Culinary barge cruising through France
Inspiration

Wine and dine your way along the French Waterways

Crispy baguettes and delicate pastries still warm from the bakery, baskets full of sun-gorged fruit and vegetables, colorful bundles of onions and wreaths of garlic, pungent cheese and fragrant herbs. Your culinary barge cruise begins here! French gastronomy lies in its bountiful produce. From Michelin-starred chefs to the French families who pass down recipes from generation to generation, food in France is a matter of passion.

Bon appétit! aboard your culinary barge cruise

When barging on a luxury hotel barge in France, your culinary treats will include the very best French food from breakfast to dinner and, if you’re curious, you’ll learn some of the secrets of French cooking. Naturally, as with all luxury travel foodie vacations barge cruises can accommodate any dietary requirements with enough forewarning. The on-board master chefs do their very best to plan a varied and tasty menu and are particularly attached to using local and seasonal products to recreate regional and specialty dishes.

If your travel style is to appreciate the food of the region, then your hotel barge vacation in France will be a feast for the senses and a wonderful insight into French life. It is no wonder that British TV chef Rick Stein chose to explore the culinary delights of the south of France aboard hotel barges for his program A French Odyssey. You too can follow in his steps on the Canal du Midi or on the Canal de Garonne!

Download a free guide to Rick Stein’s France
for a taste of what you can discover.

Dit le Bonjour! to your culinary barge cruise

Wake up to the smell of buttery croissants and freshly baked bread which the crew will have picked up from a local bakery just for you. Breakfast on board your hotel barge is usually a luxurious spread of these tasty pastries, fruit, fresh juices, hot drinks, yoghurt, cheese and cold cuts; many hotel barges can also offer hot options to order.

Lunch is often a relaxed affair on these culinary experiences, sometimes served al fresco on the deck, with a buffet of homemade salads, pies, quiches and other savory tarts and perhaps a hot option such as soup.

For dinner, enjoy a delicious four-course gastronomic meal, often with local dishes, with wines to match. If you’re after fresh seafood, head to Provence on the Anne Marie. For traditional Burgundian or Alsatian dishes, board the Après Tout or the Saroche, whose chefs are magicians in their field. And for a taste of the sun, the Savannah’s knowledgeable chef prepares delicious local recipes using fresh market products from around the Canal du Midi. Due to France’s great climate you’ll most likely take your meals on deck, a delightful way to experience your scenic cruise.

For a taste of a real French dining atmosphere, many cruises also give you the opportunity to dine out.  The Randle, which cruises the Nivernais canal in Burgundy, operate a half-board dining ashore cruise where you can choose the dining venue from a selection of nearby restaurants – a delightful way to discover authentic French cuisine in company with the locals.

If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime French fine dining experience, some barges include a meal out in the most prestigious restaurants or in truly breathtaking settings. The Grand Cru in Burgundy will bring you to a three-star Michelin restaurant while the Finesse, the C’est la Vie and the Renaissance also include a meal in a Michelin restaurant in their itineraries.

French foodie experiences

Your exploration of French gastronomy continues through the many excursions organised each day as part of your cruise. Not only are you treated to local produce aboard, to savour and develop a ‘taste-memory’ for different flavours, but you can learn how it all comes about, too. Why not try your hand at cheese-making? The Savoir Vivre and the Rendez Vous in Burgundy include a visit to a cheese factory where you can learn all about cheese-making and sample some flavorful fromages.

Burgundy is also a region where you can forage the elusive black truffle, a strong-tasting fruitbody of a mushroom that grows only in chalky soil under certain trees, usually oaks, walnut trees or lime trees. Find out more with the Magnolia that includes a truffle-farm visit with lunch in its itinerary.

The Prospérité in Burgundy brings guests to a mustard factory while the Enchanté on the Canal du Midi includes a visit of an olive oil press in a farm where the typical Lucques olives of the south of France grow.

The intimacy of hotel barges, particularly on a charter cruise, allows guests to get behind the scenes, whether with the captain or the chef. Take the opportunity to learn how to cook some of your favourite recipes! The chef aboard the Saint Louis, in south-west France, is available for some exclusive lessons based around the preparation of fish or oysters or how to select and cook different meats. Johanna’s open galley allows guests to watch and learn as chef Patsie works her magic; she can also offer lessons.

Culinary barge cruise gastronomy

Taste your way through France on a special gastronomic-themed barge cruise. Here, food is at the centre of your cruise which will take you on a voyage of culinary discovery through France and teach you how to cook iconic French recipes.

Many of the finest chefs in the world will claim that market-fresh ingredients are at the heart of all their creations, and most will favour one or two classic dishes created quite simply, but with the utmost attention to detail and an eye for presentation as well as taste. All cruising chefs emulate the masters with enthusiasm and skill.

In southern Burgundy, L’Impressionniste offers a culinary cruise to introduce guests to the finest products of this bountiful region: abbey-made cheese, wine, mustard. Browse a local market and enjoy a cooking lesson to prepare and cook your findings for lunch.

The gastronomic flavours of the south of France are just as tantalizing and Enchanté’s culinary cruise will introduce you to the southern flavours of Occitanie. Offering some hands-on experience such as a cooking class and a tour of a local market to help the chef create the evening’s menu, the cruise will also take you to meet the people behind the delicious delicacies France is known for: confectioners, bakers, wine-makers, olive farmers, cheese-makers and truffle-hunters.

Lyon, France’s food capital, is the setting for Grand Victoria’s special culinary journey which includes private French cooking classes (French pastry and three-course meal masterclass), a visit to a market with the on-board chef, cooking demonstrations and a three-star Michelin lunch out.

+ French Cuisine Highlights

by Sophie Gardner-Roberts
Independent Specialist Travel Writer