If you want to really get beneath the skin of Europe don’t wrestle with over-crowded motorways and complicated international railway timetables – travel by water instead. A journey on the European waterways is the best way to explore the history, culture and world-renowned food and wine of this irresistible and fascinating continent. There are roughly 28,000 miles of canals and rivers, which cross from country to country, including mighty rivers like the Rhine and Danube and quiet little backwaters such as the Canal du Midi, and they are all just waiting to be explored on a variety of different kinds of European barge cruises.
There are a number of barging options available. If your idea of the perfect holiday is to idle along sleepy canals while staying in the lap of luxury, pausing only to sample a Grand Cru here or discover an exquisite medieval castle there, then hotel barge cruises are probably the choice for you. With elegant cabins and haute cuisine meals prepared by the on-board chef, all that remains for you to do is to enjoy organized trips to local attractions or simply watch the world go by.
> Fall in love with luxury hotel barging
If you prefer the zest of a little adventure, then you might consider self-drive cruise vacations. Hire boat companies such as Locaboat or Le Boat have drawn upon years of experience in designing well-equipped and comfortable boats, which are easy to handle with minimal experience. Whether on the Norfolk broads in England, or meandering through the beautiful Ardennes in Belgium, the sense of achievement when you have passed through half a dozen locks and tie up canal-side for a lunch of local cheese, fresh produce and fine wines is unbeatable.
> Discover more about self-drive cruising
For those with the itch to cover more ground there are itineraries for barge cruises in Europe that offer stopovers in several different countries during the course of a week or ten days. Companies such as Crystal River Cruises, Viking River Cruises and Tauck River Cruises run ships that offer the facilities you would normally associate with ocean voyages rather than traditional barges along the major rivers of Europe and you can expect to share the journey with over a hundred other guests. A single trip might start in Amsterdam and pass through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary in the course of a fascinating fortnight’s travel through the historic European cruising regions.
A Brief History of Barging
The Persians first came up with the idea of digging canals in 500 BC, but it wasn’t until Leonardo Da Vinci devised a design for a lock, which had mitred gates to hold back the flow of water, that canal building took off in Europe. From the mid-17th century, France led the way. Legendary engineer Pierre Paul Riquet completed his masterpiece the Canal du Midi in 1681 and was able to link the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Great Britain became the first country to create an integrated system of canals and rivers, thanks to the pioneering work of James Brindley who constructed the Bridgewater Canal and 300 miles of additional waterways. To this day the European waterways remain vital arteries linking the continent together. There are plans afoot to build a new canal connecting 1,100 kms of waterway between France and Belgium. And with fears about global warming, taking freight off the roads and onto the water makes more sense than ever.
The types of barges that have plied the rivers and European canals are many and various. There are more than forty different kinds of boat with wonderfully evocative names, such as wherries, trows and tubs, lighters and whalebacks too. The typical barge is flat-bottomed and was originally pulled by a horse. In some cases, the bargee remained in the wheelhouse while his wife and eldest son tugged the boat along on the bank.
What to expect when you go Barging
You certainly won’t have to pull the barge along yourself, as in the days of old. Most of the luxury hotel boats that travel the waterways of Europe are converted from old commercial craft – peniches – and they now provide extremely comfortable accommodation, usually in three or four double cabins with well-appointed communal areas in which to socialise.
As well as the canal journey itself, different captains will offer a variety of additional itinerary options, including expertly guided wine tastings, yoga classes, a jazz trio to serenade you over aperitifs on deck, or even hot air ballooning. Vacations on hotel barges are very much tailored to the interests and wishes of the individual and it is possible to charter the entire barge for your own party, or to travel with new companions and forge new friendships in the process.
If you prefer the adventure of a self-drive cruise you will find a number of different hire boats to choose from. Some companies offer barge-style steel boats modelled on the classic peniche but scaled down to a more manageable size. You can hire cosy little craft just right for a couple or larger boats with five cabins and enough space to accommodate two families holidaying together.
Before you set sail, you will be given a comprehensive guide to the boat and tuition in the basic manoeuvres you need to know in order to navigate the waterways safely and cope with going up and down in the locks. You will also need detailed charts, usually in book form, to help you plan your passage.
One of the pleasures of this kind of holiday is that it reconnects you with life’s essentials. You are out in the open air, in beautiful countryside all day long but you need to decide where you will moor for the night, where you can next buy food and whether the mooring you are hoping to reach will have water and electricity. It stops you taking things for granted. It throws you back on your own resources, while creating a great sense of teamwork and excitement at the same time.
