinner aboard.

Wednesday, April 14th: Melun to St Mammes (River Seine)
A morning cruise takes us to St Mammes and after lunch we enjoy a walking tour of the town of Moret Sur Loing. Moret-sur-Loing was a charming town with a lot of history, also a magnificent source of inspiration for Monet, Renoir and Sisley. Tonight we would moor in St Mammes at the junction of the River Seine and the River Loing. Dinner ashore tonight in a wonderful local auberge.

Thursday, April 15th: St Mammes to Pont Sur Yonne (River Yonne)
After breakfast this morning we cruise into the heart of Burgundy with visit options at a number of pretty local towns. After lunch there will be a choice of visits and your Captain will give the available choices of options today during the morning. Return to the barge late afternoon and enjoy dinner aboard.

Friday, April 16th: Pont Sur Yonne to Sens (River Yonne)
A half days cruising will take us to Sens, gateway town to the northern Burgundy wine regions. A spectacular town famed for the 14th Cathedral with many visit options. After lunch we take a short drive to Chablis, town to some of the greatest wines in Burgundy. We have selected the small family operation of Domaine Laroche for an intimate tour of their cellar and an insightful introduction to the secrets of this ancient art. A comprehensive wine tasting rounds off this fascinating visit. Afterwards we drive over the tops of the surrounding vineyards, through the wine village of Irancy and on to St Bris, where we shall visit the 12th Century underground cellars of Bersan and Fils. Captain’s farewell gala dinner aboard.

Saturday, April 17th: Sens to Paris
After breakfast, we transfer you by minibus to your hotel in Paris,

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