Best Destinations for Barging in Europe
You really will be spoilt for choice of places to visit on European canal barge cruises from Scotland’s Caledonian Canal to the waterways of Southern Burgundy, the cruising itineraries are endless. With so many contrasting options – a river cruise which takes you from capital city to capital city, or a hotel barge that offers more personalised and closely focused itineraries, or bumbling along a backwater driving yourself from A to B, you may find that you want to come back time and time again to discover new countries, new canals and different barge experiences too.
Canal du Midi, France
The grandfather of them all, Pierre Paul Riquet’s beautiful waterway was finished only 60 years after Shakespeare died and deservedly holds UNESCO World Heritage accreditation. It is easily one of the best destinations in Europe for a barge cruise and meanders from the Etang de Thau in the southwest to Toulouse, one of the most vibrant cities in the whole of France.
The Midi canal is a hundred and fifty miles in length, and has ninety one locks for you to tackle, all of them a distinctive oval shape as Riquet believed this gave greater structural strength to the walls than an oblong design. There are pretty villages galore – don’t miss Capestang, Le Somail or Homps as each offers plenty to see and do. The wine region of the Languedoc is a wine lovers’ paradise, with the Minervois to the north and the Corbiere to the south and there is huge rivalry between Toulouse and Castelnaudary as to who makes the best cassoulet – a local dish made from duck, pork and creamy white beans.
The Canal du Nivernais, France
Cruising along the Canal du Nivernais on a barge will give you one of the most photogenic experiences possible in Northern Burgundy. Sights such as the mist rising around a medieval chateau on the banks of the canal in the early morning, or the sun setting over the vineyards in the evening, are the perfect way of putting yourself in the picture.
It is a small wiggle of a waterway, one of the most intimate in France, cutting its way through the countryside from Auxerre to the Morvan heathland in the south of Burgundy. A number of the locks you will encounter have been converted into artists’ studios or restaurants, so there are plenty of diversions on hand if you want to take a break from navigation.
> Cruise the Canal du Nivernais
Champagne, France.
Imagine mooring for the night beside a field in which Moet et Chandon is growing grapes for their champagne. Every row of vines has a concrete marker at the end with the name of the world famous house to which it belongs – Taittinger, Pol Roger, Veuve Cliquot, Pommery – it’s an index of the great and the good.
Many hotel barges will collect guests from Paris, giving you the chance to explore the City of Light, before you cruise through countryside made famous by impressionist painters such as Monet, Renoir and Pisarro on your way to the historic local capital, Reims. For more than a 1,000 years French kings were crowned in the city’s exquisite cathedral and there are numerous opportunities for sightseeing and sophisticated shopping.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
If you can tear yourself away from the bucolic delights of the French waterways – and it won’t be easy – the contrast of the urban setting of Amsterdam’s canal network might be a good place to start.
A few nights of luxury travel on a hotel barge will provide a perfect base for exploring the city’s sights – the Rijksmuseum is the home to one of Europe’s premier art collections, and Anne Frank’s house offers a haunting reminder of the darker side of the continent’s recent history. The city has 62 miles of canals winding their way around 90 islands and under 1,500 bridges, so travel by barge really is the only way to do it justice.
Mecklenburg, Germany
Should you tire of the diversions and excitement of tackling numerous locks on your self drive barge holiday, you might consider the languid beauty of the Mecklenburg lakes in Northern Germany.
Many tour operators offer leisurely self drive itineraries from Fleesensee to Furstenberg that capture the essence of this unspoilt region, which provides the perfect habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Attractions nearby include the wooden boathouses at Mirow and the grandeur of Schwerin Castle in Mecklenburg itself.
The Lys (Leie) River, Belgium and France
The Lys river is an appealing waterway that winds through rural Flanders between France and Belgium. It is an ideal option for people seeking a barging holiday that doesn’t just provide the chance to visit some of the nearby battlefields of the two world wars, but also the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful approach to the ancient city of Ghent.
This Belgian city is famed for its magnificent 12th century architecture, while at the same time being a buzzing twenty first century cultural hub. Don’t miss the fairytale moated castle at Gravensteen, at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt rivers, complete with dungeons and tales of bloodthirsty torture.
The appeal of barging in France
France is where the idea of the canal barge holidays first began, when the entrepreneur Michael Sleat began operating eight barges under his Blue Line brand in 1969, and few other countries in Europe can rival the endless routes that make the French canal network so special.
Here at French Waterways we have the hands-on expertise and the enthusiasm to suggest any number of barging options for you, and can tailor make a dream vacation on a luxury hotel barge or a self-drive hire boat in a wide range of irresistible French locations, from the Loire valley to the Saone river and beyond.
Immerse yourselves in our destinations page to see just what lies in store.
